Jal Joshua sings 'Open Arms' on The X Factor Australia 2014 (VIDEO)

Jal Joshua sang 'Open Arms' on The X Factor Australia 2014 auditions.

Jal is just 17-year-old dance student who doesn't look like he'd be able to belt out one of Journey's most vocally ambitious songs, but man, does this kid ever deliver. It starts off lovely, but kind of plain. But as the song continues, and Jal's passion and intensity grows, the vocal rises with it. By the end of the performance, Jal was my favorite audition of the competition so far. Just an absolutely stunning vocal performance that totally earned the standing ovation he received from the judges (I'd worry they're handing out a lot of those this season, but Jal kind of deserved one here).

Jal is headed to Boot Camp, and I wouldn't be surprised if he were to become one of the dark horses of this season, a Dami Im-in-waiting. I mean, you can actually SEE his confidence grow here as the performance goes on, and that kind of reminds me a lot of Dami, who wasn't always so certain of her abilities. I suppose time will tell as to just how far this kid will go, but I like his chances.

Watch the audition performance for Jal Joshua here: