Atikokan’s Alex Sampson is off to the next round in America’s Got Talent.
The 20-year-old wooed the judges by singing an original song called Pretty Baby for his audition that aired on the NBC program Tuesday night.
It earned him yeses from all four judges.
Simon Cowell said it reminded him of a song from the 50s and 60s
“Which I thought was really smart, actually. It’s the kind of song you would hear in, like, a Martin Scorsese movie. You know, in that era, it was very authentic,” said Cowell.
Howie Mandel offered a similar thought to the performance, suggesting Sampson reminded him of a famous singer from the 1960s.
“Your voice reminded me of the lead singer from Herman’s Hermits,” said Mandel.
“And that’s kind of retro, and nobody’s doing that now. So not only do I think it is good, but I think you’re creating something that doesn’t exist right now. Thank you. I really appreciate that.”
Sampson joked with the judges before his audition.
He exchanged pleasantries with Cowell over their identical-looking t-shirts and jokingly named the long-time AGT judge as his inspiration.
He also referred to his hometown, remarking there were probably more people in the theatre where the auditions were being held in Atikokan.
He also admitted to being a little bit nervous.
Back home, a number of friends and family members gathered at The Grill for a viewing party and cheered as Sampson was accepted to the next round.
