Durban-born teen Adam Ladell has made it into the top 16, and warmed hearts with his story of triumph over adversity.
|||‘WHAT does Tourette’s feel like? Picture an itch. You can feel it building up, you can try not to do it, but eventually the feeling is so strong that you can’t stop yourself from itching.”
This expounding Instagram post on Tourette’s disorder is from Durban-born teenage sensation Adam Ladell, who is making waves in the singing competition, The Voice Australia.
The 17-year-old singer/songwriter, now living in Melbourne, has not by any means allowed the neurological disorder to impede his pursuit of stardom.
Adam, who according to his Twitter account also suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, secured a spot in the top 16 on Sunday.
His journey in the competition started on a positive foot when he wowed all the judges and scored himself four chair turns during the blind auditions.
Escaping the axe only by a whisker on Sunday, when singer Ronan Keating picked his opponent, Mitch Gardner, in the battles stage of the competition, Adam’s talent was further confirmed by fellow judge Delta Goodrem, who used her judge’s power to save a contestant from bidding the competition goodbye and put Adam on her team.
In a recent interview with The Today Show, the teen said it felt good being recognised for his voice and not his medical conditions.
“I get recognised a lot now in public, and it’s all for good reasons, whereas before I would get recognised because I was making noises and stuff. Now I get recognised for the voice,” he said.
The youngster seems to be grabbing plenty of girls’ attention as well, with some fans likening his looks to that of Harry Potter actor, Daniel Radcliffe.
One particular person who seems to have more than just noticed Adam is girlfriend Jade McCallum.
The two lovebirdsrecently posted a picture of themselves together on Jade’s birthday.
“She’s absolutely one of a kind, she’s all I’ve ever wanted,” wrote Adam on the post.
Before the singer went to belt out superstars’ songs on the competition, he wrote and recorded his own music, which is available on iTunes and Spotify.
Some of his work includes album Greaseproof and singles You Are Perfect for Me, Fall Silently and an EP titled Departure, all listed on his website.
Adam has also been inspiring scores of Tourette’s sufferers and creating awareness on the disorder through videos he often posts on YouTube, which have received hundreds of thousands of views, as well as messages of support.
Daily News