Simon Cowell got emotional as he pushed his Golden Buzzer for blind teenage singer and pianist Putri Ariani on Tuesday’s episode of America’s Got Talent on NBC. ‘You’re 17,’ marveled judge and show creator Simon, 63, after Putri performed.
‘You write songs. You’ve got an amazing distinctive voice. And I mean really, really good. You have kind of a glow about you,’ he added. Putri, 17, from Indonesia, said it was her first time in America and while she was still in high school she dreamed of going one day to The Juilliard School in New York. ‘I don’t know if this is going to make a difference or not,’ Simon said before pushing the Golden Buzzer.
Putri jumped up and down and her parents rushed to the stage to hug her as golden confetti rained down on them. Tears streamed down Putri’s face. ‘You make my dreams come true,’ Putri said. ‘You are, I think, one of the best singers we’ve ever had on our show,’ Simon whispered in her ear when he took the stage to congratulate her.
Simon walked up on the stage when she finished singing her original song and told her that her voice was amazing. He asked her to sing a second song. Putri dedicated her second song Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word to Simon. The crown and the judges gave her a standing ovation.
‘Thank you!’ Putri said. ‘I feel so excited. I can’t believe it, actually, I can be here now.’ ‘It was amazing,’ Sofia Vergara, 50, said. ‘We are all mesmerized by you. Your voice. You’re an angel!’
‘You sounded so beautiful tonight,’ Heidi Klum, 50, said. Putri and all the other acts were competing for the chance to win $1 million and a show in Las Vegas. Lambros Garcia, 10, a dancer wearing a green sequined jacket, from Glen Head, New York, was the first contestant during the two-hour episode. He said he started dancing when he heard music coming through the walls during his karate classes.
The judges gave him a standing ovation when he finished. Lambros started crying and said he gets bullied at school and that the solo meant a lot to him. ‘You danced with such joy with such precision you’ve got to be strong,’ Howie Mandel said. ‘You’ve got to be an athlete. You’ve got to be amazing.’
‘A lot of people don’t really know what it is to be a male dancer and I love it so much, I’m never going to let anyone stop that,’ Lambros said. ‘Don’t let anyone stop you!’ Sofia yelled.
‘You have stage presence and that is something you can’t fake,’ Simon said. ‘Now, you’re going to go back to school with our heads held high, saying I did this, and I was brave enough to do this, and I was amazing, because you were amazing. If they start again, those bullies, you tell them, that me, Terry, and Howie and actually going to bring Heidi and Sofia as well, we are coming down to sort them out.’
All the judges voted him on. Sainted, a trap choir from the South went next. They sang Migos’ Bad and Boujee and Robin S. ‘s song Show Me Love while they danced in unison. The crowd gave them a standing ovation. ‘You should be on the big stage at Coachella,’ Howie said. ‘I would see every concert you guys play at.’ ‘It’s fantastic,’ Heidi said. ‘Love all of you.’
‘I loved everything about this,’ Simon. ‘I have to thank you. I have to thank God because he brought you here and I mean that. You’re so cool. So current. Then we get that amazing lead vocal halfway through.’ The judges gave them four yeses and the choir jumped up and down.
Ramadhani Brothers from East Africa took the stage and did head-to-head balancing. One walked around on the stage, walking up and down stairs and even climbing a ladder while the other brother balanced on his head. ‘I have never seen anything so amazing,’ Terry said.
‘That is the scariest, most dangerous act I have ever seen on America’s Got Talent,’ Howie said. They got four yeses from the judges. Avantgardey, a Japanese dance team wearing matching school girl outfits, performed an original dance for the judges. The judges and the audience gave them a standing ovation.
‘This was beyond anything that I expected,’ Sofia said. ‘It was something weird that we’ve never seen.’ ‘That was genius,’ Simon said. The judges all voted them on. London magician Mandy Muden, who had appeared on Britain’s Got Talent, went next. She asked Howie, Heidi and Sofia to take a letter from a bag which later spelled out the work that Simon had written down.
‘You are a very good magician,’ Howie said. ‘You’re funny. I’m a huge fan of yours.’ ‘I really like you,’ Simon said. Mandy got four yeses and ran off the stage smiling. Zoe Erianna Cui, six, a singer who said she would buy a convertible and Barbie dream camper if she won, took the stage and sang Lady Gaga’s song Born This Way.
‘I’m your favorite judge and you’re one of my favorite contestants ever,’ Sofia said. ‘You’re Goo-goo Gaga,’ Howie said. The judges voted her on. ‘Every single person in this room loved this audition,’ Simon said.
Mohammed Kahrimanovic from Hamburg, Germany tried to break the world record for breaking coconuts. He had 170 coconuts on the stage and needed to break them all in one minute. Mohammed was already the Guinness Book world record holder for breaking 148 coconuts in a minute. He then started smashing coconuts with his fists but he only broke 23. ‘I’m sorry it didn’t work out,’ Heidi said.
Mitch Rossell, 35, from Tennessee, a singer and guitar player, talked about how he lost his father and grandfather to a drunk driver before he took the stage. He said his father always wanted him to play guitar and to play music. Mitch sang his original song which he said was a true story about his life. The judges and the audience gave him a standing ovation. ‘You wrote a beautiful song there,’ Heidi said. ‘I feel like everyone in this room was feeling everything that you were singing.’
