Samantha Agate
Samantha Agate is the Talent Guru here at Talent Recap. Her work has been featured at The Blast. Samantha graduated from Hunter College in 2019 with a degree in Media Studies and a Concentration in Journalism. When she isn't binge-watching reality television shows or binge-eating fried food, she loves hanging out with her friends and family and petting puppies.
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| June 24, 2021 SIGN IN TO SAVE POST
Chris Haston/NBCReading Time: 2 minutes
JW’s Inspirational Singers are a group from New York City that is taking America’s Got Talent by storm. Their Season 16 audition performing “Stand Up” by Cynthia Erivo has been one of the biggest highlights of the competition so far. Each and every member of the group comes from the Broadway, film, and television worlds.
JW’s Inspirational Singers Bring Out Broadway Stars for ‘America’s Got Talent’ Audition
The group was founded by Juson Williams in 2015. He has worked with music legends like Shania Twain and Gladys Knight. He is currently set to star as Louis Armstrong in the postponed musical A Wonderful World. Juson toured with the theater productions of The Wiz, Smokey Joe’s Café, Stormy Weather, and It Ain’t Nothing But the Blues.
The group spoke in their audition about how they do consider themselves to be a choir but they can sing every and any genre. Once they began singing, Juson took front and center while another member surprised everyone with his tap-dancing skills.
Lana Jean Gordon also showed off her iconic vocals during the song. Lana most recently played the role of Velma Kelly in Chicago on Broadway. She made history with Brandy as the first black co-leads in the show. Lana was also a part of the original cast of The Lion King on Broadway in 1997. It was such a shock to see Lana auditioning, in the best way possible.
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Other Group Members Have Some Major Broadway Connections
JW’s Inspirational Singers got to sing with Sam Smith at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards and performed at The Macy’s Day Parade. Group member La’Nette Wallace performed with the international tour of Shrek The Musical before taking the stage for Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard’s Christmas show on Broadway. Group member Avionce Hoyles appeared as Martin on FBI: Most Wanted.
JW’s Inspirational Singers member Keith Webb performed in Hamilton in Chicago. Keith took on the roles of Hercules Mulligan, James Madison, George Washington, and Aaron Burr throughout his impressive run. Keith made his Broadway debut in Rocktopia which is an incredible musical full of rock hits. Jay Poff also performed in Rocktopia and appeared in the movie The Greatest Showman.
Many of the JW’s Inspirational Singers are awaiting the return of Broadway and live theater productions. The COVID-19 pandemic has sidelined a lot of shows since Broadway went dark in March 2020. Thankfully, Broadway will be back this fall and tickets have already been made available. It just so happens that Season 16 of America’s Got Talent will also be wrapping up in the fall to allow these singers to go back to their Broadway roots.
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