Chapel Hart Almost Didn’t Audition for ‘America’s Got Talent’

Chapel Hart were the darlings of the early rounds of America's Got Talent, but the trio now admit they resisted auditioning for the show for a long time.

Trea Swindle, Danica Hart and Devynn Hart are Chapel Hart, the family group (Swindle is cousin to the Hart sisters) that belted out a country song called "You Can Have Him Jolene" in July. AGT judges bent the rules to give them a Golden Buzzer, and on Tuesday night (Aug. 16), they'll return to the stage to compete for a spot in the finale.

Talking to Taste of Country's Adison Haager, they admit they could not have prepared for any of this.

"We had no idea what we were really walking into," Devynn Hart says. "It's a super long process."

"I think the craziest part is we almost didn't audition at all," her sister adds.

It took one persistent television producer and an unfortunate case of COVID-19 to get them to the audition. Even then, the available dates to audition had to align perfectly with their busy schedule.

"We were actually scheduled to go on tour with the Indigo Girls and one of them got sick with COVID," Swindle shares. "(AGT scout) Lindsay Rush had reached out a couple of times. Maybe more than a couple of times."

"Honestly it was just her persistence," Danica Hart adds. "She was like, 'I listened to your music. I love you ladies. The world needs to hear your message. The world needs to see you.'"

The alignment of stars needed to get them to the audition happened, and before they knew it, Chapel Hart were in front of Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Sofia Vergara and Heidi Klum. All four judges loved them, with Cowell going far out of his way backstage to heap praise on the three women.

Their performance would go on to draw attention from Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and more. They say that for one week straight, they were screaming with joy.