\n\tAmerica\u2019s Got Talent has crowned a new winner, and her name is Jessica Sanchez. The 30-year-old singer capped off a moving, decades-long comeback journey on Wednesday night (Sept. 24) and edged out freestyle rapper Chris Turner to win AGT\u2019s 20th season. Sanchez had first auditioned for the show back in 2006 when she was a kid and told Billboard<\/em> her hard-won emotional victory came after a lifelong dream of wanting to win the legendary talent competition.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThis has been 20 years in the making for me,\u201d Sanchez tells Billboard<\/em>. \u201cI was on season one when I was ten years old, and just going through all those years of feeling rejected and feeling like a failure, I had to pick myself back up and believe in myself again.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSanchez, who embarked on this journey while nine months pregnant, absolutely dominated her last performance on Tuesday night (Sept. 23), running through a moving rendition of Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars\u2019 \u201cDie With A Smile.\u201d Judge Sof\u00eda Vergara called the performance \u201cperfection,\u201d and clearly, the fans agreed. Sanchez had also joined forces with aerial specialists Sirca Marea for one last performance of \u201cGolden Hour\u201d by JVKE, revisiting a song that snagged her a spot in the Finals.<\/p>\n \n\tSanchez beat out a very strong final 10 that included Mama Duke, Micah Palace, Steve Ray Ladson, Team Recycled, LightWire, Jourdan Blue, Leo High School Choir, and the high-flying Sirca Marea \u2014 and, of course, Chris Turner.<\/p>\n \n\tNow, with the competition\u2019s $1 million champion\u2019s check in hand, as well as an all-expenses-paid trip to Universal\u2019s new theme park Epic Universe, Sanchez couldn\u2019t be more excited for this next chapter.<\/p>\n \n\tCheck out Billboard<\/em>\u2019s chat with Jessica Sanchez below.<\/p>\n \n\tYou made your first appearance on AGT<\/em> when you were ten and returned again and won it this time around. What role has AGT<\/em> played in your upbringing and your childhood? Why did it matter so much this time around for you to go out and try again?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tThe dream really started on the AGT stage. It was the biggest stage I had ever been on at that time, and it ignited a fire inside of me that just made me want to dream bigger for myself. So after I didn\u2019t make it through, I was devastated and heartbroken, but I didn\u2019t let that stop me. I continued to fight for my dreams, and throughout the 20 years, it\u2019s been really hard trying to find myself as an artist and as a woman. <\/p>\n \n\tNow, being 30 years old and becoming a new mom, it\u2019s transformed me. Being centered in my faith, my family, and my support system is super important. Everything has been such a blessing \u2014 it\u2019s so similar, the feeling, but it\u2019s definitely been a different journey.<\/p>\n \n\tTake me through those final moments on stage. You\u2019re standing there next to Chris, Terry is taking the fans through both of your journeys up until this point. What was going through your mind?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tOf course, everybody is there to win, and you have that hope you\u2019re gonna win. But to be there as the final two after seeing all of these amazing talents slowly walk off the stage, you\u2019re just like, \u201cWow, I really made it this far. After so many years of trying so hard.\u201d I was getting flashbacks of ten-year-old little me. I was soaking up that moment of: \u201cWhatever happens, I\u2019m super proud of myself.\u201d And doing this nine months pregnant with all of the challenges and hoops and hurdles I\u2019ve had to get through\u2026<\/p>\n \n\tBut then, when I heard my name, I was hit with just a flood of emotions. Like, \u201cWow, is this really happening?\u201d I\u2019m just sobbing, and I look crazy, sound crazy, but I still cannot believe what has just happened.<\/p>\n \n\tWhat was it like taking this journey while pregnant? What were some challenges you faced as a result?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tYou know, the breathing, the physical challenges, the emotional challenges of being so pregnant\u2014it has been really challenging. This has been the hardest thing I\u2019ve ever had to go through physically and vocally. Even mentally and emotionally, I\u2019m fighting against my hormones! And also my baby growing\u2014it\u2019s amazing that she\u2019s healthy, but it\u2019s pushing up against my diaphragm, so I kinda had to teach myself how to sing again, really. <\/p>\n \n\tIt was super challenging, and it was discouraging a lot of the time when I felt like I couldn\u2019t get through this song or deliver it like I usually do. But I\u2019m super proud of myself for pushing through and believing that I\u2019m here for a reason, that God has placed me here for a reason, and I\u2019m just gonna do my job and hopefully America loves it.<\/p>\n \n\tWas there a moment where you felt it was over for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tI think throughout the whole process, this whole season of my life, if I could sum it up into one word, it is: \u201cSurrender.\u201d I just completely surrendered my will over to the Lord\u2019s. Being pregnant and doing this \u2014 I never would have thought I would be spending my first pregnancy trying to figure out how to sing and perform. It\u2019s been really challenging, but it\u2019s been so beautiful. I think I was just so grateful to be there, especially at the finale, sharing that stage with so many amazing talents. I was just so grateful that I was on stage with them.<\/p>\n \n\tHow are you feeling now that this lifelong dream has been realized? What are you going to do now?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tIt just ended so beautifully for me, but I\u2019m now about to enter a new season! My pregnancy is coming to an end, and I\u2019m gonna be a mom. So I\u2019m so excited for that chapter. I know it\u2019s gonna be very challenging, and I\u2019m so ready for it. Also, continuing to make music \u2014 I actually wrote a song about my pregnancy called \u201cTwo Lines\u201d and released that. That was really intimate to me, but, you know, just continuing to pour myself into music and share that with the world, and hopefully it\u2019s inspiring other people to pursue their dreams.<\/p>\n \n\tWhat message do you have for the young girls who watched you win last night?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tLook at my life, really, on the Internet. Coming from season one, ten years old, and pushing through all the years. People have seen my journey online of the failures, of the rejections, of the mistakes I\u2019ve made in my career. But coming to this 20 years later and never giving up on myself: It paid off. I\u2019m still on this beautiful journey, and there are so many things happening. Nothing\u2019s ever gonna be perfect, but the beautiful thing is it\u2019s gonna be your journey.<\/p>\n
![\"Billboard](\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/2HpFicp.png\")