‘AGT’ contestant reveals how Simon Cowell made her nervous during auditions: ‘My knees were shaking...’
Simon Cowell being intimidating is far from a revelation. The ‘AGT’ creator and judge has built that reputation for himself over the years, thanks to his no-nonsense personality. But he did one thing that got a contestant shivering out of nervousness. The contestant in question is none other than Charity Lockhart, Mel B’s Golden Buzzer contestant on season 20. Speaking to The Parade, she opened up about a particular moment from her audition where nerves got the best of her. It was when Cowell asked her to sing another song. The 49-year-old singer came on stage and left the judges inspired by her backstory. However, her first song choice didn’t impress Cowell.
He stopped her in the middle, asking her to present something else. That’s when she crooned ‘Golden Slumbers’ by The Beatles and earned the much-deserved praise. Although she looked effortless while making that transition from one song to another, inside, she was shaking. “When I think about it, I still shake, and I’ve been singing for a really long time,” she told the outlet. “I get nervous, like a natural nervousness, when I’m on stage. But this was a different kind of monster,” she added. While Lockhart was up on that stage, she asked for water, which Terry Crews instantly brought to her.
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According to Lockhart, she never experienced that level of nervousness before. So much so that she felt her throat drying up. “I was glad I was wearing loose, baggy clothes because my knees were literally shaking,” she added. Nevertheless, her second song choice was a success, to say the least. Not only did she win over the judges, but she also earned the coveted Golden Buzzer, making her qualified for the quarterfinals. Lockhart was formerly homeless and stayed in a car with her children after separating from her then partner. To earn money for survival, she would offer to sing at bars and small events and earn a little cash.
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“All I had was my voice,” she said on the show. She even won a local music competition and ended up earning a monetary award, allowing her to have a roof over her head. “If you got talent, I believe anything's possible now,” Cowell assured her. And she did prove her worth through her stunning performance that got the whole crowd cheering. Speaking to the outlet, Lockhart revealed how she ended up on the talent show. “I felt like I couldn’t do the show just because I was too old to do it,” she revealed. However, her friends kept pushing her to give it a go, and the rest is history.
Through the recognition from ‘AGT,’ she hopes to bring stability into her and her children’s lives. She has been singing since the age of 12, and that has been her main job, however inconsistent. “I would like to get to the point where I don’t really have to worry about the next bill,” she confessed. “I’m hoping that AGT can take me to the point where I can finally get into a house where I can hang my clothes up,” Lockhart added. She also hopes to help other homeless families after securing enough money and resources. Although she got eliminated in the season’s quarterfinal round, she’ll forever be known by the world for her inspiring story and voice.