Arts & Entertainment

Northbrook Teen Opera Singer's Time on 'America's Got Talent' Doesn't End on Winning Note

Laura Bretan, 14, gave powerful performances on the show this season, but it wasn't enough to take home the $1 million grand prize.

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Despite a string of rousing performances that brought audiences to their feet throughout the season, Northbrook teen opera singer Laura Bretan fell short in her bid to win this year's $1 million grand prize on NBC's America's Got Talent.

Bretan, 14, was one of the first five contestants eliminated in Wednesday's two-hour live episode of the popular TV talent competition. Another young singer, 12-year-old Grace VanderWaal, was named this season's big winner, a distinction that also comes with an opportunity to headline her own Las Vegas stage show.

Although she wasn't the show's grand-prize winner, Bretan wowed home viewers and in-studio crowds with striking performances that showed off her rich and soulful vocal talents. In fact, her voice even cracked through judge and series creator Simon Cowell's notoriously snarky demeanor.

"Laura, this is why we made the show, so that we can find people like you," Cowell said after Bretan's sang "The Prayer" in the quarterfinals. "You are such a special, talented person."

The other judges were equally effusive with their praise during Bretan's time on the show.

"Where does this voice come from?" said judge and former Spice Girl Mel B. after Bretan's quarterfinals performance. "It is incredible! And so powerful! My gosh! Literally, I'm shaking inside."

"I have chills," Heidi Klum added during the same show. "Every hair on my body is standing up."

More Patch Coverage of Laura Bretan

For the finals, Bretan sung a rendition of "O Mio Babbino Caro" during Tuesday's live performances, which fans of the show voted on.

On Wednesday's live show, she teamed up onstage with fellow contestants juggler Viktor Kee and contortionist Sofie Dossie, as well as Italian pop group Il Volo.

Bretan's singing struck a chord with America's Got Talent viewers during her time on the series, even if it wasn't enough to push her into the show's top five or the winner's circle:

Bretan's performances also stirred up two minor controversies. Some viewers felt she should not have been allowed to compete on America's Got Talent because of her previous TV talent competition experience. Bretan competed and won the grand prize on a similar series, Romania's Got Talent, a show her late Romanian grandfather convinced her to compete in.

Opera singers and other music professionals have been critical of Bretan on blogs and industry sites like Classical FM. While some older pros feel a girl Bretan's age doesn't have the life experience to adequately convey the emotional impact of the arias she's singing, others worried that she might be hurting her instrument—her voice—by performing musical arrangements that create too much physical stress on her young body.

"She possesses both a promising voice and strong musical instincts, but most of the sounds she is producing are the result of effortful, unsustainable manipulations of a body that is not yet mature enough,” New York City voice teacher Claudia Friedlander wrote on her blog.

Northbrook teen opera singer Laura Bretan performs during Tuesday's live episode of "America's Got Talent." (photo via NBC)

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