She's back! 10-year-old Harper returned to the America's Got Talent stage, now a viral favorite after her screaming audition performing Spiritbox's "Holy Roller" took the internet by storm. For her second performance, she didn't stray too far from the path, belting with passion and fury to the Ed Sheeran and Bring Me the Horizon hit "Bad Habits" from earlier this year.
Pop star Ed Sheeran has been showing his affinity for heavier music, revealing plans to collaborate with Cradle of Filth's Dani Filth and then turning up at the Brit Awards with Bring Me the Horizon's Oli Sykes adding an electrified screaming addition to "Bad Habits." A studio version of the collaboration followed.
The track caught the ear of young Harper, who gave it her all with a passionate performance. Starting off laying against a backdrop of a flower-covered field, the singer eventually rose with almost a spoken word vocal, before commanding the stage with her presence as she sang the chorus pointing to the cameras as she bounced across the stage. The performance featured a backdrop of yellow smiley-faced balloons with x'd out eyes, while pyro and a very over the top light show added to the production. Meanwhile the same balloons featured in the backdrop were being tossed around the audience as she performed.
There was no denying the energy of young Harper, who even dropped to her knees, letting her hair fly as she headbanged along to the heaviness of the song. Watch the full performance below.
In a pre-taped package, Harper stated that she chose the song because, "I'm not just a shouter, I'm a singer too and i'm going to do what it takes to get to the finals." She was met with a standing ovation. Howie Mandel told Harper, "I'm sure you're going to rack up another 20 million and go viral. The only fear that I have is god forbid you're in real trouble, but nobody's going to come cause they just think you're singing. I think there's an audience for this, there really is."
"I have to say death metal is not my favorite music," added Heidi Klum before getting bopped on the head with a balloon by Mandel. "But it is fascinating to watch you," she added. "I have to say what is so disturbing to me is how effortless it comes out of her little body. That's crazy," added Sofia Vergara. "Even without the element of surprise from the audition, it was great. It was amazing."
"I loved that performance," added Simon Cowell. "I tell you what. I love things that people are going to talk about. It's frustrating, and by the way, your film package was brilliant, your personality was great and it was a great song choice. It's something we don't normally see or hear, so I'd rather see or hear someone like you than someone do something really boring. People are going to talk about you and I love you for that. You're gutsy."
After the performance, Harper got the proverbial thumbs up from one of Bring Me the Horizon's band members. Keyboardist Jordan Fish shared Harper's performance via his socials with the comment, "The simulation continues to surprise." Harper responded to Fish with a series of "heart-eyed" emojis.
Harper also earned shout outs from SiriusXM's metal ambassador Jose Mangin, Rise Records, Pale Chord and Spiritbox's Courtney LaPlante among others, with AGT host Terry Crews also tweeting, "@thatyellaharper left it all on stage!"
America's Got Talent is currently in the process of narrowing down the contestants that will advance with two acts from Tuesday night's performance having the chance to move forward in the competition based on fan vote. Those advancing will be revealed during tonight's airing (Aug. 31) at 8PM ET / PT on NBC.
Watch the performance below, as well as Harper's recent "How I Learned to Scream" episode with Loudwire below.
10-Year-Old Harper Performs Ed Sheeran + Bring Me the Horizon's "Bad Habits' on AGT
How Harper (10-Year-Old Spiritbox Fan) Learned to Scream
