‘AGT: All Stars' 2023: Judges stunned after Vietnam war veteran Robert Finley does not qualify for finals
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Robert Finley, a singer, previously participated in Season 14 of 'America's Got Talent'. Although he made it to the semifinals, he was ultimately eliminated in the Judges' Choice round. Despite this setback, he returned for 'America's Got Talent: All-Stars' but was again eliminated, this time in the preliminaries.
This was despite both Simon Cowell and Heidi Klum being left visibly impressed with Finley’s performance. The judges were left stunned after Robert Finley got eliminated from the NBC show.
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Robert Finley impresses judges but gets eliminated from ‘AGT: All Stars’
Robert Finley, a blind war veteran who lost his sight due to glaucoma, returned to the stage of ‘America's Got Talent: All-Stars’ to perform his own song. The Louisiana native, who is an original Blues singer, introduced himself to the crowd by stating "My name is Robert Finley and I did a great job the last time I was here." He was dressed in a white bedazzled suit, a cowboy hat, and a red button-down shirt as he sang the line: “Souled out on you. Sad but it’s true. After all that I’ve been through. I’m souled out on you.” This was followed by an exhilarating Blues performance that impressed the judges in particular.
His performance was met with a standing round of applause and praise from the judges. Heidi Klum exclaimed: "Your voice is unbelievable," while Simon Cowell stated "I mean, seriously, that was extraordinary," and went on to say: "You're just so cool...and your voice is just brilliant. Love that. Love you." Even Howie Mandel called his singing a "star performance."
Robert Finley had previously competed in Season 14 of 'America's Got Talent' and has credited his loss of sight for guiding him to his true passion, which is music. Despite the praise, Finley lost out on fan votes and was eliminated from 'AGT'. The war veteran was obviously disappointed but was gracious in his defeat, and thanked the judges for raining down praise on him. Of course, all three of the judges were visibly surprised and expected Robert to make it to the next round.
'America's Got Talent: All-Stars' Episode 4 was released on Monday, January 23, at 8 pm ET on NBC.