Tissues, please! Darci Lynne Farmer — like the rest of her family — broke down in tears after she was crowned the season 12 winner of America’s Got Talent on Wednesday, September 20.
“I was so overcome with joy, and I was kind of shocked and delirious at that time so I can’t remember anything,” the 12-year-old told Us Weekly and other reporters following the finale.
“It was waterworks right here on this face,” she added. “I was like a water faucet.”
Farmer impressed the judges — Simon Cowell, Mel B, Heidi Klum and Howie Mendel — with her ventriloquist skills, which she mixed with comedy and singing.
Farmer was joined by her loved ones on stage after she scored the $1 million prize. “I felt so loved during my AGT journey by all the contestants, and all the staff, my friends and family, and everyone, it just all came out,” she said of her emotional reaction.
As for what she will buy with all that money? “I want a pug so bad because I love puppies,” she said. “It has been a long time since I had a puppy. I want a pug because they have wrinkles and fat rolls and they are so cute.”
Many were rooting for Farmer to win — including Cowell. “I followed what America was saying, trust me. I said about to five people last night you could win. I covered myself. But I do believe with Darci, when I watched it back, she was the one I would say who brought something so few people could do, let alone at that age,” he said on Wednesday night.
He continued: “Over the previous years, we’ve had young kids win the show before, and we’ve had a lot of young kids who don’t win the show. It all depends. The public who vote watch this show, they’re not stupid. They know who the talent is. I always say about those shows, you can’t put rules around it. You just say if it’s talent, anyone can enter.”
