Paul Ieti looked shy and nervous when he walked onto the America’s Got Talent stage. The 21-year-old from American Samoa is an active-duty soldier in the U.S. Army, stationed in Savannah, Georgia, and he had just come back from a nine-month deployment in Afghanistan.
He told the judges that music had been his comfort zone all his life. He grew up singing in church, and in Afghanistan his fellow soldiers would ask him to sing so they could escape for a little while. 🎤
Then he began Rihanna’s “Stay,” and a soft yet powerful voice filled the room. Heidi Klum and Mel B left their seats and went up to hug him, and Howard Stern soon joined them.
Howard said Paul came out unassuming and shy, and then a sound came out of him that nobody expected. Heidi told him he had the most beautiful voice, and all four judges said yes. ❤️
