Cornwall singer Duane AJ and the care home videos seen 2.6m times

In one video, a singer dances with a care home resident. In another, it is Wonderwall that does the work. Between them they have been watched 2.6 million times.

The man holding the microphone is Duane AJ, a professional singer and entertainer based in Cornwall. For the past ten years he has been travelling around the South West performing in care homes, bringing music, laughter and companionship to older residents.

Twenty years on from X Factor bootcamp

His performing career started on a very different stage. In 2006 Duane reached bootcamp on The X Factor and made the final 50 contestants in front of Simon Cowell.

Twenty years later, he says, “my career has taken a very different but incredibly rewarding direction.”

Since 2016 that direction has taken him into care homes across the region, performing for the older people who live there.

The videos millions have watched

Duane shares clips from his performances on TikTok as TheCareHomeSinger, and two of them have travelled a long way.

The first, a video of him dancing with a resident, has 1.3 million views, around 105,200 likes and 34,800 shares. The second, a Wonderwall singalong, has another 1.3 million views and around 93,500 likes.

Together they come to almost 200,000 likes and over 40,000 shares.

📷The Care Home Singer, Duane AJ's debut book, out 27 November 2026

The Care Home Singer book

To mark ten years of care home performances, Duane is releasing his debut book, The Care Home Singer, on Friday 27 November. The Kindle edition is available to pre-order on Amazon.

It is a personal account of the decade, sharing the stories, memories and relationships built through music, and the residents who shaped his journey. The cover describes it as ten years of music, memories and the people who changed his life.

Duane can be contacted at [email protected].

On the cover, beneath his name, is one line: “Music brings back what memory sometimes forgets.”

📷Duane AJ, The Care Home Singer. Credit: Duane AJ