Lately, I've been coming into work exhausted — a nonsensical zombie, totally beaten down.
My state is not because of my workload, nor a moonlight tryst. There are no psychedelic, drug-filled parties either.
The reason is a bit more juvenile.
A 14-year-old girl has stolen my heart.
Her name is Beau Dermott, a former competitor from "Britain's Got Talent," and every night I re-watch the same episode when she made her stage debut.
What I find so satisfying about Beau's performance is her uncanny ability to fall into every trope I have come to expect from reality television.
With televised singing competitions such as "The X Factor," the season premiere is a gold mine of surprises.
Audiences can watch a train-wrecked Madonna impersonator yodel off-kilter, then gawk as a tuxedo-wearing 5-year-old crooner pulls off a convincing rendition of "My Way."
To her audition, Beau wore a neutral expression and a ruffled navy-blue dress, decorated with a starscape. Passing her on the street, a person might think, "Oh, there's that meek British girl."
Each contestant has a backstory, usually involving parental abandonment and poverty. The producers are scant on the details, but with Hollywood magic, they dress up even the most painful facts of life with a smile.
"My dad's had multiple sclerosis for about five years now. I'd just love for him to see me on this show," a tween said during his tell-all, speaking over a Justin Bieber track.
Before the audition begins, judges question the singer's music selection, suggesting the number lies outside his or her vocal ability.
"Did you rehearse?" clucked one. "And you picked that song yourself?"
Of course, this is all part of the buildup, leading to my favorite moment, the big reveal when the competitor excels.
The judges' jaws drop and their scowls melt. As quickly as they dismissed the contender, suddenly they are on his or her side, ignoring the fact that the show's pre-audition screeners flagged the competitor as being very, very good.
"You are a superstar," said the B-list pop star judge. "You really have just 'got it.'"
"Everyone else might as well just go home," chimed in the poker-faced stoic.
They invariably highlight the contestant's age.
"Oh Beau, I cannot believe you are only 12," gushed one judge after the pint-sized contestant belted "Defying Gravity" from the Broadway musical, "Wicked."
Beau is pliable to the judges' whims. Tears flow. I imagine her thinking all those moments singing into a hairbrush in front of her bedroom mirror finally paid off.
"Remember this day everybody. A star is born," a judge declared. "It's a yes."
I rewind Beau, see her bucktoothed mouth agape as the golden tinsel falls around her.
YouTube suggests another clip.
This time, a 16-year-old redhead in a zebra print leotard serenades the audience with a toned-down version of Cher's "Do You Believe."
When her voice cracks as she utters the lyric "love," a judge start to weep.
Before I know it, my bedtime has passed and I hear the morning birds.
I know I have to stop watching Susan Boyle shock and awe with her suggestive hip swishing.
Just one more clip.
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