America’s Got Talent 2023: 17 year-old blind songstress Putri Ariani receives Simon Cowell’s Golden Buzzer
America’s Got Talent Season 18 returned for a second week of auditions with more talent and emotional stories. Last week’s beautiful dedication to the late contestant Nightbirde was followed up with another great Golden Buzzer pick. Putri Ariani, a 17-year-old blind singer from Indonesia was every bit worthy of the golden buzzer.
In her pre-performance package, Putri opened with the statement, “I always dreamed of being on America’s Got Talent since I was little.” The show doesn’t reveal information like this, but Putri actually saw success as a child. She won Indonesia’s Got Talent in 2014 at the age of 8. She has one album and has seen some streaming success too, with her song “Tak Mampu Lupa” garnering over 11.3 million streams on Spotify.
Putri’s joyful spirit shines through in both her interviews and while on stage. She stated, “my biggest challenge is people look at myself as just a blind person, not a musician, but when I’m singing I feel like a superstar.” Putri told the judges it was her first time in America. She dreams to become like Whitney Houston and to win a Grammy. She hopes to get into Juilliard after high school. (Read our Recap)
Putri sings an original song “Lonliness”
Putri sings an original titled “Loneliness.” It starts angelically and quiet, but she builds it up with a beautiful cry in her voice and an impressive range. Her voice is technically impressive as she crescendos to near whistle notes. Her vocals are prettiest in the quiet moments. The song feels a bit disjointed, but her voice is soulful and showed such potential.
Simon Cowell raced up to the stage post-performance, and asks Putri’s dad if she has a second song. She says she does, and dedicates “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” by Elton John to Simon. The cry in her voice is even more pronounced here. This version is very similar to past X Factor winner Leona Lewis’s rendition. Putri’s version shows crazy range though, and the climax was superb and reminiscent of a Grace Kinstler (American Idol Season 18) type belt. What a masterful performance by Putri!
The crowd appeared stunned as well as Simon who muttered, “oh my God!”. The judges and crowd all stood for Putri. She humbly thanked them, saying, “I feel so excited. I can’t believe it.” Sofia Vergara said, “you’re an angel.” Howie Mandel agrees with that description and also called her a “superstar.” Heidi Klum loved the first song where she switched from her “chest voice to head voice.”
Simon Cowell smashes his Golden Buzzer for Putri Ariani
Putri reveals to the panel that her first song was an original. Simon says, “We are all feeling the same thing. You’re 17. You write songs. You have an amazing, distinct voice.” He continues and tells her, “You have a glow about you.” Simon asks Putri about getting into Julliard, and Simon says, “I don’t know if this will make a difference or not” and pushes the golden buzzer. Simon calls Putri “brilliant” before he hands Putri some of the confetti, so she can hold onto the moment.
Tonight’s talent stepped it up. The singing talent was really strong with Putri wowing with her vocals and Mitch Rossell’s beautifully penned song about his life. The Ramadhani Brothers’ hand balance act is one of the better strength acts I’ve seen, and women dance crew AvantGardey brought quirkiness to the AGT stage. Finally, I found Mandy Muden amusing even if she’s not the best magician we’ve seen. Tuesday night was fun, as I don’t always have 5 favorites from an episode, but this week was a good one. Putri could go the distance, but here’s to hoping we get more variety for the upcoming golden buzzers.
