America's Got Talent puts Bourbon Street busker at center stage
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Jourdan Blue auditions for "America's Got Talent." Photo: Trae Patton/NBC via Getty Images
A young New Orleans singer returns to "America's Got Talent" this week in hopes of winning a $1 million grand prize — and the attention of the music industry.
Why it matters: Jourdan Blue is getting one of those chance-in-a-lifetime moments, and he's already making the most of it.
Catch up quick: Blue's "America's Got Talent" audition earned him a pass thanks to the show's coveted "Golden Buzzer," which allows the talent competition's judges to expedite someone's journey to the final round.
- His soulful rendition of The Script's "Breakeven" prompted judge Howie Mandel to tell Blue that "this is just the beginning of where you can go." Watch the audition.
- He'll be back as the show's live episodes begin Aug. 19, with the finale on Sept. 23 and 24.
Flashback: Blue's road to the show, however, started on Bourbon Street.
- A New Orleans native raised in Ponchatoula after Hurricane Katrina, Blue tells Axios New Orleans he was "a bit of troublemaker" in his teen years and ended up skipping out on most of high school.
- By 2020 and 2021, he was busking in the French Quarter to earn a living, which provided him early lessons on how to manage a crowd.
- "It was such a thrill," Blue tells Axios New Orleans. "If I messed up, oh well, I'll never see you again. But that's where I cut my teeth and got confidence and stage presence."
Zoom in: Years busking may have taught him to quickly move on from mistakes, but they also taught Blue that you never who's watching.
- The first time he sang Childish Gambino's "Redbone" on the street, he remembers feeling like he was nailing the vocals.
- "The next day, somebody had posted a video and it went viral and had 2 or 3 million views," he says. "That put into perspective that even though in person, people might not be listening, you never know who's going to see it. So, don't worry about what's in front of you: you can't see the blessing down the road."
What's next: Regardless of where he lands on "America's Got Talent," Blue has already been in the studio working on an album.
- "I've been singing on the street so long that I'll see somebody and they want country, I'll sing country. They want R&B? I'll sing R&B. They want pop? I'll sing pop," he says.
- "I get into the studio and it's like what does Jourdan want?" he wonders. "It's time to find out."