The Story of Angelica Hale _ Beyond America's Got Talent

Angelica Hale is an 11-year-old singer who was born in Atlanta, Georgia to James and Eva Hale. Her parents first noticed her singing talent when she was two years old and she began singing popular songs on the radio. At the age of four, Angelica became very ill with double pneumonia due to a bacterial infection in her lungs. The infection was so severe that her lungs had begun to bleed into her abdomen. Angelica's condition worsened and she developed sepsis, a serious blood infection that devastated her kidneys and left them barely functioning. Her blood plasma was polluted and her lungs were just ravaged, Angelica's dad said. Doctors would spend the next three days fighting the infection, desperately trying to stabilize her in an attempt to save Angelica's life. After 80 days in the hospital, Angelica had finally recovered She would undergo dialysis for more than a year to filter pollutants from her blood and the infection had left her kidneys badly scarred. She desperately needed a transplant. It turned out Angelica's mother was a perfect match and could donate a kidney to her daughter. In September of 2013, Angelica Hale and her mom underwent successful kidney transplant surgeries, putting the then six-year-old solidly on the road to recovery. During this time, Angelica also had a desire to pursue her singing career and at the age of five, she began singing lessons with vocal coach Trisha Gray in Alpharetta, Georgia. A few months after she started voice lessons, she got the chance to perform at Duluth Idol in her first competition with actual judges. She performed Reflection from the Disney movie Mulan and she also performed Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid. Angelica ended up winning for her age group and this would begin the foundation for her singing career. In a recent interview, Angelica explained that experience has taught her to never take your future for granted. She said, things can and often do change in the blink of an eye. In 2017, Angelica's life did change in the blink of an eye when she auditioned for season 12 of America's Got Talent. The singer was nine years old at the time and advanced to the judge cuts round after wowing the judges with her rendition of Andra Day's Rise Up. During the judge cuts round, Angelica earned a golden buzzer from guest judge Chris Hardwick after performing Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys. Angelica's golden buzzer win sent her straight to the live shows where she would perform Clarity by Zedd in the quarterfinals and Without You by David Guetta in the semifinals. Angelica then advanced to the finals where she performed Symphony by Clean Bandit. Ultimately, Angelica would finish the competition in second place, becoming the youngest runner-up in the show's history. Shortly after the competition ended, Angelica got to perform four nights at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas with several other AGT finalists. When you're as talented as Angelica Hale, the end of competition on America's Got Talent doesn't mean your time in the spotlight is truly over. Since her America's Got Talent performance, Angelica has been traveling across the country, performing everywhere from the spout float at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to corporate events and sporting matches. Angelica often uses her voice to raise awareness for causes close to her heart. In November of 2017, Angelica became the first-ever National Kidney Foundation Kid Ambassador. She later traveled to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers as part of a group to inspire action for kidney disease at the fifth annual Kidney Patient Summit. In the spring of 2018, Angelica was named as the national spokesperson for Sepsis Alliance's It's About Time campaign, which raises awareness of sepsis as a medical emergency. In November of 2018, she performed Georgia On My Mind for the Atlanta Women's Foundation before Laura Bush, Jill Biden, and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. She also had the chance to meet Michelle Obama during a performance in New York, saying, Last night was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience meeting and performing for such a caring person and wonderful role model for young girls all over the world just like myself. At the end of last year, Angelica performed Santa Claus is Coming to Town from her first Christmas album during the NFL halftime show between the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals. She officially released her Christmas EP, Christmas Wonder, the next day on December 17, 2018. Also at the end of the year, Angelica had the opportunity to work with the Atlanta Falcons, creating an inspirational video cover of Rise Up by Andra Day after the team suffered setbacks due to player injuries. Angelica Hill returned to the America's Got Talent spotlight early this year when she appeared on the Champions edition of the show. The 11-year-old singer was the runner-up for season 12 and explained her life has changed ever since she appeared on the show. Judge Simon Cowell told Angelica that he thinks coming in second on a show like AGT is probably the hardest thing for someone her age to deal with. From the moment she started to sing, Angelica captivated the audience and viewers with her rendition of Rachel Platten's Fight Song. The performance brought the audience and judges to their feet as they cheered on the singer. Judge Howie Mandel said, You showed up and ripped the ceiling off this theater. You know what? That was your fight song, and if I can do anything, I'm going to help you win this fight. He then hit the golden buzzer, sending Angelica to the floor in shock. With Howie's buzzer press, Angelica Hill made history as the first-ever America's Got Talent contestant to earn two golden buzzers. Angelica failed to make the top five with her finale performance, but said she was just really thankful to be back on stage doing what she loves most. When I was on stage two years ago, that last time, I was telling myself that I might never get to be able to do this again, she explains. And then I got the opportunity to go on America's Got Talent, The Champions, and I was so, so, so extremely excited. I finally got another chance. I'm so grateful. Angelica continued to maintain a busy schedule after her America's Got Talent Champions appearance. She recently became a member of the Screen Actors Guild and will make her first movie appearance as Anna in the independent film American Reject. The film is about a singing hopeful on America's hottest singing competition who was catapulted into the dismal afterlife of reality television fame. Billy Ray Cyrus and Rebecca Black of Friday fame will also be featured in the film. I love acting, Angelica said. It was a fantastic experience. In April of this year, Angelica joined Filipino singing group TNT Boys as a special guest for a of stops on their Listen World Tour. The TNT Boys and Angelica performed Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You during the first leg of the tour in Los Angeles. Angelica is also lending her voice to some animated projects. Angelica will voice the title character in the upcoming animated series Maya Unstoppable, which is expected to premiere sometime this year. She's also excited about her guest starring role voicing a character on the upcoming Disney animated series T.O.T.S. Angelica released her debut single Feel the Magic earlier this month. She explained, I wrote Feel the Magic as a reminder to myself and my fans that even when things get tough, you just have to believe in yourself and know that you'll get through it. We may not know what's next for the young songstress, but we expect fans of Angelica will be feeling her magic for years to come.