Simon Cowell may have just inadvertently eliminated Ashes & Arrows, after solos 'struggle'
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA: Three years into their friendship, Ashes & Arrows feel like they're at a pivotal moment. For their next song, they've asked their followers to cast their votes. The men from Ashes & Arrows stated that winning the competition would be a "game changer" for them. They also noted that they would take Simon Cowell's advice to perform in a "more uptempo" style while keeping their fans' requests in mind.
They maintain a positive atmosphere, with their strong vocals and impressive harmonies being key strengths. However, they didn't quite hit the mark during the 'America's Got Talent' Season 19 semi-final. There's no denying that the pianist had difficulty during his solo. Nonetheless, their tunes are energetic and have the power to get a crowd up and singing along.
Ashes & Arrows brought the house down with their powerful harmonies and soulful lyrics! 🎸🎤 Don't miss their electrifying performance! #AGT pic.twitter.com/J5Ie8J9aoT
— AGT Auditions (@AGTAuditions) September 12, 2024
Ashes & Arrows's 'AGT' Season 19 semi-final act dubbed 'best' of the night
Howie Mandel declared that the song they ultimately selected was "the best act of the night," and Simon "totally agreed". According to Sofía Vergara, they "sound great" and "look great," while Heidi Klum declared it to be their finest performance of the season.
Ashes & Arrows struggled to settle on 'AGT' Season 19 semi-final act
“In our audition, we played a song [“Born to Love”] that was really meaningful to us, and it was sung with a lot of passion, but it’s not necessarily the encore song that you would sing at a concert,” Ciaran McMeeken told Parade in a recent interview. “We really wanted to bring something that had a lot of energy to it.”
The band saw this as the best opportunity to narrow down 11 performers to just four who would advance, especially since their usual encore song, the lively 'Wild Horses,' peaked due to their performance on 'AGT'. “We did not expect to go through to the semifinals, so we were just like, ‘Let’s play our best song, and we’ll call it a day. We’ll head back to North Carolina, and we’ll pat our backs and job well done.’ Then, when we got through, we were like, ‘Well, that was our best song, so what are we going to do next?’” Ciaran added.
Fans watched the trio perform during the Wednesday, September 11 episode and got a huge response from the in-house audience and the 'AGT' judges. As per Ciaran, the unreleased song "was supposed to come out around this time, but because we’re on the show, we couldn’t release it. It’s another upbeat, inspirational song, and we’re really excited about it."
Varying background of Ashes & Arrows members is a hurdle for 'AGT' final
“We’ve all got our own backgrounds as individual artists,” Ciaran told Parade. “My family was fairly musical, and we used to watch 'American Idol' when I was a lot younger. I think I was 11 or 12 or 13. I remember seeing Simon say something to somebody on 'American Idol' and just thinking, ‘I would really love to sing for that guy and see what he says one day.’ And I never lost that thought. So, it was cool 15-plus years later to get to sing for him and hear what he said," he added.
They're not strictly classified as country rock, however, everyone is curious about their genre. That would be their genre of choice if they had to pick one. However, their music also incorporates elements of pop music, Americana origins, folk music, and singer-songwriters.
Their musical tastes were pretty different when they came together. As a result, Ashes & Arrows is a synthesis of all the many genres they were exposed to as children. Before they met, each of them was an independent artist and songwriter, leading to completely different styles. Now, all these styles have combined to become Ashes & Arrows. To secure the title, the band needs to stay united and committed until the very end.
In Asheville, North Carolina, they met during an open mic night, each with their purpose for being there. After seeing each other perform, and to cut a long story short, they decided to join forces not long after. They've gone a long way from unintentionally composing a song with total strangers to competing on a reality program together.
'America's Got Talent' Season 19 airs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays on NBC at 8 PM ET.