Mission singer Eshan Sobti will compete for $1 million next week after moving on to the Canada’s Got Talent finale.
Public votes helped power Sobti to the final round. Four contestants needed Canada’s support to earn the last two spots in the finale, and it was announced on Breakfast Television on Thursday morning (May 9) that Sobti and comedian Sterling Scott are moving on.
The finale airs next Tuesday (May 14) at 5 p.m. PT on Citytv.
Sobti performed “The Power of Love” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood during the elimination round on Tuesday night (May 7). Before the performance, he said the song was out of his comfort zone.
With the stakes higher, the judges had higher expectations as well.
“You know, it was a tough one for me because it was a little bit rough at the beginning. And this is the elimination round and we got to get as close to perfect as we can because there’s so much on the line,” Kardinal Offishall said.
“I know when you auditioned, I was in love with you and it was undeniable. I’m a little more unsure tonight,” Lilly Singh said.
“I do enjoy you as a performer but I don’t know if that was a million-dollar performance,” Trish Stratus told Sobti.
“I agree with what everybody’s saying. You came out on the auditions and you blew the roof off the place. I will say that I don’t know that we saw all those sides of you tonight,” Howie Mandel said.
Some of the judge’s reactions received boos from the audience.
“I do have to take a second just to personally, biasedly say the fact that a Punjabi kid is up here singing like that makes me so damn proud and that’s a win on its own,” Singh added.
According to Sobti, Mandel had praise for him that didn’t make the final edit for the episode. The former Deal or No Deal host told Sobti he is the best singer in the competition but didn’t choose the right song.
“The public did not get to see him say that which was a bit upsetting, but I understand it’s a TV show at the end of the day,” Sobti said.
Sobti says choosing the song was a difficult process. He wanted to do something both he and the audience could connect with but there were challenges getting a song approved due to clearance restrictions.
“The producers sent me a few options, and then eventually the only one that was able to get cleared was in the middle of my list. It wasn’t my favourite choice, but I knew I had to move forward with it and do my best. I worked very hard on the vocals, and I felt that I killed the performance vocally,” Sobti said.
Six acts were guaranteed a spot in the finale. Four contestants, including Sobti, moved on to a public vote with two more spaces left.
READ MORE: Mission singer Eshan Sobti has got talent