13-year-old nails tough Broadway song on ‘AGT,’ but one judge’s harsh critique sparks boos from audience
'AGT' season 20 premiered on May 27 and has given audiences a slew of jaw-dropping moments. Now with only a handful of auditions left, the competition has started to get fierce. And one of the top contenders who is raising the bar is Evelyn Errante, who attempted one of the toughest songs in her 'AGT' audition. On July 29, Errante belted out a powerful rendition of 'Defying Gravity' from 'Wicked' that hit all the right chords.
As she wrapped up the performance and opened her eyes, the audience was on its feet, giving her a roaring standing ovation. 'Modern Family' star Sofia Vergara was the first to comment and said, "You are perfect for what you do. It was very beautiful. You are like a princess. I think it's amazing," before adding, "You are going to go very, very far." But judge Howie Mandel was not quite impressed and said, "You are a young lady who knows what she wants to do, but what you want to do does not do something that I respond to," erupting boos from the audience.
Mel B also gave her two cents and told the young artist, "If you sing like this at 13, at 18, your voice is going to be amazing." She also added, "You have got a lot of work to do, but I am gonna say, yes." While Simon Cowell said that he did not personally "bear the song" but admitted that a lot of people love it. But praising the singer's guts to sing the challenging song eventually prompted Cowll to say yes. Errante got three "yeses" and advanced to the next round, happily.
Fans quickly rushed to praise the young singer. In the YouTube videos' comment section, a viewer gushed, "I was so blown away by her audition, I was expecting the judges to agree and maybe give her the golden buzzer! I was so surprised they said you need to work more, it's a 'no,' etc... WHAT??? She was unbelievable!!! And she's only 13! The judges were cray-cray on this one!" While fans praised the singer, many also criticized the judges for their harsh comments. Expressing the frustration, a viewer wrote, "They need to get rid of Howie. He is not the kind of person who can look past something he doesn't personally like. The person sitting in the judges should look past their likes and dislikes and focus on the talent presented. Howie, you are the loser here."
Echoing the sentiment, another viewer wrote, "Who is he to judge? He is not a singer! Broadway here she comes!!!" Some fans even called the show rigged and claimed that the act deserved a golden buzzer. Calling out the judges, a netizen said, "AGT has got to be rigged....that was a Golden Buzzer performance and they were all hemming and hawing about it. I have heard more pitchy performances get 4 enthusiastic 'yes's." Howie must have another audition that he is anticipating. What a joke."