Chapel Hart is one of 11 acts competing in the “AGT” finale for $1 million.
Who is Chapel Hart on ‘AGT’?
Chapel Hart, a Mississippi-based country trio made up of sisters Danica and Devynn Hart and their cousin, Trea Swindle, has been a strong contender on “AGT” from the start.
When the trio auditioned for “AGT,” all of the judges had already picked their favorite acts and used their golden buzzers to send those acts straight through to the live shows. But after hearing Chapel Hart perform its original song “You Can Have Him, Jolene” — a sequel of sorts to the 1973 Dolly Parton classic “Jolene” — the judges decided to bend the rules.
After some deliberation, all of the judges and “AGT” host Terry Crews gave a group golden buzzer to Chapel Hart — something that’s only happened one other time on the show, the Deseret News reported.
On YouTube, the audition has more than 8 million views. The song “You Can Have Him, Jolene” also caught the attention of Parton herself.
”What a fun new take on my song!” she shared on Twitter, per NBC.com. “Carl’s (Parton’s husband) birthday is today, so I think I’ll hang on to him, and I’m not notifying Jolene that today is his birthday.”
Going into “AGT,” Chapel Hart had already released two independent albums and five singles, but remain unsigned, per the Deseret News. In 2021, the band was inducted into CMT’s Next Women of Country, which has helped rising female country artists like Kelsea Ballerini and Gabby Barrett, according to its website.
But during their audition, the singers, who are Black, shared how they have struggled to break into the country music industry.
“It’s been kind of hard,” Danica Hart said through tears. “Country music doesn’t always look like us.”
“You’ve just got to break down that door,” “AGT” judge Simon Cowell responded. “And you may have just broken down the door with that performance — trust me.”
For the show’s semifinal round, the group performed another original song, “The Girls Are Back In Town,” earning enough viewer votes to land a spot in the finale. Chapel Hart brought a new original song, “American Pride,” to the finale, but in the eyes of the judges, it wasn’t the trio’s best performance on the show, the Deseret News reported.
Both Mandel and Cowell noted that the vocals were a little off, and said it likely had to do with the nerves and pressure of competing in the finals.
When is the ‘AGT’ finale?
“AGT” will reveal the 2022 season winner during a two-hour episode that airs Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. MT on NBC.