Spoilers ahead for the first night of AGT: Fantasy League semi-finals.
America's Got Talent brought the judges' favorites back to the stage for the Fantasy League spinoff, and the semi-finals kicked off with the returns of fan-favorites like Kodi Lee, Aidan Bryant, and Loren Allred. It was just a couple of weeks earlier that Allred's performance of "Never Enough" from The Greatest Showman was a huge hit on stage and has since been viewed by more than 3 million people. Unsurprisingly, she blew the roof off the AGT: Fantasy League house with her semi-finals performance as well, but Mel B had a critique that resulted in a crack from Simon Cowell about the Spice Girls. And I have to say – I'm with Mel B on this one!
"Never Enough" was an obvious pick for Allred's first Fantasy League performance, as The Greatest Showman actually used her vocals for the soundtrack while Rebecca Ferguson performed the role for the camera. For the semi-finals, Simon Cowell's coaching led to her take on "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," famously performed by Judy Garland for The Wizard of Oz. And of course, Allred killed the performance, and I'd be surprised if the video of it doesn't rack up millions of views just like "Never Enough" did. Cowell was clearly very proud of her, and the judges all had great feedback for her.
But Mel B had a comment that really hit home for me, and it wasn't a critique of Allred as a performer as much as the choice of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" for her semi-finals performance. The judge – who replaced Sofia Vergara for Fantasy League – said:
You have a voice that is just to die for, literally. I mean, you could sing absolutely anything, which is actually my point. Because I think if I was your mentor, I would have chosen a different song because you could have had everybody in this audience crying.
Considering that Simon Cowell had blunt words for Howie Mandel earlier in Fantasy League about Drake Milligan's song choice, it's no surprise that he had a response to Mel B suggesting that the iconic Wizard of Oz song wasn't the best for Loren Allred. Cowell said:
What, like 'Wannabe'?
Mel B – perhaps remembering the lyrics about friendship in the Spice Girls' classic "Wannabe" – immediately started laughing. She also joked that it was a good thing that her cup was almost empty, so there was nothing to throw at Cowell sitting next to her. It's certainly not the first time that her Spice Girls past came up during a season of AGT, although the crack from her fellow judge is a far cry from the "Spice Up Your Life"-themed act back in Season 13!
Before I get into why I'm on Team Mel B, take a look at Loren Allred's take on "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from the semifinals:
Like so many in the audience who loved Loren Allred's take on the Wizard of Oz song when she sang it live in the theater, I loved this performance... but I certainly wasn't booing Mel B when she made her comment about the song choice. (And not just because I still know all the words to "Wannabe" even in 2024.) "Never Enough" earlier in Fantasy League just hit harder emotionally, and she had a powerful and personal story to go along with it.
She didn't feel quite as connected to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," which is understandable considering her Greatest Showman history. But I personally loved how her first song started small and a capella before building up to her belting. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" just didn't have the same build to show her range for me, and the backing music was louder than her first performance.
She was fantastic; I just find myself more aligned with Mel B. Take a a look at "Never Enough" and make up your mind for yourself about which one hits harder in the feels:
Unfortunately, Loren Allred's AGT: Fantasy League journey has come to an end. Although she made it to the top three alongside the Vardanyan Brothers and The Pack Drumline, the percussion group was the act advanced by audience vote. There were two golden buzzers for the contestants in the first night of semi-finals, although neither was quite the same as the Sainted choir going full Prince last week. At least we got two great performances from Allred!
Aerialist Aidan Bryant got the golden buzzer from Mel, while Kodi Lee got the buzzer from Howie Mandel. Simon Cowell and Heidi Klum will presumably have the chance to hit their own golden buzzers in the second night of semi-finals. Keep tuning in to NBC on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET in the 2024 TV schedule for new episodes of AGT: Fantasy League. You can also revisit any episodes you might have missed streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription.
