As the Adelaide Bite and Brisbane Bandit baseball teams prepared to face off on Saturday November 21 in 2015, seven-year-old soprano singer Ethan Hall took to the pitch to perform the Australian National Anthem in what would soon become a viral sensation.
WATCH: Little boy battles hiccups to sing anthem at ball game
Not long after Ethan had sung the first note of the anthem, he was interrupted by very persistent hiccups.
Ever the trooper, the seven-year-old persevered and finished the anthem to raucous applause and plenty of high-fives from the players.
The joyous footage from the game went viral, earning around 3.6 million views.
In an interview with Studio 10 in 2020, the talented youngster reflected on the performance, saying that his “hiccups were on and off all day”.
“They were off before the anthem but then, when I was about to go out, they started again, and I pushed through it because the show must go on.”
Luckily for the performer, his mum soon managed to find a quick fix for the hiccups.
“You pull down your ear lobes and you skull a drink of water,” he said in the same interview. “Mum got really desperate one day when both my brother Toby and I had the hiccups,” he added, saying that the solution was found on page 10 of Google.
The virality of the performance meant that Ethan was quick to be recognised. When leaving the Channel 10 studio after an interview, he received plenty of stares, including one from a stranger reading a newspaper with the hiccuper on the front cover.
But the anthem was just the start of the now-13-year-old’s career. With the ability to play the cello and sing in different languages, the talented soprano since went on to work alongside Kate Ceberano and Jessica Mauboy.
And he may just get to spend more time with the latter star as he auditions for The Voice 2022, where the We Got Love singer coaches.
In a promo for the blind auditions, the Adelaide local can be seen braving The Voice stage, hoping that his singing pipes don’t “muck up”.
“I’m worried that my hiccups might come back,” the 13-year-old says in a preview.
But having previously confessed he doesn’t suffer from stage fright, we have high hopes for the cellist.
And his rendition of classical hymn Pie Jesu by Sarah Brightman certainly seems to floor the coaches, with Jess exclaiming that the performance “made (her) day”.
Ethan also confirmed his audition on his official Instagram page – which is currently managed by his parents.
“I have been holding the official news in and I can actually say, yes that is me on the @thevoiceau promos,” the post read.
“I wonder if a chair might turn.”
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