Lavender Darcangelo.Photo:Trae Patton/NBC
Trae Patton/NBC
America’s Got Talenthas found its next Golden Buzzer — and judgeHeidi Klumwas the one doing the honors!
Tuesday’s episode picked up with auditions after a brief holiday hiatus last week. While the episode was filled with a wide range of talented performers, it was the last act who ultimately stole the show.
Singer Lavender Darcangelo moved both the judges and audience with her story and impressive vocals — so much so that she received Heidi’s coveted Golden Buzzer.
“I did not expect this to happen,” Lavender, 27, tells PEOPLE about her big moment. “Ever since I was a little kid, my biggest dream was to record CDs, to sing in front of huge audiences and inspiring people. When Heidi gave me the Golden Buzzer, it felt like a sort of deja vu, because things like this already happened in my mind when I was four years old.”
“I wanted to pinch myself because I thought I was just being 4 years old and lying on the couch again and daydreaming as usual!” she adds. “[My] audition forAGTwas all a blur. It was like being numb or being beside myself — but in a good way — like walking on air without moving.”
Lavender Darcangelo on ‘AGT’.Trae Patton/NBC
“I’ve been singing since I was three years old, I didn’t talk until I was 4 and a half,” she explained, noting that she wanted to be onAGTbecause she has “a lot of dreams,” including building a school where classes are tailored to the kids' interests.
Lavender also disclosed how Wil adopted her “later in life” after she attended an after-school music program that he created.
Lavender Darcangelo with her dad Wil on ‘America’s Got Talent’.Trae Patton/NBC
Lavender then performed a belovedIrene Carasong from a 1980 musical classic. The emotion behind her performance, combined with her impressive vocals, moved the judges to a standing ovation — but it was Heidi who pushed her Golden Buzzer.
Heidi, 50, tells PEOPLE exclusively about the performance: “As a child I lived for the movieFame, so I loved that she was singing’Out Here On My Own.‘I immediately felt a connection with Lavender and I knew that I wanted to be her biggest cheerleader in this competition.”
On Tuesday’s episode, she gushed, “I feel like I just fell in love, ThisAGTjourney is an amazing journey and I would love to be your cheerleader and hold your hand all the way to the finish line. What do you say? Let’s do this!”
Her dads, Jamie and Wil — who officially adopted Lavender in August 2017 when she was 22 — also tell PEOPLE via email they were surprised in the best of ways.
“For us, it’s a gift of validation for Lavender that she is free to live her most authentic life without judgment,” they add. “It’s proof that she can be a musician, but also a homebody, and a person on the Autism spectrum, and someone who’d rather prioritize playing on a swing set over living up to the traditional expectations of the music industry. It means that she might now believe in herself one degree closer to the vast amount of belief we already have in her.”
Heidi Klum on ‘America’s Got Talent’.Trae Patton/NBC
Speaking to PEOPLE about her bond with Wil, the singer says her adoption came after her birth parents found her blindness and autism to be “challenging” and struggled “to deal” with her behavioral problems. However, Wil was quick to embrace them, which stood out to Lavender.
“I loved Wil right away because I felt like I did not belong anywhere, and people outside of [the program] were impatient and cross with me because of my disabilities. Everybody else around me made me feel I was insignificant for always coloring outside the lines,” she explains. “I thought that there was a certain limit to people’s compassion, but Wil didn’t seem to have any limits.”
Despite his and Jamie’s unwavering support and love, Lavender still had self-doubts and disclosed to the judges thatAGTwas her favorite show “because it’s about being different and … I’m just not normal.”
“I am realizing that a lot of people who go onAGThave so many unique stories and it would mean a lot if my ideas helped them,” she adds. “I want people to know that there is not a one-size fits all way of approaching life.”
Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara and Simon Cowell on ‘AGT’.Casey Durkin/NBC
Casey Durkin/NBC
Lavender now joins the list of acts who have received a Golden Buzzer so far this season.
Those acts included Atlanta Drum Academy who earned hostTerry Crews’ Golden Buzzer, blind singerPutri Arianiwho earnedSimon Cowell’s Golden Buzzer, dance groupMurmurationwho earnedHowie Mandel’s Golden Buzzer andMzansi Youth Choir, a group of singers from South Africa, who earned the show’s first-ever Audience Golden Buzzer after performing a touching tribute to lateAGTseason 16 singerNightbirde.
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America’s Got Talentairs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
source: people.com
