On Sunday, Childish Gambino (AKA Donald Glover) performed a chill-inducing rendition of his song “Terrified” during the 2018 Grammy Awards. While the singer definitely held his own with some impressive vocals, he was upstaged by the 10-year-old who joined him onstage part way through the performance. And with good reason — that young singer is none other than JD McCrary, who’s playing young Simba in the upcoming live adaptation of The Lion King. (Donald is set to play adult Simba, so this performance really was the circle of life in action.)
JD already has an impressive music career. According to a profile on The Fader, JD started singing at the age of 2 (!), and he’s been making waves in the entertainment industry ever since. He’s also known for acting in Disney’s KC Undercover, alongside Zendaya. Most notably, however, he’s the guest vocalist who sings on the album version of “Terrified.” As he told The Fader over email, JD had already been listening to Childish’s last album, Because the Internet, before he decided to send in a recording to audition for Awaken, My Love!. “I sang Michael Jackson’s ‘Who’s Loving You’ and I guess [Childish Gambino] liked it so he invited me to a studio in Glendale, California,” he told The Fader.
“The whole time I was recording I kept thinking, Wow, he hand-picked me to do this,” JD McCrary added. “I know this because he actually said that.”
With such powerful singers taking on the main character, The Lion King is bound to be amazing when it comes out in summer 2019. But JD and Donald aren’t the only causes for celebration. In November, Disney released the cast list for The Lion King, and the Internet collectively flipped out over Beyoncé starring as Nala. Other highlights include James Earl Jones reprising his role as Mufasa, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, Alfre Woodard as Sarabi, John Oliver as Zazu, and Keegan-Michael Key as Kamari. Next summer can’t come soon enough.
JD McCrary is the precocious 9 year-old singing on Childish Gambino’s “Terrified.” #GRAMMYs https://t.co/A1i5DHjPYt pic.twitter.com/Wfl3E2kQKD
— The FADER (@thefader) January 29, 2018
Taken from Teen Vogue. Click here to read the original.
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