{"id":20027,"date":"2025-06-30T13:23:28","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T13:23:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027"},"modified":"2025-06-30T13:23:28","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T13:23:28","slug":"simon-cowell-cut-off-13-year-old-chase-varnes-on-agt-but-one-ed-sheeran-song-sparked-the-comeback-of-the-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027","title":{"rendered":"Simon Cowell Cut Off 13-Year-Old Chase Varnes on AGT\u2014But One Ed Sheeran Song Sparked the Comeback of the Season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What started as heartbreak turned into one of the most powerful comebacks of the\u00a0<em>America\u2019s Got Talent<\/em> season \u2014 and it all came down to one brave 13-year-old, a guitar, and a song by Ed Sheeran.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Promising Start That Took a Gut-Punch Turn<\/h3>\n<p>Chase Varnes, a soft-spoken farm kid from Vancouver Island, walked onto the AGT stage with nerves, heart, and a hopeful original song. But just moments into his performance,\u00a0<em>Simon Cowell<\/em>\u00a0raised his hand \u2014 and cut it short.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cI hate to do this. I didn\u2019t love the song,\u201d Simon said flatly. The room went silent. Chase looked crushed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>But in classic Cowell fashion, the story didn\u2019t end there.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cHowever, I\u00a0<em>like<\/em>\u00a0you,\u201d Simon added. \u201cYou\u2019ve got something. Do you have another song?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Chase nodded, regrouped, and picked up his guitar. The second chance?\u00a0<strong>\u201cLife Goes On\u201d<\/strong> by Ed Sheeran \u2014 and with it, he didn\u2019t just sing. He soared.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">From Shaky Start to Showstopper<\/h3>\n<p>As Chase strummed and sang the tender ballad, the crowd transformed from unsure to\u00a0<em>entranced<\/em>. His voice \u2014 still youthful but rich with emotion \u2014 filled the arena. His country twang added a textured edge to the pop melody, and suddenly the boy once dismissed became a crowd favorite.<\/p>\n<p>The audience leapt to their feet. The judges sat straighter. And online?\u00a0<strong>1.1 million views in four days<\/strong>\u00a0say the world felt it too.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"13-Year-Old Chase Varnes Wins Over The Judges With &quot;Life Goes On&quot; by Ed Sheeran | AGT 2025\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yTeZCnCjOjY?feature=oembed\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Judges Weigh In<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Howie Mandel<\/strong>\u00a0was the first to jump in with praise:\u00a0<em>\u201cYou remind me of a young Justin Bieber. There\u2019s real star power there.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><strong>Heidi Klum<\/strong>\u00a0chimed in, beaming:\u00a0<em>\u201cThe second song showed who you are. The girls are going to go crazy for you!\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><strong>Mel B<\/strong>\u00a0played tough, noting,\u00a0<em>\u201cYou\u2019re still nervous. You\u2019re not there yet.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 a comment that got her\u00a0<em>booed<\/em>\u00a0by the crowd.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But Simon had the final word:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cYou\u2019ve got heart, charm, and something real. The audience\u00a0<em>loved<\/em>\u00a0you \u2014 and so did I.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>With\u00a0<strong>three yeses<\/strong>, Chase Varnes walked off that stage not as the kid who got cut off, but as the one who\u00a0<em>fought back<\/em>\u00a0and won.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Moment Bigger Than Just a Yes<\/h3>\n<p>Fans were quick to rally around Chase online:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><em>\u201cSimon was right to push him. He rose to the challenge. That\u2019s talent.\u201d<\/em><br \/>\n<em>\u201cHe took the pressure, and he delivered. This kid is going places.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>At just 13, Chase Varnes proved he\u2019s more than a viral moment. He\u2019s got grit, soul, and a sound that\u2019s just beginning to find its wings.<\/p>\n<p>And thanks to one tough judge, one big heart, and a second shot \u2014 he\u2019s got our attention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What started as heartbreak turned into one of the most powerful comebacks of the\u00a0America\u2019s Got Talent season \u2014 and it all came down to one brave 13-year-old,&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20028,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Simon Cowell Cut Off 13-Year-Old Chase Varnes on AGT\u2014But One Ed Sheeran Song Sparked the Comeback of the Season -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Simon Cowell Cut Off 13-Year-Old Chase Varnes on AGT\u2014But One Ed Sheeran Song Sparked the Comeback of the Season -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What started as heartbreak turned into one of the most powerful comebacks of the\u00a0America\u2019s Got Talent season \u2014 and it all came down to one brave 13-year-old,...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-30T13:23:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/509941951_122184950306497647_2788150996760329080_n-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"administrator\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"administrator\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027\",\"name\":\"Simon Cowell Cut Off 13-Year-Old Chase Varnes on AGT\u2014But One Ed Sheeran Song Sparked the Comeback of the Season -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/509941951_122184950306497647_2788150996760329080_n-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-30T13:23:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-30T13:23:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/dd6d79e2639e598df1608cbfdfb86b06\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/509941951_122184950306497647_2788150996760329080_n-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/509941951_122184950306497647_2788150996760329080_n-1.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":1280},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Simon Cowell Cut Off 13-Year-Old Chase Varnes on AGT\u2014But One Ed Sheeran Song Sparked the Comeback of the Season\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/dd6d79e2639e598df1608cbfdfb86b06\",\"name\":\"administrator\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3aa616fe0651f861132c90ce32df595?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3aa616fe0651f861132c90ce32df595?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"administrator\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/new50.info\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Simon Cowell Cut Off 13-Year-Old Chase Varnes on AGT\u2014But One Ed Sheeran Song Sparked the Comeback of the Season -","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Simon Cowell Cut Off 13-Year-Old Chase Varnes on AGT\u2014But One Ed Sheeran Song Sparked the Comeback of the Season -","og_description":"What started as heartbreak turned into one of the most powerful comebacks of the\u00a0America\u2019s Got Talent season \u2014 and it all came down to one brave 13-year-old,...","og_url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027","article_published_time":"2025-06-30T13:23:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":1280,"url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/509941951_122184950306497647_2788150996760329080_n-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"administrator","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"administrator","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027","url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027","name":"Simon Cowell Cut Off 13-Year-Old Chase Varnes on AGT\u2014But One Ed Sheeran Song Sparked the Comeback of the Season -","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/509941951_122184950306497647_2788150996760329080_n-1.jpg","datePublished":"2025-06-30T13:23:28+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-30T13:23:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/dd6d79e2639e598df1608cbfdfb86b06"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/509941951_122184950306497647_2788150996760329080_n-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/509941951_122184950306497647_2788150996760329080_n-1.jpg","width":1024,"height":1280},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=20027#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/new50.info\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Simon Cowell Cut Off 13-Year-Old Chase Varnes on AGT\u2014But One Ed Sheeran Song Sparked the Comeback of the Season"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website","url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/","name":"","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/dd6d79e2639e598df1608cbfdfb86b06","name":"administrator","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3aa616fe0651f861132c90ce32df595?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3aa616fe0651f861132c90ce32df595?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"administrator"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/new50.info"],"url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20027"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20027"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20029,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20027\/revisions\/20029"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}