Longtime viewers of America’s Got Talent may have picked up on a certain quirk of Simon Cowell‘s: When a singer with gets a few bars into a song, he often raises his hand, indicating that they should stop singing.
“Simon has this thing…he will just stop the audition,” Mel B. explained during AGT‘s 20th birthday party special. “And then the whole vibe in the room just goes…[screeching to a halt].”
Cowell knows the move makes people nervous. “It’s not easy because the minute I hold my hand up, I’m like, ‘Here we go, the audience are just gonna hate me,'” he admitted, but explained, “I do it because I’m thinking, ‘I don’t think we’re going to air this.'”
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“The reality is, he’s got an ear for this, and he’s giving them another chance and sometimes that chance is a tough chance,” added Howie Mandel, pointing to the example of Season 13’s Daniel Emmet, who auditioned without a second song ready to go. Cowell gave him an hour to learn one, and it ended up being just the challenge he needed.
As Mel B. said, “99.9% of the time [Cowell redirects an Audition], it works out.” Emmet, for instance, is currently touring with David Foster, and says he is “especially grateful” to Cowell for seeing his potential.
Simon Cowell pulled the move with this grandmother-granddaughter pair
Gina Bellina’s granddaughter, Lilliana, secretly signed her up to Audition for AGT Season 20 with an original song, and backed her up on guitar. It was a sweet moment, and the song was pretty, but Gina had trouble with some of the notes, and Cowell, looking for perfection, stopped the Act partway through. “OK, right, um…Hang on a second,” he said before offering an idea to Gina’s granddaughter. “Lilliana, do you sing?”
“I do,” Lilliana told Cowell. “Can I hear you sing it?” Cowell said, drawing gasps from the audience.
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Before she knew what was happening, Lilliana’s AGT Audition began. “That’s a lot of pressure,” she said to herself before beginning to sing her grandmother’s song — all while strumming on her guitar. She sounded great, making her grandmother so proud and totally impressing Cowell. Just goes to show, a raised hand from the British Judge isn’t a bad thing — it’s a chance to improve.
