‘AGT’: Pregnant Contestant Jessica Sanchez Delivers Touching Performance of ‘Golden Hour’

Jessica Sanchez is living proof that parenthood is no obstacle.

Sanchez has cruised into the Semifinals of America’s Got Talent, doing so while nine months pregnant with a baby girl.

On Tuesday night’s (Sept. 16) episode of AGT, Sanchez did her chances of winning absolutely no harm with a soulful performance of “Golden Hour” by JVKE, hitting high notes and exercising vocal control like a pro.

“I’m so proud that you’re my Golden Buzzer,” judge Sofía Vergara remarked. “Jessica, you get better and better. It’s perfection, your voice, your little belly, your story. I mean, there’s nothing I would change about you or how you do your singing. You’re amazing. I’m so happy for you.”

Howie Mandel was happy for her too, but he questioned Sanchez’s song choice. America will decide if he’s right. “Hopefully they love that song more than me,” he remarked, as boos rung out in the audience.

Mel B said the singing hopeful’s vocals were “just magical,” but also questioned the choice of song. “I could see that it affected you and that’s the most important thing,” she noted. “It was beautiful.”

Simon Cowell, as he so often does, went last with his critique. He loved the song, praising her choice and declared the performance a “moment.” Not only is she talented, but she has “never given up over all of these years,” he remarked. And importantly, she is “very very likeable.”

Cowell’s comments refer to Sanchez’s decades-long pursuit of a career in music. She auditioned for the first season of America’s Got Talent back in 2006, when she herself was a child.

Sanchez returned to AGT for its 20th season, when she auditioned by singing Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things.” The judges were so impressed that Sanchez wound up earning a golden buzzer from Vergara, sending her immediately to the live round of the competition.

Gazing into his crystal ball, Cowell predicts that we’ll be seeing Sanchez next week, when the Finals get underway. And with it, a chance at claiming the $1 million grand prize.

Now America votes, and Sanchez hopes fortune shines on her. “I just keep telling my baby, please just stay in there another week,” she told AGT host Terry Crews.

Six spots are available for the final round. Whoever America sends through will compete with the Golden Buzzer acts from the Quarterfinals: Mama Duke, Micah Palace, Steve Ray Ladson, and Team Recycled. We’ll find out who gets the nod during Wednesday’s hour-long live results show on NBC. The Final will air next Wednesday, Sept. 24.

Watch Sanchez’s performance below.