The TV Column

America's Got Talent repeats premiere tonight

Grace VanderWaal was only 12 when she won Season 11 of America’s Got Talent. Judge Simon Cowell called her “the next Taylor Swift.”
Grace VanderWaal was only 12 when she won Season 11 of America’s Got Talent. Judge Simon Cowell called her “the next Taylor Swift.”

On Tuesday, the pleasant summer diversion America's Got Talent returned for Season 13 on NBC. I was finishing with the new fall schedules and didn't have room to cover it in Tuesday's column, but that's OK. NBC is having a do-over tonight and that gives us a reason to chat about it.

In reality, NBC didn't want to waste new programming going against tonight's NBA basketball finals, so the AGT premiere is repeating at 7 p.m. today. That's followed at 9 by an encore of Tuesday's Season 2 debut of World of Dance, featuring judges Jennifer Lopez, Ne-Yo, Derek Hough and host Jenna Dewan.

Tune in next Tuesday at 7 p.m. for new episodes of both series.

Tonight's America's Got Talent encore will include a variety of auditions hoping to dazzle the judges -- Simon Cowell, former Spice Girl Mel B, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel.

Producer, actress, businesswoman, author, former supermodel and host of America's Next Top Model Tyra Banks joined the series last summer, replacing Nick Cannon as host. She returns to those duties again.

After a number of talented, but quickly forgotten winners, there was one genuinely memorable success in Season 11 with 12-year-old singer/songwriter Grace VanderWaal, whom Cowell called "the next Taylor Swift."

Grace's first EP (extended play record), Perfectly Imperfect, became the top selling EP of 2016. She will tour with the pop rock band Imagine Dragons this summer.

What about all the other AGT winners? Wonderwall.com has compiled a handy "where are they now" list. The highlights are below.

Remember, at the very least, each of these folks took home the so-called $1 million grand prize, which is doled out in $25,000 increments over a 40-year annuity, or in a lump-sum cash value equivalent that reduces (after state and federal taxes) the take-home prize to about $300,000.

  1. Bianca Ryan, 11, won Season 1 in 2006. She now has a YouTube channel where she shares new singles.

  2. Comedian/ventriloquist Terry Fator won in 2007. He turned that into a lucrative long-term contract with the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

  3. Opera singer Neal E. Boyd took Season 3 in 2008. Boyd was in a near-fatal car crash in 2017 and took months to heal.

  4. Country singer Kevin Skinner won in 2009. His career sputtered and he suffered depression. His wife divorced him and he disappeared for a while. He continues to remain reclusive.

  5. Singer/songwriter Michael Grimm was the Season 5 winner in 2010. Last year he inked a deal to perform at the Red Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

  6. Singer Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. won in 2011. He has self-released several albums and will appear in the forthcoming musical The Gospel Truth.

  7. The father-and-son trick dog team of Richard and Nicholas Olate won Season 7 in 2012. The duo have taken their act, Olate Dogs, on the road and perform around the country.

  8. Dancer/performance artist Kenichi Ebina captured Season 8 in 2013. He has taken his one-man show around the world.

  9. Magician Mat Franco took top honors in 2014's Season 9. The only magician to win AGT, Franco got his own NBC special, then was signed to perform at the LINQ Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

  10. Comic/ventriloquist Paul Zerdin won Season 10 in 2015. He headlined at Planet Hollywood in Vegas and plays Disney cruises.

  11. Adorable VanderWaal won Season 11 with her unique singing style and ukulele skills. In addition to singing, Grace, now 14 and looking more grown up, is a model for the IMG agency.

  12. Singing ventriloquist Darci Lynne Farmer captured Season 12 last year. She is currently out and about on the "Darci Lynne & Friends Live Tour."

NBA finals. If you're a basketball fan, you already know this. If not, well, then you don't care. As mentioned above, ABC begins the opening night of the NBA finals with a special half hour of Jimmy Kimmel Live at 7 p.m. today, followed by the pregame NBA Countdown. Game 1 tips off at 8 p.m. and is expected to last until 10:30.

Game 2 of the best of seven is at 7 p.m. Sunday on ABC.

Netflix stuff. The first eight episodes of Season 5 of Arrested Development became available Tuesday on Netflix. The last half of the season will arrive later in the year.

Meanwhile, the first six episodes of Season 4 of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt starring Ellie Kemper dropped Wednesday. More episodes will eventually arrive.

The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:

mstorey@arkansasonline.com

Weekend on 05/31/2018

Upcoming Events