At just 13 years old, Courtney Hadwin walked onto the America’s Got Talent stage and stunned the judges with her gritty version of Otis Redding’s “Hard to Handle.” The original song, released in 1968, is built on raw soul, horn sections, and Redding’s expressive vocals. What made Hadwin’s performance memorable was her ability to keep the song’s spirit alive—raspy vocals, unpolished energy—while delivering it with the awkward confidence of a teenager who didn’t look like she could sing that way. That contrast made her go viral.
But eight years later, Hadwin admits that moment followed her longer than she expected. Now 21, she says she’s still trying to prove she’s more than that one performance. “I’m always grateful,” she explains, “but I constantly feel like I have to prove I’m not just the girl from that TV show.”
After AGT, Hadwin signed a record deal. She was pushed into songwriting sessions with pop producers who expected radio-ready hits. The music leaned toward polished pop—closer to Ariana Grande than Janis Joplin—and it didn’t feel like her. By the time she was 16, the label folded. She was left without a team, no music released, and more questions than opportunities.
What grounded her was going back to the artists she loved growing up—James Brown, Tina Turner, Etta James. She remembers watching black-and-white videos of Brown singing “I Got You (I Feel Good),” studying his movements, his voice, his control. That old-school soul influence never left her, but she struggled to shape it into modern music.
Things shifted when she met producer Kevin Bowe, known for working with artists like Etta James and Joe Cocker. For the first time, she felt understood creatively. Together, they worked on what would become Little Miss Jagged, her debut album.
Hadwin says she didn’t enjoy songwriting at first. Performing was what she loved—bluesy vocals, physical stage presence, not studio sessions with strangers. Over time, songwriting became a tool, almost like a diary. “I’m not good at talking about my feelings,” she says. “Writing songs became the only way I could say things I didn’t know how to say.”
One of the songs on the album, “You Only Love Me When I Lie,” tackles the pressure of being stuck in her 13-year-old self in the public eye. She talks about people online still seeing her as that shy girl in a school uniform despite her growing up and changing.
The album’s title, Little Miss Jagged, reflects how she sees herself—imperfect, rough around the edges, and honest about it. Musically, it blends old soul influences with modern production without trying to sound retro for the sake of nostalgia.
For Hadwin, this album isn’t about recreating her AGT success. It’s about stepping outside of it. She’s not trying to prove she’s perfect—just that she has more to say than one viral moment.
