At only 13 years old, Laura Bretan made America’s Got Talent history when she earned Mel B’s Golden Buzzer nearly 10 years ago. Where is she in 2026? Is she still singing? Here’s everything to know about what she’s up to in 2026.
Laura Bretan Earns Mel B’s Golden Buzzer
In 2016, Laura Bretan first took the America’s Got Talent stage. She was seen practically trembling due to her nerves. But when her backing track began, it was like a different person stepped on stage! Her vocals weren’t affected by nerves at all.
After the performance, Mel B shared that all of the hairs on her arms were stood up during the audition. Mel B also questioned once again how she’s only 13 years old with such a mature voice. From there, Laura’s life was changed forever when Mel B hit her Golden Buzzer. This sent Laura through directly to the live shows.
In the Quarterfinals, Laura sang “The Prayer” by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli. From there, she returned in the both the semi finals and finale. She ended up finishing the competition out as a finalist. It’s no surprise that Laura made it this far in the competition, since she had previously competed on and won Romania’s Got Talent.
A few years after AGT, Laura competed in Romania’s national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Unfortunately, she was not selected as the representative for Romania in Eurovision Song Contest.
What is Laura up to in 2026?
It’s officially been nearly 10 years since Laura competed on America’s Got Talent and it should be no surprise that Laura is still extremely active in the classical music scene. Earlier this year, Laura graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Since graduating, she’s returned to the recording studio and began teasing a new project.
Laura currently has 180k monthly listeners on Spotify, and 84k followers on Instagram. On YouTube, she remains true to her craft, publishing cover songs and originals. As of recent, she can be seen singing with her sister, Estera, who’s seemingly up and coming in the musical scene.
Have you been following Laura’s music journey after America’s Got Talent? Let us know on X!
Words by:
Corey Cesare Corey Cesare is Talent Recap's Managing Editor and featured YouTube Host. She has a love of all things pop culture and an unhealthy obsession with celebrities. Corey earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Cinema/Screen Studies from the State University of New York at Oswego in 2021. She spends her spare time shooting astro, nature, and portrait photography, and coming up with movie ideas that she hopes to make into a film someday.
