Is Laura Bretan the "America's Got Talent" Season 11? She's well on her way already.

The 2016 season started last night, featuring new judge Simon Cowell as Howard Stern's replacement, a bunch of wild auditions, and Laura Bretan earning the first Golden Buzzer of the season. The 13-year-old eighth-grader said she was nervous before singing "Nessun Dorma" for the audience (and Simon), but she didn't show it. AGT has a history of loving opera singers and now we have another to follow for (probably?) the whole season. Mel B. gave Bretan the coveted Golden Buzzer, sending her straight through to the live shows.


Was it the right call? Bretan is an amazing performer, with a strong voice and a dramatic, emotional interpretation. (She was also apparently on "Romania's Got Talent.") Bretan was probably going to get through no matter what, especially after that standing ovation and Simon Cowell's glowing review: "I have never heard anything like that in all the years I've been dong this show. Seriously. It was unbelievable." (Cowell is a veteran of "Britain's Got Talent" and, of course, "American Idol.") He said what made it even better is that she is such a sweet, humble person. We'll have to see what she does next to keep up this momentum.

What about Tape Man? It looked like a creepy Tim Burton-esque routine was coming, then the oven mitts popped out for a sweetly hilarious rendition of "Endless Love," and we were hooked.

Watch Tape Man, and more AGT videos:

What were your favorite auditions of the premiere?

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