LEOMINSTER – Tears of joy streamed down Lavender Darcangelo’s face after America’s Got Talent judge Heidi Klum hit the golden buzzer in response to the talented young woman’s incredibly moving performance.
All four judges and the entire audience gave Lavender a standing ovation during the auditions episode that aired this past Tuesday after she closed the show by singing “Out Here on My Own” by Irene Cara from the musical “Fame,” a song with uplifting lyrics that match the 27-year-old phenom’s positive attitude. The blind and autistic vocalist and disability advocate is a Fitchburg native who lives in Leominster and said onstage she dreams of building “a school where the classes are based off of what kids are naturally curious at, so a school I would have thrived in.”
“I auditioned for AGT because I have bigger dreams that go beyond music, and I believe that music is the way to go in order for those bigger dreams to happen,” Lavender said Friday. “If I win a million dollars and if I get enough exposure to the right people, what if I could found a school with a non-traditional approach where the learning is through joy and the classes are based on what kids are naturally curious about? And what if instead of punishment, the school’s philosophy is that uncooperative behavior is considered a form of communication?
“I want to found a school that I would have thrived in,” she continued. “My other dream is to create an all-ages playground for adult-sized backsides, because I believe that play is the best therapy, aside from laughter. I am a person who has a different approach towards adulting, and I will probably never act like my age Seeing how the judges are so accepting of people who are diverse, I felt like it made total sense to go and try out.”
Two of her biggest cheerleaders joined Lavender for the AGT audition, her dads Wil and Jamie Darcangelo, who adopted her in 2017 after she asked them repeatedly to make her part of their family. Jamie, a nurse, and Wil, a singer and pastor of First Parish Church in Fitchburg and First Church of Christ in Lancaster and a Sentinel & Enterprise columnist, moved her into their home the day they got home from their honeymoon, and she legally became their daughter a year later.
Wil accompanied his daughter up on the stage, a moment he described as “surreal.”
“This is something we’ve imagined for a really long time,” he said Friday. “It was all such a wonderful experience, and the best part was that she could truly feel all of the acceptance she so very much deserves.”
The other three AGT judges on the popular NBC show were also blown away by Lavender’s story and song, with Simon Cowell calling her performance “unbelievable” and “honestly sensational,” Sophia Vergara wiping away tears as she said she enjoyed Lavender’s voice, and Howie Mandell expressing that Lavender could “give everybody hope that maybe we can all achieve our dreams if we just go for it, and you are a dream come true.”
Klum, who sealed the deal as Lavender’s mentor and coach when she hit the buzzer, gushed “I feel like I just fell in love … I would love to be your cheerleader and hold your hand all the way to the finish line.” When she pressed the button gold-colored confetti fell all around Lavender, Wil and Jamie, and Klum went up on stage and hugged the singer.
“When Howie Mandel told me about the standing ovation, I couldn’t believe it,” said Lavender, who was visibly moved when she heard that. “When Heidi hit the golden buzzer, I figured that this was all a dream and that I was four years old lying on the bed again and daydreaming like I always did every night about being on TV. But obviously, this was not a dream this time. This was real! It was all such a blur that night because when I was four, I saw it all in my head and I didn’t know that it would actually happen. I felt numb because I was all over the moon!”
According to her website Lavender was born with perfect pitch and an immediate love for music. She began singing at the age of three, a full year and a half before she started talking, and met Wil in 2010 when she joined the music mentorship program he founded.
In July 2019, a video of Lavender singing “Part of Your World” from the Disney film “The Little Mermaid” went viral, spurring worldwide media attention about Lavender and her new family.
She is currently working on her debut solo album called “Mosaic,” which, through its wide variety of songs and musical styles, will honor and raise awareness of the diversity within the autism and disability community. Lavender is a Performing Arts Fellow of the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism and has designated the foundation to receive a portion of the proceeds from the sales of “Mosaic.” As of press time nearly $2,000 has been raised to help fund the album through a GoFundMe that Wil set up.
When asked what the AGT experience has been like for her, Lavender said that she made up a word that means “trying an adventure that is both scary and fun at the same time – Scun!”
“Scary only because I had just gotten out of a three-year artist burnout, and it was around December when I finally wanted to start singing again. I was so afraid that I would push myself to the limits and burn out again,” she said of the roller coaster of emotions. “Fun because I love adventures with my family, and also because singing was always a big dream of mine, especially in front of a huge audience.”
Several posts have popped up in the Discussing Fitchburg Now Facebook page about Lavender’s shining moment, with one person suggesting she “deserves a parade” and another penning that she was “bawling my eyes out” watching Lavender shine on the AGT stage.
Members of her growing fan club gathered with her and her dads on July 11 at River Styx Brewing in Fitchburg for a viewing party of Lavender’s AGT debut, including her personal care attendant Brenda O’Neill. The Leominster resident has been friends with Wil for years and a decade ago Lavender did some music recording in O’Neill’s small home studio with O’Neill’s husband.
“I’ve sang in a few bands over the years, so Lavender and I bonded in that way immediately,” O’Neill imparted. “We both have kind of goofy, playful and childlike personalities so we can usually find a way to have fun no matter what we are doing.”
O’Neill jumped at the opportunity to become Lavender’s personal care attendant in February when Wil posted that they were looking for one. She said that while she has been an early childhood educator for decades and has lots of experience working with kids on the autism spectrum, she had never worked as a PCA or worked directly with adults with autism.
“I’ve definitely learned so much from Lavender in more ways than one,” O’Neill said. “The way she embraces life and just her positive attitude in general inspires me on a daily basis.”
She described the days following the world being introduced to Lavender as “intensely emotional” for the singer – and that they have been “keeping the secret of the golden buzzer for months.”
“It’s definitely a relief to be able to share the excitement of it all now with the world. The flipside to that is, now we are navigating how to deal with the increased exposure and attention since her episode has aired,” O’Neill said. “While she is so happy to share her gift with the world, it can also be very overwhelming as a person on the spectrum to be recognized out in public and have strangers approaching and wanting to engage with her.
“Lavender has an amazing support system and is surrounded by lots of people who are working together to devise strategies and coping mechanisms to best support her need to maintain a bit of privacy and emotional well-being amid this once in a lifetime, amazing experience,” she continued. “It’s a balancing act that we are taking very seriously to ensure that this remains a positive and uplifting experience for her and her family. The outpouring of love and support for Lavender from not only our community, but around the world has been so touching and incredible. I am so blessed to be a part of this tribe and to be able to be a part of this experience. I hope that we will be able to work together for years to come and I can’t wait to see where this journey takes her!”
“The world deserves someone like Lavender, someone who believes that play is just as important, or more, as work,” said Wil. “Someone who wants to found a school so that kids can have the experiences she could only dream of. Someone who has no agenda or scheme or gimmick, just love.”
The golden buzzer advanced Lavender straight into the live AGT finals that start Aug. 22 and while she said it’s “hard to say what’s next, beyond the semifinals anyway,” she is floating on cloud nine and thrilled to be a part of this experience, a literal dream come true.
“Other people might learn from me that it’s OK to be their authentic stuff, and I hope to lift up other people’s spirits for when they feel down,” Lavender said.