Listen to Angelica Hale sing, and you won’t believe she is only 9-years-old.
During “America’s Got Talent,” Hale truly wowed the judges with her rendition of Alicia Keys’ “Girl on Fire.”
Take the time to watch the video, and you will see just how into her performance she gets. At -2:17, she is clearly giving the song everything she has.
Angelica’s efforts on “America’s Got Talent” paid off – big time.
Within seconds, the judges bobbed along to the song and the audience members were standing, clapping along in the background. Her parents appeared incredibly proud of her performance at 1:50 when the audience can see them ecstatically cheering.
Angelica may be a 9-year-old, but she has a truly commanding stage presence that makes it impossible to look away. She earned a standing ovation from the judges and audience following her performance.
Chris Hardwick, the guest judge, couldn’t hide his amazement at -1:16. Hardwick explained that when she came on stage, Angelica:
“Looked like an adorable little child. And then you open your mouth and it’s like: How do those pipes fit in that tiny body!”
Chris clearly put into words what everyone was thinking as soon as Angelica started singing. In fact, Chris was so impressed that he hit the Golden Buzzer. Check out Angelica’s ecstatic expression at -0:37, when he presses the buzzer.
With the Golden Buzzer, Angelica Hale automatically made it right to the live shows, where everyone is looking forward to seeing her compete.
In the Judge Cuts posted on Twitter, Angelica seems rightfully excited. She explained that
“My heart was pumping out of my chest. Like when the golden confetti popped, oh my gosh. Like all the breath was stolen out of me.”
Despite her recent success, life wasn’t always easy for Angelica.
She has loved singing since she was 2-years-old, but her dream – and life – almost ended at age 4. According to her official website, Angelica got a bacterial infection in her lungs. This became double pneumonia and led to her going septic as the illness ravaged her body and destroyed her kidneys.
Angelica was on ECMO life support at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta as doctors struggled to save her. This life support acted as her lungs and heart for 12 full days while doctors also performed dialysis and other procedures.
After 80 days in the hospital, Angelica was able to go home, but she needed regular hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis while searching for a kidney transplant.
Finally, the doctors discovered that Angelica’s mom was the perfect match. They ran more tests, and on Sept. 13, 2013, Angelica received her new kidney.
Just a few months after her transplant and recovery, Angelica’s parents were already supporting her dream. According to the America’s Got Talent Wiki, Hale officially began her singing lessons at age 5. Tricia Grey coached her in Alpharetta, Georgia.
With a few months after starting lessons, she took the stage during Duluth Idol in 2013, also in Georgia. This was the first time she sang with a crowd watching and the first time she performed for judges. There was no need to worry, however, as her rendition of “Reflection” and “Part of Your World” earned her the prize for her age group.
Today, Angelica not only sings with a great deal of passion but also gives back while doing so.
Angelica regularly sings as part of fundraisers, including at the hospital she received her treatment with.
We certainly can’t wait to see what Angelica Hale will choose to wow us with during her live performance on “America’s Got Talent.”
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Just wait until you hear Angelica Hale singing this Alicia Keys hit. ???
Posted by America’s Got Talent on Tuesday, July 18, 2017
