A 12-year-old has wowed Ellen DeGeneres with his singing and love for make-up.

Reuben de Maid, from Llandaff, Wales, performed the Dreamgirls classic And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going on the US daytime show.

The child star then met with Ellen and chatted about his love of make-up.

Ellen posted the interview online, writing: “I absolutely love this kid from Wales – his voice, his character, his uniqueness, all of it.”

De Maid, who recently finished primary school, told of how he had always loved make-up, and would learn how to apply it by watching tutorials online.

He added: “I’d love to be on stage but I’d like to have my own make-up brand and to have a YouTube channel with my sister and do make-up tutorials.”

He then opened up about the cruel bullying he had endured as a kid, telling Ellen: “In my drama group I used to get hit, punched and kicked.

“And then they went on for two months, and then after two months I try to brush it off but brushing it off doesn’t work.

“So I stood up to them and I told my mum.”

Ellen responded, saying: “Well good on you for standing up for who you are!”

Speaking of his love of singing, he said: “I have been singing since I could talk. I begged my mum for a karaoke machine and one day she bought it.

“My sister and brother were frustrated and they listened to it 24/7 blasting… My mum can sing, and my nan, but not my dad. I don’t really know, I think it comes from my mum’s side.”

The child star now wants to have his own YouTube channel, doing make-up tutorials with his sister.

Watch the performance and singing in full – beware it may take a few moments to load!



Ellen recently made it into the headlines, after reports emerged she is to “split” with wife Portia de Rossi.

She is currently in the process of selling the properties she shares with her wife, prompting the rumours.