Carmen Carter became an early favorite on “America’s Got Talent” following her audition performance of INXS‘s “Never Tear Us Apart,” with Simon Cowell proclaiming that she should never be “discriminated against because of [her] size.” When Carmen returned to the stage during the Judge Cuts 3 episode, Simon seemed to change his tune following her rendition of The Beatles‘ “Come Together.” Watch the “AGT” video above and read the judges’ comments below.
“Even though it wasn’t perfect, your voice is outstanding,” Simon told the professional background singer. “But you can’t just keep doing cover versions and expect everything to materialize. That’s the only thing in my opinion you’re lacking, but we’ll see. Good luck.” With so many artists performing original songs this season, is Simon perhaps suggesting that he wants Carmen to branch out and perform an original tune during her next appearance?
Speaking of next appearances, Carmen will definitely be returning to “America’s Got Talent” since the judges — Simon, Julianne Hough, Gabrielle Union, Howie Mandel and Ellie Kemper — sent her through to the upcoming live shows at the Dolby Theatre. She joins fellow acts Light Balance Kids (Ellie’s Golden Buzzer), impersonator Greg Morton, tambourinist Gonzo, guitarist Marcin Patrzalek, danger act Nick and Lindsay and singer MacKenzie.
As for the other judges’ comments, Ellie confessed that she “broke [her] chair in a fit of ecstasy” over Carmen’s powerful vocals, Howie called her “truly worthy” of advancing to the next round, and Gabrielle said that she’s simply “amazing.” Did the panelists make the right decision to send Carmen through to the live shows? Let us know by sounding off down in the comments section.
In his “AGT” live blog, our recapper John Benutty had this to say about the performance: “Next up was Carmen Carter who performed a rousing rendition of ‘Come Together.’ She kicked off the song with high energy and a ton of charisma and continued working the crowd throughout. The only let down was that the arrangement of the song didn’t allow for very much rhythm and instead focused on her ability to hit big notes. That being said, she still got a standing ovation from the crowd and judges and won Ellie over with the display of soul and heart. Simon acknowledged that it ‘wasn’t perfect’ and advised her to do something other than a simple cover next time.”
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