Lily Meola is Set to Live Her “Daydream” Once Again With Heidi Klum’s Golden Buzzer
Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC Reading Time: 3 minutes
America’s Got Talent is known for changing the lives of its contestants one audition at a time. On Tuesday night’s audition episode, longtime judge Heidi Klum changed the life of Lily Meola by giving her the Golden Buzzer.
Lily Meola took the stage during the fifth episode of AGT auditions on Tuesday night. The 27 year old took the stage stating that she’s a singer/songwriter that once was living her “daydream.” She acknowledged that she had been signed to a record label, until her mom was diagnosed with cancer. After becoming her mom’s full time caretaker, she lost her deal. Her late mother was her biggest fan, so she was pretty emotional before her audition.
Before performing, she explained that her original song, “Daydream” was written at a very happy point in her life and it has since evolved. She wrote the song so other people could feel her happiness at the time. Even though the singer was emotional before her audition, she gave a stellar performance of “Daydream.”
The audience and judges immediately loved Lily’s song, story, and voice. Heidi Klum loved this singer so much that she chose to hit her Golden Buzzer for her. With the help of Klum, Lily is bouund to break into the music industry once again.
Working With Willie Nelson, Losing Her Record Deal
Lily grew up as a jazz-loving child performing at local cafe. She is the daughter of Nancy Meola (known as the assistant to entertainment manager Shep Gordon) and sister of professional surfer Matt Meola. Her mother pushed her to pursue music from a young age and even helped her book a weekly residency at Cafe des Amis in Paia, Hawaii.
While performing at the cafe, Lily caught the attention of country music artist, Willie Nelson. During her late teens, she was mentored by Nelson. She toured the country with him and even dueted with him on To All Girls in 2013. Lily was signed to Interscope Records three years after gaining recognition for her work with Nelson.
In 2016, Lily’s mom was diagnosed with cancer. Due to her mom’s diagnosis, Lily’s debut album They Say, never dropped. An “Authorized Bootleg” version of the album features collaborations with Nelson, his sons Lukas and Micah, and Kris Kristofferson. In present day, Lily has released five singles, as well as one EP. Even though she mentored with a country artist, the 27 year old hopes to create songs within the genres of dream pop and soulful folk, like Lana Del Rey, Joni Mitchell, or Amy Winehouse.
Her Career in Present Day
This singer recently released her self-made EP, Daydream (a “musical memoir of my dark and beautiful, exciting and haunting last few years”). She noted that creating this EP was “therapeutic” since she had lapsed into a “deep depression” after her mother’s death in 2020. This new portion of her career is considered her rebirth era following the dark spot.
Lily is still close friends with Nelson’s son, Lukas, in present day. Throughout her dark patch she would immerse herself in songwriting and share the results with him. Lily explains that she’s grateful for her friendship with Lukas, like a sibling, he listens to her songs and gives her notes.
Right now, Lily has over 24,800 followers on Instagram and 31,314 monthly listeners on Spotify. She also has several live performances lined up for June 30, August 11, August 13, and October 8.
Lily’s emotional emotional track landed her the final Golden Buzzer of America’s Got Talent season 17. Fans cannot wait to see what she sings in the live shows this August.
