Simon Cowell gives his first Golden Buzzer to singer Liv Warfield on ‘AGT’ [WATCH]
On June 4, “America’s Got Talent” season 19 continued with the second installment of audition episodes. In this initial stage of the competition, each judge is given two “golden buzzer” decisions to make where they can send an act straight through to the live shows. During “Auditions 2,” Simon Cowell found a new compliment to give someone. He told Liv Warfield that listening to her song “was like being, in a good way, punched in the face” before awarding her his first golden buzzer. Watch the full performance in the video above.
Prior to Liv’s performance, Simon asked her about her career and what it’s been like working in the music industry. She said that she’s been on stages with great artists like Prince and Nancy Wilson, but that the industry is “really hard because things have changed over time.” She added that despite the toughness of the business, she will “continue to push” because she wants to “inspire people coz I haven’t quit, and I won’t.” For her performance, she was joined by nine members of a band that included horns, brass, guitar and drum players to produce a roaring number that surprised Simon.
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Throughout Liv’s performance, Simon’s facial expressions went from a full jaw drop to deep stare and all the way back to pure joy as he spun around to see the excitement of the audience. At the end of the performance, all of the judges gave a standing ovation and Simon was the first to speak. He regretted that the performance “wasn’t long enough” and noted that the lyric about a wrecking ball is how the force of the song made him feel. He explained that “it was like being, in a good way, punched in the face by your energy, the band, all these years of frustration and you’ve come on here.” He told Liv that he couldn’t possibly give her a “yes” vote because instead he had to hit the Golden Buzzer. After he ascended the stage to think Liv and the band, he told her that “great things are gonna happen after this.”
As the third golden buzzer act of the season, Liv will skip the next cut and advance straight to the live shows. She joins comedian Learnmore Jonasi and singer Richard Goodall who were chosen for the honor by Terry and Heidi, respectively, during “Auditions 1.”
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