When Chapel Hart first took the America’s Got Talent stage in summer 2022, all four judges were blown away by the country music trio out of small-town Mississippi but no one more than Simon Cowell.
Cowell – known for his unwavering candor through the years of American Idol, X Factor, and now AGT – told sisters Danica and Devynn Hart and their cousin Trea Swindle that they were one of the best acts he had seen on AGT in quite a while.
“Trust me. I needed you today,” Cowell said. “That was fantastic. I love you and I love the choreography going on around you. It was just brilliant.”
Cowell and company went on to give Chapel Hart the first unanimous Golden Buzzer in AGT history, immediately propelling them into a nationwide hit. Finishing in the show’s top five before a meteoric rise that has included shoutouts from Dolly Parton, jam sessions with Darius Rucker, and releasing multiple studio albums, the group has consistently looked back at their time on AGT and referred to the show as “home.”
Now, they’re heading home as part of a new spin-off season under the AGT label.
Chapel Hart was recently selected by Cowell to be on his team in AGT: Fantasy League, which gives the judges – Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, and Mel B – a chance to fill out their own fantasy teams of 10 acts from previous seasons of shows under the Got Talent format, including America’s Got Talent, Britain’s Got Talent, and Australia’s Got Talent.
“It’s really different from AGT,” Devynn explained. “During football season, people will put together a fantasy team, and so the judges have put together their perfect AGT dream teams with contestants from all seasons from all of the Got Talent circuit.”
When Chapel Hart found out they would be working with Cowell, the trio had just gotten off the stage at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and were ecstatic to hear that their favorite judge had asked them to come back on the show.
“Can you imagine we’re sitting at the Grand Ole Opry, and we get a call from Simon Cowell, saying that he wants us to be on his team and compete for AGT: Fantasy League? We screamed so loud; we scared every one of those poor little people in the Opry,” Danica recounted. “Is there another mentor better than Simon Cowell? We were just super stoked about that.”
The trio from Poplarville, a town of less than 3,000, then flew to Los Angeles to work with Cowell and prepare for what viewers will finally get to watch on Monday night at 8/7c on NBC.
“We not only got a chance to sit down with him during rehearsals and picking songs…but he even opened up his home to us and we were able to go and visit him and sit and talk about the competition and about the way things have been going,” Swindle said.
If Chapel Hart is the last act standing when AGT: Fantasy League concludes on Feb. 19, the trio will take home $250,000 and of course, Cowell will get bragging rights. Be warned, though, that with the right circumstances, any of the other judges can steal Chapel Hart away from Team Simon throughout the competition.
Alyssa Arbuckle contributed to this report.
