“It's Not Shirley Temple in Me, It's Jesus,” Heavenly Joy Jerkins Says in America’s Got Talent Competition

Heavenly Joy Jerkins’ performance has been watched over 5.5 million times on YouTube in under a week.





Joel Kontinen

This year’s America’s Got Talent auditions brought a pleasant surprise. Heavenly Joy Jerkins, who is five, sang and tap danced the song In Summer, prompting judge Howard Stern to compare her to Shirley Temple.

“When I was young, I used to watch Shirley Temple movies on TV,” he said. “I think Shirley Temple is living somewhere inside of you.”

“Not Shirley Temple. Jesus!” Heavenly Joy responded quickly.

In December 2010 a flash mob rendering of George Fridrich Handel’s Messiah garnered over 9 million YouTube views. With over 5.5 million views so far, Heavenly Joy is not far behind.

Source:

Justice, Jessilyn. 2015. WATCH: 'America's Got Talent's' Heavenly Joy: It's Not Shirley Temple in Me, It's Jesus Charisma News (7 July).