“America’s Got Talent’ searches for its own Susan Boyle

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America: Can you top Susan Boyle?

That’s the challenge facing NBC’s ‘America’s Got Talent,’ according to judge Piers Morgan, who appeared at the last press conference of the day with judges David Hasselhoff and Sharon Osbourne; new host, Nick Cannon; and executive producer Simon Cowell.

‘Forget the Ryder Cup, has America got the answer to Susan Boyle? And I don’t mean a 47-year-old-woman from a little town, I mean a talent that comes out of nowhere,’ Morgan said.

The NBC reality show, which premieres June 23, has held auditions in Miami, New York and Los Angeles but is only half-way done, Cowell said.

Maybe, just maybe, America’s answer to Boyle will be the ‘guy who hunts chickens,’ said Morgan.

‘He catches 6000 chickens at night. He then sings like Garth Brooks, and it’s one of those things where half the audience is in tears and the other half is on their feet,’ he continued. ‘That’s the magic of ‘America’s Got Talent.’ And that’s the magic of the British show as well.’

Because of all of the attention on the franchise since Boyle’s audition aired and became a YouTube sensation, Cowell said he is considering having two more open casting calls for the American version.

Cowell said he’s always thought the American version is ‘a sleeping giant’ and this could
be the year its audience doubles or triples.

The brutally honest Cowell also expressed concern over the impact Boyle’s notoriety is having on the small-town Scottish singer.

‘The cat, the way she looks, the gimmicks,’ he said. ‘I’m tired of it all. ‘She’s got four weeks to prepare for the biggest night of her life. She’s got to sing better than before with all that expectation. But it could all go horribly wrong now because there are so many other distractions. For her, this is it. This is about her singing career.’

Cowell also admitted to feeling badly over the way he responded to Boyle when she first appeared on stage.

This show ‘is the story about the underdog, isn’t it?’ he said. ‘We came up with a show with no rules. You can do whatever you want, whatever age you are. We were guilty on the panel of judging her before she sang, and we were completely and utterly wrong. And you watch it back and it’s embarrassing.’

The show will air on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

-- Maria Elena Fernandez