14-year-old Celtic Thunder star Damian McGinty had the audience absolutely eating out of the palm of his hand with his gorgeous voice and effortless star power on this iconic cut of “Puppy Love.” As soon as he runs on stage and sings the first line, the entire crowd is spellbound and just hanging on every line. The Irish talent has so much fun with the 1960 hit, delivering a cheeky performance that draws the audience in before he bowls them over with his honeyed melodies.

Puppy Love” is such a perfect song choice for Damian – it’s like it was written just for him. Celtic Thunder’s young talent would go on to star in Glee, which is no surprise as he not only has a heavenly voice, but he has such a natural knack for entertaining the audience. The Music Man has to say that some people were just born to perform, and Damian is definitely one of them.

Celtic Thunder uploaded the performance to YouTube, where viewers added praise such as “Fantastic voice from Damian. He brings joy and happiness to my life when he sings” and “It’s great to see everyone smiling under one roof for a wonderful performer.” Several viewers also noted that Donny Osmond, who scored a hit with “Puppy Love,” would sure be proud to hear Damian knock it out of the park on the song.

Damian’s most popular Celtic Thunder performance is his take on the ballad “A Bird Without Wings”. Damian’s performances of this tune and “Puppy Love” were both filmed at Celtic Thunder’s 2007 Live From Dublin concert. “A Bird Without Wings” really shows the emotional depth that Damian can bring to his performances. The song also features such beautiful interplay between Celtic Thunder’s principal vocalist George Donaldson’s low register and Damian’s higher melodies.

“Puppy Love” was written by Canadian songwriter Paul Anka, who as a teen was inspired to write the song about his crush on Disney star Annette Funicello, who was one year his junior. Anka’s 1960 recording of the tune hit number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Music Man readers may be more familiar with the Donny Osmond version of “Puppy Love,” as the teen idol scored an international hit with his 1972 recording of the song. Donny’s version hit number three in the US and topped the charts in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It subsequently became one of his signature songs.