SALT LAKE CITY — Kenadi Dodds ended her “America’s Got Talent” journey the way she started: Strumming a guitar and singing her heart out.
The 15-year-old country singer from North Logan is one of 10 finalists competing for the $1 million prize and headlining a show in Las Vegas. In a clip that aired before her final performance Tuesday night, the teenager talked about her passion for music, calling it “one of the most important things” in her life.
“It’s the way that I express myself, and music is also something that brings my family together,” said Kenadi, who is the only person in her immediate family who doesn’t have the eye disease retinitis pigmentosa. “They might not be able to see what I’m doing, but it doesn’t matter with music because they can hear me and they can feel me.
“When I sing, I feel like I’m trying to take my family on a journey with me,” she continued. “You don’t need to see music, you can feel it in your heart, you can feel it inside your body. Music is magic. And now music has brought me all the way to the finals. Being a small-town girl from Utah, it’s something I never would’ve thought could be possible, but I’m here.
“Tonight is the biggest moment of my life, and I am ready to leave it all out there on the stage.”
Then Kenadi — who until the semifinal round only performed original songs — took the stage and belted Carrie Underwood’s “Love Wins.” And the show’s judges only had positive things to say about her performance.
Howie Mandel, who criticized Kenadi’s performance during the quarterfinal round, told the young singer that she “rose to the occasion.”
The show’s newest judge, Sofia Vergara, said it was one of Kenadi’s more energetic performances on the show and that she liked seeing the return of the guitar — an instrument Kenadi hadn’t played since her audition.
“You’re a small-town girl with big dreams,” Vergara said. “Congratulations, I think you stepped it up a lot.”
Heidi Klum, who missed Kenadi’s audition due to illness earlier this year, told the budding artist she is “absolutely incredible.”
“I do see a super bright future for you. I even see like a country music award for you in there,” Klum said. “I sometimes think of you as like a young Taylor Swift when she started writing her own songs with her guitar. I think you’re just as amazing. I wish you all the best.”
The winner of “AGT” will be revealed tomorrow night during the show’s two-hour finale, which airs Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. MT. To watch all of the performances from Tuesday night’s episode, view here.