Sarah Hardwig doesn’t remember much about singing for her big “America’s Got Talent” audition. It all went by so fast, she says, and she was nervous and shaking afterward.
But the Naples native does remember this — sweating under those Los Angeles stage lights and worrying about hitting that high note.
“I barely remember anything except the high note, if I’m being totally honest,” says Hardwig, 23, who now lives in Nashville. “That’s what I was worried about. And that was what I was really focusing on. Like, ‘I cannot mess this up.’”
Luckily, Hardwig did great during her audition on the TV talent competition, which aired July 21 on NBC.
The country singer-songwriter nailed the high note singing the Lainey Wilson hit “Heart Like a Truck,” no problem. And the judges and audience absolutely loved her, including a standing ovation.
“Everything you did was amazing…” said judge Sofía Vergara. “Your voice, the song — I think we all fell in love with you, and everybody else is gonna fall in love with you.”
“How did that feel?” judge Simon Cowell asked Hardwig afterward.
“Amazing,” she whispered through tears, overcome with emotion.
Naples native’s inspiring story impresses ‘America’s Got Talent’ judges
The judges were even more impressed with Hardwig’s story. The 2021 Naples High graduate was born blind due to a genetic eye condition, she told them.
Her father, Greg Hardwig — a former sports editor and reporter for The Naples Daily News — led Sarah to the microphone onstage so she could sing and play guitar for the judges.
“Music has always played an important role in my life,” she told them. “And I want to prove to the world that — regardless of whether you have a disability or not — you can do absolutely anything that you set your mind to.”
After her audition, Judge Howie Mandel called it an inspiring story and performance.
“That was beautiful and heartwarming and you are the epitome of resilience to show up here and to sing your heart out and to move three or four thousand strangers in this room — and hopefully millions of people at home,” he told her. “I love your message, and I love your energy. This show is about inspiration, and you’re inspiring.”
Hardwig eventually got four yeses from the judges. Now she has to wait until next week to find out if she’ll make it to the show’s live rounds.
A lifetime of making music in Naples and Nashville
Her father says he felt “pride and joy” as he as his wife, Susan Hardwig, watched their daughter perform from backstage.
For most people watching “America’s Got Talent,” he says, this will be their first introduction to Sarah Hardwig. But she’s been working hard at singing and making music most of her life, including performing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Southwest Florida baseball games and singing with vocal ensembles for Opera Naples and The Naples Philharmonic.
“There’s been a lot of work that she’s done for a really long time to get to this moment,” says Greg Hardwig, who’s also his daughter’s manager (or, as he jokingly calls it, her “dad-ager”).
Still, he coached his daughter not to invest too much into how she does on the show. She still has to focus on her music career, no matter what.
“We were talking before, and I’m like, ‘Look, no matter what happens, this is just a part of your journey,’” he says. “‘You know, it can be a great part. It can be a good part of your journey and maybe a not-so-good part. But you just don’t know.’”
Sarah Hardwig doesn’t know what will happen next on “America’s Got Talent,” but she said she had fun during her time in Los Angeles.
“I had a good time…” she says. “I felt so many emotions. I loved the camaraderie of all the contestants. Because, you know, we’re all nervous. We’re all kind of feeling the same way. … It was comforting, but it was also, you know — I’m still nervous.”
Hardwig was invited to audition on the show after a TikTok video of her singing Heart’s “Alone” went viral, her father says. Her parents flew with her to Los Angeles in March 2026, when the July 21 episode was recorded, and watched from backstage as she performed.
Her mom cried, Sarah says.
“I remember getting backstage and she’s like, ‘I’m so happy.’” she says. “I’m like, ‘Are you OK?’ (laughs)… I’m like, ‘Girl, don’t make me cry. I have a lot of makeup on and I still need to do things.’”
More about Sarah Hardwig
Sarah Hardwig started singing in Naples when she was a little girl. Now she and her family have moved to Nashville to pursue her music career.
At 5 months old, Hardwig was diagnosed with Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis, a condition that left her visually impaired.
“I cannot see any shapes, shadows, colors, large print,” she says. “I cannot see any of that. The only thing I have is light perception, and that is it.”
Hardwig graduated from Belmont University last year with a degree in songwriting, her dad says. Now she’s working on her music career, recording music and performing at popular Nashville venues like The Bluebird Cafe, the Tin Roof and the Listening Room Cafe.
“I play songwriter rounds,” she says. “I write songs and all that stuff. I’m trying to make music my career.”
How to watch ‘America’s Got Talent’
“America’s Got Talent” airs at 8 p.m. Tuesdays on NBC. It streams the following day on Peacock.
The show moves to two episodes a week starting Aug. 18 with live episodes, according to NBC’s website.
This season’s judges are Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, Howie Mandel and Mel B.
For more about the show, visit nbc.com/americas-got-talent.
Charles Runnells covers arts and entertainment for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. To reach him, call 239-335-0368 or email crunnells@usatodayco.com. Follow or message him on Facebook(@charles.runnells.7), Instagram (@crunnells1) and X (@CharlesRunnells).
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: ‘You’re inspiring’: Naples native wows ‘America’s Got Talent’ judges
Reporting by Charles Runnells, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Charles Runnells, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
