A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 54F. Winds light and variable..
A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 54F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: September 11, 2025 @ 11:20 pm
The quarterfinals will conclude on Season 20 of America’s Got Talent during the Tuesday, September 9, episode. Eleven more acts will take the stage, and one of them will be Cole Swensen.
The shy singer auditioned for the show with a rendition of Coldplay‘s “Viva La Vida,” which nearly brought him to tears. He was joined by his mom, Judy, who previously gave up her own dream of a music career, for the performance. Judy played cello while Cole strummed a guitar and sang.
Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Mel B., and Sofia Vergara all loved the performance and gave Cole four yeses to move on in the competition. He was then selected as one of 44 quarterfinalists after the audition round ended.
Ahead of his next performance, scroll down to learn more about Cole.
Cole is an aspiring singer who has been trying to make it in music for several years. “I’ve played smaller venues around L.A. for the past four years, but it’s my dream to be on stages like this,” he said during his AGT audition.
In July, he released his EP Soul Center, which features five original songs. His debut album, Dear Sadie, came out in 2023. He has been releasing his own music independently since then.
Cole’s passion for music stemmed from his parents. In addition to his mom being a cellist, his father is also a violinist. After taking piano lessons, Cole began playing guitar when he was 12.
Cole was 23 years old at the time of his America’s Got Talent audition.
Cole lives in Los Angeles, California.
Judy is Cole’s mother, who has been part of his AGT journey. She is a cellist, and as Cole told the AGT judges, she gave up her own music career to raise him.
Judy received her Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music in 1991, according to LinkedIn. She then earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Samuel Merritt College in 2008 and has been working as a registered labor and delivery nurse at Kaiser Permanente since 2009.
America’s Got Talent, Season 20, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8/7c, NBC
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Originally published on tvinsider.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
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