Spoilers ahead for Episode 4 of America's Got Talent Season 19.
America's Got Talent returned to the airwaves on June 25 after a brief break in the 2024 TV schedule, and there was a lot to enjoy from the acts, even if not all of the judges were equally enthusiastic about the dancing robot or the twin brothers with their dominoes. As is often the case, AGT saved some of the best for toward the end of the hour, which meant nearly two hours passed before fans got to see the family singing group L6 perform Celine Dion's "All By Myself" on stage... although they didn't get far into the song before Simon Cowell intervened.
It earned him a lot of boos from the audience, and reminded me of what singer Dee Dee Simon told CinemaBlend when speaking about AGT earlier this season.
Why Simon Cowell Stopped The Singers
The L6 family singing group is comprised of five siblings and a niece, and they came to AGT from the Philippines to honor their late mother's dream and with an iconic song to try and cover. Simon Cowell was rooting for them to "be good, be good, be good" under his breath as the opening notes of "All By Myself" began. The audience wasted no time in cheering their support, but Cowell raised his hand to stop the music before L6 even got to chorus. The audience's cheers changed to boos since it seemed like Cowell was shooting them down without giving them a proper chance.
That is, that's what it seemed like if you don't give him the benefit of the doubt after seeing him interrupt singers many times in the past, including Putri Ariani in Season 18, which resulted in the teen singer impressing him so much that he hit the golden buzzer for her. After the boos stopped long enough on June 25 for Simon Cowell to be heard, he told them they should lose the backing track and sing a capella, because according to him, "the track was terrible."
It was a big ask for the group to not only start all over, but also figure out the a capella tempo on the fly in front of thousands of people. As for whether or not it worked for them, take a look below:
I won't lie – when Simon Cowell raised his hand to stop the performance, I assumed that he was going to ask them to sing a different song. He has done that several times over the years as a competition TV show judge, usually with great results. L6 seemingly had to wing it when they went a capella, and nailed it when they did. But their change in direction on the fly reminded me of a conversation I had with Dee Dee Simon, after she opened up about the perks of going last in an episode of America's Got Talent.
Dee Dee Simon's Take On A Second Song
Dee Dee Simon made a splash in AGT Season 19 when she took the stage to perform her take on "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls. She was the last performer of the night, and such a hit in the theater that there was some surprise that nobody hit the golden buzzer for her. When speaking with CinemaBlend, she was clear on how important it was to her to perform the Dreamgirls number with her mom in the audience, but she was ready if she needed to adapt. When asked if she had something else prepared just in case, she shared:
Oh, man, that was the one I wanted to do. My backup song if I had the opportunity, or they shut it down or told me whatever, would have been 'I Have Nothing' by Whitney Houston.
Let it not be said that Dee Dee Simon wasn't swinging for the fences on AGT, because even though "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" was – to quote Simon Cowell – "one of the hardest songs in the world," singing any Whitney Houston song as a backup is a bold move. The AGT singer went on to explain how early in the process she was working on both songs:
Well, I knew that I was supposed to audition earlier, but then they switched it. I had two songs that I had to work on, and that was about three weeks with the song myself and trying to make it my own.
Just like with L6 in the most recent episode of AGT, Dee Dee Simon's story and personality came through in the performance to really shine. Notably, she kicked off her heels at one of the song's biggest moments and just kept on singing. When I asked if she'd planned on that move, she responded:
I didn't plan on it. It's a motion that I'm trying to get my point across, and this song in my mind is taking place in my house. So I'm trying to get my point across and I'm getting comfortable in my house right now. Because now I'm comfortable, and it's time to just say 'I ain't going nowhere. You better sit down somewhere.'
Between Dee Dee Simon, L6, and the other singing acts that got support from enough of the judges to move forward, Season 19 of America's Got Talent could have some pretty fantastic music by the time the live shows start. For now, keep tuning in to NBC on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET for new episodes of America's Got Talent Season 19 as the auditions continue, and/or stream episodes next day with a Peacock Premium subscription.
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