In Tuesday’s final audition episode of “America’s Got Talent,” get ready to meet Robert Finley, 65-year-old Vietnam War veteran who started going blind about four years ago due to glaucoma. As the Winnsboro, Louisiana native explains in NBC’s sneak peek video (watch above), “The bad things sometimes bring out the best in you. I began to play the music again. It made me reach inside to find myself.” As for whether or not he’s worried about what “AGT” judges Simon Cowell, Julianne Hough, Gabrielle Union and Howie Mandel will think about his performance, Robert smirks, “Simon’s just gonna have to love me, because this is my dream.”
“Music was always a passion of mine,” Robert tells Julianne after he steps out on stage with the help of new host Terry Crews, “so I say I had to lose my physical sight so that I could see my true destiny.” With that, Robert gives an emotional rendition of his original song “Get It While You Can,” a rousing tune about not letting life pass you by.
All four judges give Robert a standing ovation, with Julianne proclaiming, “You might not be able to see us, but I hope you can feel us.” Howie chimes in, “We can tell there’s so much passion and this is a dream. With your talent, you deserve it.” And Gabrielle notes, “Mr. Robert, when you said ‘wrap it up in bacon,’ you had me at hello.”
Simon takes a moment to tell Robert that he liked him “before [he] started singing.” The head judge then adds, “You’ve got this great soul about you. The finest wines are the ones that stay in storage for a few years and then they become beautiful, and that’s how I feel about your voice. You don’t have that voice at 17-20 years old, right? When you connect with a song with a particular lyric, this could go through the roof for you.”
To find out whether Robert makes it to the next round, tune in to “America’s Got Talent” on Tuesday, July 9 for the final audition episode of Season 14.
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