Evie Clair made her emotional debut on “America’s Got Talent” last week, and her family couldn’t be more pleased by how it went.
The 13-year-old singer from Arizona earned high praise from the judges for her rendition of Christina Perri’s “Arms.” During the episode, Clair told the crowd that she was dedicating the tune to her father, who has been battling Stage IV colon cancer.
The teen told TheWrap that her father was quite moved by her time on stage.
“He said that it was one of the best moments of his life,” Clair said. “He said that seeing us kids be born and getting married to my mom were the two best, and then this one was definitely up [there].”
According to Clair, her father recently started a liver treatment in his fight against cancer, and he underwent surgery on the night that her episode aired. She added that he is already back at work this week.
“It’s remarkable to see him being physically so weak but mentally and spiritually so strong, and keep holding out and supporting our family,” she said.
Clair, who admits she was “really nervous” on stage, said that while she is excited that people enjoyed her performance, she doesn’t necessarily crave stardom.
“I’ve gotten a lot of attention, and I’m not sure how I feel about,” she said. “I have mixed emotions about the attention. Sometimes, it’s like, ‘I’m just 13 — I need a little bit more space!’ Another part is, it feels really cool to have a lot of people know me and supporting our family. But it’s almost too much sometimes.”