Country Blues Singer Elsie Splits ‘America’s Got Talent’ Panel With Confessional Original: ‘You Have Star Potential’
While the judges praised the Mississippi singer for her delivery and talent on Tuesday night (July 14), they felt she fumbled with her song choice.
Black News 
After tamping down her own musical dreams to support her husband, 32-year-old mom Elsie took the stage on America’s Got Talent on Tuesday night (July 14) to perform her original soul blues number “Forgiveless,” which had the judges on the panel talking.
The singer, who judge Sofia Vergara said reminded her of Beyoncé — the white cowboy hat, cowboy boots, oversized earrings and cascading braids helped — confidently sang the tune with a clap-along beat and lyrics about washing away sins in the cold water. “I dig down deep to cleanse my soul/ Came up clean, but I can’t let go/ It’s one thing I won’t forget/ I forgive but I won’t forget,” she crooned to the audience’s whoops.
Vergara whispered to fellow judge Simon Cowell, “it’s nice,” as he asked if she liked the song and she said “no.” Though the studio audience appeared to love it, Mel B praised Elsie’s “amazing” voice, even as she suggested that the song choice was a mistake. “I think your voice is so much bigger and better than what you just showed us,” she added, as Elsie became emotional and started to tear up.
“You’re beautiful, your vocals are on point, but I think you’ve got a lot more in the tank,” said the former Spice Girl. Howie Mandel agreed, saying he thought she looked and sounded like a star from the moment she walked out on stage, but he also worried that the overwhelming backing track made it hard to really hear who she was as a singer.
Vergara said Elsie looked and sounded spectacular, but may have missed the mark by performing her original tune. “I didn’t love the song, but I did love you,” she said, drawing a lusty round of boos and thumbs-downs from the audience. Cowell begged to differ, however, telling Elsie she had “everything it takes” to do well in the competition, though he felt she’d “over-prepped” and needed to let go of the reins and allow herself to be more raw. “You have star potential … you have a glow about you,” Cowell said.
When it came time to vote, Mandel gave it a firm “no,” while the rest of the panel voted to let Elsie through to the next round. AGT airs at 8 p.m. ET on NBC on Tuesdays and streams the next day on Peacock.
Watch Elsie on AGT below.
