America's Got Talent
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When Reid Wilson, a 14-year-old singer from the heart of Alabama, stepped onto the America’s Got Talent stage, his nerves were palpable.
But as soon as he began belting out Lesley Gore’s 1963 hit “You Don’t Own Me,” those nerves vanished, replaced by a voice so powerful and a presence so magnetic that it left the judges and audience stunned.
“I am definitely nervous, but I am going to put my all into this and sing my heart out and try not to miss a note,” Wilson declared before his performance. And boy, did he deliver!
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His soulful, gritty rendition of the classic tune showcased not only his incredible vocal range but also his ability to pour his heart into every note.
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The judges were clearly taken aback by Wilson’s unexpected song choice and undeniable talent.
Simon Cowell couldn’t help but admit, “We weren’t expecting that.” Heidi Klum, visibly impressed, gushed, “I think you’re absolutely incredible. I loved when you took the mic off [the stand] and gave a little more stage presence. Well done.”
Simon added that his parents must have good musical taste, to which Reid quipped “no,” getting a laugh from the judges and the audience.
Sofia Vergara, who had initially been concerned about Wilson’s nerves, was thoroughly impressed: “You were so nervous at the beginning. I was, ‘He’s not going to be able to put his stuff together,’ but you did, and you did amazingly. It sounded spectacular from here.”
But it was Howie Mandel who had the most profound reaction to Wilson’s performance.
Visibly moved, Mandel shared, “I was bowled over because I was surprised. You know what? That stage is where dreams come true. Do you believe in dreams?”
When Wilson answered affirmatively, Howie pressed the Golden Buzzer, sending a shower of glittering confetti raining down on Wilson and his proud mother, who had rushed onto the stage to embrace her son in a moment of pure joy.
Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me” was a bold choice for the young singer.
The song, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964, has been a feminist anthem for decades. Written by John Madara and David White, it showcased Gore’s powerful voice and became one of her signature hits.
Gore, already famous for her hit song “It’s My Party,” recorded “You Don’t Own Me” when she was only 17 years old. It was later featured on her album Lesley Gore Sings of Mixed-Up Hearts.
Backstage, Mandel couldn’t stop raving about Wilson’s raw talent.
“I did it because of the sound and who you are was nothing close to anything I was expecting. You are a big talent,” he told the young singer, who was still trying to wrap his head around this life-changing moment.
For Wilson, whose musical hero is none other than the legendary Aretha Franklin, this is the opportunity of a lifetime.
“I would love to be the next superstar,” he confessed. “I sing at family gatherings every now and then but nothing big.”
Now, armed with a Golden Buzzer and a ticket to the live shows, Wilson has the chance to make that dream a reality.
Watch Reid Wilson perform Leslie Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me” on America’s Got Talent below.
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Country singer-songwriter Reyna Roberts made a grand impression on America’s Got Talent‘s Season 19 premiere on Tuesday night (May 28), when she performed her original song “Raised Right” (which she originally released in 2021) for her audition.
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America’s Got Talent judge Simon Cowell was clearly impressed by the performance, saying, “You’re not messing around, are you?” Robert quickly confirmed, “Not at all.”
Fellow judge Heidi Klum complimented Roberts on not only her talent, but also for her red leather ensemble, which matched her red hair. “I love when you really belt it out. I love when you hold the note,” Klum said. “I also love this look that you’re serving today. I love it.”
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Cowell also asked Roberts why she wanted to audition for the talent competition. “My dream has always been to be a superstar,” Roberts replied. “I want to create music that outlives me and hopefully that inspires other people and I feel like this is the moment that is going to become reality for me.”
Roberts, of course, is well on her way, having contributed to Beyoncé’s recent Billboard 200 chart-topper Cowboy Carter. Roberts performed on a version of the Beatles’ “Blackbird” (stylized “blackbiird” on Cowboy Carter), alongside Brittney Spencer, Tanner Adell and Tiera Kennedy, and on the song “Tyrant.”
Roberts has been showcasing her musical talent long before Beyoncé came calling. Roberts, born in Alaska and raised in California and Alabama, initially gained attention with her 2020 song “Stomping Grounds.” That same year, she moved to Nashville and shared a video of herself performing a cover of Carrie Underwood’s “Drinking Alone.” The performance drew praise from Underwood and Mickey Guyton. She released “Pretty Little Devils” in 2022 and teamed with Tayler Holder for “Another Round” in 2023. She issued her debut full-length project, Bad Girl Bible Vol. 1 in 2023. Earlier this year, Roberts got a boost from Queen Bey, who invited her to be part of Cowboy Carter.
Ultimately, Roberts received a triple yes from the America’s Got Talent judges, and will advance to the next round. A new crop of artists will audition on Tuesday, June 4, when the show airs at 7 p.m. CT on NBC and streams on Peacock.
Watch Roberts’s audition below:
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If every dog has its day, today very much belongs to Hurricane.
Hurricane, a Border Collie, and his human Adrian Stoica are the winners of the latest, 18th season of America’s Got Talent, their dog show capturing the hearts of the American public.
Magician Anna DeGuzman came second in the 2023 competition, announced Wednesday (Sept. 27), and dance troupe Murmuration came third.
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Indonesian singer Putri Ariani and acrobat duo the Ramadhani Brothers respectively round out the top 5.
The top ranked singer this year, Putri made a notable impression on the judges, particularly Simon Cowell, who gave the teen his Golden Buzzer. “Nobody can take away the fact that you are an amazing, amazing singer. And performer. And person,” Cowell told Ariani.
The judges also adored Stoica and Hurricane’s double-act, apparently as much as armchair voters.
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“I was on my feet then I sat down, then I was on my feet. It just shows you how tough it is,” Howie Mandel enthused earlier in the season, following an act to Smash Mouth’s “I’m a Believer.” “We didn’t know whether to stand, we didn’t know whether to sit. He’s a dog, he gets more cues than we do. That’s my favorite dog Act ever on AGT.”
Sofia Vergara though the dog-and-man show “was perfection” and Heidi Klum remarked, “it is mind blowing to me how you do this routine with him.”
Added Cowell earlier in the season: “I think in terms of stepping up from the audition to the Live Show, this is the best act we’ve seen tonight. This was live, and that was a tricky routine. She was amazing.”
Stoica and his canine buddy collect the $1 million prize and a coveted Las Vegas residency.
The two-hour finale on NBC featured special performances from 30 Seconds to Mars, Jason Derulo, Jon Batiste, Leona Lewis (in a duet with Putri) and Season 17 winners The Mayyas.
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Country music is hot right now, and Drake Milligan looks like a guy who’s making a real fist of it.
On Wednesday night (Sept. 13), the season 17 alum made his return to the America’s Got Talent stage, stared down the barrel of the camera and delivered a performance of “I Got A Problem,” an original song.
Wearing a white denim jacket with a red bandana, and wielding an acoustic guitar, Milligan’s performance was confident, polished. Slick even. He appeared right at home under the bright lights, a year on from his AGT podium finish.
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Hailing from Fort Worth, Texas, Milligan has quite the story to tell. He cut his showbiz teeth as an Elvis impersonator and enjoyed a deep run in the 2022 season, finishing third and placing top among all singers.
He followed his AGT stint the release of a 14-song collection, Dallas/Fort Worth, which features Milligan’s writer’s credit on every track. Billboard described the LP as “a steady mix of laid-back, ‘90s Strait inspired come-ons including ‘Save It For a Sunny Day’ and ‘Hating Everything She Tries On,’ the barroom burner ‘Tippin’ Point’ and ‘Long Haul,’ which finds Milligan incorporating an Elvis-esque vocal swagger.”
Earlier this year, Milligan and several members of his band were injured when his touring van crashed into a concrete median in the Lone Star State.
Based on his latest AGT appearance, Milligan has made a resounding recovery. The audience loved it, so too the did the four judges. At the end of the performance, everyone in the room was on their feet.
“Amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing,” was Simon Cowell’s initial response. Milligan is on the way to becoming a superstar, the Brit reckons. “That was amazing.” Cowell was adamant that AGT addicts haven’t seen the last of the crooner. Milligan, he hinted, might even find a spot in one of the upcoming all-star AGT spin-off series.
For the record, America’s votes were tallied, season 18 contestants Anna DeGuzman and Chibi Unity were saved. They progress through to the semis, alongside previously announced competitors Adrian Stoica & Hurricane, Lavender Darcangelo, Ahren Belisle, Murmuration, Mzansi Youth Choir and Putri Ariani.
Watch Milligan’s performance below.
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Great songs have a life of their own. Consider “I Will Always Love You.” Dolly Parton’s original is the stuff of legend. Whitney Houston’s cover for the all-conquering The Bodyguard soundtrack, iconic.
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Now, there’s the Roland Abante’s heart-wrenching rendition for America’s Got Talent.
Abante, a fisherman from the Philippines, left nothing to chance as he belted out the classic ballad, hitting an array of high notes, with force, control and enough feel to touch everyone in the room.
A standing ovation awaited.
“Look at everyone here. They’re going crazy for you,” remarked Sofia Vergara. “People love you.” This qualifier performance she said, was a “good job tonight, you’re amazing.”
Did Simon Cowell like it? No, not exactly. “Somehow, I loved it,” he remarked. The acerbic Brit recounted how, during his emotional audition, Abante was “singing your life out on stage there. That’s what makes this competition exciting. People who come from all over the world to fulfill their dreams.” America, he remarks, “loves you.”
Fellow judge Howie Mandel remarked, “the perfect song, the perfect voice, it was spectacular. When he sang I will always love you, you just made everyone in the world love you. This was memorable. I believe this was the performance of a final.”
Heidi Klum loved the performance too, remarking that if there was access to a golden buzzer to push him through to the final, she’d hit it.
Sadly, there isn’t. Just two performers from this round go through. Now it’s America’s turn to vote.
Following his audition earlier in season 18, Abante, speaking through an interpreter, explained that he caught fish in the morning, and was a courier and ride-share driver through the rest of the working day. The extent of his stage activity back home is singing karaoke. Judging by his performances on the AGT stage, that lifestyle could be about to change.
Watch the performance below.
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America’s Got Talent is back on our screens, back in our lives. And for one AGT contestant, Gabriel Henrique, everything is golden.
Henrique, a 27-year-old from Brazil, on his first trip to the U.S. of A., auditioned for Tuesday night’s episode (Aug. 1) and made the very most of it.
Speaking with the assistance of an interpreter, Henrique admitted he spoke only “a little bit” of English, and he’s “just trying.”
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No matter, music is the universal language. And he’s fluent.
Putting aside some early nerves, Henrique threw himself into a cover of Whitney Houston’s “Run to You,” with enough energy and high notes to power a small town.
A standing ovation ensued, including all four AGT judges.
“If Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey had a baby, it would be Gabriel,” quipped Heidi Klum. ”Wow, you are incredible.”
“I did not expect that voice to come out of you. You sound like the best and finest pop diva that ever was,” Howie Mandel enthused. “You’re amazing.”
Simon Cowell went next. “People are going to really like you. You’re just so interesting,” he claimed. “I can tell that you’ve sang in church and you don’t know how good you are. It was amazing.”
Sofia Vergara had the last comment, and action. “I don’t have words, that was so perfect, spectacular. Your voice is beautiful. Your energy, who you are. It was perfect.” That performance was “something I was waiting for, something very beautiful and very heartfelt.”
Before the panel had time to vote, Vergara put a halt to proceedings and triggered the golden buzzer.
Watch below.
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Auditions for America’s Got Talent continued on Tuesday (July 18), and saw mothers Kim and Holly touch judges Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel and Sofia Vergara with a unique story of how they were brought together.
“Back in 2007, my son unfortunately passed away and he became an organ donor and his heart went to Kim’s son,” Holly explained to the panel. Kim continued, “My son was 16 days old at the time. He got the heart. We lived thousands of miles apart and had no idea who each other was.”
“The last song I sang to Jake to say goodbye to him was ‘For Good’ from the musical Wicked,” to which Kim added, “And when Beckham was finished with his heart transplant surgery, I wasn’t allowed to hold him, I had to stroke his head. And the first thing I did when I stroked his head, I sang that song for him from Wicked.”
Kim and Holly’s meeting was a long time in the making, the pair revealed. “Several years later, Kim wrote a letter to us and we kept in touch, and then we had the opportunity to meet each other for the first time, and gave me a big hug and it was one of the best moments of my life,” Holly said. Kim summed up the meaning of their audition in a few words: “We would love to spread the word about organ donation — if we could change the heart of one person, it’s worth it.”
Shortly after, the pair launched into Wicked‘s Glinda and Elphaba duet “For Good,” the track that united them across several hundred miles. “Like a comet pulled from orbit/ As it passes a sun/ Like a stream that meets a boulder/ Halfway through the wood/ Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better?/ But because I knew you/ I have been changed for good,” the pair harmonized on the chorus.
After they received a standing ovation from all four of the judges and the audience, Mandel asked where Kim’s son was, and Beckham joined the women on stage. “I have never responded well to musical theater. They overdramatize singing,” Mandel then began. “That is the first time in my life that I felt a connection to this kind of music. This was probably the most magical moment I have ever experienced on America’s Got Talent.”
The women received four yeses and advanced to the next round.
Watch Kim and Holly’s touching audition in the video above.
America’s Got Talent judges Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Sofia Vergara and Heidi Klum received a breath of fresh air on Tuesday night (June 27) when South Carolina native Lechuné auditioned.
“Tell me: Why have you waited so long to do something like this, because something obviously has held you back,” Cowell asked the hopeful, who a moment prior revealed she was a voice teacher and student.
“I grew up in a singing family, I spent most of my life observing them do it,” Lechuné told the judges. “I just never pictured myself actually having the moment to be on stage, and so that held me back, but I started teaching because I learned that if I can’t do the thing, try to work close to it, and so that kept the spark alive.”
She continued, “I am here because I am taking my own advice. As a teacher, I’m always sitting on the opposite side of the piano, and you’re always pouring into them and saying, ‘Yay, take the initiative. Don’t get too comfortable. Go for it. Be yourself.’ And after a while, I started getting a little convicted about it because I was like, ‘Am I doing the same thing?’ And so today is about coming out here, taking initiative, and being along with my students.”
After sharing her touching story, the 31-year-old launched into a cover of Coldplay‘s “Yellow” and made the song her own with a full-bodied tone, multiple high notes and well-placed vibrato. “And your skin, oh yeah, your skin and bones/ Turn into something beautiful/ And you know, for you, I’d bleed myself dry/ For you, I’d bleed myself dry/ Look how they shine for you/ Look how they shine for you,” she passionately sang on the ending chorus before receiving a standing ovation from the audience.
Following Lachuné’s performance of “Yellow” — the original Coldplay version of the track peaked at No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100 — she received four yeses from the judges, and moved on to the next round of the competition.
Watch Lechuné’s performance above.
From TikTok to the America’s Got Talent stage. The Sharpe Family Singers — a New Jersey vocal group made up of mom and dad Ron and Barbra and their four kids, Samantha, Logan and twins Connor and Aidan — auditioned for AGT on Tuesday night, urging their 8.5 million TikTok followers and 1.6 million YouTube […]
There are voices, and there’s Roland Abante’s voice.
The fisherman from the Philippines has netted a special gift, which he shared on Tuesday night’s (June 13) edition of America’s Got Talent.
Speaking through an interpreter, Abante explained that he caught fish in the morning, and was a courier and ride-share driver through the rest of the working day. The extent of his stage activity back home is singing karaoke.
Despite the enormous step up that is the AGT stage, Abante backed himself and impressed the heck out of everyone in the room. And judging by the booming number of clicks for performance video on YouTube, he’s making fans everywhere.
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When asked why he chose to compete in this 18th season of AGT, the tears flowed. “This is my big dream, to be here,” he said.
Abante can continue to dream.
Despite an impromptu, on-stage hug from Heidi Klum, and a lengthy pause, Abante held his nerve and let it shine with a full-throated performance of “When a Man Loves a Woman,” written by Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright and originally recorded by Percy Sledge back in 1966.
Abante has got the blues, and a voice, that earned a standing ovation from all four judges. “I don’t think you could have done it better,” enthused Heidi Klum. “Mic drop. You left it all on the stage, you were amazing, you should be very proud of yourself.”
Sofia Vergara reckons a career change is coming. “I have a feeling you’ll going to have to stop fishing because this is where you need to be.”
After giving two thumbs up, Simon Cowell had a confession. “You were so nervous I genuinely thought for one moment you weren’t going to be able to do this. And then, that happened. And it made me love this audition even more. I really like you. That was a great audition. Really brilliant.”
Cowell copied Klum by giving the contestant a hug. “Everybody heard a life-changing moment,” Howie Mandel said of the performance.
And with that, the judging panel gave four yeses.
Watch below.