LEOMINSTER — After a powerful July 11 appearance on “America’s Got Talent,” homegrown talent Lavender Darcangelo is off to Los Angeles to do it again.
Lavender, 27, and her two dads, Jamie and Wil Darcangelo, left early Monday morning for Hollywood to get a head start for a live performance in the semifinal round of AGT on Aug. 22, to be followed by a results show on Aug. 23.
When asked about their thoughts during the days leading up to their departure, the Leominster family said their minds weren’t on the glitz and glamour of Southern California but, on the contrary, were filled with the kindness and love they’ve been receiving from the community here in Massachusetts.
In fact, they’ve even adjusted their lifestyles to allow for even more of it.
“We started building in bits of extra time for running errands to allow for fun impromptu conversations. It takes a little bit longer to get through Market Basket, but we don’t mind one bit,” Wil said about the interest in Lavender’s quickly blossoming career. “The community has been so supportive and encouraging. They’ve treated us all like celebrities everywhere we go and with such kindness, and especially pride in their hometown. We’ve all been honored to pose for pictures, reply to hundreds of comments and messages online.”
In July 2019, a video of Lavender singing “Part of Your World” from the Disney film “The Little Mermaid” went viral, spurring worldwide media attention about Lavender and her new family.
She is currently working on her debut solo album called “Mosaic,” which, through its wide variety of songs and musical styles, will honor and raise awareness of the diversity within the autism and disability community. Lavender, who is blind and autistic, is a Performing Arts Fellow of the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism and has designated the foundation to receive a portion of the proceeds from the sales of “Mosaic.” As of Monday, just over $7,000 out of the $10,000 goal has been raised to help fund the album through a GoFundMe that Wil set up.
While the family of three as a whole has been feeling a range of emotions, Wil said Lavender is ready to take the show by storm, again.
“We are all feeling a mixture of excitement, anxiety, and anticipation. Lavender is definitely not nervous to perform. And she is super excited more than anything else,” he said. “It’s been a genuinely moving experience these past several weeks.”
According to her website, Lavender, who is a Fitchburg native, was born with perfect pitch and an immediate love for music. She began singing at the age of three, a full year and a half before she started talking, and met Wil in 2010 when she joined the music mentorship program he founded.
Wil and Jamie adopted Lavender in 2017. Jamie, a nurse, and Wil, a singer, pastor of First Parish Church in Fitchburg and First Church of Christ in Lancaster and a Sentinel & Enterprise/Lowell Sun columnist, moved her into their home the day they got home from their honeymoon, and she legally became their daughter a year later.
