Winner Jessica Sanchez Just Put Filipino American Talent at the Center of AGT

Twenty years after first stepping onto the America’s Got Talent stage as a 10-year-old, Jessica Sanchez returned nine months pregnant and won Season 20, making history in the process. She’s now the first Filipino American and the first Filipino to ever take the crown. AsAmNews called it full circle justice, and honestly, it’s hard to disagree.

Her finale performance of Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile” was a showstopper, bringing the audience and judges Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, Mel B, and Howie Mandel to their feet. Vergara, who had already hit the golden buzzer for her earlier in the season, gushed that Sanchez was a “little pregnant angel” with a voice unlike anyone else’s. Rolling Stone Philippines said the performance was transcendent, and the voters clearly agreed.

This win is a breakthrough moment for Filipino and Asian American artists, but Jessica didn’t just win a competition, she showed viewers what resilience looks like. From a semifinals elimination at age 10 to a championship at 30, she turned a childhood dream into history.

 “I felt like music became a job where there were requirements I had to meet as a woman in the industry — and as a Filipino woman in the industry — and that there were standards I had to meet,” she said in an interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune in July, reflecting on the difficulties she faced early in her career.

“I was falling into insecurity, and I had to take a step back and figure out who I was. I didn’t want to sell out and put a mask on. So, I immersed myself in family and faith. I moved back to San Diego from Los Angeles, and then to Irvine, which has a large Asian population. I may not be exactly what the labels want or what the industry wants. I’m not a super bubbly person or an in-your-face person. I’m more quiet and timid, and I feel like that’s okay … I don’t have to win the approval of everybody.”

Sanchez joins a short but distinguished list of Asian American artists who have won America’s Got Talent: performance artist Kenichi Ebina won season 8, magician Shin Lim won season 13, and singer Kodi Lee won season 14.

“It's been a long, a long journey, but I'm so grateful for every single minute of it — just getting a chance to sing in front of America again and see what they think of me and my creativity,” Sanchez told Today.com. “I cannot believe that I am the winner of Season 20.”

Relive her amazing finale performance below.

Photo America's Got Talent/YouTube