11-year-old applied to 'AGT' without telling his mom — and had zero clue what he’d actually do on stage
For years, 'America's Got Talent' has been one of the fan-favorite shows, and it's not only for the seasoned performers; it's a dream stage for kids, too. But when it comes to fulfilling their childhood dreams, a few stories are as charming as that of Leo. According to Business Insider, in August 2018, Leo surprised his mom, Deborah Copaken, when he said, "Here. I filled out as much as I could on my own, but you need to do the rest to give me permission." His mom asked, "Permission for what?" to which he replied, "I’m trying out for 'America’s Got Talent.'" Shocked by the response, his mother said, "What are you going to perform?" "No idea," Leo replied, adding that he'll figure it out.
Copaken told the outlet that Leo had been obsessively binge-watching 'AGT' on YouTube and had picked up ukulele for his summer camp, which he enjoyed. The outlet showed Leo obtaining an audition number and practicing for his audition, as well as standing in line. However, while there is no information on how he fared during the audition, his mother told Business Insider that Leo's performance lasted 90 seconds, and when he wrapped, he received a standing ovation. "He’d set his mind to something and did it. Because of this, I told him, he was already a winner, whether or not he gets called back," she said.
While professional acts often headline the season, Leo is a reminder that there is no age barrier for chasing dreams. Like Leo, many young performers have graced the stage of 'AGT', which has often stunned the judges. One such contestant was Journeyy Belton, the nine-year-old music genius who left the judges Simon Cowell, Mel B, Heidi Klum, and Howie Mandel speechless, with a soulful rendition of his original song, 'Paradise' in season 19.
Another example is 10-year-old Peter Rosalita, who stunned the judges and the audience alike by attempting the most challenging 'All By Myself' song by Celine Dion. In another jaw-dropping act, viewers saw Baby Dev, a two-year-old math prodigy, solving addition, subtraction, and multiplication problems, nailing the correct answer each time. In one Reddit thread, Best/Favourite AGT Kid Singers of All Time, fans also added many more names to the list. A long-term viewer of the show wrote, "Angelica Hale had such a strong voice for her age! So much potential!"
While another Reddit user wrote, "An underrated kid singer is Bianca Ryan from season 1. She was an amazing singer and still is. She is one of my favorites, along with Jackie Evancho" However, not all contestants get a fair chance to showcase their act. In another Reddit thread, contestant Bira Roberts slammed the show for being rigged during the season 14 open call audition and posted, "They aired my act for a few seconds last night. This video explains what happened and the shady things going on behind the scenes. My original performance is at the end of the video (starts at 11:41). That’s what I planned to do but the producers made me change it. Fudgies!"
She explained that the open call auditions are rigged and the producers pre-decide on the acts that are meant to be on the auditions. While we don't know what happened during Leo's open call audition, his courage and dedication have already struck a chord, and we can only hope to see him light up the stage soon.