In a reminder that you can’t always judge a book by its cover, a contestant named Andrew De Leon appeared on ‘America’s Got Talent‘ auditions last night looking like a Marilyn Manson clone but ended up belting out opera music, winning over the judges and bringing some audience members to tears.

De Leon took the stage in full goth gear with black clothes, bright blue contacts, a studded wristband and a generous amount of eyeliner. In interviews before his performance, he described himself as an outcast who had never sung in public in his life. Many in the crowd probably expected him to sing a hard rock song, but puzzled looks appeared when his soft background music began playing.

The looks turned to shock when he began delicately singing in an opera style. Despite his nervousness, his vocal performance was impressive enough to earn a standing ovation.

When judge Howard Stern asked De Leon what he was feeling after his performance, he replied, “I’m just so used to being rejected, and I’m not really good at anything, so this is amazing.” The judges gave unanimous approval to send De Leon to the next round, with Sharon Osborne saying, “Please don’t say you’re not good at anything, because you’ve got an amazing voice, and you are an individual… I’m definitely in love with you now.”

De Leon had never even sung for his parents before, who were in attendance and got to witness their son’s triumphant moment. He moves on to the Las Vegas portion of the competition.

Watch Andrew De Leon on ‘America’s Got Talent’

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