Simon Cowell’s Gold Buzzer, singer Putri Ariani, left him speechless after she sang a near a cappella rendition of U2‘s 1987 hit “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”
The 17-year-old Indonesian singer, who is also blind, closed the show for America’s Got Talent on Tuesday (September 5). Covered in a beaded gown with a headpiece and sitting at a grand piano, Ariani moved straight into the lyrics — I have climbed highest mountains / I have run through the fields / Only to be with you — before playing piano several verses in.
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“I’m actually kinda speechless right now,” said Cowell, following Ariani’s poignant performance. “What a beautiful voice you’ve got. What a beautiful version. And honestly Putri, this is why I still do this job, for moments like this — genuinely. That was so beautiful.”
Cowell also noted that U2 personally cleared the song for Ariani to sing on the show. “They saw her audition,” he said, “and they knew how much this would mean to her.”
Released on U2’s fifth album, Joshua Tree, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard something more beautiful in my life,” said Sofia Vergara. “That was spectacular. It was the perfect, perfect, perfect act.”
Heidi Klum added, “You sounded so beautiful and I thought to myself this probably is what it sounds like when an angel is singing — literally. So beautiful. I do hope Bono gets to hear this.”
[RELATED: The Edge Still Finds “Gifts” When Making Music with U2]
Judge Howie Mandel only had one word for Ariani: “Perfection.”
When the teen singer first auditioned on AGT on June 6, 2023, she shared some of the challenges she faced being a blind performer.
“My biggest challenge is that people look at me just as a blind person, not as a musician,” said Ariani. “But when I’m singing I feel like a superstar.”
Photos: Trae Patton/NBC
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