Angelina Greene, 13, took the stage to share her personal tale of how music had become her haven. She revealed that her commitment to singing, which she had taken seriously since her parents’ divorce, greatly lessened the hardship of the circumstance. Angelina walked nervously inside the enormous auditorium, describing her mother as her best friend and confidante. She was ready to open her heart and use music as a sort of emotional therapy despite her youth and obvious trepidation, which set the stage for a really touching audition.
Angelina decided to sing The Pretenders’ “I’ll Stand By You” during her performance. She performed the stirring ballad with a depth and maturity that belied her advanced age. Her unadulterated voice and the song’s emotional impact produced a captivating moment in the theater. The judges were clearly moved by the performance’s conclusion and realized that she had accomplished music’s ultimate purpose, which is to emotionally move her audience. Judge Mel B subsequently acknowledged the unexpected depth of the child singer’s musicianship when she said that she felt the presence of a “old soul inside of that little 13-year-old body.”
Angelina’s artistry and vulnerability were praised by all of the judges. She made his “goosebumps have goosebumps,” as the notoriously severe Simon Cowell famously remarked, and he called it one of his favorite auditions. But Mel B was the one who reached forward and slammed the coveted Golden Buzzer, mesmerized by the intense emotional connection and the overwhelming brilliance on display. The panel’s opinion that Angelina was a truly unique find because she was able to transform her own suffering into a beautiful, resonating performance was confirmed by this dramatic move, which propelled her straight to the live performances.
