Nolan Neal has travelled some rough roads on his journey to “America’s Got Talent”, opening up about the loss of his father and his own battle with addiction.
On Tuesday night’s “Judge Cuts” edition of the show, his story was recapped in a pre-taped segment before he served up a virtual performance of The Source featuring Candi Staton’s 1986 single “You’ve Got the Love”, which was recorded in 2009 by Florence + The Machine.
Accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, Neal delivered a raw and heartfelt rendition, bursting with emotion.
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Howie Mandel praised Neal for the “great sound” in his voice, which “stirs you emotionally,” while Heidi Klum agreed his voice is “very special.”
“I think you’ve got great taste,” Simon Cowell told Neal. “You really did make it your own. You made it sound very current.”
Cowell ended his evaluation with a joke. “The only problem is you’ve made our job tonight really hard, and I now hate you.”
Check out Neal’s earlier audition — and the amazing response he received from the audience.
