Even Simon Cowell has a softer side.

“The X Factor” judge, who’s known to be pretty harsh at times, was brought to tears after contestant Josh Daniels’ emotional audition performance.

Daniels, 21, sang “Jealous,” by Labrinth, a choice he explained was inspired by the loss of his best friend who died in 2013. The touching lyrics of the track, along with Daniels’ beautiful execution, seemed to strike a chord with Cowell, who appeared to be choking back tears during the performance. He even wiped a tear from his eye.

Fellow judge Cheryl Fernandez-Versini also cried after the moving performance, and told Daniels, “That was the most captivated I’ve been in all the auditions so far.” She then got up from the panel to give the performer a hug.

According to Hello, the segment was taped just after the death of the music mogul’s mother, which may explain why he got so emotional. Julie Cowell died at the age of 89 this past July.

Without making a comment, Cowell took the performance straight to a vote before sending Daniels through to the next round.

“It’s three yeses,” he said.

You can watch the entire performance below:

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