NEED TO KNOW
Simon Cowell didn’t mince his words after one grandmother took the America’s Got Talent stage.
On the July 8 episode of the hit NBC competition series, contestant Gina Bellina explained that she made her way to AGT after her granddaughter Lilliana secretly signed her up without her permission.
“The great thing is that I’m here,” Gina told Simon, 65, and his fellow judges Sofía Vergara, Howie Mandel and Mel B as her granddaughter stood nearby with a guitar. “Second great thing is that I’m here with my granddaughter Lilliana. And my granddaughter is the reason I’m here.”
When asked how that came to be, she responded, “Behind my back, she signed me up… I only know [sic] like two days before I was supposed to come here.”
“I signed her up behind her back,” Lilianna admitted. “I wasn’t sure if she was going to be mad, but I just felt like if I told her beforehand, she might get psyched out and not do it. So, luckily, she was excited.”
Trae Patton/NBC
As the crowd cheered ahead of her performance, Gina shared, “You’re going to make me cry even before I sing the song.” She then performed an original song for the judges.
With the judges appearing underwhelmed with Gina’s vocals, Simon halted the performance, saying, “Hang on a second.”
He then turned the tables and asked Lilliana if she sang. After confirming that she did, she asked, “You want to hear me sing that song? That’s a lot of pressure.”
Shaking off her stage fright, Lilliana took over the vocals for an impromptu audition — and impressed the crowd and judges as a result, earning a standing ovation from the audience.
NBC
“You’ve got Gina here, but weirdly Gina got you here,” Simon said. “Because you’ve got the better voice.”
“She does, definitely,” Gina agreed.
“You’re actually cool and I like you and I think people are going to root for you,” Simon added. “So, as long as Gina, you’re prepared to let Liliana sing, this could work.”
Trae Patton/NBC
Gina gave her granddaughter the seal of approval, saying, “It’s OK, darling! It’s for you.”
“Your granddaughter has a beautiful voice,” Howie, 69, said. “Gorgeous voice.”
Sofía, 52, also praised the performance, saying, “I like that Simon told you to sing because we would have never known you had this beautiful, beautiful voice. I mean, I think the people are going to love you because you’re so good.”
NBC
Ultimately, Simon, Howie and Sofía said yes, but Mel B was underwhelmed, voting no. She said, “I have to be honest, it didn’t quite get there for me.”
Still, with three votes, Lilliana got to move ahead to the next round. However, it’s unclear if her grandmother will join her as she continues on in the competition.
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America’s Got Talent airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
