Dressed for the occasion, North Carolina singer/songwriter Dani Kerr was draped in fringe, topped in a white hat to complement her white boots, and her guitar in hand as she introduced her original music to America’s Got Talent on Tuesday (June 20).
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Visibly and audibly nervous during the start of her audition, judge Simon Cowell picked up on the 23-year-old the 23-year-old singer’s trepidation and stopped the singer a few moments into her performance of one of her original songs “You Can’t Live Here No More.”
Simon asked Kerr if she brought another song, and she said, “Yes sir,” and started performing another original, a slower ballad called “November” and sang through the heartfelt lyrics, an ode to her career and Tom Petty—I’ve talked to angels through strings / Heard em’ calling my name / But the only way I’ll know I’ve done ok / Is if I get to where Petty went someday / I hope I make it there someday.
“You’re amazing,” said judge Howie Mandel, following Kerr’s compelling performance. “You remind me of Stevie Nicks.” Heidi Klum added, “I hear a little Dolly [Parton], a little Miley [Cyrus].”
Mandel continued, “Thank you so much for being here. You’re wonderful.”
Sofia Vergara was also moved by Kerr’s original song and alluded to her “realness” as an artist. “You Sound amazing,” said Vergara. “You feel so real, which is what you said before.”
Prior to her performance, Cowell asked the singer what she thought of the music business right now. “I feel like a lot of people have gotten away from being real humans in music,” said Kerr, who went on to presumably reference the AI interaction and other digitized components influencing music. “I’m just here to do that and let people know that we’re still here,” she added. “We’re still human. We’re still us. It’s not all robots doing it.”
After her performance, Cowell also added to Kerr’s praise. “I love your songs,” he said. “I think you’re a great writer, authentic, and importantly, your voice is distinct. And not only distinctive, but you have a beautiful voice, beautiful. You have one of my favorite voices this year.”
A music lover since she was a child, Kerr said didn’t get the courage to pursue it until she was 17. In 2022, Kerr released her debut EP, Old Jail Live Sessions, and follow-up, Honky Tonk Hippie: Side One in 2023.
Photo by Trae Patton/NBC
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