NUR-SULTAN – The 14-year-old rising star from Kazakhstan Daneliya Tuleshova stunned American audiences with her cover of Sia’s “Alive” at America’s Got Talent finals which aired on NBC on Sept. 22.
Daneliya Tuleshova. Photo credit: Tuleshova’s Instagram acount
The voting took place online, and only U.S. citizens were eligible to vote. Spoken word artist Brandon Leake took home a $1 million prize and the opportunity to perform live at the Luxor in Las Vegas.
Tuleshova said that her participation in the AGT is more than just another milestone in her life.
“I am reassured once again that working relentlessly towards your goals means you will achieve success. I have spent half a year in daily rehearsals, and I do not know whether this will happen again, but it was an incredible experience. I also met wonderful people from different backgrounds and different parts of the world who also strive to realize their dreams and are ready to share their talent. This is inspiring,” said Tuleshova.
“I am just a 14-year-old girl from Kazakhstan with big dreams,” she said.
Preparing for the final show was not easy, she said because the contestants only had a few days.
“But I am proud that I prepared such a difficult song within such a short period of time. I wanted to sing this song because it expresses my desire to be a part of this project and on this stage. I wanted to show my strength and my confidence,” she said.
She “felt like a star” when she got to Hollywood. “But I was so scared because everyone was so talented and I was worried that I was not good enough but when I started, I felt the most electrifying feeling in the world. I feel like I was alive and, well, I felt electric.”
The final show also featured a live performance by Usher with some of his biggest hits, and Ryan Tedder from OneRepublic, Bishop Briggs, Ava Max and Blake Shelton, who performed with some of the finalists.
Tuleshova said she plans to focus on her studies when she gets back home to Kazakhstan.
“It is difficult to say something concrete about my plans. I should at least take some sort of break – not only me but my entire team,” she said.
Watch Tuleshova’s performance at AGT finals below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp91hFrmvP4
