Alabama’s Reid Wilson gave it his all in the semifinals of “America’s Got Talent,” covering a Whitney Houston classic —and earning effusive kudos from all four celebrity judges — on the NBC reality series.
But Wilson’s skillful, slow-mo rendition of “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” didn’t earn enough votes from viewers to keep him in the competition during Season 19. The Montgomery singer, 15, was eliminated on Thursday’s episode.
“I think Reid has a great career ahead of him,” Howie Mandel said, bidding farewell to Wilson on Thursday as the teen left the competition.
This week’s cut was a deep one, trimming the list of hopefuls from 12 to six. Four more contestants have already advanced to the finals, after earning a “Live Golden Buzzer” from one of the judges: Mandel, Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara.
Although the talented teen didn’t make the top 10, Wilson ends his journey on “America’s Got Talent” on a high note. His performance on Wednesday’s episode prompted cheers and applause from both the studio audience and the judges.
“I think your voice is killer,” Mandel said. “Your voice is beautiful. You have such an amazing instrument. Only six acts can go through, and being as good as you are, I think you’re making it harder for America to make choices, you know, and I just hope that they vote. I hope you get through, and I thought that was a good choice in song.”
“I love that you picked a song that is so difficult and so well known, but you made it yours,” Vergara said. “I could hear all your vocals so clear this time with this song. I think you made the right choice. Amazing.”
“You know what? The worst thing is, is being safe,” Cowell said. “And that wasn’t safe, come on. … So this is either going to work, or it isn’t. I wasn’t sure at the beginning, and then towards the end when you hit the big note, I thought: You know what? Smart decision. Good for you.”
“It’s been such a beautiful journey to watch you blossom here on our stage,” Klum said. “You know, you started off in the audition so shy, and literally every time you went better and better. Watching you today, you were roaring. It was so beautiful.”
When asked by series host Terry Crews how it felt to perform the Houston hit on Wednesday, Wilson said, “It felt so great. It’s such an honor to be able to sing one of her songs, and I’m so honored to even be able to sing it here.”
Alabama’s Reid Wilson covered Whitney Houston “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me),” in the Season 19 semifinals of “America’s Got Talent.” Series host Terry Crews is at left in the left photo.(Trae Patton/NBC)
Although he won’t get another chance to compete this season on “America’s Got Talent,” Wilson upped his public profile significantly by appearing on the show. And during a recent interview with AL.com, the teen said he was ready to take the viewers’ verdict in stride.
“I would love to make it through, but, I mean, the competition is getting really fierce,” Wilson. “There’s some people on the season that I’m definitely scared of. If it works out, it does, but if it doesn’t, this isn’t the end of my singing career.”
READ: Alabama teen aims to dazzle viewers on ‘America’s Got Talent’: ‘I want to win so bad’
Six acts who survived the AGT semifinals will now join four “Golden Live Buzzer” acts who advanced to the finals automatically. The top 10 will compete in a two-part finale set to air on Sept. 17 and 24. The winner of Season 19 will receive a $1 million prize, an NBC press release says.
A varied group of entertainers is featured on the show, including singers, acrobats, dancers, magicians, comedians and more. The top 10 are AIRFOOTWORKS, Sebastian & Sonia, Hakuna Matata Acrobats and Dee Dee Simon (all “Live Golden Buzzer” acts), plus Roni Sagi & Rhythm, Sky Elements, Learnmore Jonasi, Solange Kardinaly, Brent Street and Richard Goodall.
READ: 12 times Alabama acts wowed the judges on ‘America’s Got Talent’
If you watch: “America’s Got Talent” airs on NBC. Season 19 will end with a two-part grand finale, set to air on on Sept. 17 and 24. New episodes stream on Peacock the following day.
