Evie Clair is the 13-year-old singer competing on America’s Got Talent, Season 12. For her audition she sang Christina Perri’s 2011 heartbreaking song “Arms” which she dedicated for her father who is battling cancer. For her second performance, during the Judge Cuts and in front of music producer DJ Khaled, Evie sings another heartbreaker, Macy Gary’s 1999 single “I Try.”
Gray wrote the song “I Try” which starts with the lyric “I try to say goodbye and I choke.” She won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1999. It’s still Gray’s biggest hit. According to SongFacts: “I Try” is about Gray trying to shake off memories of her marriage. The couple with three kids broke up after Gray got signed with Epic Records. But when Clair sings “I Try”, it’s about her and her father. So far, Evie’s song choices have been right on the money for her voice, her emotion, and for being a little unconventional for a 13-year-old. Other young singers on the show tend to chose more current songs like Angelica Hale who sang Andra Day’s “Rise Up.” America’s Got Talent airs Tuesdays at 8pm on NBC.
