Budding LU musician with speech impediment shares about life after ‘America’s Got Talent’

In the months since she surprised the judges and audience of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” with her abilities as a gifted singer-songwriter who has overcome a speech impediment, Liberty University sophomore Amanda Mammana has continued to be an example of how God can use what we perceive as weaknesses for His glory.

Mammana has a stutter, but like many people like her, the stutter isn’t apparent when she sings, as singing involves a different section of the brain. She was drawn to music as a helpful means of communicating her thoughts and feelings.

Last April, after flying from her hometown of Trumbull, Conn., to her audition in Pasadena, Calif., Mammana sat backstage as the realization hit her of what was about to happen.

“I did some interviews and B-roll for the show, and the whole time I was realizing, ‘This is really happening. I’m here,’” she recalled. “When I was backstage, I could hear the audience, I could hear (host) Terry Crews talking, and then I walked out on the stage and saw the four judges there. It felt crazy.”

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