INDONESIAN songbird Putri Ariani has done what many would have thought to be impossible at one point: won the heart of potty-mouthed judge Simon Cowell during popular reality TV series America’s Got Talent (AGT) during the show’s audition segment on Wednesday (June 7).
According to USA Today, the 17-year-old singer-songwriter who performed an original song titled Loneliness while playing the piano moved Cowell to quickly press the Golden Buzzer.
The critical judge, who is known for his barbed commentary, raced to the stage to whisper into the singer’s ear for an encore.
Putri, who is visually-impaired, accepted the entertainment mogul’s request and belted out a rendition of the classic Elton John hit song Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word to rousing applause and a standing ovation from the judges and audience.
The Golden Buzzer endorsement by Cowell will see Putri advancing to the Live Show segment which will be held at the Hollywood Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, USA.
In an exclusive interview with CNN Indonesia, Putri said the instant global recognition felt like a dream and she had a hard time waking up.
“I can’t describe it in words. It still feels like a dream. I am grateful and very happy,” the 11th grader said in the interview, adding that she had not expected such a response from people not only in her home country but from around the world.
On how she has become a global phenomenon following her stint on AGT, the modest teen said she wanted to show that she was the same as everyone else.
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“I just want to tell the world that we are able, we are capable, we are equal. Because we are capable, we can, and we are the same. So, there should be no more stereotype-based discrimination,” she remarked.
Putri, who was born in Yogyakarta, has been blind since she was three months old but despite the challenges she has faced, she learned to play the piano, guitar, and flute, and began composing her own songs.
Not her first rodeo
But while Putri’s appearance on AGT coincided with her first visit to the United States, this isn’t the first time she has seen triumph on the “Got Talent” franchise.
Fans of the franchise would be quick to point out that Putri, at only eight years old, had appeared on Indonesia’s Got Talent in 2014, ultimately winning Season 2 of the talent competition show.
She continued on a series of other singing shows and slowly became a well-known face in her native motherland.
Putri became a finalist on 2016’s The Voice Kids Indonesia when she was 10, and two years later performed Song Of Victory at the Asian Para Games.
Following her TV show success, she has released almost 30 songs on her iTunes during her teenage years, ranging from singles to live performances.
Her most successful song, Tak Mampu Lupa (which translates to Can’t Forget), was released in 2022, and has received more than 11 million plays on Spotify to date.
She continues to delight her fans by posting her original music, song covers, charitable projects, and travels to her almost two million TikTok followers.
According to Daily Mail, the rising star also often introduces her 450,000 Instagram followers to good causes, including encouraging fans to donate to clean water efforts and buy holiday gifts for orphans.
“I will never give up because I know that I’m invincible, not invisible. I’m capable. I’m powerful. I’m brave. I’m spectacular. I believe that everyone has their own potential,” she was reported as saying during a recent TED talk.
Before starting her performance on AGT, she said her biggest challenge is people looking at her just as a blind person and not as a musician.
“But when I’m singing, I feel like I’m a superstar. My dream is being the biggest diva in the world like [American singer] Whitney Houston, and to win a Grammy award. I hope that I can get into Juilliard for my college programme,” she added. – June 12, 2023
Main pic credit: Jakarta Post
