A College of the Canyons (COC) music student had the opportunity of a lifetime when she was called in to audition for Season 19 of  “America’s Got Talent.”

Sophomore Brooke Bailey got a call from an America’s Got Talent’s casting director after seeing Bailey singing on social media. They encouraged her to audition, and in March 2024, she took the stage to perform Aretha Franklin’s “Ain’t No Way,” which led the celebrity judges Simon Cowell, Howie Mendel, Sofia Vergara and Heidi Klum to say yes.

“That song is vocally one of the hardest songs I’ve ever had to sing,” Bailey said. “It was just very stressful to me because I only had a few hours to learn it. In the end, like, all you can do is show them what you have.”

To help cope with the nerves, Bailey focused on the audience’s reactions to her performance.

“It really boosted my confidence,” Bailey said. “That’s what I love about the audience of AGT, they’re always very positive. When they really like something like, they show it, and I feed off from the energy. So really, while I was up there, I was just happy to be there.”

Fortunately, COC’s music program prepared Bailey for her television debut.

“I feel like it opened my eyes and my ears to be a better performer and look at music (in) a different way,” Bailey said, who sang the national anthem at COC’s homecoming football game in 2023.

Bailey says COC music instructors Lori Marie Rios and Bill McPherson have been essential to her musical development.

“Bill is an instrumentalist so he kind of opened my ear. He really showed me that there is more to singing than just a microphone,” Bailey said.

After taking a risk to sing a ballad version of Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own” and getting a standing ovation from Klum, Bailey did not get enough votes and was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

“I was a little disappointed, but also proud of myself for doing it,” Bailey said. “I went from such a powerful, like soulful piece to this vulnerable and emotional piece that obviously a lot of people didn’t really understand. This song was a very vulnerable part of my life, and I felt like that’s why it was so hard to portray.”

Once it was all said and done, Bailey was exhausted from the experience and decided to step away from her music studies at COC to focus on herself.

“I’ve been working on me,” Bailey said. Personally, mentally and physically, I’m in the best shape of my life.”

Although Bailey has not decided if she will resume her studies in spring 2025, she is grateful to the college.

“COC helped me a lot,” Bailey said. “It opened my eyes and brought new experiences to me, which I’m so grateful for. If Pico Canyon Hall didn’t exist, I wouldn’t know any of the people I know now, because when you’re a music major it’s like your own little family. Everyone knows everyone in Pico Canyon.”

Bailey has not quit singing despite being eliminated from America’s Got Talent and taking a break from her studies. She has bigger plans for her future.

“I just want people to know my name and hear my voice. I want them to know Brooke Bailey. I just love it so much that I don’t plan on giving up. I love it too much to give up,” Bailey said.

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