Teen opera singer Laura Bretan has consistently stunned judges and fans on "America's Got Talent" but this week, she'll face her biggest performance yet.
Two weeks ago, Bretan advanced to the finale of the hit NBC talent show, while her fellow Chicago singers, a high school choir group called "Musicality," were eliminated.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long,” Bretan said.
"Musicality" was knocked out of the running by 12-year-old singer-songwriter Grace VanderWaal, who shared an emotional hug with the group before they left the stage.
Bretan’s performances have made headlines since her remarkable debut on the hit show earlier this summer, but her last show-stopper meant more than just her shot at the $1 million prize.
Giving what Simon Cowell called her “best vocal performance” as she sang “Pie Jesu,” Bretan was actually honoring her grandfather, one of her biggest supporters, who passed away in January.
“Growing up my grandfather used to live with us. Every day I’d come home from school he would be waiting for me at the doorstep,” she said in a video shown before her performance. “He listened to opera and he really encouraged me to sing with him. He was like my best friend.”
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And she did not disappoint.
“You feel her heart and I hope that translates through the screen,” said Howie Mandel. “This was an O-M-G night.”
Whether or not she'll be able to top that in her performance at this week's finale remains to be seen.
The two-night finale of "America's Got Talent" begins Tuesday at 7 p.m. CT on NBC.
