Sheldon Riley doesn’t waste his voice on trifling matters. Like speaking, with America’s Got Talent judges.
During Tuesday night’s auditions, the Sydney, Australia hopeful initially played the silent type, before revealing a voice which had Simon Cowell and Co. in raptures.
Performing in an exotic black gown and a shimmering mask which could have been been lifted from Prince’s vault, Riley lit the torch with a dramatic rendition of Billie Eilish’s “idontwannabeyouanymore”.
Riley later explained his quiet start. He’d rather let his performance do all the talking.
Afterwards, Cowell praises Riley’s mystery and originality. “You have an amazing voice,” Howie Mandel enthused. “And the fact that I don’t know what you look like, and the costume and the drama, for me, that’s what made this great,”
Riley is no mystery to Australia’s reality-TV diehards.
The son of an Australian mother and a Filipino father, Riley (real name Sheldon Hernandez) amassed a following during his run on The Voice Australia in 2018, earning a spot in the final four. He returned to the series last year as an All-Star and competed for a chance to represent Australia at the 64th Eurovision Song Contest.
With three “yeses” from the AGT judges, we’ll be seeing more of Riley. Watch the performance below.
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