Spoilers for episode 4 of America’s Got Talent Season 19.
America’s Got Talent returned to the airwaves on June 25th after a short break in the 2024 TV schedule and there was a lot to enjoy from the performances, 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 The best was saved for last, so nearly two hours passed before fans got to see family singing group L6 perform Celine Dion’s “All By Myself” on stage… although they hadn’t gotten very far when Simon Cowell intervened.
It earned him many boos from the audience and reminded me of what singer Dee Dee Simon told CinemaBlend when he talked about AGT earlier this season.
Why Simon Cowell stopped the Singers
The L6 family singing group consists of five siblings and a niece and they came to AGT from the Philippines to honor their late mother’s dream and attempt to cover it with an iconic song. Simon Cowell quietly encouraged them to “be good, good, good” as the first notes of “All By Myself” rang out. The crowd wasted no time in cheering their support, but Cowell raised his hand to stop the music before L6 even got to the chorus. The crowd’s cheers turned to boos as it seemed like Cowell was dismissing them without giving them a real chance.
That is, it seemed, if you don’t give him the benefit of the doubt after he has often interrupted singers in the past, including Putri Ariani in season 18, which resulted in the young singer impressing him so much that he pressed the golden buzzer for her. After the boos stopped long enough for Simon Cowell to be heard on June 25, he told them to drop the background music and sing a cappella because, in his opinion, “the music was awful.”
It was a huge challenge for the group to not only start from scratch but also figure out the a cappella tempo spontaneously in front of thousands of people. You can see if it worked for them below:
I’m not going to lie – when Simon Cowell raised his hand to stop the performance, I assumed he was going to ask her to sing a different song. He’s done this several times over the years as a judge on TV competitions, usually with great results. L6 apparently had to improvise when they sang a capella, and when they did, it went perfectly. But their spontaneous change of direction reminded me of a conversation I had with Dee Dee Simon after she commented on the benefits of singing on an episode of America’s Got Talent.
Dee Dee Simon’s interpretation of a second song
Dee Dee Simon caused a sensation in AGT Season 19, when she took the stage to perform her version of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” by Dream girlShe was the last performer of the evening and such a success in the theater that it was a surprise that no one pressed the golden buzzer for her. In an interview with CinemaBlend, she made it clear how important it was to her to Dream girl number with her mother in the audience, but she was ready in case she had to adjust. When asked if she had prepared anything else just in case, she said:
Oh man, that was the song I wanted to do. My backup song, if I had the chance or they had forbidden it or told me something else, would have been “I Have Nothing” by Whitney Houston.
You can’t say that Dee Dee Simon didn’t give her all, AGTBecause even though “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” was – to quote Simon Cowell – “one of the most difficult songs in the world”, it is a brave move to sing any song by Whitney Houston as backup. AGT The singer further explained how early in the process she worked on both songs:
Well, I knew I was supposed to audition earlier, but then they postponed it. I had to work on two songs and that meant I spent about three weeks working on the song itself, trying to make it my own.
Just like L6 in the latest episode of AGTDee Dee Simon’s story and personality really came through in the performance. Most notably, during one of the song’s biggest moments, she took off her heels and just kept singing. When I asked her if she had planned this, she replied:
I didn’t plan this. It’s a movement of trying to make my point, and this song in my head is playing in my house. So I’m trying to make my point, and I’m getting comfortable in my house right now. Because now I’m comfortable and it’s time to just say, “I’m not going anywhere. You better sit somewhere.”
Between Dee Dee Simon, L6 and the other singing acts who got enough support from the judges to move on, season 19 of America’s Got Talent could have some pretty fantastic music when the live shows begin. 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 auditions continue and/or stream episodes the next day with a Peacock Premium subscription.
