AUBREY IS BACK
North Huntingdon singer takes on ‘America’s Got Talent’
Asong that Aubrey Burchell recorded at a particularly low juncture in her life turned out to be her ticket to potential stardom.
It was November 2020, less than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic began. The 21-year-old North Huntingdon native had already earned a reputation as an accomplished singer by cracking the top 70 while competing on “American Idol” in 2018. Burchell had been singing at Western Pennsylvania venues for years before the pandemic made live performances unfeasible.
Being “pretty much performance-less” for so long was wearing on her, and working 50plus hours a week as a Target order fulfiller wasn’t helping her mental state.
“It was like the art had gone from my life,” she said.
In a moment of raw emotion, Burchell recorded herself sitting alone on the floor of a Target bathroom singing “Jolene” by Ray LaMontagne and posted it to Instagram.
She continued to toil away at work and post videos of her music to social media throughout the pandemic. A close friend died in winter 2021 and she found it was tough to shake the feeling that “the world was crumbling around me.”
Finally, in mid-April, a lifeline appeared in the form of an out-of-the-blue call from a producer of the NBC show “America’s Got Talent.” Some “AGT” scouts had seen her “Jolene” video and invited her to California for an audition before judges Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel.
Shortly after receiving that call, she hopped on a plane — her first time flying cross-country alone — and spent two days in Pasadena recording B-roll, behind-the-scenes interviews and her audition.
“This feels like the light at the end of the tunnel, the comeback of the music,” Burchell said. “It kind of goes to show that if you’re a local artist, put yourself out there. I don’t care if you’re sitting on the bathroom floor and singing. Be seen and put stuff out there.”
Music has always been her preferred method of expression. Her dad was a musician, and they would always write “stupid little melodies and songs” together. She sang in front of her first audience in preschool, snagged a solo in her elementary-school chorus and began performing at local charity events. Burchell has been working with a vocal coach since she was 15 and gained a lot of experience performing at the now-defunct Keystone Cafe in Jeanette.
In 2018, she put her musical
acumen to the test on “American Idol.” Though she fell short, she’s still proud of getting that far on “Idol” as a 17-year-old.
“It’s one of my crowning achievements and something I never thought I would’ve done,” she said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity, and it was a springboard to what I believe was to be later.”
Even though she had performed on “American Idol,” getting to perform on “America’s Got Talent” still felt like a “fever dream,” Burchell said. All she is allowed to say at this point is that her audition went well and that she’ll almost certainly be featured in some form during the show’s audition phase. The new season of “America’s Got Talent” is set to begin on May 31 with a two-hour premiere starting at 8 p.m.
Burchell got to meet some of her fellow contestants prior to auditioning and said “the talent in that room was overflowing.” Unlike “Idol,” “America’s Got Talent” showcases more than just singers. Some of the folks Burchell met while waiting to audition included a comedian, a “concept pole dancer” and a woman with a cat “who could allegedly play the piano.”
One of the highlights of the audition was being interviewed by host Terry Crews — “the coolest guy ever.” She’s still giddy about the whole experience.
“To participate in all the TV magic and, ‘Hey, Aubrey, walk back and forth and pretend you’re warming up,’ it was crazy,” she said. “I’m not going to come down off of that high for a while.”
Western Pennsylvanians have been showing up on these shows a lot lately. Latrobe native Victory Brinker made it all the way to finals on the last season of “America’s Got Talent” and Fombell native Morgan Gruber earned some screen time on the current season of “American Idol.” Burchell thinks that “there really is something special about our local musicians” and is excited to represent them on “America’s Got Talent.”
After everything she has been through over the last two years, she’s ready for another chance to show off her vocal prowess on a national stage. She wished the other competitors luck and implored local viewers to lend her a hand should she start to make waves this season.
“I will need your support,” Burchell said. “I know that Pittsburgh will always come through. When you’re from Pittsburgh, you’re proud of being from Pittsburgh. Let’s get it, together. It’s not just me winning, it’s us!”