An 12-year-old girl left the judges on America’s Got Talent dumbfounded with an impressive cover of an Aretha Franklin number.
Ansley Burns, from Anglesey, South Carolina, is set to appear on Tuesday evening’s episode of the talent show. A teaser for the episode, which was shared on YouTube on Sunday, shows a snippet of the seventh grader’s performance.
The video sees Ansley, who regularly sings in her school’s choir, performing 1968 hit Think to a backing track, before she is told by lead judge Simon Cowell that she has to sing an a cappella version of the song.
Wow! Ansley Burns (pictured), from Anglesey, South Carolina, is set to appear on Tuesday evening’s episode of America’s Got Talent
Talent: A teaser for Tuesday’s episode shows the talented 12-year-old singing Aretha Franklin’s Think for the audience and the judges during her audition
The video began as the seventh grader made her way on stage. As she spoke to the judges about where she is from, her charming personality immediately caught the judges’ attention.
‘You’ve got a great accent, by the way,’ Simon, who is an executive producer of the show, said at one stage.
Dream come true: In a behind-the-scenes teaser for her performance, the seventh grader said appearing on America’s Got Talent is a ‘dream’ for her
In a behind-the-scenes teaser for her performance, Ansley said appearing on America’s Got Talent is a ‘dream’ for her, as she said she would often sing to her grandmother and pretend she was on the show.
‘It’s like I’m stepping into the television, because usually I watch it on TV,’ she said.
Ansley also said: ‘I would love to sing for the rest of my life.’
The behind-the-scenes footage also saw her revealing that although she was excited to perform for the judges, she was ‘nervous’ about seeing Simon.
The video then panned back to her stage performance, as she revealed she would be singing Aretha Franklin’s song Think.
‘You’re going to do Aretha Franklin at 12?’ Simon asked her, before Ansley responded: ‘Uh huh’.
The 12-year-old then began singing the song to a backing track, which Simon quickly pointed out wasn’t doing her performance justice.
‘Where did they get this track from?’ he asked his fellow judges, Howie Mandel, Julianne Hough and Gabrielle Union, during her performance.
Unimpressed: The judge said he thought the backing track to the song was ‘horrible’, and suggested that the 12-year-old sing the song a capella
Nervous: Ansley appeared nervous and scared when Simon asked to stop singing, and she looked hesitant to perform the song without any backing music
He was then seen holding his hand up to the audience and then toward the stage, signalling that he wanted the performance to come to a halt.
He said: ‘Ansley, Ansley, sorry babe. I don’t think this backing track was working for you.
Scared: After realizing how nervous Ansley was, Simon offered her some water
‘I mean it was a horrible, horrible backing track.
‘So I don’t think we can judge you properly on this, I really don’t,’ he added, and Ansley began to look nervous.
Simon added: ‘We really like you, but that was terrible.’
The judge then asked the singer if she would perform the song a capella – group or solo singing without the accompaniment of an instrument or music.
He said: ‘I’m just wondering if we should just do a verse and a chorus maybe a capella.’
The 12-year-old looked nervous and hesitant to perform the song without any backing track.
Realizing how nervous she was, Simon offered her some water. At one point Ansley’s mother, father and younger brother are seen in the stage wings looking anxious.
He stood up from his chair, and walked over to the stage to give the girl his cup of water.
After she took a sip from the cup, the hilarious 12-year-old said: ‘Uh, well that just happened,’ and the audience laughed.
She then prepared to sing the song a capella, and was cheered on by the audience and the judges. ‘You can do this, Ansley,’ Simon said, while Julianne added: ‘You’ve got this, girl!’
Kind: He stood up from his chair, and walked over to the stage to give Ansley his cup of water. She then drank a sip from the cup, and placed it at the side of the stage
Encouragement: The audience and the judges cheered Ansley on before she sang her song for the second time, this time with no backing track
Confidence: Eager to boost Ansley’s confidence, Simon said: ‘You can do this, Ansley,’ while Julianne added: ‘You’ve got this, girl!’
Incredible! When she sang the song, she wowed judges and the audience with her unbelievable vocals and stage presence
Impressed! Judges Julianne Hough (R) and Gabrielle Union (L) were seen standing out of their seats and clapping along to the song at one point
Ansley began singing the song once again, this time without any background music.
Her performance left the judges dumbfounded as they watched her confidently singing the song and walking around the stage.
Judges Julianne Hough and Gabrielle Union were seen standing out of their seats and clapping along to the song at one point.
The preview clip concluded as Ansley broke down into tears after the successful performance.
Since the video was shared on YouTube, it has garnered over seven million views and over 4,000 comments.
Many users agreed with Simon that the backing track didn’t do Ansley’s performance justice, with one user saying: ‘I understand where simon was coming from. That instrumental was too big for her. She did good without it.’
Meanwhile, others complimented the seventh grader’s charming personality and incredible vocals.
‘Wow! I love her personality. She’s amazing. Many would give up in her situation but she took the challenge and was determined to succeed,’ one user commented.
Another said: ‘She dealt with this situation smoothly, she has a good self control at such a young age. Props to her.’
America’s Got Talent airs on NBC on Tuesdays at 8 p.m.
