A PETERLEE schoolgirl who has been sent straight through to the live shows on America's Got Talent said the experience "felt like a dream".

Courtney Hadwin, 13, of Hesleden, east Durham, wowed judges on the show and became a social media sensation.

She told Good Morning Britain: "It felt like a dream. It didn't feel real. It felt like I was watching TV."

The teenager, a pupil at The Academy at Shotton Hall, Peterlee, added: "I just feel like when I do my singing I turn into a different person. I can let everything out... I go on stage and kind of explode."

She told the ITV show: "I used to stand still and just do ballads. I got into James Brown and Janis Joplin and started moving."

Her father Paul said of the shy teenager's performance: "I just don't know where it came from."

Hadwin won a standing ovation on the show following her energetic version of Otis Redding's Hard To Handle.

She impressed judge Howie Mandel enough for him to press his golden buzzer - putting her straight through to the live shows.

She is now in contention for the million dollar (£750,000) prize money.

Simon Cowell described her as a "lion" and exclaimed: "Bloody hell, Courtney!" following her performance.

Mandel then compared her to the late US singer Joplin, adding: "Oh my gosh. You are not from this era.

"The only thing I can do for you, young lady, is give you... my golden buzzer!"

This is not Hadwin's first taste of a talent competition and last year she competed in The Voice Kids UK, but did not win.