The wait is over! America’s Got Talent: The Champions premieres on NBC on Monday, January 7. The series is bringing 50 popular entertainers from Got Talent shows all over the world to one stage to battle in a grand competition to find the greatest performer.
The series will be judged by the current America’s Got Talent team: Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, and Mel B. New to the AGT family is Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Terry Crews, who is serving as host of the program.
In November, as previously reported by the Inquisitr , the contestants were announced. Included in the bunch are former Got Talent contestants and winners from America, Australia, Belgium, Britain, Holland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, and the Ukraine.
Returning favorites from the U.S. competition series include magician Jon Dorenbos, opera singer Jackie Evancho, ventriloquist Darci Lynne Farmer, rock singer Courtney Hadwin, magician Shin Lim, music group Sons of Serendip, comedic mime Tape Face, opera singers Texas Tenors, singer Sal Valentinetti, and comedian Taylor Williamson.
The Inquisitr got a 10-minute sneak peek of the first episode of AGT: The Champions — and it looks like the series is going to be a smash hit with fans of performance-based reality competition shows.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsWXhx1hK7W/
“It’s like the Olympics… You’re not just taking on America, you’re taking on the world,” Simon Cowell says to one contestant, explaining how the stakes have now been raised.
And no one knows that more than Susan Boyle. The Scottish singer first appeared on Britain’s Got Talent in 2009 and quickly became an international viral sensation. She was an older woman with a frumpy look, but she could sing like an angel. She wound up placing second on BGT , and now she’s back to prove that she has the capability to be the best of the best.
In the interview preceding her first performance on The Champions , the 57-year-old vocalist discusses how being on Britain’s Got Talent “absolutely changed” her life, and how she is happy to be able to prove her worth once more.
When asked if she considers herself a “champion,” Boyle says, “A champion for those who, maybe, don’t have the confidence to do things, for those that don’t have a voice, the ones who people tend to ignore. I feel I’m a champion for them.”
Wearing a black sequin gown, she then steps onstage and belts out a unique version of the Rolling Stones classic “Wild Horses.” Just accompanied by piano, her rendition is slow and sultry and really showcases her exquisite voice.
After her amazing performance, Cowell says that he is “absolutely thrilled” that Boyle is competing. He is the creator of the Got Talent shows and has judged the British show for all 12 of its seasons, since 2007. This was Boyle’s first time singing in front of him in nine years.
“I can’t think of any other contestant who has defined this show better than you,” he adds.
Meanwhile, judge Howie Mandel is glad to be seeing Boyle’s talent live for the first time. He then explains to the singer that he always looks for “that Susan Boyle moment” when he is assessing AGT contestants.
Does Boyle make it through to the next round? Find out on Monday, January 7, at 8 p.m. when America’s Got Talent: The Champions premieres on NBC.