Americas Got Talent Judges Wowed by Berklee Students Audition

Americas Got Talent Judges Wowed by Berklee Students Audition Kieran Rhodess vulnerable performance of his song Disengage earned him multiple standing ovations.

By

Bryan Parys

June 23, 2022

Kieran Rhodes

Image courtesy of the artist

During a battle with depression in fall 2021, Kieran Rhodes wrote a song called Disengage that he hoped would help him navigate a difficult period in his life. He didnt yet know that the song would eventually bring the set of NBCs Americas Got Talent to its feet, from the packed audience to all four judges.

Rhodes had planned to audition for the show with an arrangement of Shes Got a Way by Billy Joel, the artist who had originally inspired Rhodes to pursue music. But a few bars into the song, show judge Simon Cowell stopped the performance and pushed Rhodes to perform an original song instead. The resulting performance of Disengage changed the atmosphere of the room and won Rhodes instant fans due to his combination of talent and vulnerability. The performance even prompted the notoriously hard-to-impress Cowell to share a personal anecdote about his own struggles to make it in the music business.

I really do hope this audition can change your life.

- Simon Cowell

You know it plays on your mind and you get depressed, Cowell said, recounting a story of being taunted for starting out at the bottom of the career ladder. But I didn't have the talent you got.... I really liked your original song, and I really do hope this audition can change your life.

Rhodes, who is majoring in contemporary writing and production, got the audition with the help of Berklees Career Center, which provides advising and programming services for students and alumni with a range of opportunities to help launch and build sustainable careers in the music business.

I cant even describe what Im feeling right now, Rhodes said after leaving the audition stage. Im so incredibly grateful for this opportunity.

Watch Kieran Rhodess audition for Americas Got Talent:

Before he was stunning the judges on Americas Got Talent, Rhodes performed for Berklees music and storytelling series, Two Track:

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