Tomlinson first auditioned for Series 8 of Britain’s Got Talent, aged 12. After his performance, David remarked ‘I think you need to go away and maybe work with a singing teacher or something’. It is unknown how the other Judges responded, but Kyle later stated ‘they were right nice’. He did not advance through to the next round.

Tomlinson returned to audition for Series 11 of Britain’s Got Talent, explaining that he had recieved professional singing lessons in the three years since his first audition. In his audition, he performed ‘Hallelujah’ by Leonard Cohen. Alesha commented ‘you put your heart and soul on the line and we all felt it’. When it was David’s turn to speak, he said ‘I thought it was really good’ whilst pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending Kyle automatically through to the Semi-Finals. In the semi-final, he performed ‘When We Were Young’ by Adele, dedicated to his grandad, who was in hospital. As he performed, chilhood videos of him were being shown on the screen behind him. David commented ‘maybe I gave you some good advice [telling him to get a vocal coach] because that was world class’, whilst Simon remarked ‘you absolutely amazed me’. He then made it through to the grand final. In his Final performance, he performed ‘A Thousand Years’ by Christina Perri. David remarked ‘I’m just so in awe of your talent, and that was extraordinary’, with Amanda adding ‘you are stunning and have the most soulful voice, I think you could win this’.