'America's Got Talent' Season 15: Shaquira McGrath wows with Avicii's 'Wake Me Up', but was it the right choice?
After making the responsible choice to socially distance, first by removing their audience and then by switching to online auditions, 'America's Got Talent' has now updated its format again for its Judge Cuts segment. With all cast and crew socially distanced in front of a massive projector screen on which pre-recorded performances and live video calls were played, the judges were all ready to decide who would make it to the live shows.
After a long night of cuts, Shaquira McGrath was one of the several contestants asked to perform again for the judges. Her song choice was a slowed down, piano-led rendition of 'Wake Me Up' by the late Avicii, and the haunting performance, filmed in the middle of a hazy forest, was certainly a tear-jerker. McGrath previously wowed the audience with both her wit and her performance of country hit 'Redneck Woman' by Gretchen Wilson, and this time around she demonstrated her vocal skills in a totally different genre and style. Clearly, this is a singer who is as gifted as she is versatile.
As Simon Cowell predicted, McGrath's song choice was impacted by what the world is going through, thanks to the ongoing pandemic. But while Cowell thought McGrath lit up the screen, Heidi Klum was slightly underwhelmed, stating the singer lit up more when she was singing country. For viewers, however, McGrath was more than qualified for a spot in the finals.
"The performance by Shaquira McGrath was an absolute display of powerful amazement. The stage was created for her & she blessed us all with her incredible talent. The @Braves are blessed to have her to be part of them & so is America," tweeted one viewer. Others thought she should have gone through without performing, stating, "Shaquira should've advanced without singing but #agt wanted her to sing again so we can be entertained by her again."
Mostly, however, fans just couldn't get over how good Shaquira's performance was. One fan said, "Shaquira was amazing, great voice," another stated, "Shaquira can sing!" one shared, "Shaquira got the pipes and she's versatile," and another tweet read, "She is a beautiful person with a beautiful voice!" In addition to her voice, the singer also evidently wowed with the set she sang on. "Shaquira looked fantastic in the woods!" said one fan.
McGrath's song choice, however, drew mixed reactions among viewers just as it did among the judges. While many got emotional as they fondly remembered Avicii, others found the singer's rendition stunning. "Wow. Kira's rendition of Avicii's 'Wake Me Up' is so beautiful. Makes me wanna cry," tweeted one fan. But another said, "Shaquira the first time you did an upbeat song which no one does. Made you different. That song makes you just like everyone else."
After a few harrowing minutes of Judge Cuts, we learn that McGrath, along with four other performers from the night, will make it through to the finals airing in September.