‘AGT’ Champion Jessica Sanchez on Winning 19 Years After First Competing (Exclusive)

Jessica Sanchez was crowned the winner of America’s Got Talent season 20, a feat that was 19 years in the making. 

Sanchez first auditioned for the reality competition show for its inaugural season in 2006, at just 10 years old. This season, she returned — 20 years older — in pursuit of her dreams of being a singer, which came true when host Terry Crews announced her name as the winner at the season finale on Wednesday, Sept. 24. 

Speaking to PEOPLE on the red carpet after the finale on Sept. 24, Sanchez says, “I don’t even know how to react right now, I’m just feeling on cloud nine. It just feels amazing!”

During the finale, the powerhouse singer sang Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ hit song Die With A Smile, wowing the audience and judges alike. Sanchez was up against freestyle rapper Chris Turner for first place and the chance to win $1 million.

“I was just so grateful to be a part of the finals and then also to be there sharing the stage with Christ,” Sanchez says. “Chris is just amazing. I don’t know how he does what he does. I was happy either way, whatever the outcome was.”

“When Terry said my name, I was just like, ‘What the heck is happening right now?’” Sanchez adds. “So I’m just feeling very loved. I’m feeling very blessed and so grateful.”

Sanchez’s win comes after she impressed judges and the audience week after week with her powerful vocals. The Texas-based singer auditioned with a cover of Beautiful Things by Benson Boone, which prompted Sofía Vergara to hit the Golden Buzzer. 

As for what Sanchez plans to do with the prize money, she says she’s not sure. 

“I haven’t really thought about it. Everybody keeps asking me,” Sanchez shares. “But I feel like from the beginning, when it came to winning, I was like, ‘If I win, I feel like it would mean more than the money.”

She continues, “It would just be like 20 years of me fighting for this dream. And it would be a message to my daughter too, to continue to fight for her dreams once things start getting tough.”

Nine months pregnant, Sanchez says she can’t wait for her baby to be born. She is expecting a baby girl, her first child with husband Ricki Gallardo. The singer discovered her pregnancy days after auditioning for Season 20 of the reality competition show. 

“I was thinking, when I was on that stage, ‘I’ve already won. I’m about to go home, and I’m at the end of my pregnancy. I’m going to give birth to a beautiful baby girl and start motherhood,’” she shares.

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America’s Got Talent can be streamed on Peacock.