It’s not easy to perform (or even speak!) in front of people. After many years of teaching and presenting, I finally got over my nervousness of speaking in public, but as a high school student, it would have been very difficult for me to do. I was so self-conscious. It takes a lot of courage to not only speak but especially to make yourself vulnerable by performing. Performing and singing is such a personal thing and you’re opening yourself up for a lot of ridicule and rejection by standing in front of an auditorium full of people and singing. A young man named Peyton Littleton showed us how it was done.
Peyton is a student at Lexington, North Carolina’s Central Davidson High School. When he entered the school’s talent competition, he surprised the students with one of their favorite songs: Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect.” He covered the beautiful song perfectly and not only did he win first prize, but he also had the students applauding and cheering him on before it was over. He worked his guitar magically and his voice carried the delicate melodies flawless and with charm. At one point, the kids in the auditorium started waving the flashlights on their cellphones so that it felt like a concert performance.
Ed Sheeran wrote “Perfect” about his girlfriend at the time, Cherry Seaborn, who he met in school. When she was working in New York, they reunited. “Perfect” is the first song on his “Divide” album and was recorded in 2016 and released online in March 2017. The song was produced with Wil Hicks and Sheeran’s brother, Matthew, who collaborated on the song by providing the orchestration for the strings. “Perfect” is the first song the brothers worked on together, and it was one thing their grandmother wanted to see before she died.
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Below, you can see Peyton Littleton singing “Perfect” for his classmates. He does a brilliant job. Enjoy this performance.
