The next singer to grace the stage was act four of the night, 21-year-old Lee Collinson from England. He came to America for the first time to perform on AGT, telling the judges he hoped to quit his day job and make music full time. He sang a rendition of “Better Days” by Dermot Kennedy, showing off his impressive range and vocal skills. Lee poured emotion into his audition, capturing the hearts of the audience and judges alike, as they gave him a standing ovation. Sadly for Lee, his quarter-finals performance did not live up.
Lee took the stage to perform “Flowers” by Lauren Spencer-Smith, an emotional ballad much slower-paced than his audition. He stepped up to the mic with smoke floating across the stage, only a single piano accompanying him. Lee began singing, except, it wasn’t as much “singing” as it was talking.
“I just feel like he’s some Ed Sheeran wannabe,” a commenter wrote about Lee’s performance, referencing the 31-year-old English singer-songwriter known for rapping/ talking quickly in his songs.
And even as the performance began to show some promise of actual singing, Lee went right back to his awkward slam-poetry vibe. The act became a back-and-forth between almost-singing and straight-up talking, with only a few hints of Lee belting a high note or whispering a falsetto. Not to mention- the song was incredibly boring. There was no build-up, no big moment, no added instrumental other than the one piano player, until the very end. And by then, we were already half-asleep and couldn’t seem to justify the rest of the performance.
“This I didn’t like. I’ll tell you why — I understand the sentiment of the song, however, it didn’t sound like it was the right key for you,” Simon said to Lee amidst a few boos from the crowd, “It actually sounded like you were reading a letter… I’m not voting, but I don’t think you got it right tonight Lee.”
“If I was listening to that on the radio, I would’ve turned the channel just because the song bored me, not you. I think you didn’t make the right choice.” Howie added afterward.
“Maybe this was a little bit of a disappointment because of the song.” Sofia agreed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAAgvDtU3r4
