Who was that kid who sang with Childish Gambino at the Grammys? He’s JD McCrary. And he’s awesome.

Culture

If you watched the Grammys on Sunday night, you probably had to pick your jaw off the floor after Childish Gambino’s performance of “Terrified.” Yeah, Donald Glover — his IRL name — was great, but you may not have known who that younger kid with the serious pipes was.

His name is JD McCrary. And this probably won’t be the last time you see his name.

McCrary is a singer, dancer and actor who has appeared in a handful of TV shows and recorded his very own single, “Inviting All of You.”

His guest spot on Childish Gambino’s Grammy-nominated album Awaken, My Love! won’t be the last time the two team up, either. In 2019, McCrary will be playing young Simba in the live-action remake of Lion King; Glover will play Simba once he’s all grown up.

And, as is every up-and-coming ultra-talented kid’s rite of passage, McCrary also appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in early January. Here he is, singing the Jackson 5’s “Who’s Loving You.”

Coincidentally, that’s also the song McCrary sang to convince Glover to give him a spot on “Terrified.”

“I guess [Glover] liked it so he invited me to a studio in Glendale, California,” McCrary told Fader in 2016. “I never actually met him in person because he was in Europe, but he was on Skype the whole time I was there.”

If Glover’s lucky, maybe McCrary will have space for him on his first album.