Kechi Okwuchi elicited a standing ovation and plenty of tears on Monday when she delivered an emotionally charged performance on America's Got Talent: The Champions. At age 16, Okwuchi survived a plane crash that killed 107 of the 109 passengers aboard, leaving her with third-degree burns and what doctors predicted to be a 30 percent chance at survival. Now 28, the Texas native is back on the America's Got Talent [1] stage after making it to the finals of the NBC show back in 2017 — and she's definitely in it to win it.
During Monday night's episode, Okwuchi brought the audience (us included!) to tears when she sang a touching rendition of "You Are the Reason" by Calum Scott. Once judges Howie Mandel, Mel B [2], and Heidi Klum [3] gave high praise for her performance, Simon Cowell [4] threw the crowd for a loop when he said, "I'm gonna be honest with you — I didn't really like it that much." After a long, dramatic pause, he added, "I actually loved it," before smashing the golden buzzer. Phew, don't play us like that, Cowell!
Read on to watch Okwuchi's entire tear-jerking performance and witness her heartfelt reaction to seeing Cowell award her with his coveted golden buzzer.
