America’s Got Talent has begun its eighth night of Season 18 auditions, showcasing various acts competing for the grand prize. And one of them is rodeo queen turned country artist Kylie Frey.
A promo clip for an upcoming episode of the popular reality competition series finds the 28-year-old standout from Opelousas, Louisiana, appearing barefoot in front of judges Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara, and Simon Cowell and singing an original song she co-wrote with Stone Aielli called “Horses in Heaven.”
Telling the audience that she has looked up to Reba McEntire her whole life, Frey launches into the song and has the crowd in awe of her performance.
Watch Kylie Frey’s America’s Got Talent Audition Below
For her AGT debut, Frey looked like a true cowgirl wearing her hair down in braided pigtails underneath a cowboy hat. She paired her look with giant hoop earrings, a blazer, and a summer dress. A handful of other musicians played alongside Frey on instruments ranging from a fiddler to a drummer to a bassist and a guitarist. Frey had all four judges stunned as she threw her emotion into the tune. At one point, Cowell put his finger up in the air, signaling he was moved by the unforgettable tune.
“I don’t know if he’s rounding up a herd of cattle / Or going for eight in his old bronc saddle / Or teaching a young buck a hard-learned well-earned lesson,” Frey sings in the AGT promo clip with her honeyed, twang voice throughout the chorus. “I don’t know if he’s roaming around just to pass the time / Somewhere up there on the other side / Checking a fence line just as the sun is setting / But y’all I’m sure, that he’s riding horses in heaven.”
“Very Nervous”
Before wowing coaches with her stellar voice and original country flair, Frey shared that she was “very nervous.” However, that did not show as she slayed her rendition of her own song.
She also revealed that she wrote “Horses in Heaven” as a tribute to her late grandfather, who believed she had what it takes to follow in the footsteps of The Voice judge McEntire.
“I wrote this song for my grandpa. He always told me if I sing the national anthem for every rodeo that I showed up to, one day, someone would ask me to sing the national anthem at the NFR (National Finals Rodeo), which is the Super Bowl of rodeo,” Frey told the audience, viewers, and celebrity panel. “That’s how I was gonna get my start because that’s how Reba did, and that’s how I was gonna do it too.”
“I’m from a big rodeo family. I was a rodeo queen [and] I started singing the national anthem for every rodeo that I showed up to because I love to sing,” she also said, sharing her background, adding, “Simon. I grew up watching you on the show and I had birthday parties, and I impersonated you [and] I had my friends come over, and I was Simon.”
Duet With Randy Houser
Those who enjoyed Frey’s AGT performance of “Horses in Heaven” can find a recorded version of the song, as well as a newer release, which includes supporting vocals from country superstar Randy Houser, whom she met at 2022’s NFR in Arlington, TX, where she delivered a milestone performance of the “Star Spangled Banner.”
“My grandpa and I shared a lifelong dream that I would one day sing the national anthem at the NFR,” Frey previously shared in a press release.
She continued, “I was supposed to sing the anthem on a different night, but they called me a week later and said that they needed to move me to a different night, but they didn’t know who else would be performing yet. Well, on the night I showed up, I found out it was Randy performing, and he opened the night with Johnny Cash’s ‘Old Rugged Flag.’ Well, come to find out later, ‘Old Rugged Flag’ was my grandpa’s favorite rodeo opener, and he would get mad at my aunt if she did not start her rodeos with Cash’s ‘Old Rugged Flag.’ Isn’t that crazy?! I believe that was a sign from my grandpa that this was all exactly as it was meant to be.”
Additionally, folks can tune into an all-new episode of America’s Got Talent this week to find out if Frey earned enough votes to make it through to the next round. America’s Got Talent airs on Tuesday (Aug. 1) night at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
