Sophie Pecora returned to the America's Got Talent [1] stage Tuesday night and blew the entire audience away with yet another raw, poignant song choice. The 15-year-old singer-songwriter flew through the talent competition's audition round by singing about the bullying she endured in seventh grade [2], and she went a similarly emotional route for her second performance. Sophie chose her "most personal" song yet, an original titled "Misfits," which focused on bullying, social media, and how writing music saved her "when the world was crumbling around [her]."
Simon Cowell [3], clearly impacted by Sophie's lyrics, responded to her performance by offering some heartfelt feedback. "I say this as a father: bullying is always going to happen, but if you don't care or even think about them, it means you win. You continue talking about them, they win," Cowell said. "You're so young, and I think people will listen to you so cleverly, there has to be a more positive slant where we go forward from this point on, and I don't want you talk about these people ever again because they're not worth talking about." Ain't that the truth!
Meanwhile, guest judge Brad Paisley had nothing but positive thoughts about the teen's original song. "I think I know you from that one song, and that's incredible to stand up there with just a guitar — that takes incredible cajones . . . you have schooled so many people in this moment," the country crooner said right before slamming the golden buzzer button. With gold confetti flying all around her, an adorably overwhelmed Sophie admitted, "I never expected this to happen in my life." We can't wait to see what moving lyrics she comes up with next!