Judges' vote sends Unity's Victory Brinker to 'America's Got Talent' final

After Victory Brinker’s performance in Tuesday’s semifinal round of “America’s Got Talent,” judge Simon Cowell told the 9-year-old from Unity, “Not only are you talented, you’re fearless.”

Nerves of steel served her well Wednesday, as the young opera singer found herself in the middle of the voting pack and in danger of missing the Sept. 14 finals.

They said what they said. @brinker_victory is making their way to the Finals! ???? pic.twitter.com/sF128poovg

— America’s Got Talent (@AGT) September 9, 2021

Host Terry Crews announced that the top three acts from the vote Tuesday would go straight through. The next three, including Victory, were subject to a live vote in which the viewing audience had 25 minutes to save one contestant.

First among those three would make the finals, the judges would pick a second one to go on, and the third would go home.

For Victory, it came down to the judge’s vote. She survived to sing another week.

Joining Victory on the knife’s edge were quick-change artist Lea Kyle and UniCircle Flow, a group that combines dance and unicycling. When the audience votes were tallied, Kyle came out on top.

Cowell and fellow judges Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara cast their votes for Victory, while Howie Mandel chose UniCircle Flow.

Sailing through from Tuesday’s vote were Northwell Health Nurse Choir, singer Brooke Simpson and comedian Josh Blue.

From last week’s semifinals, these acts moved on to the finals: aerial artist Aidan Bryant, World Taekwondo Demonstration Team, magician Dustin Tavella, comedian Gina Brillon and singer Jimmie Herrod.

Cowell said, in his opinion, the upcoming final would be “the most competitive ever.”

Victory made “America’s Got Talent” history in July, when she became the NBC talent show’s first competitor to earn a Golden Buzzer from all four judges, advancing her from her audition to Season 16’s live quarterfinal rounds.

She moved to the semifinals after her Aug. 17 rendition of “Casta diva,” an aria sung in Italian from the Bellini opera “Norma,” earned a standing ovation from both judges and audience.

Her semifinal performance, also sung in Italian, was “Nessun dorma,” an aria from the final act of Puccini’s “Turandot.”

The little girl with the big voice started singing when she was 2. At 6, she became interested in opera and began learning arias in different languages.

From church, local talent shows, fairs and festivals, she moved to bigger stages: singing the national anthem for the Pittsburgh Pirates, participating in Pittsburgh Public Theater’s “Pittsburgh Lights and Legends” show and appearing in New York City at Carnegie Hall and the Apollo Theater.

In April 2020, she sang a German-­language aria from the opera “The Magic Flute” on NBC’s “Little Big Shots.” Her performance got the attention of “AGT” producers.