Stephanie Rainey’s hauntingly beautiful song about loss struck a chord with the America’s Got Talent audience and had Judge Sofia Vergara wiping away tears.
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“Stephanie, it was such a beautiful, heartfelt song,” Vergara told her. “You can tell what you went through. It was very simple and perfect.”
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The song captivated the audience and earned Rainey the votes she needed to move forward in the talent competition after Judge Simon Cowell declared it the best new song he’s heard all year “by a mile.”
What to Know About Stephanie Rainey’s “Please Don’t Go”
Stephanie Rainey on America's Got Talent Season 19 Episode 4. Photo: Trae Patton/NBC
The Irish singer created the powerful “moment” on stage by sharing a song with deeply personal roots.
As she shared with the Judges, her original song, titled “Please Don’t Go,” was written in honor of her nephew, who died just one day shy of his first birthday when she was a teenager.
“It took me a long time to write a song about it,” she admitted. “Honestly, I was about to give up music, so I was like I want to make something for me that I believe in, so this song means more to me than I can actually, like, even describe.”
The 36-year-old confessed she’s had “kind of a roller coaster career” as a singer. One of the largest peaks came after she wrote the song years ago and decided to create a video to accompany the heartbreaking ballad.
“I guess it’s about my experience of grief, and what it’s like,” she told entertainment blog Greeblehaus. “I asked my friends and family who I knew had lost different people to come and take part in the music video. We interviewed everybody, and got them to answer certain questions about what they’d say to their loved one, or what it was like when they lost them – all that kind of stuff. We ended up with this amazing video. And the day I put it out, it just went completely viral. It was a million views the first day.”
With lyrics like “I'll hold your hand till it goes cold/I'll hold my tears until you go/With all the life that leaves your bones/It soaks the purpose from my own,” the ballad pulls at the heart strings and takes the listener deep inside Rainey’s raw grief.
“So lay yourself down on my chest/'Cause I know how to hold you best/I'll keep you through these last few breaths/And kiss and love you till the end,” the song continues. “Ohhh, ohh, oh/Please don't go.”
After the viral success of the video, Rainey signed a record deal.
“Yeah, it was really, really crazy,” she told the blog in 2021. “I think anybody who’s ever had a viral video will tell you that it’s the most bizarre thing that can ever happen. I mean, I had writers calling me up asking me if they could share the video. I was like, ‘I don’t know… maybe?’”
But it wasn’t the ticket to industry success that she’d been hoping for.
“I think I probably didn’t fully know who I was back when I signed that deal,” Rainey told the judges. “The journey from then until now has been hard. It’s a tough industry, you know? You have to be resilient and I think sometimes when the downs come you have to be willing to kind of pick yourself back up and so here I am.”
Rainey decided to take one more chance by bringing the song to AGT.
What Did the Judges Say about "Please Don't Go"?
The move paid off and the Judges were blown away by the heart wrenching and honest lyrics.
“Very few acts move people and that was one of the most relatable, emotional moments we’ve had on Season 19, so thank you,” Judge Howie Mandel praised her.
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Who Are the America's Got Talent Season 19 Judges?Judge Heidi Klum added that she thought Rainey’s voice “sounded amazing” on the AGT stage.
“It was just a real, special moment,” she said. “Well done.”
But the song resonated with Cowell the most.
“Of all the new songs I’ve heard this year, this is the best by a mile,” he told her. “Even though it’s about something really sad, it’s real and your voice is beautiful. A lot of people are going to resonate with that song and you. I absolutely loved this.”
After Rainey easily secured the four “yes” votes necessary to move her forward in the competition, Cowell came onto the stage to offer her some final parting words.
“That was what I call a moment,” he said. ““That song is so beautiful. Thank you so much for coming over.”
To find out how Rainey will fare in the competition, watch America’s Got Talent Tuesdays at 8/7c on NBC or available streaming on Peaco*ck the next day.
