‘AGT’ contestant Travis Garland has surprising ‘DWTS’ connection ahead of Judges Callback
Travis Garland is one of the most highly anticipated contestants to appear in Tuesday's episode of 'America's Got Talent' (AGT). He is part of the 'Judges Callback' round at Simon Cowell's behest. For this round, each judge got to select several acts from the audition for a second look to decide whether they are worthy of live shows. All the contestants will surely be nervous before taking the stage for this 'do-or-die' round. However, Travis may have a bit of an upper hand in this case due to his reality show experience. The 37-year-old singer has previously appeared in 'Dancing With the Stars' (DWTS) and 'Marriage Boot Camp.'
Travis' journey with 'DWTS' began in 2015 when his real-life friend Mark Ballas (a choreographer on the show) invited him to sing Ed Sheeran's 'Make It Rain' for one of the performances, according to TV Insider. The performance went so well that he was offered a permanent gig on the ABC show, and he has been with them ever since. In an interview with Parade, Travis compared his experience with 'DWTS' and 'AGT'. "Dancing is a really heavy workload," the singer-songwriter from Lubbock, Texas shared. "We're doing anywhere from 10 to 20 songs a week, all different styles, and I'm given what I'm assigned by our 'DWTS' music director Ray Chew. 'AGT' is cool because it's me as an artist. I'm not the background guy, and I'm getting to choose what songs to perform and really show a little more of who I am as an artist, so it's been awesome."
Also, Travis was featured in the controversial We TV LLC show 'Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars' in 2015. He appeared alongside his ex-girlfriend, 'Danity Kane' singer Aubrey O'Day. The pair broke up while the show was airing, and later briefly got back together. Eventually, they parted ways for good. At present, he is married to Erika Garland, a professional dancer who is currently on a tour with Ricky Martin.
Travis appeared on 'AGT' Season 21 on Night 5 of live auditions. He sang a rendition of Aerosmith's 'Dream On' and immediately had Mel B on his side. The other three were a bit divided. Howie Mandel called the performance "so theatrical" and "a little schmaltzy." However, he called him an "incredible talent." He ultimately did not give him a 'Yes' to move on in the show. Sofia Vergara did not think that the song suited Travis's abilities. Simon Cowell also backed the opinion. Ultimately, both of them gave him a 'Yes.'
In the recent episode, Travis, along with other contestants chosen by Simon, went to Malibu. The 'DWTS' singer, as well as other contestants, were judged by Simon, Normani, and Poo Bear to trim the list further. Travis opened up on the episode about how at one point he had a record deal that sadly fizzled out. Simon was very honest in his feedback, calling him "corny" and asking for more authenticity. He performed 'Love on the Brain, ' which Normani found too 'technically correct.' He was ultimately given a thumbs-up by Simon and advanced to live shows. 'America's Got Talent' airs every Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
