'America's Got Talent' on NBC: Who is Lily Meola? Willie Nelson's protégé auditions for show
Being named the protege of legendary musician Willie Nelson is a huge honor for any aspiring singer. After accomplishing this enviable feat in 2013, Lily Meola has her eyes set on wooing the judges and the audience of 'America's Got Talent'.
The 27-year-old will soon be performing before Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, Howie Mandel, and Heidi Klum. While we will have to wait and watch to see if she manages to impress the judges and the audience to lay her hands on the grand prize of $1 Million and the opportunity to be a headline act in Las Vegas. In the meanwhile, you can read all about Meola here.
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Who is Lily Meola?
The California resident who originally hails from Maui, Hawaii, is no stranger to the world of music. As the daughter of Nancy Meola, assistant to iconic manager Shep Gordon, Meola grew up listening to great music all her life. She began singing at the age of 11 after landing a role in one of her school's musical production. After watching her daughter shine during the performance, Nancy began booking gigs for her daughter.
Meola's life changed completely when she was discovered by Willie Nelson while she was performing at one of her gigs. In an interview with Wasserman Music, Meola recalled, "After the show, Willie handed me a napkin with a few song titles written on it and said, ‘Would you like to record any of these?’ He asked me if I wanted to be on his duet album. I was like, ‘Hell, yes.’" She went on to perform a duet with the legendary singer on his 2013 album 'To All the Girls...' She even toured with Nelson and his sons. Her career took off and she released her debut album in 2015 called 'They Say'. She was also named as one of Rolling Stone's "10 new country artists you need to know”.
Meola learned the art of songwriting from the famous Jackson Brown after she told him that she didn't know how to start songwriting. Brown reportedly taught her everything she needed to know about songwriting on the piano in one lesson. "He taught me to use one legal pad for each song, so you don’t get lyrics for different songs confused. Then he gave me my own golden pad," she shared. Prior to meeting Brown, Meola didn't think that she had it in her to take up songwriting owing to her dyslexia. "I have dyslexia and a hard time paying attention. School was really hard for me -- writing, math, everything. So writing a song just seemed impossible. How could I do that?"
These days Meola leans into her grief and trauma to help her pen down her songs. After losing her mother to cancer in 2020, Meola went into a deep depression and learned to use her trauma to write and express her vulnerability. In an interview with Rolling Stone, she shared, "I still have bad days, but I’m working through it. Now I’m moving into this next segment of my life where I’m trying to persevere and finish what I started and make my mom proud, from wherever it is she might be."
"But even through the hard times, we can come out from it stronger and with a smile on her face. And that’s really important for other people to hear. Obviously, you’re going to have hard days and it sucks. But, if you’re not living your daydreams, then what is this life for?” she added.
We can't wait to watch Meola's performance on 'AGT'.
America's Got Talent' Season 17 airs Tuesdays, at 8 pm on NBC. You can catch all-new episodes every Tuesday from 8 to 10 p.m. ET/PT. For viewers who wish to tune in to the show without cable, they can do so using any of the following streaming services: Sling TV, fuboTV, Hulu With Live TV, AT&T TV, or YouTube TV.