A 15-year-old ‘AGT’ singer dedicated a powerful song to her firefighter dad: 'I have been scared...'
Throughout its nineteen-season run, 'America's Got Talent' celebrated a wide range of art forms, offering a stage for aspiring performers to shine. However, there have been moments when the acts become almost too emotional to handle. In one such moving instance, a 15-year-old teenager dedicated her quarterfinals performance to her father, and the heartfelt reason behind it was truly tear-jerking.
After receiving Heidi Klum's golden buzzer during the 'America’s Got Talent' auditions in August 2018, Makayla Phillips returned to the stage for the quarterfinals. With a powerful tribute to her father, Todd, a fire captain at Mecca Station #40 in Riverside, California, Phillips made sure to give a stellar performance, as per People. Before her performance, Phillips shared her deep admiration for her father, saying, "My dad is absolutely my hero because he's a firefighter." She further opened up about the emotional challenges that come with his line of work, sharing, "His job is so incredibly tough; there have been days where I've been scared my dad won't come home."
Makayla also touched on her motivation, adding, "I feel more pressure; I just want to make my family proud." She then delivered a heartfelt rendition of Julia Michaels' 2017 hit 'Issues.' After the performance, Phillips was visibly emotional as tears streamed down her face, and the camera captured her father watching proudly from the audience at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Klum praised Phillips' performance, saying, "It was better than the original; this is really where you belong." She then added that the teen "had this very special something, this star quality," which is why she gave her the golden buzzer. Cowell also agreed, saying, "This was way better than your first audition; you sang that song really well."
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Later, on Instagram, Phillips' gave her dad a heartfelt tribute, writing, "My dad has been my biggest supporter since day 1; he’s my personal ATM, the funniest dad in the world, and my rock." She continued, "My dad works so, so, so hard for his family to be able to follow their dreams, and I am BEYOND thankful to have been blessed with a father like him," alongside a sweet father-daughter photo from 'AGT' rehearsal.
Coming back to Phillips' AGT journey, the singer did a strong Week 1 Semifinals performance of Jessie J's 'Who U Are,' which got judges Mel B and Heidi Klum on their feet with applause, according to America's Got Talent Wiki. But in Episode 1318, her journey was cut short as she got eliminated after failing to get sufficient votes to advance to the finals, together with Amanda Mena, while Michael Ketterer moved forward. She later auditioned for another reality show, 'American Idol,' in 2020 and even secured the spot in the Top 11 before being eliminated. Though she vied for a return in the 2021 season to fill a dropped contestant's spot, she lost the public vote to runner-up Arthur Gunn. Phillips returned to 'AGT' in the finals of Episode 1720, performing as Klum in Metaphysic's act, joined by fellow alum Daniel Emmet as Cowell.