In the final stages of the talent hunt held on Tuesday (Aug. 16), Maddie stepped onto the big stage with all the regalia, pomp and confidence of an artist who had just earned a spot in the final rounds of the competition.

“Higher Love” is a solo hit that Steve Winwood released for the former Spencer Davis Group in the late ’80s, but Maddie had not even been born at the time. Not a biggie. After winning Howie’ Mandel’s golden buzzer during the auditions for America’s Got Talent, the teenager turned to an old classic for the semifinal performance of the show on Tuesday (Aug. 16).

As Madison Taylor Baez is known by her friends and family, Maddie made hearts melt during the audition phase when, at the age of 11, she nailed the famous song “Amazing Grace.”When we heard her backstory, her dad’s fight with cancer, and how she trained her vocal talents by singing to him in the hospital, it was Niagara Falls all over the country.

Taking the pop-song “Higher Love,” the youngster and the backing performers of “Higher Love” turned it into something that sounded more like a Sunday morning service than a pop song