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A total of 60 acts from Got Talent franchises around the world are set to feature in NBC’s new show, AGT: All-Stars, premiering on January 2. The upcoming competition series is a spin-off of America’s Got Talent (AGT).
The official synopsis of AGT: All-Stars season 1 reads as:
“Contestants from all over the world return to the stage to perform for a panel of expert judges and superfans, showcasing a wide variety of talents to become the All-Stars champion.”
One of the contestants will be Jamie Leahey, who will showcase his ventriloquism talent, alongside his dummy Chuck, who is a chicken soft toy. The act bagged the runner-up spot in Britain’s Got Talent season 15.
Jamie Leahey from AGT: All-Stars is a self-taught ventriloquist
While the BGT audience couldn’t believe a 13-year-old could be a ventriloquist, they were even more surprised after learning that Jamie Leahey was a self-taught artist. The Rainford boy started learning the art during the first COVID-19 lockdown period.
His first dummy was a monkey puppet, a gift that his grandmother gave him. The teenager started practicing with the monkey and soon switched to his now-permanent partner Chuck, a chicken puppet. On 2022's Britain’s Got Talent, Jamie impressed the audience and judges during his audition.
His act consisted of a comedic conversation between him and Chuck, followed by his interpretation of The Rat Pack’s Me and My Shadow. The judges described his performance as “slick” and “incredible.”
He was one of the finalists who finished in third place in BGT 2022. Speaking about his experience on the reality show at the time, Jamie stated:
“I've had an amazing experience. The atmosphere in the Apollo was unreal and made even better by getting through on the public vote - Chuck says he's eggstatic!”.
In the semi-finals, the judges couldn’t decide which contestants should advance to the finals. The choice was between Jamie and Junwoo. To make the decision, the panel went with public votes, where the former received the highest votes. Hence, the young ventriloquist earned his spot in the BGT 2022 finale.
Jamie once mentioned that his dream was to have his name engraved on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Meanwhile, he will now showcase his talent once again in AGT: All-Stars 2023.
AGT: All-Stars 2023 release date
America’s Got Talent: All-Stars 2023 is all set to air its first episode on Monday, January 2, on NBC, at 8.00 pm ET.
The show’s press release explained the format, which read as:
“Each week 10 Acts – including singers, dancers, ventriloquists, comedians, aerialists, magicians and more – will perform for the judges for the chance to earn one of the coveted five Golden Buzzers and move on to the finals.”
The description further stated:
“The AGT Superfans will also vote on an additional act to move onto the finals. Following the final performances, the superfans will vote again on the 11 finalists to choose the winner, which will be revealed in the two-hour star-studded finale."
Hosted by Terry Crews, AGT: All-Stars season 1 will welcome 60 acts, including ventriloquists, magicians, comedians, singers, dancers, aerialists, and many more. In addition to Jamie Leahey, the other ventriloquists will include Ana-Maria Mărgean from Romania’s Got Talent 2021 and Terry Fator, winner of AGT season 2.
Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, and Simon Cowell will be the judges of the competition series.
