When 36 year-old mom and prison officer Sam Bailey from Essex, England arrived for her first audition on The X Factor, not too many people expected big things from her. After all, a look back at the previous winners and they’d all been young glamour people. Sam was just a normal woman…

But it didn’t take long for her to show her worth. Almost as soon as she started singing ‘Listen’ by Beyonce, the judges were wowed and knew that she was going to go far in the competition. And she sure did – she ended up winning the thing!

Her powerful performance here will leave you in no doubt as to how she managed to win The X Factor at all. It takes some real talent, grit and determination to be able to pitch up for a first TV talent show audition and really deliver the goods as well as this!

Check out how brilliant this lady’s voice is: