Countless people with top-notch talents had already graced the stage of America’s Got Talent after 16 successful seasons. Although we’ve already seen many of them, we can’t help but be mesmerized when someone shows something beyond the usual.
In AGT’s 17th season, another great talent was seen by already millions of people not only in America but all across the world.
Everyone, meet Merissa Beddows.
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She is a 23-year-old New Yorker and a student at the Curtis Institute of Music in Pennsylvania. Merissa is an opera singer who loves impersonating iconic voices of known singers and fictional characters.
Beddows is also quite an internet star because her TikTok account has over 747,000 followers and her videos have already summed up 13.4 million likes! Apart from being an opera singer and impressionist, she also gives voice lessons to aspiring singers like herself.
She had ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ as her audition piece, but before she even started singing, she gave judge Heidi a giant dice with familiar names written on each of its sides.
“So Heidi I would like to play a game. This dice has six of some of my favorite impressions that I do on it,” Beddows told Heidi while providing her with the instructions. “I’m going to begin singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” as me and then I’m going to ask you to give me a name.”
Fasten your seatbelts and be ready because this is going to be a roller coaster of voices!
Beddows then started belting the first few lines of the song with so much ease and perfection. To be completely honest, her operatic voice alone is already stunning. It didn’t take long when judge Heidi said “Ariana Grande,” to which the auditionee obliged by quickly changing her voice and dishing out those high notes like a true Ariana special.
Judge Simon Cowell couldn’t help but laugh in amusement, he finally recognized the true talent of the 23-year-old New Yorker. Merissa also comically mimicked her grandmother’s voice before she transitioned to the voices of Stevie Nicks, Celine Dion, Snow White, and finally, Siri.
She earned everyone’s standing ovation including all four judges. Simon was totally impressed and all he had left to say was, “She was really talented.”
Beddows’ reason for joining AGT.
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As it turns out, Beddows’ father already passed away and her mother, unfortunately, experienced a series of medical emergencies that resulted in multiple hospital admissions. Since then, Merissa has been trying to support her mother with medical expenses.
She’s already put up a GoFundMe account that aims to raise $25K, this amount will secure her mom’s long-term medical and everyday needs.
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“My goal is to raise $25,000 to send my mom to a long-term facility where I know she will be in safe hands. This would cover the first few months of care, until her inpatient Medicaid takes effect,” she wrote in the fund-raising page. “My dream is to be able to continue my studies in school without having to worry about my mother’s health constantly. My mother has truly been through hell and back and deserves nothing but the best. I will fight with all of my strength and resolve until she gets what she needs.”
As of this writing, Beddows has already raised over $5,400 out of her $25K goal. We are hoping that she’d go far in the competition and that her viral videos will reach many kindhearted people who would unhesitatingly support her dream to become a star and also her goal to financially secure her mom’s needs.
Watch the video below and figure out the voice switching yourself.
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