WATCH: Jessica Sanchez delivers powerful performance of 'Die with a Smile' in 'AGT' finale
Jessica Sanchez, nine months pregnant, unleashed her signature fierce vocals with her rendition of “Die with a Smile” in America’s Got Talent’s Season 20 finale, earning a standing ovation from the audience and all four judges.
On Sept. 24 (Philippine time), the Filipino American singer delivered a fresh arrangement of the Lady Gaga-Bruno Mars duet, and judges Howie Mandel, Sofia Vergara, Mel B, and Simon Cowell were all praises for her performance.
“What can I say? It’s perfection. You look like a little pregnant angel. You look beautiful. Your voice; I’ve never heard anything like that. Bravo, Jessica, bravo,” Vergara told Sanchez, who was draped in a white floor-length, long-sleeved gown.
Mel B had the same sentiments: “I feel like every time you sing, you kind of bring us into your world more and more. You give us more emotion, more passion. One thing that I can say about you is that no matter what song you sing, your vocals are just flawless and pitch-perfect every single time. And I want to thank you, and maybe your baby’s gonna thank you; you kept the baby in all this time.”
It was the perfect moment for a gender reveal onstage. Responding to Mel B, Sanchez caressed her belly and said softly, “She’s been a good girl.”
Vergara caught it and announced the reveal for all to hear: “It’s a girl! It’s a girl!”
Mandel was equally impressed with Sanchez’s performance.
“You know what? I agree with everything my fellow judges say. And maybe this is my opinion, but so far, this is the best act of the night,” he said.
Rounding up the panel, Cowell was all praises for Sanchez: “I felt that there was an extra 10% from you from before…Actually, there are two of you, so it was like a duo, right?
“It was so important for our 20th anniversary that you came back, importantly to show that even if you don’t win the first time, you’ve got to always believe in yourself. And that’s what you’ve done. And I think that was actually a beautiful arrangement, and I thought you sounded amazing. Seriously, it was, I think, the best performance we heard from you so far,” Cowell said.
Sanchez is currently competing to become the grand winner of this season, being one of the top 10 finalists on AGT. The winner will be announced on Wednesday night (Sept. 25 morning, Manila time) after a round of public voting.
Although she’s done this before as a contender in AGT’s first season, where she exited as a semi-finalist, Sanchez admitted to feeling “all the feels” before the finale.
“I am so close to my due date, so that’s a little crazy. But I’m also super excited. And like I said, just [to] be here nine months pregnant, this is like a once-in-a-lifetime kinda thing, so I’m super, super excited,” Sanchez said hours before she stood onstage to perform. “There are so many amazing talents, and I’m just honored to be on the stage sharing it with them. And I just hope to give America the best that I’ve got for the finales.”
Apart from AGT, Sanchez also joined the 11th season of American Idol in 2012, placing second.
Soon after the season wrapped, Sanchez joined the TV series Glee as a guest performer for two episodes toward the end of season 4. She played Frida Romero, the powerhouse lead of the Hoosierdaddies, the rival of Glee’s main glee club New Directions.
More recently, Sanchez went viral with TikTok stars Anthony Gargiula and Jonathan Tilkin with their performance of Golden from the Netflix animated hit KPop Demon Hunters.
