Brooke Bailey, a 19-year-old from Granada Hills, Calif., received unanimous praise from the judges for her soulful performance of Aretha Franklin’s "Ain’t No Way" during her audition for Season 19 of America’s Got Talent. Although the final Golden Buzzer of the season had already been used by Sofia Vergara the previous week, Brooke earned four yeses from the judges, securing her spot in the next round and a chance to compete in the Live Shows.
In an early release video, you can watch Bailey’s mesmerizing performance, which is set to air on Tuesday night.
Bailey, a music major at the College of the Canyons, admitted to feeling nervous before stepping on stage, but her nerves quickly dissipated as she captivated the judges with her talent.
“You had me right at the beginning where you went ‘Mm mm mm,’” Heidi Klum remarked. “You really do belong on the stage. My favorite audition of the day.”
Howie Mandel was equally impressed, commenting, “You have an amazing instrument. Your voice is really good. You’re a really good singer. I think you have a future ahead of you. I really liked you.”
Sofia Vergara added, “The way you sing, the feeling that you put into the song, it’s spectacular.”
Simon Cowell provided the final critique, praising Bailey’s dedication: “For you to manage what you’re doing with a job to do something you love is incredible actually. What I would say, if you go any further, I would definitely have a band behind you because I think you’re the kind of artist who would be best where you don’t have the structure of a backing track. And I really like you as a person.”
Catch America’s Got Talent on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC, with next-day streaming available on Peacock.