The television audition was not the first occasion on which Ansley’s singing reached a large audience. A year earlier, she had performed “Cry Pretty” by Carrie Underwood, another song regarded as especially challenging. Her mother posted a video of that performance on Facebook, where it spread widely and reached 14 million views. The recording also came to Underwood’s attention. She shared the favorable response of the many viewers who had been impressed by Ansley’s voice, giving the young performer recognition from the singer connected with the demanding song she had chosen.

Ansley had also received competitive recognition for her singing. In 2017, she was named the best singer in South Carolina’s Youth Division, and that distinction was accompanied by several other awards. Those honors, the widely viewed “Cry Pretty” recording and the later America’s Got Talent appearance all marked stages in her early musical activity. During the televised audition, she had to respond in real time when Cowell halted the prepared version, explained that the music was obscuring her vocals and offered her another way to continue. Ansley adapted by removing the accompaniment while maintaining the confidence with which she had first walked onto the stage.

Following her departure from America’s Got Talent, Ansley continued to pursue music rather than limiting herself to the difficult songs linked with Franklin and Underwood. Her work progressed to performances of original songs, adding her own material to a record that already included the 2017 South Carolina youth award, further honors, a Facebook video with 14 million views and her a cappella restart on the television show. She remains active in music and is presented as having the potential to establish herself as a notable vocalist in her own right.