America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League is getting better by the week, and if the competition’s semifinal performances are any indication, the finals will be one of the most intense nights in television history!
Singer Loren Allred has already blown away audiences on AGT: Fantasy League this season. In the semifinals, she was at it again, taking a revered, classic song and elevating it to heights never seen before – much to the shock of the judges.
What song did Loren Allred sing?
One of our favorite parts of any America’s Got Talent vocal performance is when a singer takes a beloved, classic song and adds their unique spin to it. Loren Allred did all this and more during the semifinals, captivating the world with a jaw-dropping rendition of “Over the Rainbow” by Harold Arlen.
Fans young and old recognized the song from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz – and while original vocalist Judy Garland put herself on the map with her original rendition, Allred arguably offered up the best version of the song to date! “Over the Rainbow” has been covered countless times throughout generations. Still, the AGT: Fantasy League performance proved once again that she has the ability to transform any song into something wholly unique, special, and unforgettable.
Our jaws were on the floor – human beings are not supposed to be able to hold such powerful notes for that amount of time!
What did the Judges think of Loren Allred’s performance?
Before the Judges could even get a word out, they followed the lead of the live studio audience and acknowledged Loren Allred with a well-deserved standing ovation. Once the applause died down, the compliments came flying in from the Judges.
“That was what I call a masterclass,” Allred’s Mentor, Simon Cowell, raved. “That’s how you do it.”
Heidi Klum, visibly stunned by what she just witnessed, followed up with equal praise.
“I think I can speak for everyone in this room, but you were giving us all the feels,” she confessed. “You just sounded so beautiful.”
Mel B’s blunt assessment of Loren’s vocal prowess had us nodding our heads.
“You have a voice that is just to die for, literally,” she said.
Interestingly enough, Mel B garnered a few “boos” from the live audience when she continued to assess Allred’s mind-blowing rendition of “Over the Rainbow.”
“I mean, you could sing absolutely anything – which is actually my point. I think if I was your mentor, I would’ve chosen a different song, because you could’ve had everybody in this audience crying,” she said, eliciting gasps from the crowd.
However, Cowell was quick with the snark.
“What, like ‘Wannabe?'” he quipped, referring to the Spice Girls global hit of the 90s.
Ouch. Shots fired!
Why did Simon mock “Wannabe”?
Let’s be honest: One of the most entertaining aspects of any season of America’s Got Talent is the rapport between the Judges, especially Cowell and Mel B – they aren’t afraid to send some good-natured jabs each other’s way.
Cowell wasted no time rushing to Loren’s defense when Mel B suggested his song choice could have been better, specifically bringing up the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe,” the iconic sugar-pop megahit originally released in 1996. It’s as if Simon was saying, You’re right; Loren can even turn your little radio hit into something truly transcendent.
It seemed to us that Mel B was more than a little hurt by Simon’s good-natured jab – through her laughter, she lamented that her drink cup was empty, giving her nothing to pour over Simon’s head, as she is wont to do.
As the competition rolls on, Allred has to be considered one of the odds-on favorites to win the Fantasy League, but as all viewers know by now, Acts will be pulling out all the stops in hopes of taking home the $250,000 prize. Still, in a field dominated by impressive Acts spanning all genres, absolutely nobody would be surprised if someone like Allred is the last Act standing – but the breathtaking performances up to this point in the semifinals make it nearly impossible to gauge who stands out the most.
After all, when the level of competition is this elite, viewers and AGT fans are the true winners anyway.
