Summer has only just begun, and already – thanks to NBC – we have seen what will likely be one of the top TV moments of the season, courtesy of the best reality competition show on any network, America’s Got Talent. My fondness for this show has been well documented here in the past, as has my appreciation of the hugely impactful integration of sponsor Dunkin’ Donuts into the program. (As I said in 2015, America does indeed have talent and AGT does indeed run on Dunkin.’) But even though AGT presents literally hundreds of people each summer doing what they do best (or what they think they do well) in pursuit of careers as entertainers (and the show’s whopping big prizes) or, at the very least, a few minutes of fame, it can often take weeks of watching before someone comes along who truly deserves superstar status. That happened this week when Johnny Manuel, a young man from Flint, Michigan, of otherworldly talent, took to the AGT stage and belted out the Whitney Houston classic, “I Have Nothing” (see video above). He’s the one. Competition over. If you didn’t see it, and you don’t want to take my word for it, check out the expressions of pure bliss on the faces of judges Heidi Klum and Simon Cowell below.
By
Ed Martin
