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America's Got Talent (AGT) will officially debut its latest spin-off, America's Got Talent: All-Stars season, on Monday, January 2, 2023, at 8 pm ET on NBC. The show will feature 60 former contestants from all over the world and across all Got Talent franchises competing against each other and delivering impressive showcases of talent to win the coveted title and $1 million cash prize.
Robert Finley, who participated in season 14 of AGT, is all set to make his return to the All Stars season. The blind singer was eliminated in the semi-finals round during the Judges' Choice. As he makes his return, he hopes to impress judges Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel. Viewers will have to tune in to see if he wins the title and the cash prize.
AGT contestant Robert Finley released his first studio album in 2016
AGT season 14 contestant Robert Finley grew up in Bernice, Louisiana, United States. He began practicing guitar at the age of 11, which he purchased from a thrift store instead of the shoes that his father gave him the money for. His first taste of singing inspiration came from watching Elvis Presley on The Ed Sullivan Show at his aunt's house.
Growing up, his father wasn't very supportive of him singing, so Robert sang in gospel quartets and church choirs which played a crucial role in his early development. In 1970, he joined the army, originally to serve as a helicopter technician in Germany. However, he later fulfilled the army's need for a guitarist and bandleader and traveled with the group until he was discharged.
Upon the AGT contestant's return to Louisiana, he worked as a street performer, leader of the gospel group Brother Finley and the Gospel Sisters, and as a carpenter. When he reached his 60s, Glaucoma cut his carpentry career short as doctors diagnosed him as legally blind. However, he still had his music to live by.
As per a report by The Tennessean, Robert was busking outside the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, Arkansas, when a passerby asked him if he wanted to sing around the world. Although he said yes, the singer didn't think much of it until he got a callback a few weeks later. The stranger was Tim Duffy of Music Maker Relief Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving music of the American South.
Since then, the AGT contestant's singing career has taken off. Robert released his first studio album, Age Don't Mean a Thing, on September 30, 2016.
The soul singer then connected with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys and together they released a handful of songs for the former's 2017 graphic novel soundtrack, Murder Ballads. Eventually, they also began working together on Robert's album Goin' Platinum!. He then went on tour and headlined shows across the world.
For his audition round on AGT season 14, Robert chose to sing his original song Get It While You Can. The judges were teary eyed listening to him sing with so much passion and thought that he was deserving of a place in the competition. They also called him a "great inspiration," based on his journey to find his way back to music.
For the Judge Cuts performance, he performed another original called Medicine Woman and received standing ovations from judges Simon Cowell, Julianne Hough, Gabrielle Union, and Howie Mandel. He earned a straight ticket to the quarterfinals, where he sang another original piece, Starting to See, and advanced to the semi-finals.
He performed his classic song Age Don't Mean A Thing in the AGT semi-finals. However, he couldn't advance past the Judges' choice, as no other judges voted for him except for Howie Mandel.
AGT: All Stars will see former winners, finalists, and other fan-favorite contestants perform for over 8 weeks. With each of the 10 acts being performed every week, the Top 2 will advance forward along with a wild card contestant. In the finale, the Top 11 participants will battle it out for the title and the cash prize. Who will win? Only time will tell.
Don't forget to tune in to the premiere episode on January 2 at 8 pm ET on NBC.
