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Why was ‘Wife Swap’ cancelled?

Published

19 seconds ago

April 18, 2024

Martha Clifford

Table of Contents

What is “Wife Swap”?

The American reality show “Wife Swap”, based on the British show of the same name, premiered on ABC in September 2004. The program saw two families – typically with opposing lifestyles and hailing from different social classes – swap wives or, occasionally, husbands, for two weeks. During the show’s original six-year run, John Schwab was in charge of narration.

To spice things up, the two wives involved in the swap tended to be wildly different: one might be a neat freak while the other hated housework, or be a vegan whereas the other was not. In almost every episode, the two families had to carefully navigate their new member’s social and cultural differences, which sometimes resulted in clashes.

“Celebrity Wife Swap”, the show’s spin-off, premiered in January 2012 and ran for four seasons. The original series was quietly cancelled in 2010; it enjoyed a brief revival in 2013, and in 2018 CMT announced that 10 new episodes would be released under its original format. The reboot, however, premiered on Paramount Network instead in April 2019. Paramount renewed the show for a twelfth season but cancelled it in September 2020, shifting to films.

The first week is a challenge in both households: each wife leaves behind a house manual explaining the rules and lifestyles in the household, which the replacement wife must follow. At the rules change ceremony, each wife determines which rules to apply and which to discard during the rest of her time with her new family.

Things change in week two as the new wives establish their own rules which must be adhered to by the family they are staying with. An awkward adjustment period usually follows, and the wives also disburse a sum of money to the new family, which is to be spent as they see fit.

When the two-week experiment is over, the two couples have their first face-to-face group meeting where wives and husbands discuss how the experience made them feel. Of course, this isn’t intended to be a peaceful chit-chat, as on at least two occasions the meetings have turned violent, and even in milder cases it’s not unusual for the families to hurl personal insults at each other.

On rarer occasions, the families reach a comfortable middle ground, and conclude the experience with mutual respect for each other, having learned how other households live. Cameras return after a few weeks to document any changes that the families have implemented since the swap.

Famous Episodes

Although the original “Wife Swap” had over 120 episodes, and the reboot 20 more, viewers still remember certain families years later. In 2004, Jodi and Steven Spolansky agreed to appear on the show – and viewers were soon turned off by the delusions of grandeur and entitled behavior displayed by the wealthy and affluent family. Steven made cruel, classist remarks about the swapping wife and her family’s economic situation, whereas Jodi laughed at Lynn’s job chopping wood, and made disparaging remarks towards Lynn’s husband Brad due to his family’s modest lifestyle.

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Despite the Spolansky clan living in New York City’s Upper East Side, Jodi and Steven were considered neglectful due to the amount of time they spent away from their children: from gym sessions to shopping trips or meals out alone, they were rarely seen with their offspring. Lynn and Brad, a rural, low-income family living on a farm in New Jersey, couldn’t have been more different.

To celebrate the US show’s 100^th episode in March 2009, producers picked out 24 families to enter a competition and do a second swap. Voting began in October 2008: the psychic, artistic Silvers and the eccentric UFO-hunting Heenes were picked by viewers, and the second family became notorious months later for their participation in the infamous Balloon boy hoax.

In October 2009, Richard and Mayumi Heene released a homemade gas balloon shaped like a flying saucer – and claimed that their young son was trapped inside it. The balloon flew for 90 minutes and reached 7,000 feet; Richard and Mayumi’s son, Falcon, was nicknamed “Balloon Boy” by the media, and the event attracted attention from all around the world.

In a dramatic chase, local police and National Guard helicopters alike followed the balloon, which landed near Denver International Airport. Falcon wasn’t found inside, and reports of an object falling from the balloon led to a frantic search for the youngster. The boy was later found hiding in the Heene family’s attic, where he’d apparently been all along.

After a last-minute “Larry King Live” interview with the family, Falcon blew his family’s cover when he revealed that his parents had said that they were doing it for the show. It would appear that the Heenes had staged the whole publicity stunt, and days later, the Larimer County sheriff at the time concluded that Richard and Mayumi would face felony charges.

After seeing footage of Richard Heene on Wife Swap. I advise Falcon build another balloon and get the fuck outta there.

— Pegg News (@simonpegg) October 16, 2009

In November 2009, Richard was hit with a 90-day jail sentence and ordered to pay $36,000 after pleading guilty to attempting to influence a public servant; his wife was sentenced to 20 days of weekend jail. The family later claimed that they were pressured into taking a guilty plea after Mayumi was threatened with deportation; they were pardoned by Governor Jared Polis in December 2020.

Back to “Wife Swap” – a 2009 episode saw the Hollands of North Caroline have their lives turned upside down by Joy Brown, a fitness instructor who tried to change the family’s unhealthy lifestyle. Curtis Holland, the family’s six-year-old son, was particularly unappreciative of Joy’s efforts and became almost famous for his witty one-liners and comedic timing.

He was approached with advertisement offers for a bacon company, and to film his own reality show – offers which didn’t work out, perhaps due to his young age. Some clips from his episode also received millions of views and went viral years later. In 2015, Holland created a GoFundMe to buy a car, claiming that he was never paid for his “Wife Swap” appearance; the page was soon removed.

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Legal Issues

As is the case with the best reality shows, “Wife Swap” was plagued by scandal and controversy during its first six-year run. The first of many legal hiccups began brewing in 2004, when ABC outbid Fox Network and announced an American version of “Wife Swap” which would be called “Trading Moms”. Not to be outdone, Fox came out with an almost identical program named “Trading Spouses” which broadcast in July of the same year.

ABC decided to use the UK title for its series, which broadcast in late September 2004. RDF Media sued Fox in December 2004 for copyright infringement, claiming that they had copied the show’s format without permission. Following a years-long legal battle, FOX sold the show’s rights to CMT in 2008.

Meanwhile, in November 2005, a participant of the American series sued ABC when they traded his wife for a gay man. He accused ABC of dishonesty, not letting him get in touch with his wife, and making him skip out on college lessons due to tight filming schedules. In even more sensational claims, he added that ABC refused to pay for his wife’s return home or even tell him where she was once production wrapped up.

In December of the same year, the man sued for over $10 million. A spokesman for the show revealed that the spouse could be of either gender according to the contract. The outcome of the lawsuit remains uncertain, but the UK version of “Wife Swap” began seeking out more gay or lesbian couples in 2007, so as to expand its audience.

In March 2010, ABC Network was hit by a $100 million lawsuit by Alicia Guastaferro – who appeared in the show in 2008. Claiming that she‘d suffered from suicidal tendencies and panic attacks after the public embarrassment caused by her appearance on the show, she also added that many scenes had been staged, as producers had asked her to behave differently. It’s doubtful that she received the nine-figure sum, but the lawsuit was privately settled out of court in the same year, with no details shared to the press.

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Cancellation

Viewers were intrigued when “Wife Swap” was cancelled, given the chaotic show’s popularity and influence, and only years later can we begin to figure out the truth about its abrupt end.

“Wife Swap” is similar to other crazy reality shows, in that many aspects were exaggerated or outright fabricated. Christy Oeth, who participated in the show’s earlier episodes, complained to The New York Times about being depicted as a workaholic mother, who put her children on the backburner to focus on her career. “There is a very big element of unreality to the way they pigeonholed me,” she griped.

However, Christy’s complaints were not entirely unfounded: although it was claimed that she ran her family like a business, and lacked maternal instincts, the truth was that she put her career on hold for half a decade to raise her four children – which producers forgot to mention – and had only returned to work when her husband left his job in Manhattan.

Many naïve families had the same issue, and with time more and more former participants came forward with their own stories. Nancy Cedarquist’s family, for example, was supposedly living out of a treehouse. The show’s producers concocted a compelling storyline, claiming that the Cedarquists lived off the grid, and that Nancy’s husband, Keith, was the only semi-functional member of society.

As it happens, the Cedarquist family home had no cement foundation, and was instead perched on the bases of trees; it’s also true that Nancy was homeschooling her six children. However, viewers didn’t get to see the wide range of extracurricular activities the young Cedarquists were involved in: from ballet and band, to basketball and even a pom-pom squad.

More details were left out of the Oeth-Cedarquist episode: tensions between Nancy and Michael, Christy’s husband, reached an all-time high and she was put up in a nearby hotel just five days into the experience. Producers drove Nancy to and from the Oeth house until she finished filming her scenes, which they also manipulated, and the new rules she devised for the Oeth children were actually written by the production team. “I really thought reality television was more real than it is,” she lamented.

The children and young people who participated in “Wife Swap” had their own complaints, which is perhaps unsurprising, as producers used their insecurities against them after having them fill in a 700-question psychiatric exam. With that said, disgruntled reality TV participants are a dime a dozen, and it’s unlikely that the show was cancelled on this basis alone.

Let’s not forget that in 2020, Paramount switched from reality shows to other content. The president of entertainment brands at Viacom CBS announced in the same year: “We’re doubling down on scripted but diversifying with made for TV movies, miniseries, and blockbuster series.” Paramount culled many of its unscripted programs, including “Battle of the Fittest Couples” and “Ink Master”, implying that the cancellation of “Wife Swap” was bound to happen sooner or later under the network.

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As for “Celebrity Wife Swap”, it never quite took-off, despite boasting big names such as the rapper Coolio, the actor Corey Feldman, and the exuberant reality star Heidi Montag. The spin-off was believed to be even more scripted than its original, given that celebrities have more to lose than your average Joe, and viewers soon lost interest.

One could argue that the writing was on the wall for “Celebrity Wife Swap” when season three premiered in 2014. Amongst adult viewers aged 18 to 49, the show received a measly 1.0 rating according to Nielson numbers, and only half as many people tuned in to watch the premiere compared to season two. Nevertheless, producers tried to turn things around in season four, but despite riveting appearances from the likes of Tami Roman and Margaret Cho, it was too little, too late.

There have been no talks of rebooting or rebranding the “Wife Swap” franchise, which is, perhaps, for the best.

Martha Clifford

As an Author at Net Worth Post, I guide a dedicated team in the art of revealing the stories behind the world's most influential personalities. Fueled by a relentless curiosity and a knack for uncovering hidden stories, I immerse myself in the intricacies of our subjects' lives, weaving together accurate data and compelling narratives. My involvement spans the entire editorial process, from the seed of research to the final flourish of publication, ensuring that every article not only educates but also captivates and motivates our audience. At Net Worth Post, we are committed to providing thorough investigations into the net worth and life achievements of innovators across diverse sectors such as technology, culture, and social entrepreneurship. My method merges meticulous research with eloquent storytelling, designed to bridge the gap between our readers and the remarkable individuals who redefine our tomorrow. Through spotlighting their journeys to success, the hurdles they've surmounted, and their contributions to society, we aim to give our readers a deep and inspiring insight into the luminaries who are paving the way for progress and ingenuity in the modern era.

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Where is Marcelito Pomoy from “America’s Got Talent” now? What is he doing today?

Published

8 seconds ago

April 18, 2024

Martha Clifford

It’s not everyday that someone can completely master a singing style, but to find a person who can perfectly perform in two different voices? That’s the epitome of rare, but luckily enough, people as talented as Marcelito Pomoy have done that ability.

Despite being a seasoned singer extremely famous in his homeland of the Philippines, the US only knew about Marcelito in 2020 for his outstanding participation in “America’s Got Talent” – AGT – and from then on, the rest of the world couldn’t help but become enthralled by his talent and impressive ability to sing both in tenor and soprano.

Though lots of things have been said about Marcelito’s career following the show’s end, we’re here to answer all the questions you might have about it! Stay with us to discover his whereabouts, career progress, personal life and so much more!

Table of Contents

Where Is Marcelito Now?

Despite being placed fourth in the second season of “America’s Got Talent: The Champions”, that didn’t slow down Marcelito’s career at all. His growing fame in the US opened many professional opportunities for him, such as successfully touring the country with his show “The Voices Of Marcelito” in 2022, offering his fans a wide musical repertoire of original songs and covers.

Regardless of his worldwide popularity, Marcelito and his family are still based in the Philippines. As seen on his social media, his visits to the US and Asian countries are always career-related and temporary, though he admits that these trips aren’t as easy as they seem: ‘the feeling of being away seems tiring, but gotta keep going for my family’, he wrote on his Instagram page.

Regarding his personal life, in 2022 he and his wife Joan celebrated their eighth wedding anniversary and also welcomed their second daughter whom they named Marchesa Janoah in June that year. While it’s unclear what projects Marcelito has in mind for the future, for now he keeps working hard in making his dreams come true.

Participation In “America’s Got Talent”

By the time Marcelito Pomoy debuted on the stage of “America’s Got Talent: The Champions” in 2020, he had already won his native country contest “Pilipinas Got Talent” in its second season. While unknown for the most part to the American audience, Marcelito confidently set foot on the show’s stage with his wife Joan, who patiently translated the judges’ comments for him.

Soon enough, Marcelito left the audience open mouthed with his performance of “The Prayer”, skillfully switching between Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli’s parts with his otherworldly vocal skill. Marcelito obtained a standing ovation, and advanced to the show’s semifinals, where he confessed that his main motivation for joining the competition was to provide his young family a ‘great life’. Once on the stage, Marceilto sang “Time to Say Goodbye” by Bocelli and Sarah Brightman, receiving huge praise for his heartfelt rendition especially by judge Howie Mandel, who affirmed Marcelito had ‘the best shot at winning this whole thing’.

The finals saw Marcelito performing Dion and Peabo Bryson’s “Beauty and the Beast”, but his following mash-up act during the finale wasn’t enough to gain him the competition win, ultimately placing fourth, but stil the highest place for a foreign act in the season.

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Opinion On The Show

Regardless of his huge talent and super star status in his home country, Marcelito Pomoy initially had lots of doubts about joining “America’s Got Talent: The Champions”. According to an interview with “Tonight With Boy Abunda”, he felt that participating in the American version of the show would somehow erase his past victory: ‘I’m a champion in the Philippines. If I lose in a somewhat ordinary way, it is like my winning is gone’ he confessed.

Despite his fears, the encouragement from his wife Joan and his own will to pursue his dreams eventually took him to the US, signing up for the audition which went viral on the internet. However, while Marcelito’s run in the second season of “The Champions” was truly memorable, his last performance got him a ‘predictable’ comment from Simon Cowell, making his eventual defeat somewhat expected.

Not winning the competition wasn’t enough to discourage Marcelito, as he affirmed in an interview with The PhilStar Global: ‘Well, I am very happy and I feel like a winner because of the positive feedback from people not just in the Philippines, but around the world’, he enthused. All in all, it’s great to see Marcelito not only challenging himself professionally, but also to know he appreciated his time in “America’s Got Talent” as much as his fans do.

What Other Contests Was He In?

Although Marcelito Pomoy owes his fame in his home country to his participation and victory in “Pilipinas Got Talent”, the show wasn’t his first try at talent competitions.

Back in the early 2010s, Marcelito had already auditioned for “Talented Pinoy”, a popular contest show in which talent scouts on the hunt for new artists decide whether contestants are deserving of passing to the next phase. Unfortunately, Marcelito didn’t go far in the show, almost cutting down his dream of stardom so early.

However, life had greater things in store for Marcelito. In 2011 he joined “Pilipinas Got Talent” in its second season, advancing to the second round with a 23,71% of audience votes.

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The rest of the competition wasn’t easy, but Marcelito was able to show his talent at full force with his multi-voice performance of the aforementioned “The Prayer”, immediately gaining everyone’s heart. Though the audience’s choice was quite divided, Marcelito surpassed his strong competitors, the dancing duo Happy Feet by over one percent of the votes, winning with 19.56% in total.

Winning meant more than just fame and money for Marcelito, though. His inspiring life story prompted the search for his lost family all around the country, finally finding them shortly before his victory, definitely putting the perfect ending note to Marcelito’s run in the show.

Who’s Marcelito?

Born in Imus, Philippines in 1984, Marcelito Castro Pomoy surely didn’t have an easy upbringing. As the youngest of four children, Marcelito was helpless when his mother abandoned the family when he was a newborn, leaving him and his siblings under the precarious care of their father, who had just been imprisoned.

Having nowhere else to go, the young kids sustained themselves with the little food other people provided for them, making their childhood a tough one. It wasn’t long until Marcelito and his siblings were taken away from their father, being adopted by a policeman who is described as ‘kind-hearted’ on Marcelito’s old website.

While Marcelito had no news about his mother, in his teens he went back to live with his father in Surigao, where he didn’t stay long before making his way to Manila to find his estranged mother. Although the search didn’t take him anywhere, still just 16 years old Marcelito chose to stay in the city, doing odd jobs to sustain himself. It was during those tough years that he discovered his love for music in the solitude of his job cleaning a poultry farm, though he apparently wasn’t aware that his talent of switching his voice between tenor and soprano was unique.

Reuniting With Family

Despite working from such an early age, Marcelito Pomoy often refused the idea of auditioning for talent TV shows. However, his early 20s saw him changing his mind, and with the resolution of becoming famous enough to find his mother after all those years, Marcelito worked hard to win “Pilipinas Got Talent” at only 26 years old.

A Back-to-back with the Star Magic ‘Gives Back’ concert on Nov. 24, 2012 from 3pm to 12midnight in Venice Piazza Mall, McKinley Hill Taguig

— marcelito pomoy (@pomoymarceLito) November 20, 2012

While the prospect of obtaining the contest’s juicy money prize and a music contract would have been more than enough for anyone, Marcelito’s biggest dream of reuniting with his family was miraculously achieved, when his parents and siblings showed up shortly before the show’s grand finale. The reunion was emotional to say the least, and his mother reportedly asked him for forgiveness for her past actions: ‘I said to her, ‘(even) when you left us, you didn’t take care of us, you are still my family, you are still my mother, you gave birth to me’,’ he recalled in an interview with Push.com.

Although the reunion was short-lived as both of his parents already had family of their own and went back to their provinces, the experience of making such an important wish come true was incomparable for Marcelito.

Rise To Fame In America

Despite being recognized as a superstar in his native Philippines, Marcelito Pomoy still had a long way to go before taking his talent to the US stage. Nonetheless, opportunities sometimes come in the most unexpected ways.

According to an interview with Asian Journal, Marcelito felt his career went downhill a couple of years after winning “Pilipinas Got Talent”. In an effort to bring his career to the top, his wife Joan encouraged him to appear in “Wish Bus”, a show held by a local radio station in Manila: ‘We even fought because I really didn’t want to. I said ‘I’ll just handle the business’, saying that he wanted to abandon his music career to completely focus on his shop.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CeO1-3qs7gx/

His several appearances in the “Wish Bus” quickly became viral, thanks to people’s live reactions to it, eventually attracting the attention of TV host Ellen DeGeneres, who immediately wanted him on her show. However, Marcelito thought Ellen’s invitation was a spam email until his wife fortunately intervened. Soon afterwards, Marcelito debuted in front of American audiences in 2019 in “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”, naturally impressing everyone with his uncanny ability of singing in soprano and tenor, and taking the next step in becoming a worldwide star.

Music Career

Thanks to his victory in “Pilipinas Got Talent”, Marcelito Pomoy released his own music under his contract with ABS-CBN and Star Records. His first album “Duet Yourself”, released in 2011, contained four original songs, and his classic rendition of “The Prayer”.

His second album “Split” came in 2013, and contained 14 songs in total. However, he took a break from music the following years, briefly returning in 2017 with his single “Malaya Ka”, which followed the same line as his previous releases by singing it in his native Tagalog language.

While Marcelito’s music was warmly received by his local audience, his music didn’t become popular in the US until his participation in “America’s Got Talent: The Champions”. His success has been so massive, that nowadays Marcelito is not only solo touring America with sold-out shows, but also sharing the stage with other important Filipino celebrities such as former Miss Universe Catriona Gray and Actor Sam Milby.

Other TV Shows

Besides the contest shows which gained him national and international fame, Marcelito Pomoy has also appeared in several other TV productions in the last decade. He’s been a recurring guest in the show “ASAP” on CBS-CBN, also featuring in the talk show “’Good Evening, Vice!”. Other important appearances he has made through the years have been in “Kris TV” as a guest, “Wowowin”, and in the “ASOP Music Festival” live transmission.

While his presence on TV has been limited to interviews and performing, right after his “Pilipinas Got Talent” victory, the topic of whether he would give acting a try was widely commented on in the media. As reported by ABS-CBN News in 2011, Marcelito was indeed interested in acting, wanting to follow the steps of local action actors Ronnie Ricketts and Robin Padilla.

Although acting opportunities never knocked on Marcelito’s door during the earliest stages of his career, his growing international fame could be his best chance of making another one of his dreams come true.

Business & Philanthropism

Upon winning “Pilipinas Got Talent”, Marcelito Pomoy made good use of his monetary prize. In 2012 he finally opened his business Pomoy’s Commercial, a hardware shop located in Quezon.

Nowadays the business is still active and is managed by his wife Joan while he travels overseas. The income from both his musical career and his business have been greatly positive for Marcelito, who often makes important donations and charity work in his community, by appearing in fundraising events such as the “Lazada Live Concert” in 2020. Also that year, he gifted a new home to an elderly woman in his community who had previously lived in a precarious situation for over 10 years.

Considering Marcelito’s early life situation, there’s no question as to why his will to help people in need is so strong. That being said, Marcelito’s unbelievable talent is a big reason to remember him, but his humble demeanour and down to earth personality is what’s really captured the hearts of his fans.

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Where is Darci Lynne from ‘America’s Got Talent’ now?

Published

9 seconds ago

April 18, 2024

Martha Clifford

While TV talent shows are an excellent platform for new talents to become known, out of the box abilities are rarely found even in these productions. That being said, young ventriloquist Darci Lynne’s participation in “America’s Got Talent” not only changed the expectation of what to see in these types of shows, but also demonstrated there’s nothing impossible for people who really work hard for their dreams.

Becoming a sensation in the world of ventriloquism and singing overnight was quite an accomplishment, but Darci’s popularity and ability to inspire others rarely heard of in today’s entertainment world, is what really made her so unforgettable.

So what exactly has she been doing since “America’s Got Talent” ended? Stay here to know all about Darci’s whereabouts, career accomplishments, personal life and so much more!

Table of Contents

Where Is She Now?

After becoming the youngest winner in “America’s Got Talent” history in 2017, lots of great things have come to Darci Lynne’s life. Her unbelievable talent as a singer, ventriloquist and general entertainer has given her lots of media coverage in shows such as “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”, “Today” and “Nickelodeon’s Unfiltered”.

Darci has also encompassed several successful US tours, such as the 2018’s “Darci Lynne and Friends Live” and “My Lips Are Sealed” in 2021. As well, Darci has debuted in acting, with appearances in the series “Side Hustle” and “Fancy Nancy”, along with co-starring as Brooke Mays in the 2022 Netflix movie “A Cowgirl’s Song”. The movie was Darci’s first big screen feature and allowed her to deeply connect with her character, for whom she co-wrote the song “Just Breathe” on the film’s set: ‘It’s just that journey of being kicked down and realizing, ‘Okay, you know what? I just got to trust myself and to trust my heart’,’ she said in an interview with Beautiful Ballad.

Also in 2022, celebrated her 18th birthday in October that year, and Darci matriculated from high school; she’s definitely doing as well as ever nowadays.

Appearance In “America’s Got Talent”

Fame, money and a juicy musical contract are just a couple of the great things that “America’s Got Talent” have in store for its winners, but getting there is a hard path which usually takes many years of preparation even for those who are extremely talented.

Nonetheless, one of the things which makes Darci Lynne’s victory so special is how young she was when she participated in the show during its 12th season in 2017. Her comedy-filled ventriloquist act, with the song “Summertime” from the opera “Porgy and Bess”, gained her a Golden Buzzer from judge Mel B, and the audition’s video trended on several online platforms. Her second appearance introduced the audience to her puppet Oscar, a mouse which sang “Who’s Lovin’ You” by The Jackson 5 with her. The heartfelt interpretation gained her another standing ovation, and a direct pass to the semi-finals, where she performed “You Make Me Feel Like” by Aretha Franklin, added to a comedy act with her doll Edna Doorknocker.

Darci’s impressive act advanced her to the finals, singing “With a Little Help from My Friends” by The Beatles with two puppets. Lastly, Darci sang “Anything You Can Do” from the 1950s film “Annie Get Your Gun” and won the show, happily becoming at 12 years old the youngest one to ever do so.

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Second Run In The Show

Just two years after her memorable “America’s Got Talent” victory, Darci Lynne came back to prove her talents, this time in the spin-off “The Champions”. Despite her wonderful interpretation of “Nutbush City Limits” by Tina Turner, Darci was unfortunately eliminated from the competition after ending second in the audience’s voting.

However, Darci’s performance left such a good impression on the judges, that she was elected as a wild-card to return to the show’s grand final, when she sang the opera “O mio babbino caro” accompanied by her puppet Petunia. The act immediately sent her to the finale, where her performance of Barry Manilow’s “Can’t Smile Without You” secured her a big percentage of the audience’s votes, defeating big names in the competition such as Susan Boyle, but losing tot magician Shin Lim.

Despite ending second in the competition, she was pleased with the experience: ‘(it was) incredible and I never would have thought I’d do THAT. Being second best in the whole world is a cool thing’, she told The Oklahoman later that year. While Darci’s fans surely would have wanted her to win the competition, it’s undeniable that she did a great job, regardless of the results.

Who Is Darci Lynne?

Becoming famous through a TV show is a great start for anyone looking for a place in the entertainment world. That applies to the hugely talented Darci Lynne, even though her beginnings as a performer weren’t as easy as people assume.

Born in October 2004 in Oklahoma, Darci Lynne Farmer’s love for singing was evident from her early childhood, but her shyness was an important obstacle in her way. Thinking that pageant competitions were the perfect way to overcome her timidity, Darci’s mother signed her daughter up for some events which didn’t require make-up or extravagant dresses. Slowly but steadily, Darci’s fear of performing in public became a thing of the past, using some of her early developed talents such in gymnastics and singing to win many important contests.

It wasn’t long until Darci was introduced to ventriloquism, rapidly learning the art, and mixing it with her love for singing and acting, to create something great. The one to inspire Darci in following this path was her fellow beauty pageant contestant Laryssa Bonacquisti, whom she met in 2013: ‘I just watched and watched her. I was just super fascinated because I really wanted to learn how to do it’, she said in an interview with The Oklahoman in 2017.

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Rise To Fame

Despite winning important pageant contests, Darci Lynne wasn’t quite there when it came to ventriloquism until 2014. Her first experience in this art came when she joined the “Edmond’s Got Talent” event in her native Oklahoma, surprising the judges with her skills at singing and yodeling. At the time Darci had practiced her ventriloquism act by herself for barely a month. but that didn’t stop her from winning the competition, and more importantly, attracting the attention of professional ventriloquist Gary Owen, who helped to improve Darci’s natural talents.

Nonetheless, Darci didn’t gain nationwide fame until she appeared in “Little Big Shots” in 2016, performing Patsy Montana’s “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart” along with her cowgirl puppet Katie.

Her viral performance eventually opened the door to later that year setting foot on the stage of the International Ventriloquists’ ConVENTion at the Vent Haven Museum, becoming at age 12 the first child to ever do so. By sharing the stage with famous ventriloquists such as Kevin Johnson, Darci’s name quickly gained recognition, and another important appearance on TV, this time on the stage of the British version of “Little Big Shots”. All of these performances spread the word about Darci’s talents, and were a more than great start before setting foot on the stage of “America’s Got Talent” less than a year after.

Where Else Has She Performed?

Following her victory in “America’s Got Talent” in 2017, Darci Lynne became one of the most acclaimed new acts in the US. Her headline show in the Las Vegas part of her prize was sold out in no time, leaving no other option than to add additional dates, on top of becoming popular enough to be invited onto “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” soon afterwards.

Another one of Darci’s important media features was in the video “The Haunted House on Dunham Hill”, starring professional ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, making a special appearance in Terry Fator’s Hard Rock Hotel & Casino show, and singing at A Very Pentatonix Christmas, headlined by Pentatonix.

As her popularity grew, Darci started her tour Darci Lynne and Friends Live, initially planned to end in early 2018, but extended by public demand to 2019. The next couple of years saw Darci performing in Madison Square Garden, Caesars Palace, and appearing in the 2018 Kids’ Choice Awards.

In April 2018, Darci made her long awaited comeback to “Little Big Shots” after two years, performing The Isley Brothers’ song “Shout” with her puppet Oscar, famous for its appearances in “America’s Got Talent” during her run.

Remember when Katie and I were almost the same size?! ? I can’t believe we’ve been performing together for so long!! pic.twitter.com/dkTn1N3Goj

— Darci Lynne (@ItsDarciLynne) January 16, 2021

Acting

Ventriloquism surely requires lots of skills when it comes to acting, so it’s not a wonder that Darci Lynne eventually proved her talent in this art as well. Her first role was voicing Daisy for the animated show “Fancy Nancy” in 2018, also making a brief cameo the same year in the drama series “This Is Us”.

In 2020, Darci played a double role by voicing herself and her puppet Petunia in the episode “Too Many Dummies!” of the TV cartoon show “Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?”. Then she was The Wombat, a store check for whom the “Side Hustle”s cast worked in its first season episode. Although Darci kept away from acting while her tour “My Lips Are Sealed” was in progress, in 2022 she took back her role as Daisy in “Fancy Nancy”, in two episodes of the third season.

While Darci’s roles had been a good experience altogether, so far her most important acting job has been in the movie “A Cowgirl’s Song”, but there’s a lot of expectation as she’s to appear in the yet-to-be released “Reagan”, a Ronald Reagan biopic in which she plays the role of a young swimmer whom the former US president saved in his youth. All in all, Darci seems to have a very promising acting career ahead of her.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcqHwmvuy79/

Music

Despite her otherworldly talent at singing, Darci’s original music repertoire is quite limited to date. Her earliest official music release is “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”, a live- cover album from the NBC holiday show “My Hometown Christmas Special” in 2018.

In 2022 her repertoire expanded with “Just Breather”, an original song from the movie “A Cowgirl’s Song” which she performed with folk band The Imaginaries, whose members Shane Henry and Maggie McClure co-wrote the song, which was a new but learning experience for Darci: ‘they’ve been writing for years, and I’m super new to this. I only started two years ago, so it’s fun to see their perspectives on everything’, she told the website Beautiful Ballad.

While Darci hasn’t revealed much about her song-writing processes, in late 2022 she took her fans by surprise with “Someone Wake Me Up”, an original song she performed on an Instagram video, and described as a way of ‘getting something off her chest”. The song hasn’t been officially released yet, just as several of her original songs she usually performs on her ventriloquism shows, but it wouldn’t be far-fetched to think Darci is possibly planning on releasing music projects in the near future.

Influences

Despite winning her “America’s Got Talent” season at only 12 years old, Darci Lynne has managed to keep her young celebrity status without controversy. Becoming an inspiration to others through her actions and talent is a huge deal in itself in the entertainment industry, but even someone as scandal-free as Darci admits the way hasn’t been easy for her, especially when it comes to her religious views: ‘It’s hard to be a Christian in this business. It’s very pressuring, and it’s not that cool’, she said in an interview with The Alabama Baptist in 2022.

Tight schedules and long tours are usually hard to handle, but Darci does her best at keeping in touch with her Church, and admitted she’s considering including her faith in her career: ‘Even outside of my shows, I want to think on opportunities and moments where I can share what I believe in with other people, especially the kids I inspire’, she affirmed, so her loyal audience knows what to expect in this matter in the future.

Media Usage & Future

Undoubtedly, part of Darci Lynne’s success is owed to social media. Early in her career, her videos went viral enough to gain her several invitations to important TV shows and the like.

Fast forward from the time she won “America’s Got Talent”, Darci has gained a huge following on social media, accumulating 1.6 million followers on Facebook and over 900,000 on Instagram. Her social media isn’t only a simple way of reaching her audience of all ages, but also to share the most special moments of her life with her fans, on top of promoting her shows and merchandise through it.

While Darci is currently working on new projects, only time will tell if she’ll switch her focus to music or acting or simply stay in ventriloquism. Nonetheless, whatever she’ll do in the future, it’s for sure that Darci will continue to inspire us all with her talent and kind heart for a long time to come.