Angelica Hale

Angelica Hale is a singer act from Season 12 of America's Got Talent.

Background
Angelica Hale was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 2007 to James and Eva Hale.

It became apparent to her early on in her life that she was meant to become a singer. When she was just two years old, she began to sing along to popular songs on the radio. She was starting to show real promise with her singing when suddenly, at the age of 4, she contracted an aggressive strep bacteria in her lungs. After only a week, her illness turned to double pneumonia, and she was rushed to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite.

Her first two days in the hospital were rough. The infection in her lungs was really bad, and she went septic. She experienced multiple organ failures, with her kidneys scarred over and no longer functioning. Her lungs were bleeding, and air was leaking into her abdomen. Her lungs were in real bad shape, and she was put on a ventilator, then an oscillator to try and keep her oxygen levels up. She also underwent multiple blood and platelet transfusions during this time. Finally, things were so bad that she had to be Life-Flighted to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston.

There, she was put on ECMO as a last resort since she was not responding very well to the other treatments she was given. The other hospital did not have this life-saving equipment that she required. The ECMO machine performed the functions of her heart and lungs for 12 days. They also performed dialysis since her kidneys were not working and Plasmapherisis since her blood stream was so polluted from having gone septic.

Overall, she spent 80 days in the hospital from Feb. 2 to Apr. 24, 2012, and about 6 weeks in the PICU. She underwent many procedures, multiple surgeries, and once she returned home, she was still on dialysis. Her mom and dad had to take her to the hospital 3 times a week for hemodialysis since her kidneys were still not functioning. She eventually underwent another procedure to have a dialysis tube inserted into her abdomen to allow for Peritoneal dialysis. This dialysis could be performed 7 days a week and from home.

This experience taught her family to never take the future for granted. Things can and often do change in the blink of an eye.

Although she was still in kidney failure, she wanted to pursue her singing career in earnest now that she was given a new lease on life. At the age of 5, she began her singing lessons with vocal coach Tricia Grey in Alpharetta, GA.

A few months after she started her lessons, she performed for the first time on stage in front of a crowd of a couple hundred people at Duluth (GA) Idol in 2013. This was her first competition with actual judges as well. She sang two songs: "Part of Your World" and "Reflection". She was very nervous, but she ended up winning for her age group of 5-9 year olds. Little did she know that this would be the foundation that she would build her singing career on.

The search for a new kidney began while she was still in the hospital and both of her parents got tested to see if they were a match. While her father was not a match, her mother was and she jumped at the opportunity to help her. She donated her kidney to her on Friday, September 13th, 2013 when she was 6 years old. A few days after the successful transplant, they were able to go home again as one big happy family. Her road to recovery was officially underway. 

Audition
Angelica Hale's audition in Episode 1202 consisted of singing Andra Day's "Rise Up". Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum, and Simon Cowell all voted "Yes", sending Angelica to the Judge Cuts.

Judge Cuts
Angelica Hale's Judge Cuts performance in Episode 1207 consisted of singing Alicia Keys' "Girl on Fire". Howie Mandel, Mel B, guest judge Chris Hardwick, and Heidi Klum gave her standing ovations. Moved by the performance, Hardwick pressed his Golden Buzzer for Angelica, sending her straight to the Quarterfinals.

Quarterfinals
Angelica Hale's Week 1 Quarterfinals performance in Episode 1211 consisted of singing Zedd's "Clarity". Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum and Simon Cowell all gave her standing ovations. Angelica received enough votes to advance to the Semifinals in Episode 1212 along with Darci Lynne.

Semifinals
Angelica Hale's Week 2 Semifinals performance in Episode 1219 consisted of singing.