America’s Got Talent Auditions Start
Simon Cowell’s new TV talent show promises to be a real circus.
Singers, comedians, jugglers, animal acts and anyone else hungry for stardom will be welcome on America’s Got Talent, the summertime series that Cowell, the tart-tongued judge on Fox’s American Idol, is producing for NBC.
Group acts or singles, old or young - all are eligible to try for the US$1 million prize, he told a telephone news conference Monday.
“You can be two years old, 100 years old. You can be the next Destiny’s Child, you can be the next Jackson 5 or you can be the next David Copperfield,” Cowell said.
“This is a show literally open to anybody.”
Auditions dates were announced Monday, with tryouts set for Los Angeles on April 6-8; Chicago, April 12-13; New York City, April 17; East Elmhurst, New York, April 19, and Atlanta, April 22-23. Would-be contestants can also apply online.
An air date for the series has yet to be set, NBC said.
Cowell, an English record-company executive who became a celebrity on the American Idol singing competition and was part of its British precursor, Pop Idol, said he is a longtime fan of American shows that feature a variety of performers. The “time is right” for a contest open to performers of every stripe, he said.
Cowell will not be a judge on the show but very qualified “A-list” celebrities have expressed interest, he and fellow executive producer Ken Warwick said.
Cowell was asked about whether he was aware of Wayne Newton’s The Entertainer, which ran on E! Television Network last year and had a similar goal of showcasing diverse talent.
“Yes. And I hated it,” he said.
For such shows to work, Cowell said, it is crucial to include the audition process. In America’s Got Talent, as in American Idol, viewers will learn who makes the cut in the five city auditions and then see further dismissals as the semifinals unfold in a Los Angeles studio.
How the semifinalists are dumped will be “very brutal,” Cowell said. He did not offer details.
Cowell, who has joined ranks with the American Idol producing team on America’s Got Talent, is apparently intent on giving every American - and every TV network - a chance for fame and fortune: He is also producing American Inventor on ABC, in which contestants view for a US$1 million prize and the chance to have their invention end up in homes across the land.
American Idol is a consistent ratings leader for Fox. American Inventor scored as a top-20 show in its March 16 debut against college basketball but now has to prove itself against CBS’ tougher Survivor.
Does Cowell fear diluting the valuable American Idol brand?
No, he said. Instead, he hopes that America’s Got Talent will be a different type of show that fills the gap when Idol is off the air.
Asked if the new show might compete directly against Fox’s, Cowell replied: “That will never happen.”
January 30th, 2007 at 9:24 pm
i want to try out so bad, but i live here in texas.
i was actually planning on singing. im 14 years old.
and there is no way i can go to new york or chicago to tryout.
i would love to sing up on stage in front of a big croud.
i hope you guys reply back.
you can reply back on my E-mail adress
inspiringsinger@austin.rr.com
June 21st, 2007 at 6:32 pm
Can you please come a little closer to Jamestown CA because there is a lot of people in this area ,including me, that love to sing and act and we are really good and would really like to try out but there is no way that we would ever be able to convince our parents to drive us all the way to LA or Chicago.
-Stephanie Funaro(14 years old)
August 25th, 2007 at 10:13 am
im a 11 and i wanted to have a sing tryout in pensacola fl. and i really can not drive all the way to those other places my mom said no but hopefully i can reach my dreams before 18
February 15th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
IM going to try out sooo all those other people trying out better watch out because when i come out im giving it my all!!!!
July 4th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
I REALLY want to try out for 2009. But I live in Valley Park, just south of Nowhere, Missouri. I LOVE to sing and I think I have a chance of winning if I can just find out where the next auditions are. I am looking forward to trying out and all you other singers better watch out because I’m gonna win!
-Ally Nevado(11 years old)
September 11th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
i wanted to try out for americas got talent since like forever its a life dream of mine but i live in tehachapi. but since its a dream of mine im going to fight to get here and people better watch out
February 28th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
HI all of you singers out there I hope we can all make it. Ever since i was three years old i wanted to become a singer and I’ve gotten few comments on my talent and i don’t know if you guys are better than me but it doesn’t matter if you think your better it matters if the people think your a better singer than all you’ve overcome. so just keep on singin and get herd everywhere yo can Peace out homes skillets!
July 24th, 2009 at 4:22 am
Hi im maddie and any time im not doing antthing ill sing ill sing in school anywhere i sound like michael jackson but a girl i cant wiat for tryouts. my hobbie is singing im gonna be the next michael jackson but a girl ive made millions of songs i have showed people they always say did u copy this? everyone tells me to tryout and i will ever since i could remember(1 1/2 years old) all i did was sing and thats all i do now!(11 yers old)