‘America’s Got Talent’
Darci Lynne Farmer, 12, brought one of her puppets to “Little Big Shots” last year ahead of her “America’s Got Talent” Season 12 audition in March. NBC

“America’s Got Talent” Season 12 named 12-year-old Darci Lynne Farmer as its first golden buzzer recipient.

On Tuesday night’s premiere, the Oklahoma native wowed the crowd and judges with her ventriloquism act with her adorable puppet, Petunia. Prior to her performance, Darci Lynne told Simon Cowell, Mel B, Howie Mandel and Heidi Klum that she’s been doing ventriloquism since she was 10 years old.

Read: Young ventriloquist gets first golden buzzer in “America’s Got Talent” Season 12

The young talent became interested in ventriloquism after she watched someone perform the act at church. Since then, she has been urging her parents to get her a puppet. On her 10th birthday, they surprised her with Petunia. Since then, Farmer has come out of her shell and said that if it was not for Petunia, she wouldn’t have been able to get on the “America’s Got Talent” stage.

Following her routine, Darci Lynne’s parents, Misty and Clarke Farmer, spoke with KFOR about their daughter and revealed that they didn’t want her to pursue her dream of becoming a professional ventriloquist. “Actually, her dad and I discouraged her for a long time,” Misty said. “It was her persistence. That’s what told us how passionate she was about it,” Clarke added.

The Farmers also revealed that Darci Lynne took lessons with a professional ventriloquist. She has also traveled around town to perform her act at various shows. Most recently, she asked her parents to bring her to the “America’s Got Talent” Season 12 auditions in Austin, Texas, and all of their efforts paid off.

Mel B gave Darci Lynne her golden buzzer for the season. “You made my heart melt,” the Spice Girls member said.

Darci Lynne likewise gushed over Mel B and called her the best Spice Girl on her Twitter account. The young talent also held a viewing party with some of her friends at her home on Tuesday night. She posted a video of herself reliving the moment that she received the golden buzzer.

Darci Lynne will be advancing to the live shows and will no longer go through eliminations before competing in the quarter finals. Other acts will also advance to the live shows if they become the other judges’ golden buzzer picks.

“America’s Got Talent” Season 12 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EDT on NBC.

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