America's Got Talent contestant Mandy Harvey delivered a jaw-dropping vocal performance that won her the Golden Buzzer during Tuesday night's episode.
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Mandy, 29, introduced herself to the judging panel along with her interpreter, Sarah.
"I lost my hearing when I was 18-years-old," revealed Mandy, who began singing at the age of four.
"How did you lose your hearing if you don't mind me asking?" Simon asked the contestant.
"I have a connective tissue disorder, so basically I got sick and my nerves deteriorated," she replied.
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A package then played of Mandy hanging out backstage with her father.
"Growing up the only thing I wanted to do was sing. I ended up going to school for vocal music education so that I could have that be my life," Mandy explained. "When I was in college, I thought I had an ear infection and it just got worse and worse, and by Christmas, I was borderline legally deaf in both ears."
"There was one day where the teacher was going to play the piano and I had to chart out everything he was playing... I was waiting for the test to start and then one by one every person got up and left the room," she continued.
"That was the last day I was a part of the music program. That was a bad day... Everything that I ever wanted was just going away and I couldn't stop it."
Mandy left music after she lost her hearing, but her father knew it was still inside of her, so he apparently suggested they play a song together.
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"I said well that's crazy, but I had a guitar tuner and I hummed my starting note and just went for it. Music now isn't about the sound, it's about the feeling," she told the cameras. "I did something I never believed I could do."
Getting back to Mandy's audition, she revealed to America's Got Talent judges that she sings with muscle memory using visual tuners and trusting her pitch. She also took her shoes off when onstage to feel vibrations and the rhythm in the floor.
Mandy, who said she never wanted to give up on her passion, wowed Simon, Heidi Klum, Melanie "Mel B" Brown, and Howie Mandel with an original song called "Try," which she sang while playing a ukulele.
The singer received a standing ovation from the crowd and all four judges.
"Mandy, I don't think you're going to need a translator for this," Simon said before pushing his coveted Golden Buzzer, sending Mandy straight through to the live shows.
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"It was incredible. I've done this a long time," Simon said of her performance. "That was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen and heard."
Mandy's audition ended with Simon hugging her on the stage, saying, "You know what, Mandy? We found each other."
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski