America's Got Talent
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Great songs have a life of their own. Consider âI Will Always Love You.â Dolly Partonâs original is the stuff of legend. Whitney Houstonâs cover for the all-conquering The Bodyguard soundtrack, iconic.
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Now, thereâs the Roland Abanteâs heart-wrenching rendition for Americaâs 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.
âLook at everyone here. Theyâre going crazy for you,â remarked Sofia Vergara. âPeople love you.â This qualifier performance she said, was a âgood job tonight, youâre amazing.â
Did Simon Cowell like it? No, not exactly. âSomehow, I loved it,â he remarked. The acerbic Brit recounted how, during his emotional audition, Abante was âsinging your life out on stage there. Thatâs what makes this competition exciting. People who come from all over the world to fulfill their dreams.â America, he remarks, âloves you.â
Fellow judge Howie Mandel remarked, âthe 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.â
Heidi Klum loved the performance too, remarking that if there was access to a golden buzzer to push him through to the final, sheâd hit it.
Sadly, there isnât. Just two performers from this round go through. Now itâs Americaâs 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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Americaâs 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 nightâs episode (Aug. 1) and made the very most of it.
Speaking with the assistance of an interpreter, Henrique admitted he spoke only âa little bitâ of English, and heâs âjust trying.â
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No matter, music is the universal language. And heâs fluent.
Putting aside some early nerves, Henrique threw himself into a cover of Whitney Houstonâs âRun to You,â with enough energy and high notes to power a small town.
A standing ovation ensued, including all four AGT judges.
âIf Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey had a baby, it would be Gabriel,â quipped Heidi Klum. âWow, you are incredible.â
âI did not expect that voice to come out of you. You sound like the best and finest pop diva that ever was,â Howie Mandel enthused. âYouâre amazing.â
Simon Cowell went next. âPeople are going to really like you. Youâre just so interesting,â he claimed. âI can tell that youâve sang in church and you donât know how good you are. It was amazing.â
Sofia Vergara had the last comment, and action. âI donât have words, that was so perfect, spectacular. Your voice is beautiful. Your energy, who you are. It was perfect.â That performance was âsomething I was waiting for, something very beautiful and very heartfelt.â
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 Americaâs 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.
âBack in 2007, my son unfortunately passed away and he became an organ donor and his heart went to Kimâs son,â Holly explained to the panel. Kim continued, âMy 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.â
âThe last song I sang to Jake to say goodbye to him was âFor Goodâ from the musical Wicked,â to which Kim added, âAnd when Beckham was finished with his heart transplant surgery, I wasnât 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.â
Kim and Hollyâs meeting was a long time in the making, the pair revealed. âSeveral 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,â Holly said. Kim summed up the meaning of their audition in a few words: âWe would love to spread the word about organ donation â if we could change the heart of one person, itâs worth it.â
Shortly after, the pair launched into Wickedâs Glinda and Elphaba duet âFor Good,â the track that united them across several hundred miles. âLike 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 Iâve been changed for the better?/ But because I knew you/ I have been changed for good,â the pair harmonized on the chorus.
After they received a standing ovation from all four of the judges and the audience, Mandel asked where Kimâs son was, and Beckham joined the women on stage. âI have never responded well to musical theater. They overdramatize singing,â Mandel then began. âThat 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 Americaâs Got Talent.â
The women received four yeses and advanced to the next round.
Watch Kim and Hollyâs touching audition in the video above.
Americaâs 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 LechunĂŠ auditioned.
âTell me: Why have you waited so long to do something like this, because something obviously has held you back,â Cowell asked the hopeful, who a moment prior revealed she was a voice teacher and student.
âI grew up in a singing family, I spent most of my life observing them do it,â LechunĂŠ told the judges. âI 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 canât do the thing, try to work close to it, and so that kept the spark alive.â
She continued, âI am here because I am taking my own advice. As a teacher, Iâm always sitting on the opposite side of the piano, and youâre always pouring into them and saying, âYay, take the initiative. Donât get too comfortable. Go for it. Be yourself.â And after a while, I started getting a little convicted about it because I was like, âAm I doing the same thing?â And so today is about coming out here, taking initiative, and being along with my students.â
After sharing her touching story, the 31-year-old launched into a cover of Coldplayâs âYellowâ and made the song her own with a full-bodied tone, multiple high notes and well-placed vibrato. âAnd your skin, oh yeah, your skin and bones/ Turn into something beautiful/ And you know, for you, Iâd bleed myself dry/ For you, Iâd bleed myself dry/ Look how they shine for you/ Look how they shine for you,â she passionately sang on the ending chorus before receiving a standing ovation from the audience.
Following LachunĂŠâs performance of âYellowâ â the original Coldplay version of the track peaked at No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100 â she received four yeses from the judges, and moved on to the next round of the competition.
Watch LechunĂŠâs performance above.
From TikTok to the Americaâs Got Talent stage. The Sharpe Family Singers â 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 â auditioned for AGT on Tuesday night, urging their 8.5 million TikTok followers and 1.6 million YouTube […]
There are voices, and thereâs Roland Abanteâs voice.
The fisherman from the Philippines has netted a special gift, which he shared on Tuesday nightâs (June 13) edition of Americaâs 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, heâs making fans everywhere.
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When asked why he chose to compete in this 18th season of AGT, the tears flowed. âThis is my big dream, to be here,â 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 âWhen a Man Loves a Woman,â 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. âI donât think you could have done it better,â enthused Heidi Klum. âMic drop. You left it all on the stage, you were amazing, you should be very proud of yourself.â
Sofia Vergara reckons a career change is coming. âI have a feeling youâll going to have to stop fishing because this is where you need to be.â
After giving two thumbs up, Simon Cowell had a confession. âYou were so nervous I genuinely thought for one moment you werenât 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.â
Cowell copied Klum by giving the contestant a hug. âEverybody heard a life-changing moment,â Howie Mandel said of the performance.
And with that, the judging panel gave four yeses.
Watch below.
A week after Americaâs Got Talent season five winner Michael Grimm was hospitalized for an unknown illness, his wife has posted an update. Lucie Zolcerva-Grimm took to Instagram on Monday (June 12) to share that Grimm is off the ventilator and âmedically, he seems to be pretty stable.â He is, however, struggling with side affects from his […]
Grammy-winning metal band System of a Down is best known for hair-raising hits such as âB.Y.O.B.â and âAerials,â and now â thanks to Americaâs Got Talent contestant Phillip Bowenâs stunning violin cover of âChop Suey!â on the showâs season premiere on Tuesday (May 30) â the world can enjoy an impressive reimagining of one of […]
Americaâs Got Talent has returned to our screens, and the tears have already begun flowing.The auditions are always a mixed bag. To paraphrase Forrest Gump, you never know what youâre going to get. With the Mzansi Youth Choirâs debut performance on the season 18 opener, we got something special. The choir from South Africa was inspired by the story of the late Jane âNightbirdeâ Marczewski, a talented singer who shone on the 2021 AGT stage, and blew away judges with her own audition. On that occasion, Marczewski scored a golden buzzer with an original song, âItâs OK.â Following that performance, the singer revealed that she had a 2% chance of survival from cancer that had spread to her lungs, spine and liver. The video garnered millions of views on YouTube and her performance warranted a standing ovation from all four judges.Nightbirde exited AGT weeks later to focus on her health. Her story ended in tragedy, when Marczewski passed away in 2022, aged just 31. Sheâs gone, but not forgotten. And on Tuesday night (March 30), Mzansi Youth Choir ensured her music would live on, and her legacy would continue, by covering âItâs OKâ. Hailing from Soweto, a township of Johannesburg, the choir was formed 20 years ago as a safe space for youngsters to develop and grow.
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Following the TV performance, tears. On stage, at the judging table and in living rooms around the world.
âFor anyone who doesnât know, we lost a very very special person from our AGT family. Her name was Jane. Her nickname was Nightbirde, and she sang this song,â Heidi Klum recapped for the audience. âIt was really beautiful. Thank you.â
âThat was the perfect AGT audition, remarked Sofia Vergara.
Howie Mandel was moved by what he heard and saw: âIâll always remember Nightbirde. And to see that it touched people on the other side of the globe, unbelievable. You deserve so much more than a yes. And to be here, you deserve a thank-you.âJudge Simon Cowell wore his emotions for the world to see. âThis brought back so many memories for me,â he said, trembling and wiping tears from his face. âI know how much this would have meant to her. Right to the end she was so passionate about sharing her musicâŚyouâve come back here with the most amazing tribute. It was perfect.âThe singers wouldnât be denied. They earned the Golden Buzzer, and with it, a slice of history. Passage through the competition was awarded by the audience, a moment never seen before in AGT.
Watch below.
Americaâs Got Talent: All-Stars premiered on Monday (Jan. 2) and it has already been a jaw dropper.
Aerialist Alan Silva (Season 15), poet Aneeshwar Kunchala (Britainâs Got Talent 2022), hand-balancing group Bello Sisters (Season 15), a Capella group Berywam (Season 14), singer Caly Bevier (Season 11), singer Jeanick Fournier (Canadaâs Got Talent winner 2022), singer Jimmie Herrod (Season 16), dance group Light Balance Kids (Season 14), magician Lioz (Season 10) and ventriloquist Terry Fator (Season 2 winner) all took the stage for the first episode, bringing the heat to the competition.
However, Fator â one of the most successful contestants in AGT history â was sent home. After winning the competition in 2007, the then-42-year-old signed a five-year, $100 million contract with the Mirage in Las Vegas and regularly made Forbesâs annual list of highest-paid comedians.
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âIâm going to let in on a little secret,â Cowell told the champion during the episode. âWhen we decided to make All-Stars, we had one condition: Weâre only going to do it if you competed. Seriously! Because if youâre going to say weâve got the âbest of the best,â then youâve got to get the best of the best.â
Bevier, Berywam, Fournier, Herrod, Kenchala, Silva and Lioz also went home during the premiere episode. On the other hand, Light Balance Kids snagged the Golden Buzzer from judge Howie Mandel, sending them straight to the finale. The Bello Sisters also made it to the finale thanks to winning the super fan vote.
Americaâs Got Talent: All-Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.