This Black Country girl group was so good, they made the America’s Got Talent judges change their rules!
On the latest episode of America’s Got Talent, judges Simon Cowell, Sofía Vergara, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel and host Terry Crews were wowed by Mississippi trio Chapel Hart. The group is comprised of sisters Danica and Devlyn Hart and cousin Trea Swindle.
Chapel Hart performed their original song “You Can Have Him, Jolene,” a follow-up to Dolly Parton’s beloved classic “Jolene.” The performance received a standing ovation from the audience, the coveted golden buzzer, and even a shoutout from the Queen of Country music herself.
Chapel Hart's 'You Can Have Him, Jolene' was inspired by a t-shirt.
According to CMT News, Chapel Hart’s catching song was written in 30 minutes. The band got the idea to write a follow-up to “Jolene” after Devlyn wore a shirt inspired by the hit song to the band’s video shoot for their cover of Parton’s “9 to 5.”
“Devlyn had on a shirt that read, ’You can have him, signed Jolene,'” Danica said.
“I had to stop and say, ’That’s a statement.’ If you think about that idea, it’s like, ’Who does this heifer think she is to take somebody, then turn around, and tell him that she can have him back?’ So I thought, ’What if we wrote a song from the other perspective, where the woman [who loses her partner] in ’Jolene’ is okay with losing him.”
All of the 'AGT' judges gave the trio the coveted golden buzzer.
By the time Chapel Hart was finished performing their song, the America’s Got Talent judges were already raving over the performance.
“Trust me, I needed you today,” Cowell said. “That was fantastic. I love you.”
Heidi Klum followed up by saying that the group's “joy is infectious.” Sofia Vergara teared up and called the act “perfect.”
All of the judges, even host Terry Crews, were so taken back by Chapel Hart’s performance that they broke a rule and all used their golden buzzers on the group, which propels them directly to the live shows.
Dolly Parton enjoyed Chapel Hart's modern viewpoint of "Jolene"
Following Chapel Hart’s AGT performance, Dolly Parton took to Twitter to commend the group’s original spin on her hit song.
“What a fun new take on my song, @ChapelHartBand! Carl’s birthday is today so I think I’ll hang on to him, and I’m not notifying Jolene that today is his birthday,” she tweeted.
What a fun new take on my song, @ChapelHartBand! Carl’s birthday is today so I think I’ll hang on to him, and I’m not notifying Jolene that today is
his birthday #AGT https://t.co/UFiT1AH84R— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) July 20, 2022
Loretta Lynn also shouted them out on Facebook:
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