Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

With new CD release, Michael Grimm still sees ‘AGT’ title as a surreal deal

Michael Grimm at Ovation

Nate Ludens

Michael Grimm performs at Ovation Lounge at Green Valley Ranch on May 9, 2011.

KSNV: Michael Grimm

KSNV coverage of John Katsilometes' and Tricia McCrone's interview on "Kats With the Dish" with America's Got Talent winner Michael Grimm.

Michael Grimm

On the episode of "Kats With the Dish" that aired May 13, co-hosts John Katsilometes and Tricia McCrone sit down with Michael Grimm to talk about his "America's Got Talent" victory, his new CD on Epic Records, and his marriage proposal that was broadcast on national TV.

Michael Grimm at Ovation Lounge

Bill Medley and Michael Grimm perform at Ovation Lounge at Green Valley Ranch on May 9, 2011. Launch slideshow »
The Kats Report Podcast

Michael Grimm, Earl Turner

"America's Got Talent" winner and Henderson resident Michael Grimm joins Tricia McCrone and John Katsilometes on this episode of "Kats With the Dish." Also, Las Vegas headliner Earl Turner talks of his career on several Las Vegas stages as he looks forward to dates at Suncoast from May 20-21.

Michael Grimm heard the announcement just fine. So did more than 16 million TV viewers.

But believing what had just been broadcast to that enormous audience was another matter.

To Grimm, an irrepressibly humble singer-songwriter, the drama-tinged announcement that he’d just won the championship of “America’s Got Talent” was at first unfathomable. In a tale that has become part of Las Vegas entertainment lore, Grimm was just five years removed from a standing gig at Hank’s Fine Steaks & Martinis at Green Valley Ranch.

He’d been performing in front of audiences since age 12, when he sang in his grandfather’s Baptist Church in Waveland, Miss. For years, he'd been churning out tunes that are somewhat country, certainly inspired by rock and R&B and folk. Many of these songs he wrote himself, for small audiences sometimes indifferent to his considerable skills.

And now, champion of the coveted “AGT” title.

“At first, I thought, ‘Did they say that correctly? Did they say, ‘The loser is Michael Grimm?’ ” Grimm said during an interview for this week’s episode of “Kats With the Dish." “I didn’t know. Then it was, ‘Oh, it’s me!’ because everybody is looking at me!”

Never shedding his humility, Grimm then turned to the 10-year-old singer standing next to him, the stunningly talented Jackie Evancho.

“I went up to Jackie and I made sure she was OK, because she’s a little girl and this was a big thing for her,” said Grimm, who has been a Henderson resident for more than a decade, playing such venues as Ovation at Green Valley Ranch while chasing major record-label deals. “I have to say, she was the real champion in all of this, because she handled it like a pro, all the way to the end.

“I leaned down and asked her if she was OK, and she said, ‘I’m just fine,’ and laughed and gave me a big hug.”

Evancho is just fine, for sure. Superstar producer David Foster has said she could well enjoy a 50-year singing career. Grimm, of course, is reaping the rewards of the “AGT” championship, using the $1 million in prize money to build his grandparents a new house in his original hometown of Waveland and recording his latest CD with Epic Records as part of his first-place award.

Naturally, Grimm shed fancy packaging by naming the CD simply “Michael Grimm.” The cover shot is a black-and-white photo of him gazing soulfully into the camera.

Grimm celebrated his CD release Monday night with a performance at Ovation, where more than 500 fans turned out to hear the new album performed live. Bill Medley, for whom Grimm worked as a guitarist, showed up unannounced to present Grimm with a staff award from a Las Vegas publication that honored Grimm after his “AGT” triumph.

On the CD, Grimm is joined in duet by Ann Wilson of Heart (on “Gasoline and Matches”) and Travis Tritt (on “Simple Man”). To promote the release, Grimm is off on a media swing through the East Coast, which includes an appearance Wednesday on NBC’s “Today.”

But before he took off, the unassuming but highly proficient singer, songwriter and guitarist sat for 30 minutes in the KUNV 91.5-FM studio and discussed a wide range of topics. The highlights:

On the difference between playing such gigs as Hank’s and his post-“AGT” performances: “It’s different. It’s a humbling feeling, everyone is out there listening and paying attention to you and listening to what you might have to say. I’ve never been good with speaking. I must be honest, I’m kind of nervous now, talking, but when I’m up onstage, I’m used to people dancing and 20 yo 30 people at the most out in the crowd, so it’s a lot different for me now.

“I have to engage the crowd. I just have to be honest with them, because that’s the only way I know how to be.”

On his approach to competing on “America’s Got Talent,” having auditioned twice at Palace Station before getting the call from NBC: “If you go to the show correctly and are prepared, like me -- I was ready. I had all my ducks in a row, and a lot of people went in with high expectations, but really what you’re going on the show for is to get a little bit of a fan base and be a celebrity for a moment, if you can. You don’t expect much more out of it than that, and hopefully it’ll create a lot of momentum. At least that’s how I approached it.”

On his long trudge to finally breaking through in the music business: “I had been struggling for years, trying to make it in this business, from Nashville to to L.A. to New York. I’d been to all the labels. They wanted me to bring a fan base in with me, but I didn’t know how. That’s what I was going to those guys for, to get some fans.

“The music business had changed, and I was thinking I was running out of time here, I’d been playing in clubs and lounges my whole life, I just don’t want to keep going down that road. Before my grandparents passed, I wanted them to see me do something.”

On his relationship with the show’s most acerbic and discriminate judge, Piers Morgan: “I felt he was one of my biggest fans. I met him off-set a couple of times, and he was a very nice guy and very supportive. He just told me to keep doing what I’m doing. I don’t know, maybe it’s all TV, in some way, the way they handle some of these contestants.”

On his relationship with one of the bands he has performed with frequently in Las Vegas, Santa Fe & The Fat City Horns, who headline Monday nights at the Lounge at the Palms: “I used to sing with them whenever (band leader) Jerry Lopez would call and give me work. It was just an honor to play with those guys. They are the best musicians, in my opinion, in the West. ... It’s been an honor to play with them. Whenever I sing with them, I feel like a brother to the band. I love just being a brother to those guys. There’s something deeper than just the music.”

On his connection with other “AGT” contestants in Las Vegas (champion Terry Fator among them): “I don’t keep in touch with any of the guys on the Strip who were on the show, but it’s like a family. I know Terry Fator’s guitarist, Jim Buck, who is a good friend of mine, and on the night it was announced, Terry went out into the crowd and announced it, and Jim said the crowd went crazy. Terry was proud of it, too, and I can’t wait to meet him.”

On proposing to his girlfriend, Lucie Zolcerova, on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” back in September, the day after he won the “AGT” title by singing "When a Man Loves a Woman" as a tribute to her: “We talked about marriage awhile back, and she said, ‘We can get married at the courthouse. I don’t really care about a big wedding. But make sure the proposal is good, because if it isn’t, you’re going to have to do it again.’

“So what I did was, when I went on 'Ellen,' I’d won the show, and I was going to ask (Lucy) to marry me anyway. So I might as well do this now. What a better opportunity then now? I talked to the staff on 'Ellen,' and they were all down with it. When I said it, suddenly there was a big ol’ thing of flowers in front of my face, and they were all like, ‘Can we help you?’

“That was a great experience, too, being able to propose to my girl, who I want to be with for a long time.”

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow "Kats With the Dish" at twitter.com/KatsWithTheDish.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy