Season 21 of “America’s Got Talent” could have a Hawaiʻi contestant in the semifinals if votes come in favoring brothers Nyjah Music & Zyah Rhythm, who live on the North Shore, or U.S. Army Sgt. Isaac Atkins, who is stationed on Oʻahu.
The acts will compete in the talent search's quarterfinals this week and next week. The quarterfinals feature 44 acts, 10 of which were selected by judges who hit the golden buzzer. Starting Tuesday, August. 18, groups of 11 contestants will compete live for four consecutive Tuesdays.
Each week, the three performers with the most votes from the public will advance to the semifinals. For this round of the talent competition, each judge gets to use one golden buzzer to advance an act of their choice straight to the finals. The grand prize is $1 million.
Contestants for “America’s Got Talent” can be any age and share any talent, according to the show’s website. The judges for this season are Howie Mandel, Melanie Brown or “Mel B,” Simon Cowell and Sofía Vergara.
Viewers can vote for their favorite acts through the NBC website, AGT app or TikTok. Up to 10 votes, per method, are allowed. Each week, voting closes at 7 a.m. ET — or 1 a.m. HST — on Wednesdays.
Nyjah Music & Zyah Rhythm will take the stage first giving their live quarterfinal performance on Tuesday, Aug. 25.
After their audition, the duo advanced to a judges’ callback round with Simon Cowell, which took place at his house in Malibu, California.
The brothers have more than 200,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Last year, their cover of “Burning Love,” produced by their uncle, Bruno Mars, was featured in Disney’s live action “Lilo & Stitch.” Today, that song has more than 13 million streams on Spotify.
Earlier in the season, Atkins catapulted straight to the quarterfinals when Judge Mel B hit the golden buzzer during his audition. His live quarterfinals performance will air on Tuesday, Sept. 1.
Atkins, who is stationed on Oʻahu, grew up influenced by his father’s music, which included The Temptations, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Smokey Robinson and Motown. Now, he has more than 120,000 followers on TikTok, where he posts videos of himself singing in the car.
Watch “America’s Got Talent” on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET, which is 2 p.m. HST, on NBC. Each week, voting closes at 7 a.m. ET, or 1 a.m. HST, on Wednesday. Details.
Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.
