{"id":217278,"date":"2025-09-11T04:27:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T04:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/217278\/"},"modified":"2025-09-11T04:27:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T04:27:13","slug":"simon-cowell-wowed-by-fantastic-birmingham-youth-fellowship-choir-on-americas-got-talent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/217278\/","title":{"rendered":"Simon Cowell wowed by ‘fantastic’ Birmingham Youth Fellowship Choir on ‘America’s Got Talent’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Simon Cowell <\/a>loves them. And it\u2019s clear that \u201cAmerica\u2019s Got Talent\u201d<\/a> fans love them, too. <\/p>\n

The Birmingham Youth & Young Adult Fellowship Choir <\/a>moved one step closer to victory on the NBC reality series this week, securing a spot in the semifinals. <\/p>\n

The Alabama vocal troupe,<\/a> more than 30 members strong, performed on AGT<\/a> Tuesday night during a round known as the quarterfinals. The choir offered joyful vignettes of two songs: Fatboy Slim\u2019s \u201cPraise You\u201d and Kirk Franklin\u2019s \u201cWhen I Think About Jesus.\u201d <\/p>\n

(Watch the choir\u2019s performance in the video below.) <\/p>\n

The energetic troupe closed the two-hour episode, delighting the show\u2019s four judges \u2014 Cowell, Howie Mandel, Sof\u00eda Vergara and Mel B \u2014 and earning applause from the studio audience. Cowell, in particular, appeared to be wowed by the choir and its director, Ahkeem Lee<\/a>, lavishing the singers with kudos. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat was fantastic,\u201d Cowell said on Tuesday. \u201cThat\u2019s called lighting up the room, lighting up the sky. I mean, seriously, that\u2019s what a great choir should do, right? Every single one of you played a part.\u201d <\/p>\n

Folks who watch \u201cAmerica\u2019s Got Talent\u201d evidently agreed with Cowell, voting the choir into the semifinals. Results from overnight voting were announced on Wednesday\u2019s episode. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels amazing,\u201d Lee said when the choir was announced as a semifinalist. \u201cThese young people have worked really hard.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Birmingham Youth & Young Adult Fellowship Choir is now among acts that will perform again on Sept. 16, hoping to gain viewer votes and a spot in the finals. <\/p>\n

The choir has been a favorite on AGT this season, earning a coveted \u201cGolden Buzzer\u201d <\/a>from Cowell during its initial audition, which aired in July. The choir\u2019s performance of \u201cJoyful, Joyful\u201d impressed the notoriously tough judge, and allowed the singers to advance directly from the auditions to the quarterfinals, skipping any cuts in-between. <\/p>\n

(Watch the choir\u2019s audition in the video below.)<\/p>\n

The choir, founded in 2015, is a nonprofit organization that \u201caims to provide a creative space for youth and young adults to share and develop their musical talents through proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ,\u201d according to its website<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Director Lee talked about the troupe\u2019s origins during a video clip that aired on Tuesday\u2019s episode. <\/p>\n

\u201cI started the Birmingham Youth Fellowship Choir at the historic 16th Street Baptist Church<\/a>,\u201d Lee said. \u201cThe whole idea was providing a place for youth so they could feel safe. Ten years later, we\u2019re still here. If anything, it has blossomed into something even more. \u2026 It has been a massive outpouring of love from our city and now we are back and we are ready to do some great things on stage.” <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1\/22<\/p>\n

Birmingham Youth and Young Adult Fellowship Choir Will McLelland\/AL.com<\/p>\n

In the next round of \u201cAmerica\u2019s Got Talent,\u201d the number of acts will be trimmed to six via overnight voting by viewers. The semifinals are set to air on Sept. 16-17. <\/p>\n

The finals for Season 20, scheduled for Sept. 23-24, will feature the top vote-getters from the semifinals, a Golden Buzzer wildcard (to be determined next week) and four acts that moved directly from the quarterfinals to the finals. <\/p>\n

If you watch:<\/b> The semifinals of \u201cAmerica\u2019s Got Talent\u201d airs on Tuesday, Sept. 16, and Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m. CT on NBC. Episodes stream the next day on Peacock. <\/p>\n

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