When Jessica Sanchez auditioned for the first season of America’s Got Talent back in 2006, she was a child — now, she’s back and performing while with child on national TV.
On Tuesday’s (Sept. 2) episode of the show, Sanchez appeared in the third quarterfinal round to deliver a heart-wrenching performance of Alex Warren’s breakout hit “Ordinary.” Wearing an oversized suit to show off her eight-month baby bump, Sanchez powered through the song, earning a raucous standing ovation by the end of her performance.
Audiences were even further impressed when judge Simon Cowell revealed that Sanchez was powering through some health complications during the number. “Seconds ago, before Jessica came out, I heard that she wasn’t feeling too good. And I said, ‘Genuinely, it’s your choice whether you want to do this or not,’” he said. “And Jessica said, ‘No, I want to do this.’ I was like, ‘You are a brave, brave person.’”
Cowell continued showering Sanchez with praise, saying that the singer had “an amazing tone” and a “glow” throughout the performance of the song that topped Billboard‘s weekly Songs of the Summer list for all 14 weeks this season. “People are going to really like you, I really believe [they will] root for you,” he said. “I am so happy after all these years, on our 20th anniversary, you’ve come back. Thank you.”
The storied singing competition judge was referring to Sanchez’s first performance on America’s Got Talent‘s very first season. The singer, who was then 10 years old, made it to the semifinals round of the competition as a wildcard contestant, but ultimately did not secure the votes to move onto the finale.
Sanchez came back to AGT for its 20th season, where she auditioned for the show singing Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things.” The judges were so impressed that Sanchez wound up earning a golden buzzer from judge Sofia Vergara, sending her immediately to the live round of the competition.
Watch Sanchez’s stirring performance of Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” above. The results of Tuesday night’s voting will be revealed on Wednesday night’s (Sept. 3) show at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
