Who Discovered Amira Willighagen?

Of course all Amira's fans had their moment when they 'discovered' Amira for the first time, and can describe that moment when they happened upon her on YouTube or at some event and were blown away. But there is a special sense of 'discovery' unique to the entertainment industry, where we are referring to that person who was the first to recognize and bring attention to a new talent. In Amira's case we can't speak of only a single person in this regard, but a series of four people, who in turn saw and pointed to Amira's astonishing voice.

Elsa listening to Amira sing

The first person to notice Amira's talent and point it out to others was her grandmother Elsa. Elsa had been the wife of an opera singer and recognized Amira's talent even as a small child. Elsa told Amira at 7 years old that she would one day be famous and on television. Elsa lived just long enough to see Amira on Holland's Got Talent, and passed away two weeks later.

Gordon with Amira at the Sony reception of her first CD

The second person who must be credited with Amira's miraculous discovery was Gordon Heuckeroth, a Dutch singer and television personality who hosted the season of Holland's Got Talent when Amira first appeared. Gordon instantly saw Amira's talent and let the audience know it was truly astonishing.

The third person who could be said to have discovered Amira and presented her to a broader audience was Dutch violinist and conductor Andre Rieu, best known for creating the waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra. Rieu describes that on a tour in Australia, his orchestra brought his attention to Amira on YouTube singing in Holland's Got Talent. He said he was blown away by her talent and brought her to England for a master class before finally having her on his show before an audience of 11,000 people.

Amira rehearsing with Andre Rieu in Maastricht

And the final person who must be credited with discovering Amira, and who had a great deal to do with gaining her the opportunity to play enormous venues in Africa for which she is now famous, was her South African agent Mike Fuller. Here he tells the story of discovering Amira for the first time.