Toronto girl gets the golden ticket
Ten-year-old receives Golden Buzzer for singing Gaga’s ‘Shallow’
America’s Got Talent judges get a stunning show,
From the moment she opened her mouth to sing “Shallow,” on “America’s Got Talent,” the judges and audience went gaga for 10-year-old Torontonian Roberta Battaglia.
Impressed by a colossal voice that seems much more mature and accomplished for her years, first-year “AGT” celebrity judge Sofia Vergara was moved enough to hit the Golden Buzzer, a device on the show that automatically guarantees a bye into the finals, where a $1-million (U.S.) prize awaits the eventual winner of this variety talent competition.
Even more significant: The Golden Buzzer can only be used once by each of the four judges during the show’s season.
“Yes — Sofia Vergara gave me her Golden Buzzer!” Battaglia enthused with a laugh over the phone during an interview Thursday. “I still can’t believe it.” Since Battaglia’s segment on Tuesday night’s NBC broadcast of “America’s Got Talent” — which drew 8.7 million viewers in the U.S. (it was shown on Citytv here at home) — her phone has been ringing off the hook between well-wishers and interview requests.
“I’ve even had a few bullies and teachers reach out,” says Battaglia, referring to a moment in the show where she mentioned she’d been bullied at school.
Those bullying days are probably over, as this seems to be the beginning of a potential Cinderella story for Battaglia, who has previously appeared on Breakfast Television and performed at Moses Znaimer’s IdeaCity conference a year ago.
Her performance of the song featured in the recent remake of “A Star Is Born” has garnered 3.8 million YouTube views in two days and as Battaglia notes, she was trending No. 1 on the digital video platform for a while following her triumphant performance.
“I was crying — I was happy — I was so overwhelmed with excitement,” Battaglia recalled about realizing a lifelong dream when she stepped on the stage of the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles in pre-pandemic March.
She says she didn’t have the jitters, as even some of the judges had surmised as she bawled her eyes out in front of them.
“It wasn’t because I was nervous — more like happy tears because I was there. It was always my dream to be there since I was very little, and I always used to watch ‘America’s Got Talent’ on TV.
“So, it made a really, really big impact on my life being there and auditioning for the four amazing judges along with Terry Crews. It was just an emotional moment.”
Battaglia said she chose the song “Shallow” to perform “because I love Lady Gaga in general and since I watched the movie, I loved the song in the movie and I just had to learn it — I couldn’t help it. I loved the rhythm and I loved the beat. Lady Gaga is one of my biggest idols.”
Roberta Battaglia comes by her talent naturally, says the award-winning producer who works with her, Toronto’s Rob Wells.
“This little girl has been genetically designed to do this,” says Wells, who once worked with a 12-year-old Justin Bieber and has written, arranged for or produced a bevy of talent ranging from Ariana Grande and Selena Gomez to Cyndi Lauper and Corey Hart.
“She’s been singing ever since she was born and it’s all she ever thinks about morning, noon and night. It really runs in the family and her family’s very supportive of her, but they’re very grounded at the same time.”
Roberta says she inherited her talents naturally from her father Alessandro and mother Gabriella.
“Ever since I was little, I always picked up the microphone and sang songs like ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,’ she recalls.
“Then when I was actually three-and-a-half, I went up to my Dad and said, ‘Dad, I want to sing.’ So he let me sing and I sang this kiddie’s song in Italian, ‘Mi Scappa La Pi Pi,’ which is means, ‘I can’t help it, I gotta pee — I got to go to the bathroom, right?’
“From then on, I just started doing gigs, learning songs and here I am now!”
Her mother accompanied her to Los Angeles and when Battaglia returned home, her father surprised her with a cake and flowers. “We hugged each other and had a nice moment.”
Battaglia is fairly convinced that singing will be her future.
“When I go on a stage, I feel like I’m on a beach — I’m so happy,” she said. “Singing brings out the best in me. It’s one of my greatest passions.”
Due to COVID-19 and travel and audience gathering uncertainties, Battaglia is unsure when the finals will be scheduled.
“Everything is on standby,” says Battaglia. “But after this pandemic kind of eases off a little, that’s probably when we’ll get more information and we’re going to go from there.”
In the meantime, she’s just about finished an album with producer Wells that will be released independently, though undoubtedly labels will come knocking.
And you can see her on YouTube in Wells’ star-studded remake of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” which he released in mid-May as a tonic to the pandemic blues — alongside Alan Doyle, Nick Lachey, Desmond Child, Emm Gryner, Keshia Chanté and 34 others.
“She’s such an anomaly. I don’t know any other 10-year-old who can sing like that,” says Wells.
Whether she wins the whole “America’s Got Talent” enchilada or not, Roberta Battaglia is refreshingly humble.
“I’m already so grateful for the experience that I’ve been having on this ‘AGT’ journey that it will be in my heart forever,” she says.
“Even if I don’t become a big singer or I don’t become very famous, I’ll always have singing in my heart and I’ll always love it because it will always be one of the greatest passions.
“I’m hoping to make Toronto and Canada proud.”