Simon Cowell gave his Golden Buzzer to a 17-year-old blind singer on 'AGT' — then made an unusual request
'America's Got Talent' judge Simon Cowell got pretty emotional during the audition of 17-year-old blind singer Putri Ariani! In a June 2023 episode of 'AGT' Season 18, Ariani, who comes from Indonesia, sang an original song titled 'Loneliness.' At that point, Ariani got behind the piano with the help of her father. Following her performance, Ariani bagged a standing ovation from the judges and the studio audience. However, as soon as Ariani's performance came to an end, Cowell couldn't stop himself, and he rushed to the stage and told her, "Hi Putri. This is Simon." Soon after, Cowell asked Ariani's father if they could hear another song, and Ariani accepted his plea.
When Cowell hopped back into his seat, his fellow judge, Sofia Vergara, asked him, "What did you want? Another song?" to which Cowell replied, "Well, I just said, 'I like her voice so much. I want her to sing a second song, please.'" Before performing the second song, 'Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word,' Ariani said, "This song is specially for you, Simon." In his response, Cowell quipped, "Well, thank you." Shortly afterward, Ariani got another standing ovation from the judges as well as the crowd.
During the episode, Vergara raved over Ariani's voice and said, "It was amazing." On the other hand, Heidi Klum chimed in, "You sounded so beautiful tonight, especially the very first song you sang, like how you switch from your chest voice to your head voice." Then, Ariani interrupted Klum mid-sentence and said, "That's my original song," as Howie Mandel exclaimed, "That's even more amazing."
As per The US Sun, Cowell gushed over Ariani's songwriting skills and vocals and said, “I think we’re all feeling the same thing. You’re 17. You write songs. You’ve got an amazing, distinctive voice. And I mean really good. You have a kind of glow about you and tell me about you waiting for something at your school," to which Ariani responded, "I really want to go to The Juilliard." Then, Cowell went on to say, "I really don't know whether this is going to make a difference or not. However..." before hitting the Golden Buzzer. Shortly afterward, the golden confetti fell on Ariani, and then, Cowell headed back to the stage and told her, “You are, I think, one of the best singers we’ve ever had on our show.”
During a private confessional, Cowell reflected on Ariani's audition and shared he had a feeling about her even before she began singing. "There was something about her, even before she started to sing. I just... I had a feeling. And I've done this for a long time. Sometimes, you get that feeling. I would be amazed if she's not either the winner or the runner-up. I mean, that's who I put my money on," Cowell said, as per Gold Derby. Along with this, Cowell stated that Ariani "was very nervous, but then she started to sing. Within about seven seconds, I'm thinking, one of us is going to push a Golden Buzzer for that. I think if it weren't me, someone else would have pushed it."