AGT Singer Relied on God to Overcome Stutter: ‘To God Be The Glory’
By Movieguide® Contributor
AMERICA’S GOT TALENT contestant Amanda Mammana opened up about how she relied on God amid her struggle with a speech impediment to compete on the talent show.
When she auditioned for the fourth-grade talent show at her school, she suddenly developed a stutter that left her insecure and shy.
“I dreaded speaking in class, ordering at restaurants, even introducing myself. Fortunately, most of the kids at my small Christian school were kind, and I was rarely picked on,” Mammana told Guideposts.
She explained she didn’t understand why she suddenly developed a speech impediment.
She said, “I pleaded with God to rid me of my impediment, but nothing changed. I was angry with him and very confused. ‘Why did you give me this stutter, Lord?’ I asked. ‘Why won’t you take it away?’”
By 16, Mammana’s identity became wrapped in her stutter. She also began to suffer from severe anxiety and depression but kept all her feelings inside.
One day, though, she channeled all her emotions into one song.
“On the spot, I wrote a song I called ‘I Will Trust,’” she explained. “I sang about how lost I felt, how the pain I’d experienced weighed me down—everything I hadn’t been able to voice because I was afraid of showing my vulnerability. I sang about the Lord’s goodness and my acceptance of whatever he had in store for me. It was part prayer, part promise.”
“I cried again, this time for joy, thanking God for granting me the inspiration to give voice to my deepest feelings,” she added. “The next day, I filmed a video of myself performing the song and posted it on YouTube. Hundreds of complete strangers left comments that I had uplifted them with my music. Ever since, I’ve been writing songs, not necessarily worship songs, but they all have inspirational lyrics that explore the human condition.”
Then, at the start of her freshman year of college, Mammana decided to audition for AMERICA’S GOT TALENT. Her initial audition began over Zoom, but a few months later, she found herself on stage in Pasadena, California.
“’I have a bit of a speech impediment,’ I told everyone there. ‘It was definitely something that caused me to…’ I took a long pause to find the words. ‘…to shy away, to hide. But I found that I don’t stutter when I sing,’” Mammana expressed.
“When I finished, the whole crowd was on its feet, and so were the judges,” she said with gratitude. “I couldn’t believe it! Judge Simon Cowell told me I had a pure and beautiful voice. He and the other judges gave me the four votes I needed to advance to the next round of the competition. I couldn’t hold back my tears. My wildest dreams were coming true, dreams I’d never thought possible.”
“AGT has changed my life,” she shared previously. “It has given me the space to grow not only as an artist but as a person as well. I dreamed of this opportunity since I was a little girl…I never thought I was capable of something like this but the very thing that held me back for so many years, was the very thing that allowed me to shine bright on that stage! While it has come to an end, a great friend reminded me ‘Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.’ To God be the glory!!”
Movieguide® previously reported on Mammana:
Despite a speech impediment, 19-year-old AMERICA’S GOT TALENT finalist Amanda Mammana is singing boldly to the glory of God.
At a recent Andrew Palau evangelistic outreach event, Mammana explained how she relies on her faith in God despite her difficulty with everyday communication.
“For about 10 years now, I’ve had a stutter, and it’s definitely something that has caused me to shy away and to not believe in myself,” Mammana said. “But by the grace of God, I found that I don’t stutter when I sing.”
“I’ve been able to take that and to let that just be a great way to spread the Gospel,” she added.
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