A day after making the finals of “America’s Got Talent,” 13-year-old singer Evie Clair lost her father to cancer.
“Evie Clair has made the decision to return and compete in the finals of ‘America’s Got Talent’ after being given the option from [producer] Simon [Cowell] to come back next season,” wrote Clair’s mother, Hillary Abplanalp. “We are happy to be back in LA with the remaining cast, crew and staff who have become like a second family to us this past year.”
The Deseret News in Utah added: “Clair’s father, Amos Abplanalp, passed away [Sept. 7] due to stage 4 colon cancer earlier this month. … A father of five, Amos Abplanalp had served as a bishop for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and supported his daughter in her musical goals.”
Meanwhile, Darci Lynne Farmer, the 12-year-old singing ventriloquist, is seen as a near lock to win “AGT” this week — and its $1 million grand prize (paid out in yearly installments over a period of 40 years).
So says an online poll by GoldDerby.com, where the Oklahoma City youngster led the nine other finalists with 59 percent of the vote.
Ahead of Tuesday night’s final performance at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, the main rival for Darci Lynne appears to be 10-year-old Angelica Hale of Georgia, also a singer.
She was the pick of 19 percent.
No other contestant has more than the 6 percent support boasted by Evie Clair, whose story of a dying father was a heart-tugging subtext this season.
The “AGT” finals airs Tuesday night on NBC, with a viewer vote deciding the winner to be revealed Wednesday night.