A long way from his little hamlet of Adakoken, Ontario, Canada, where the only public performance venue he knew was a car wash with good acoustics, twenty-year-old Alex Sampson made a hesitant but endearing entry into the America’s Got Talent (AGT) stage. The judges were immediately taken over by his sincere and grounded demeanor, despite his obvious nervousness—he acknowledged that he was worried he would forget how to sing. He highlighted the huge step he was taking to follow his dream of being a singer-songwriter by explaining that there were probably more people in the AGT theater than in his entire village.
When Alex sang his own original song, “Pretty Baby,” he instantly took the crowd back a few decades. He was compared to lead vocalists from the 1950s and 1960s due to his distinctive, throwback singing style. His stage presence was assured and his deep, slightly antique voice was delivered with a strong emotional authenticity despite his reported trepidation. The music itself felt ageless, meticulously crafted to fit the distinct “old school” vibe he was fostering, and had timeless imagery like lipstick on a cheek and gazing up at the stars.
His clever approach to his song particularly struck the assessors. Howie Mandel said that his retro style was a wise choice because “nobody’s doing that now,” implying he was carving out a special place for himself, while Sofía Vergara appreciated his presence and believed the audition was fantastic. Simon Cowell strongly concurred, stating that his genuineness was “very different” and that the song might have been used in a Martin Scorsese film. Alex Sampson garnered a unanimous four “yeses” by setting himself apart from current trends with a unique, well-written original song, demonstrating that even a small-town vocalist can produce a massive, unique sound.
