Heidi Klum‘s Golden Buzzer Lavender Darcangelo closed the first night of live performances on America’s Got Talent on Tuesday (August 22) with a forceful performance of the 1984 Foreigner hit “I Want to Know What Love Is.”
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The 27-year-old Fitchburg, Massachusetts native, who is also blind and autistic, said she was a little hesitant to take on such a big song in her pre-recorded interview. “I’m all about breaking boundaries,” said the singer.
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Following Darcangelo’s breathtaking performance, Klum said “I am so proud of you. I feel you. I hope everyone in this room felt you. I hope everyone at home felt you. I hope that everyone is going to vote for you so that we can go to the next round together.”
Simon Cowell gave Darcangelo more praise. “It’s just the most amazing feeling when a contestant who everyone loves nails it, and you can feel it,” said Cowell. “That was beautiful.”
The singer made her debut on the show during the sixth round of auditions on America’s Got Talent on Tuesday (July 11) with a powerful performance of the Oscar-nominated Fame hit “Out Here on My Own,” written by Lesley and Michael Gore and originally performed by Irene Cara for the 1980 film.
[RELATED: Lavender Darcangelo Gets ‘AGT’ Golden Buzzer with ‘Fame’ Classic]
Darcangelo started singing when she was 3 years old, a year before she started speaking, and first gained attention for her rendition of The Little Mermaid song “Part of Your World,” which went viral in 2019. She has since shared covers of Tina Turner’s 1966 hit “River Deep, Mountain High,” and “This Is Me” from the 2017 musical film The Greatest Showman, among other songs.
Set to release her debut album, Mosaic, Darcangelo hopes to help raise more awareness around autism. A portion of the proceeds of her album sales will go to Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism in Framingham, Massachusetts, where she is currently studying performing arts.
“I have a lot of dreams,” said the singer during her first audition in July. “I want to build a school where the classes are based off of what kids are naturally curious at, a school I would have thrived in.”
Photos by Trae Patton/NBC
