HOUSTON – America’s Got Talent auditions landed in Houston Saturday morning.
Thousands of hopefuls packed the George R. Brown Convention Center to earn a chance to perform in front of the celebrity judges on NBC when the show premieres in May.
VIDEO: AGT hopeful contestant Keith Gutierrez shows his talent
AGT producers say they love coming to Houston to pick talent because Texas is a hotbed for undiscovered stars.
Last season, it was Kechi Owkuchi from Pearland who made it to the finale of AGT.
“Just like we saw Kechi show up last year, we’re hoping to find another Kechi moment this year,” producer Adam Davis said.
Rob Cook, a.k.a "The Wasboard Tie Guy," is hoping the seventh time is the charm after coming up short the six previous times auditioning for AGT.
Cook plays percussion with metal spoons and a tie that looks like a washboard. This year he says he is going to mix in some singing.
“Started kind of as a bar trick, I guess, and it grew from there,” Cook said about his talent. “I started playing on the streets with some friends and yeah it just worked out.”
Frannie Sheinberg, a.k.a. "Flava Fran," is a 23-year-old rapper who is on the autism spectrum, is auditioning for the first time.
Sporting a shirt that read ‘autism is my superpower,’ she said rapping is the easiest way to spread her message.
“These kids in my class were rapping, they were freestyling and I just did what they did and everyone was like, "Woah, she can rap! and then I did it ever since then,” Sheinberg said.
She shared some of her favorite lyrics she wrote:
“I don’t mean wrapper like actual bubble gum is in, I say rapper like Lil Wayne, Kanye West and Eminem. I got haters like every rapper does, but I turn a blind eye and keep rapping love. Do what floats your boat, I’m captain of this ship, got so many bands, Juicy J is giving me a scholarship. Take pride in who you are, don’t let haters get you down, you are much too perfect to ever wear a frown.”
Davis and a number of other producers have to sift through the countless number of 90-second audition tapes to see who gets to move on to perform in front of the judges. Since AGT is on its fifth stop on a tour of 10 cities across the country, the Houston contestants may have to wait until February to hear if they’ve made it.
“It’s not a tough decision when you see someone walk into your audition room that just has that something, has that pizazz, has that ‘wow’ factor, and especially when it’s something we haven’t seen before, which is exactly what we’re looking for today,” Davis said.