IT was a surreal moment of joy for Malaysian crooner Sherman Tan, who is based in Lithuania, after he made it to the finals of the Lithuania's Got Talent show recently.
The 51-year-old seasoned musician who has been living in the Baltic state since 2019 was over the moon after he received the "golden buzzer" from singer and actress Inga Jankauskaite, who was one of the three judges.
The golden buzzer means Tan will progress straight through to the super final of the talent show set to air in December; the first Malaysian to do so in the eastern European country.
Tan wowed the audience and judges who gave him a standing ovation after his rendition of 'Iris', a song by American rock band Goo Goo Dolls on the show which aired on Sept 10.
"I never expected to receive the golden buzzer. The whole experience was also funny and surreal because there would have been confetti and buzzer sound for the golden buzzer, but there was no sound and I wasn't really sure what was happening,
"I was a bit nervous on stage in case I played the wrong chord," Tan explained to StarMetro who caught up with him via a video call.
The other two judges were TV host and performer Marijonas Mikutavicius, and TV host Justinas Jankevicius.
Jankevicius lauded Tan for his performance and said it gave him goosebumps as the song Iris was one of his top five favourite songs.
"There are others who have sung this song well, but yours (rendition) takes the cake!
"If Inga didn't press the buzzer, I would have," said Jankevicius.
Mikutavicius, who is considered one of Lithuania's top singers, called Tan a big star.
"I might be a big star here, but you are five times greater," said Mikutavicius to Tan on stage.
Tan survived the pandemic in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, where he also dabbled in streaming online as well as performed in music festivals in neighbouring European countries.
Lithuania's Got Talent is not the first rodeo for Tan. He was also a finalist in a European TV singing competition there in 2019.
Tan also performs in his own bar called Lucille in Vilnius.
"I've always wanted to open my own bar even in Malaysia, but here in Europe there is a certain exoticness.
"Lithuania is a small country, so it is much easier to be spotted here because of the way we sing and our own style we portray," he said.
Tan admitted he missed Malaysia including the food and his family including his fellow musician brothers.
"The old town of Vilnius is a beautiful place and I wish I had my brothers (musicians) with me here."
Tan's performance on Lithuania's Got Talent can be viewed here:
