Tyler Butler-Figueroa is young but he has overcome more hurdles than most. And he has mastered the violin along the way.
The 11-year-old North Carolina native stepped onto the America’s Got Talentstage Tuesday night and immediately melted hearts with his personal, moving story.
Chatting with judge Julianne Hough ahead of his audition, the youngster admitted he’d only picked up the instrument at age seven-and-a-half, a handy distraction as he was battling school bullies at the time. That was the easier of his fights. At age four, he was diagnosed with leukemia. After undergoing rounds of chemotherapy treatment, his hair began to fall out, and the teasing started.
Though none of his family members play an instrument, Butler-Figueroa spotted the violin at school and was smitten. “I would just practise in my bedroom and the more I did it the better I got,” he said. “When I play the violin, he helps me forget the bad stuff.”
When he played the violin Tuesday night, it blew away Hough and her three colleagues.