Teen ventriloquist Darci Lynne Farmer wowed fans with her — or rather her dummy’s — Italian opera singing on the finals of America’s Got Talent: The Champions.
The 14-year-old Oklahoma native, who won season 12 of America’s Got Talent in 2017, took the stage with her trusty rabbit puppet Petunia on Monday evening and gave one of her best performances to date on the NBC competition series.
Darci helped Petunia belt out ‘O Mio Babbino Caro,’ and the self-taught ventriloquist managed to keep her lips still while hitting all of the high notes.
Scroll down for video
Performance: Teen ventriloquist Darci Lynne Farmer, 14, from Oklahoma, took the stage with her dummy Petunia on Monday night’s episode of America’s Got Talent: The Champions
Incredible: The teen wowed the judges by singing Italian opera without moving her mouth
The judges gave her a standing ovation, and Simon Cowell was particularly taken with the incredible performance.
‘Wow, wow, wow, Darci,’ he gushed. ‘I actually believe this, for so many reasons, is your best ever performance you have ever given.
‘I mean it’s hard enough at your age to sing opera,’ but you’re doing it through a rabbit,’ he added. ‘I think you may win tonight.’
Fellow judges Mel B and Howie Mandel both agreed with Simon’s assessment of the performance.
Amazing: Darci helped Petunia belt out ‘O Mio Babbino Caro’ during the jaw-dropping performance
Loving it: Darci and Petunia received a standing ovation at the end of the song
Impressed: Simon Cowell was particularly taken with the incredible performance
‘Just your delivery and your confidence, because you are self-taught and you’ve worked so hard to get this far,’ Mel B said. ‘You deserve everything and much, much more.’
Howie, meanwhile, was impressed that Darci was still surprising them after all of this time.
‘It was truly amazing because we didn’t know you sing opera,’ he said. ‘You’ve gone through a whole season of AGT and you still surprise.’
Before her performance, Darci discussed her return to America’s Got Talent: The Champions during a pre-taped interview.
‘First round of AGT: The Champions was crazy,’ she said. ‘All of the butterflies from the very first audition just came back like 10 times worse.
Gushing: The judge called it Darci’s ‘best ever performance’ to date, noting that he thinks she has a chance at winning the championship
Surprise: Howie Mandel (left) said the performance was particularly amazing because they had no idea she could sing opera
Fierce competition: Darci said her bunny dummy Petunia ‘is a diva’ and ‘likes to win’
‘The reaction from the crowd was out of this world. I definitely wanted to feel that feeling forever.’
Darci’s dream of winning the title was temporarily dashed earlier in the season when she failed to receive enough votes to continue to the next round. However, she was brought back as a wild card act.
‘I am grateful to have another chance to win this competition, but it’s also terrifying,’ she admitted. ‘How am I gonna come back and blow the roof off the place?’
Darci said she considers Petunia to be her ‘lucky charm,’ noting that the dummy helped her get the golden buzzer and win season 12 of the competition show.
‘She is a diva and she likes to win,’ Darci said of Petunia.
Throwback: Darci was named the season 12 champion of America’s Got Talent in 2017 when she was just 12 years old
Unforgettable moment: As the winner, she took home $1 million and headlined a show in Las Vegas as her prize
Fans will have to wait until next week to see who will be named the winner of AGT: The Champions, but whether she wins or loses, Darci has big plans for herself.
The teen will be kicking off her 18-city ‘Fresh Out of the Box’ tour on February 15.
Just a year and a half ago, a 12-year-old Darci was crowned the season 12 champion of the show after a performing The Beatles’ hit ‘With a Little Help From My Friends’ with two different dummies.
As the winner, she took home a $1 million prize and headlined a show at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.
The talented tween’s sensational win came as no surprise to dedicated viewers of the show, as Darci had been tipped as a front-runner since her first appearance on the talent contest.
