When country trio Chapel Hart walked on stage and said they were singing “You Can Have Him Back Jolene,” they already had the attention of the audience and all four judges on America’s Got Talent.
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“I used to love girl bands from the ’90s,” said Simon Cowell. “You want to bring that back?” In unison, the Mississippi-born artists, made up of sisters Danica and Devynn Hart and cousin Trea Swindle, said “Yes.” Danica added, “Best era ever.”
Elaborating on their original song, Danica added, “We’ve always been country music fans, and Dolly is by far our favorite—Dolly for president. We just loved the song ‘Jolene’ and we loved the storyline, but we figured from 1973 to 2022, we could not be fighting over the same man, so we just decided to tell her, ‘You can have him Jolene.'”
Singing through their energized continuation of Parton’s 1974 classic “Jolene,” on “You Can Have Him Jolene” the women have moved on and let Jolene take their man.
Following the group’s performance, Cowell said, “Trust me, I needed you today. That was fantastic. I love you.” When Cowell asked what the women have been doing to pursue their music careers, Danica said they’ve tried breaking into Nashville the past few years, but it’s been difficult. “Country music doesn’t always look like us,” said the tearful singer. “Sometimes you just got to break down that door,” responded Cowell, “and you may have just broken down the door with that performance.”
The Poplarville, Mississippi artists have released two albums, including their most recent The Girls Are Back in Town in 2021, five singles, and even released a video for “You Can Have Him Jolene.”
Howie Mandel, who returned to AGT after a brief illness, added, “I love the song. I love the energy. I love the look. You said country music doesn’t look like you. That is your win because you are going to be the original.”
Heidi Klum said the trio’s joy was “infectious,” while Sofía Vergara said they were “perfect,” as she held back tears.
“You guys look like you’ve been doing this for a long time,” said Vergara, “and I’m so proud of you guys.”
When Cowell and Klum both said that if they hadn’t used their Golden Buzzers already, Chapel Hart would have definitely earned one, the audience began chanting, “Golden Buzzer.”At this point in the auditions, all of the judges along with host Terry Crews had used up their individual buzzer picks. But then, the five huddled together to discuss Chapel Hart before placing all of their hands on the button giving Chapel Hart a group Golden Buzzer.
Photos: Trae Patton / NBC
