While Sara James is the second Junior Eurovision artist to make it to the final episode of America’s Got Talent, and despite performing a captivating cover of Kate Bush’s 1985 hit “Running Up That Hill”, she was not able to advance past the top 10. Sara recieved a golden buzzer from judge and show creator Simon Cowell, advancing her straight to the live shows. From there she finshed top 2 in her semi-final and earned a spot in Tuesday’s final episode.
The judges were not shy about praising the 14 year old singer throughout the season and in the finale. Simon said it was a “special night” for the Polish singer, and that she “nailed one of the most iconic songs in the world.” Heidi called James one of the shows “greatest discoveries this season” and that she sounds “like a seasoned pro” when she sings. Speaking to ET Canada after the results show Tuesday – Simon said that he feels James will get a deal after the show due to her massive talent potential.
James was competing against the top 10 acts across the season, such as Australian pole-dancer Kristy Sellars, Belgian and Australian A.I. performance group Metaphysic, magician Nicolas RIBS, and America’s wildcard Celia Muñoz who was eliminated in James’ semi-final episode. Four of the season’s six golden buzzers made it to the finale show: Sara James (Simon’s Golden Buzzer), Mayyas (Sofia’s Golden Buzzer), Chapel Hart (full judge’s panel Golden Buzzer), and Avery Dixon (presenter Terry’s Golden Buzzer). At the end of the night, Sofia’s buzzer Mayyas wouuld go on to win the entire show and a $1 million dollar grand prize.
Mayyas win Season 17 of America’s Got Talent
Mayyas is an all-female dance group from Lebanon, who quickly captivated the audience and judges during their first audition. Founder Nadim Cherfan explained that Lebanon “is not a place where you can make a career out of dancing – it’s hard and it’s really hard for women.” The group hope that their work can inspire women in Lebanon and all around the world to go after their dreams, just as they did by auditioning and winning the show.
This is their second victory on the Got Talent franchise, winning the 2019 season of Arabs Got Talent. They also appeared later that year on Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions, competing against 45 contestants from the main British edition of the show, and 18 of the franchise’s spin-offs. They were eliminated in the third preliminary round and failed to reach the final. Ukranian sand-artist Kseniya Simonova who appeared on stage for Ukraine’s 2011 and Moldova’s 2019 Eurovision stagings also competed on the season, finishing in third place.
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