Sara James Was Inspired by Grace VanderWaal to Audition for 'AGT'

June 18, 2024

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Jill O'Rourke

Jill O’Rourke is a contributor at Talent Recap, writing news stories and recaps for shows like ‘AGT,’ ‘The Voice,’ and ‘American Idol.’ She graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English and Film Studies, and has been writing about pop culture since 2012, with previous bylines at Crushable and A Plus. Jill spends her free time binge-watching sitcoms and daydreaming about life as a hobbit

| September 29, 2022 Terry Crews, Sara James on 'America's Got Talent'

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America’s Got Talent Season 17 finalist Sara James recently opened up about her decision to audition for the show in a new interview. The 14-year-old from Poland earned the Golden Buzzer from Simon Cowell in her audition earlier this year.

AGT‘s Sara James Found Inspiration in Grace VanderWaal’s Success

Sara previously competed in Junior Eurovision in 2021, representing Poland with the song “Somebody.” She watched clips of America’s Got Talent online starting at 6 years old, but it was Grace VanderWaal’s winning appearance on the show in 2016 that inspired her to audition.

“She inspired me a lot,” Sara told Polish Glamour, according to a translation. The singer decided to try out, explaining, “First it came from me, then my mother and I thought about it, and finally my team sent the application and it worked.”

Sara said it was an “amazing feeling” when she first learned she had been invited to perform on the show for Season 17, saying, “I thought they were kidding me.”

The singer’s experience on the show was a positive one, as she said the production was full of “very open and very nice people,” and it felt like a family. She also got to choose her own outfits and the style in which she would perform the songs.

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Sara Talks About Singing “Running Up That Hill”

For her Finals performance, Sara chose to sing “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush. The song, first released in 1985, gained a new popularity this year thanks to its appearance in the Netflix series Stranger Things.

“I’ve always known Kate Bush, but I didn’t fully understand her yet,” Sara told Glamour of her relationship with the song. “This song is about such a difficult love really. You know, I’m 14, so how can I sing about difficult love.”

Sara said she wanted to make the song her own. Although she didn’t receive enough votes to make it into the Top 5 for Season 17, she definitely made her mark on the AGT stage as one of the most talented young singers we’ve seen.

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