“Give a fat boy a chance,” Freddie Combs joked with his X-Factor judges when his wife wheeled him onto the stage. When he was finished, they were glad that they did. After a brush with death due to weight, the former American minister from Greenville, Tennessee began working hard to drop some pounds and he certainly did.
Over the course of time, Freddie managed to shed almost four-hundred pounds, down from nine-hundred and twenty to five-hundred and forty. If his story wasn’t enough to bring someone to tears, then what he did next would have done it.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to dedicate this to my wife,” Combs told the judges. Freddie, wife Kay had been with his every step of the way through his weight loss, helping with his dieting and exercise.
He describes her as, “the closest thing to an angel and a saint.” With the dedication set, Freddie Combs broke into a rendition of Wind Beneath My Wings which nobody could believe. The crowd was stunned, mouths gaped open and tears began to flow as Combs beautifully serenaded them. The faces of the judges told the story as well, all transfixed on Freddie’s performance, most unable to believe the voice they were hearing.
“When I was bed ridden and at home, my music could never be heard,” Combs stated before his performance. Now though, the world can finally hear this man’s voice and if this performance were any indication, it is a better place for it.