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AGT: All Stars will feature the best of America’s Got Talent and will bring back dancers, singers, aerialists, and more to the AGT stage. Fan favorites, former contestants, and former champions from across the regional series of the franchise will go head-to-head in the upcoming talent hunt for another chance at victory.
One of the contestants set to appear in the show is Archie Williams, a singer who spent over 37 years in prison after being falsely accused of multiple crimes. It was only in 2019 that he was exonerated by fingerprint evidence.
AGT: All Stars will premiere on January 2, at 8 pm ET on NBC.
Meet Archie Williams ahead of his appearance on AGT: All Stars
Archie first appeared on America’s Got Talent in season 15’s premiere episode. His skill, personality, and backstory made his first impression unforgettable. During the auditions, he narrated his story about being wrongfully convicted.
In his introductory clip, he said:
"I knew I was innocent, I didn’t commit a crime. But being a poor Black kid, I didn’t have the economic ability to fight the state of Louisiana."
For the audition, Archie Williams sang Elton John’s Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me and earned himself a standing ovation and a unanimous "Yes" for the next round. However, he didn’t need to perform in the Judge Cuts round and automatically advanced to the Quarterfinals.
His next performance in episode 9 was his rendition of Stevie Wonder’s Love’s In Need of Love Today, which earned him yet another standing ovation from Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, and Sofia Vergara. He also raked in enough votes to proceed to the next round.
The upcoming AGT: All Stars contestant performed Westlife’s Flying Without Wings in the semifinals and dedicated it to his daughter. He received another round of standing ovations and moved to the finals alongside four other contestants.
Despite receiving fewer votes than Alan Silva in Dunkin’ Save, when it came down to the judges, Heidi and Sofia voted for him to advance to the next round.
In the finals round, episode 21, Archie sang Blackbird by The Beatles and earned himself another round of standing ovations from Howie, Heidi, and Sofia. For the finale episode, he sang Everything You Touch is a Song by Marcin Winans. However, he did not get enough votes to make it to the top 5.
Archie reached out to The Innocence Project while he was in prison
In 1995, after nearly 12 years of being behind bars, Archie Williams wrote to The Innocence Project, an organization dedicated to helping free wrongfully convicted people from prison. The organization fought to prove his innocence for decades before finally succeeding in 2019.
It took the upcoming AGT: All Stars contestant a decade to get DNA testing because the state of Louisiana had to pass a law allowing convicted individuals to access DNA testing after trial to prove their innocence.
The victim’s r*pe kit DNA testing was completed in 2009.
The male DNA did not match Archie’s, but since it matched the victim’s husband, it didn’t identify the assailant.
Finally, in 2019, a fingerprint analysis proved his innocence and brought to light the true criminal, Stephen Forbes, who had passed away in 1996.
Archie Williams has been free for three years now and is ready to get back on the stage with AGT: All Stars, starting January 2, 2023, at 8 pm ET on NBC and Peacock.
