Heidi Klum was saving her Golden Buzzer — until this one unexpected song changed everything
'America's Got Talent' saw a surprising golden buzzer moment after Lily Meola serenaded the judges with her heart-touching personal story and performance. Meola sang an original composition titled 'Daydream,' which was dedicated to her mother, who tragically passed away from cancer. During the introduction, the then 27-year-old revealed that her life tragically turned upside down after she became a full-time caretaker for her mother and lost out on a record label deal. "The song I'm going to do today is an original song that I wrote, and it's called Daydream, and it's kind of evolved over the past couple of years. The meaning of it for me, which I wrote at a time in my life when things were really beautiful and I was essentially living my daydream," she confessed.
"I had a major label record deal, I had a publishing deal, I had butterflies, I was hatching; it was just magical," she continued. "So that's where it originated, and then my life flipped upside down, and my mom was diagnosed with cancer, and I became her full-time caretaker. I lost my record deal during that, but I think maybe it was a bit of a blessing because it gave me some extra time to really be there for her," Meola couldn't control her tears as she admitted. She sentimentally recalled that her late mother was her "biggest cheerleader."
At this point, Simon Cowell tried to discourage the young singer from completing the audition due to emotional reasons, but Meola insisted that "music was the only connection she had with her late mother." "I'm just trying to make her proud and continue to live my daydream," she said before plunging into a rollercoaster rendition of her original track. Howie Mandel was the first to react: "First of all, you have a beautiful voice, and I could feel the emotion," he said. "I think your mother was watching you," he added. "I really enjoyed that song. You didn't try anything out when you had a deal?" Cowell complimented and inquired next.
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"Yeah, this is my first time putting the music out, and I just went for it," Meola replied. Cowell then went on to laud her courage and determination, and he expressed the fact that she decided to let her talent shine despite going through a very low phase in life. Heidi Klum was most impacted by Meola's dedication; the former model admitted that the song left her speechless and emotional. "I don't know what to say; I'm like speechless, you know, like sometimes you have someone on the stage, and you hear their voice and just everything about them. You just light up; I see a light around you," Klum confessed while trying to hold back her tears.
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"I don't know; immediately I fell in love with you, and for this season, season 17, I was like, There's always a lot of singers on the stage, and I was like, I want to give someone else a shot, but I can't help it because I really like you, so I'm gonna do this," Klum said before pulling the power play mode. "I'm going to push the golden buzzer for you! It's you!" she exclaimed while giving Meola an open ticket into the live competition. Meola was shockingly eliminated during the semi-finals, but her musical journey continues with the young artist producing more memorable tracks and going on a tour with singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne.