Top 10 Live Performances

#1. Paul Potts
Nessun Dorma
Wales Millennium Centre
March 17, 2007

Paul Potts sells mobile phones at a Carphone Warehouse in Wales. He's pudgy and insecure, almost invisible — precisely the kind of person who harbors a secret, unrealizable fantasy like singing opera. He gets in line to try out for a stupid TV talent show, Britain's Got Talent featuring the ubiquitous Simon Cowell, opens his mouth and... oh, my God. The judges choke up. The audience leaps to a standing ovation well before he takes a deep breath and kills the famous coda. This performance may well provide the tiny bit of validation that fuels another decade of meaningless talent show crap, and Potts, who was singing for the Queen by year-end, is threatening to break records for overexposure. But so what? This was the most pure and hopeful moment in entertainment all year.

Connect to this TIME Story