Who is Guy Kelton Jones? Meet the ‘AGT’ Season 21 contestant whose soulful poetry moved the judges
'America's Got Talent' Season 21 premiered its third set of auditions on June 16 on NBC. The latest episode presented 13 new performances to the judges, including the South Korean dance group Come Here, the fiery Infinite Spin, and the magician duo Young & Strange. But the episode's only Golden Buzzer went to Isaac Atkins, who charmed Mel B with his singing. However, other memorable artists stole the spotlight, including the poet Guy Kelton Jones. He delivered a rousing spoken word poem about protesting injustice that became one of the highlights of Episode 3.
During his introduction, Jones described himself as 'America's Baby,' since he was born in New York but raised in places like Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. He went on to deliver an impassioned recitation of his slam poem titled 'The Riot Wasn't Plan A.' His stirring words about protesting injustice were mixed with bars from Stevie Wonder's 'Higher Ground.' He performed, "Bet you choose violence over silence every time. You might die. But you might live. You might give the last drop. You couldn't stop if you loved anything that much." He went on, "I bet you would turn into a cusser, a disruptor, a disturber of the peace, your peace intact, exact precision of blunt instruments, it would make no difference, however, intuition or intonation might lead. You'd cry and swing and cry and swing for the fences, if you loved anything that much, you'd fight too." His performance received a standing ovation from the judges and the live studio audience.
Jones is a spoken word poet who has been performing poetry since he was 4 years old, as per his bio on Rumble in The Jungle Rematch. From the age of 8, he took an interest in musical theater and started incorporating his writing and singing skills into his performances. Jones has traveled around the world performing, writing, and collaborating with artists including The Floacist (Floetry), Talib Kweli, Fantastic Negrito, Saul Williams, and others. Jones revealed during the episode that poetry runs in his veins, and that he comes from a long line of poets, as his mother, grandfather, and great-grandmother all enjoyed the art.
Simon Cowell called it "very, very, very powerful." Mel B was more vocal with her praise, and she told the contestant that he "delivered inspiration and vocals and wisdom all wrapped up in a beautiful package." Sofia Vergara praised Jones's voice, saying, "Your voice is beautiful. It feels like you really meant what you were saying, and I think that's what made it so special." Howie Mandel called him more than just a poet, telling Jones that he "took poetry and spoken word to a whole other level." The former 'American Idol' judge rated the performance 11 out of 10, before the judges' votes were revealed. All four of them unanimously said 'Yes' to Jones, and with that, he's off to the next round. New episodes of 'America's Got Talent' Season 21 drop on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
