Seriously, it takes a lot of confidence to sing in front of this season’s judges on X-Factor.

L.A. Reid, Demi Lovato, Britney Spears and Simon Cowell make up an intimidating group, but Clarence native Owen Stuart was up to the challenge. Having recently moved to Charlotte, N.C., Stuart left his girlfriend back home in Buffalo and has been pretty torn up about their current situation.

Like every 16-year old in a serious relationship, Stuart explained to the judges about how much he missed her, inducing eye rolls from Cowell.

But surprisingly, his rendition of the B.o.B. and Hayley Williams collaboration on “Airplanes” was a hit. He had the audience on his side (mostly teenage girls) and even finished up with an impressive freestyle rap.

Then it was the judges turn to take the spotlight. L.A. Reid was a fan of Stuart’s ability to not only belt out the chorus, but successfully rap during the song. Britney liked the overall performance but wasn’t wowed by the song. Demi Lovato was a fan, saying she thought every girl in the audience wishes they were Stuart’s girlfriend right now. Then it came down to Simon.

Cowell thought Stuart was “very focused, committed and passionate” about what he did and thought he will only get better.

With three “yes” votes, Stuart has made it through to the next round. It’s always cool to watch a WNY native impress a huge national audience. Here’s hoping the kid can go far. Check out Stuart’s audition on X-Factor below.

Photo courtesy of Youtube.