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'THIS IS A "TALENT SHOW", NOT DR. PHIL' remind AGT fans after singer Lily Meola gets golden buzzer

'AGT' fans believe that singer Lily Meola received the golden buzzer from Heidi Klum due to her "sob story"

Getting the coveted golden buzzer from the judges on 'America's Got Talent' can serve as both a blessing and a curse, since all eyes are on the performer that bagged it. Though the hit NBC's talent-hunt show features a wide array of talents being displayed, the show has been on the receiving end of criticisms for favoring singers over other acts. Considering three out of five golden buzzer acts are singers, there may be come truth to it.

After Howie Mandel handed his golden buzzer to singer Maddie Baez, and Simon Cowell gave his to Sara James, Heidi Klum followed the suit and handed hers to Lily Meola on the recently aired episode of 'AGT'. Though the judge acknowledged that far too many singers and musicians receive golden buzzers and accolades ib the show, she however couldn't resist giving it to Lily. Heidi defended her decision by pointing out how Lily's whole persona and inspiring backstory drew her in. While Heidi seemed pleased with her choice for golden buzzer, fans however felt that Lily's singing wasn't golden buzzer worthy. Many fans were convinced that Lily got it only due to her "sOb story".

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You can watch Lily Meola's performance here:

Ahead of her performance, Lily revealed that she was living the dream after bagging a record deal, publishing deal, etc. But everything came crashing down after her mother was diagnosed with cancer. She became her mother's full-time caretaker which led to her losing the record deal. While Lily was glad that she got to spend time with her mother, she however was sad as she lost her mother to cancer. After hearing Lily's sad backstory, the judges and even the audience got emotional. Lily then explained that her mother inculcated the love for music in her, and that she would be honoring her mother through her performance. Lily proceeded to sing one of her original compositions which she later revealed also happened to be her mother's favorite song.

By the end of Lily's performance, all the judges were awestruck, and Heidi handed her the golden buzzer. Several fans took to the show's YouTube clip of her performance to point out that she wouldn't have gotten the golden buzzer had it not been for the emotional backstory. A fan commented, "I really want backstorys to be banned until after the voting has been completed because she wouldn't have gotten the golden buzzer if it wasn't for that." Another fan wrote, "Sigh another case of an above average singer getting golden buzzer because of sob story." "it was good but like it’s not golden buzzer worthy she only got it cause she had a sad story," seconded a fan.

"How to get a golden buzzer on agt 1. be able to sing decently 2. have a sad story," mocked a fan. "Condolences to you but I don’t think this performance is golden buzzer act there’s sooo many other talented acts than hers that deserves it," pointed out an unimpressed fan. "Tell your sob story and Sing like any other contestant (nothing special) = Golden buzzer... They need to reduce the number of golden buzzers to singers and start to give more to other acts IMO....," echoed a fan. "Omg ENOUGH WITH THE SAD SACK STORIES! IDC IF YOU HAVE A DEPRESSING STORY! THIS IS A TALENT SHOW, NOT DR. PHIL! YOU CAN TELL YOU SAD SACK STUFF THERE. I'M SO TIRED OF THIS. I WOULD GIVE THE GOLDEN BUZZER TO SOMEONE WHO DESERVES IT! SOMEONE TALENTED! YEAH SHES TALENTED, BUT ENOUGH SINGERS AND DEPRESSING STORIES. WE WANT VARIETY. REMEMBER, THIS IS A "TALENT SHOW", NOT DR. PHIL," expressed an annoyed fan.

'America's Got Talent' Season 17 airs Tuesdays, at 8 pm on NBC. Following the show's premiere, 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.

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