Simon Cowell praises ‘amazing’ BGT armless drummer for inspiring his son

Simon Cowell was full of praise for one ‘inspiring’ Britain’s Got Talent auditionee, whom he reckons will make quite the impression on his young son.

This weekend, Cornel Hrisca-Munn blew Simon and fellow judges Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, and Bruno Tonioli away with his impressive drumming.

What set him apart from the crowd, however, was that Cornel was born with no arms.

But this didn’t stop him from earning a standing ovation from the thousands-strong crowd after covering hits by Robbie Williams and Earth, Wind & Fire.

Before getting behind his drumkit on the stage in Blackpool, Cornel explained that he works in ‘disability in the banking world’ to help people ‘excel’.

The 33-year-old also plays in a band in his spare time.

Following his incredible audition, the judges couldn’t bestow enough compliments on him, with Bruno describing it as ‘first class’.

‘That was mind-blowing,’ Amanda declared, while Alesha branded him ‘wicked’.

Meanwhile, Simon, 65, who is a dad to 11-year-old Eric with fiancée Lauren Silverman, said: ‘Every year, I am blown away by not just the talented people we meet but also by how amazing people are at the same time.

‘My son has just taken up drums, and he will watch this over and over again.’

‘That was inspiring,’ he declared, sending Cornel through to the next round with four yeses.

Viewers at home flocked to X to share their thoughts, predicting that Cornel could go all the way and win the series.

‘Always good to see people with a disability overcome adversity like that. An incredible drummer’, wrote @randomgrubber.

@toryshaun hailed Cornel as ‘exceptional’ while @MzMayRene said his performance was ‘epic’.

BGT isn’t the only place you might recognise Cornel from, as he’s also appeared on Channel 4’s The Last Leg as the show’s house drummer.

What’s more, in 2004, he received the Pride of Britain child of courage award, which was presented by Carol Vorderman.

In a new interview with The Mirror, the talent show hopeful revealed just why it would be so special to win the ITV competition and perform for royalty.

‘My adoptive mum went to one of Prince Charles’s garden parties at Highgrove.

‘She showed the now-king a picture of me in the orphanage that she kept in a Bible. It would almost be like coming full circle.

‘Playing for the King would be such an honour.’

Cornel also spoke about his upbringing. He was born in Romania, where his birth parents had to give him up due to tough circumstances.

At 18, aid workers Ken and Doreen Munn brought him over to the UK for treatment, where they ended up adopting him.

Cornel, who joined their four other children in the Worcester household, said he is ‘so grateful’ to both his biological parents and his adoptive ones.