Meghan Markle sends a heartfelt message to Archie Williams during the America’s Got Talent finale

Meghan Markle made a surprise appearance on the season finale of America’s Got Talent, to send a video message to singer Archie Williams, 59.

While Williams finished in the bottom half of the Top 10, his story touched the heart of the Duchess of Sussex, 39, who appeared in a surprise video from her home.  

Speaking to the singer, who had been wrongly incarcerated for 36 years, said: ‘Hi Archie! I just wanted to let you know that we have been so moved by your story, and we have been cheering you on every week’.  

Meghan’s appearance came amid a row on both sides of the Atlantic after she and Prince Harry weighed in on the US election, hinting they supported Joe Biden and angering President Trump in comments which critics said ‘crossed a line’.  

 

‘And it’s not just because we’re partial to the name,’ she joked, making the connection between the singer’s name and that of her son Archie, 16 months. 

‘So a very special message to you that I will probably be saying all of my life, but this night, it is specifically for you,’ she added.

‘Archie, we are proud of you and we are rooting for you, and we can’t wait to see what you do. We’re in your corner. Have a good night!’ Markle concluded.

Archie, a humble man who had been wrongly incarcerated for 36 years, smiled in disbelief, one of the highlights of the star-studded AGT finale. 

Poet Brandon Leake was declared the winner of Season 15 of America’s Got Talent on Wednesday night’s live finale results show.

Brandon, a 27-year-old spoken-word artist from Stockton, California, was the first poet to ever win the show and collapsed to the stage when his name was called.

‘Yo! Thank you so much America! A-ha!’ Brandon cried, as fireworks went off behind him on a set at Universal Studios Hollywood, where the show was filmed.

Chicago-based musical duo Broken Roots came in second place, followed by Nashville singer Cristina Rae in third, Toronto singer Roberta Battaglia in fourth, and Brazilian acrobat Alan Silva in fifth place. 

Brandon had always been the odds-on favorite to win AGT for his original poems about love, life as a father, having children, and the challenges of being Black in America.

When his name was called, he fist-bumped judge Howie Mandel, 64, who was overjoyed to see his Golden Buzzer pick take the crown, and jumped up and down in endless streams of confetti.

For his win, Brandon earns a million-dollar prize and the chance to headline a Las Vegas show. To his delight, he and the band Broken Roots also scored 2021 K5 cars from Kia.

Every time Brandon performed, Howie made clear the impact that his work had on him.

‘You, young man, are not only changing your life, you’re changing the world,’ the comedian insisted, once adding, ‘I’ve never been more moved in my life on this show from any other act.’

After the quarterfinals, Howie re-watched Brandon’s performance ‘a hundred times’ and told the contestant he had just two words for him, which he wanted to share: ‘You matter.’

Before his triumph, Brandon said that a victory would be ‘bigger than just me. This is a huge win for the spoken-word community, for an art form that has not been on the mainstream ever. To have a chance to win America’s Got Talent is bigger than anything.’

Cristina, whom many had pegged to win the show—and whom Howie called ‘the one to beat’ in the finals, thanked judge Heidi Klum, 47, for giving her a Golden Buzzer during auditions.

The singer smiled as photos of her adorable toddler Jeremiah were shown onscreen, and vowed, ‘My baby is gonna be on this stage, and he’s gonna win.’

‘You are a winner in my heart and so many hearts out there,’ a tearful Heidi told Cristina, who once lived in her car while pregnant, and had hoped to secure her son’s future with the prize.

AGT’s finale results show brought out a host of top musicians, and featured performances from all 10 finalists, many of them sharing duets with singers they’d admired.

Eight-time Grammy winner Usher, 41, opened the show with a medley of his hits, which he performed all over the Universal lot, with cameos from the AGT show judges.

The 10 contestants covered Bill Withers’ 1972 hit Lean on Me, with Brandon doing a bit of spoken-word in between their vocals.

He subsequently went solo to do an original poem about being on AGT.

Broken Roots joined Blake Shelton, 44, for a rendition of his 2019 barnstormer God’s Country.

Cristina also joined Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic on Lose Somebody, his recent hit with Kygo.

‘What a treat that was!’ Heidi said after she sang. ‘I can’t stop smiling, because it makes me so happy watching you do what you do best.’

In an especially moving segment, Archie, the Baton Rouge, Louisiana singer who’d been wrongly incarcerated for 36 years, covered Everything You Touch is a Song, by The Winans.

Archie said he depended on that song to uplift him throughout his prison journey, and he had promised himself to sing that song in AGT’s finals, if he made it.

‘Listening at you, it helped me through my journey in prison,’ Archie told original singer Marvin Winans, 62, with whom he dueted. ‘You just don’t know all the lives you saved, man.’

‘Don’t you start crying and then I won’t start crying,’ Marvin told Archie, who sobbed, ‘You’re the one who got me through prison. Every song you sung, it just changed my whole life.’

To Archie’s great surprise, show host Terry Crews, 52, then told Archie that his story and talent had touched people from around the world, and they had a message from ‘a special fan.’

Megan, Duchess of Sussex then appeared on the screen from her house, where she sat on a sofa surrounded by pillows, with books and a vase of hydrangeas behind her.

Singers Roberta, 11, from Canada, and Kenadi Dodds, 15, from North Logan, Utah, came on to croon If The World Was Ending with its songwriters, JP Saxe, 27, and Julia Michaels, 26.

The Bello Sisters, an Italian trio of acrobats age 13, 19, and 22, showed off their athleticism by stacking their bodies against each other as Bishop Briggs, 28, sang her single Higher.

As Bishop segued into her platinum hit song River, the finale’s other acrobat, Alan Silva, swung around high in the air, blowing up a balloon and catching knives thrown at him.

Daneliya Tuleshova, the 14-year-old singer from Kazhakstan, rocked out on Kings & Queens with pop sensation Ava Max, 26, who agreed that ‘this girl has a killer voice.’

Dance duo Bad Salsa, from Kolkata, India, combined their talents with Mumbai’s V.Unbeatable, the winners of this year’s AGT: The Champions, on a rousing, fast-paced dance routine.

The Detroit Youth Choir, who finished in second place on AGT Season 14, returned to perform Imagine Dragons’ Believer and share their success since the show, after which they’d earned a million dollars from local foundations and business leaders, and the key to their city.

The show’s judges also played a word guessing game in which they could only give hints to their partners, without saying the word itself. Words included ‘dream,’ ‘win’ and the judges’ names.

America’s Got Talent returns for its 16th season next year.