Michael Joseph Grimm (born December 30, 1978) is an American singer/songwriter and winner of the fifth season of '' America's Got Talent.''

Personal life

Grimm was born in Colorado on the Fort Carson base, moved to Slidell, Louisiana, but later raised in

Waveland, Mississippi Waveland is a city located in Hancock County, Mississippi, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. It is part of the Gulfport– Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city of Waveland was incorporated in 1972. As of the 2010 c ...

by his grandparents. During the AGT finals, he revealed that his girlfriend of nearly three years, Lucie Zolcerova, was the inspiration for his performance of "When a Man Loves a Woman". "She's been there for me," Grimm told DeGeneres during a taping of ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pro ...

'' which was aired on September 17, 2010. "Once you find that good woman you hang on to her." While interviewing him, DeGeneres called Lucie down from the audience, and Grimm got on one knee to propose. Her answer was a swift "Yes". Grimm, a Mississippi Southern Soul singer who won the $1 million AGT first prize in its 5th season, used some of his winnings to build his grandparents a new house. As of 2016, he resides in Henderson, Nevada.

''America's Got Talent''

Grimm auditioned in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

for the fifth season of '' America's Got Talent'' aired on June 1, 2010. His audition received praise from all three judges, advancing him to Vegas Week. During Vegas week, his performance of "

Try a Little Tenderness "Try a Little Tenderness" is a song written by Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly, and Harry M. Woods. Original version It was first recorded on December 8, 1932, by the Ray Noble Orchestra, with vocals by Val Rosing. Another version, also recorde ...

" was criticized by

Piers Morgan Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is a British broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at ''The Sun (United Kingdom), The Sun''. In 1994, aged 29, he was ...

for being way over 90 seconds and could have gotten him disqualified. He still advanced to the quarterfinals. His quarterfinal performance, "

Tired of Being Alone "Tired of Being Alone" is a soul song written by American singer Al Green. It reached number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number seven on the Soul Singles Chart in 1971. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the number-12 song for 1971. Background ...

," was once again praised, and he advanced to the semifinals. Earlier in the show, Sharon Osbourne commented that her husband

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

was rooting for Grimm. Grimm performed "

You Can Leave Your Hat On "You Can Leave Your Hat On" is a song written by Randy Newman and appearing on his 1972 album '' Sail Away''. According to a retrospective AllMusic review by Mark Deming, the song is a "potent mid-tempo rock tune" and a "witty and willfully perv ...

" during semifinals while recovering from a dehydration related illness. Despite the illness, he managed to deliver a performance that was once again praised by the judges, and he advanced to the finals. After performing " Let's Stay Together" in the Top 10 without his guitar, he advanced to the Top 4. In the finale on September 14, 2010, he performed "When a Man Loves a Woman" pointing to his girlfriend, Lucie, in the audience. The following day, it was revealed that Grimm won the show, beating child singer

Jackie Evancho Jacqueline Marie Evancho ( ; born April 9, 2000) is an American classical crossover singer who gained wide recognition at an early age. Since 2009, she has issued a platinum-selling EP and nine albums, including three ''Billboard'' 200 top 10 ...

.Di Nunzio, Miriam
"Michael Grimm: 'I am not an American Idol'"
''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

'', August 22, 2011, accessed January 16, 2012 Grimm went to America's Got Talent: The Champions in 2020 eliminated at Preliminary.

Performances and results

Post-AGT

Grimm's winnings included one million

dollars Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, U ...

(before taxes and reduction for lump sum payment) and the opportunity to headline the AGT Tour Show, including one show at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas on October 8, 2010. In September 2010, Grimm appeared on ''

'' and proposed to his girlfriend of nearly three years, Lucie Zolcerova. The AGT Tour Show stopped in 25 cities, beginning October 1 and ending November 7, 2010, where Grimm performed with other top ten contestants of the fifth season of AGT. On June 1, 2011, Grimm married his fiancée, Lucie Zolcerova, in a small private ceremony in Maui,

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. The ceremony was held on the beach at the Makena Beach & Golf Resort in front of about 30 family members. Andres Delos Santos and Nate Martin from "Ten Feet" along with Kevin and Dawn Okimoto and Alex Pula entertained the party, backing the newlyweds as they serenaded each other with their favorite song, "Islands in The Stream."

Bill Medley William Thomas Medley (born September 19, 1940) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as one half of The Righteous Brothers. He is noted for his bass-baritone voice, exemplified in songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". Med ...

The Righteous Brothers The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the Lo ...

was in attendance.

Career

Grimm performed at

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, casinos for eleven years prior to his AGT success.

2010

On September 29, 2010, Michael signed a record deal with Epic Records. The album was released on May 17, 2011. Grimm performed at the 2010

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the U.S.-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with ...

. On December 3, 2010, Grimm and Smokey Robinson raised over $1 million during the 37th Annual Candlelight Concert.

2011–present

On March 24, 2011, Grimm returned to ''

'' to promote his upcoming self-titled album and perform his newly released single (March 22, 2011) " Fallin'" written and recorded by

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

in 2002. The album debuted at #13 on US Pop Music Charts on May 26, 2011, selling 23,000 copies. According to the Billboard Top 200, his album was #13 the week of June 4, 2011. Grimm performed on the Top Ten show of the sixth season of '' America's Got Talent'' on September 6, 2011. Also in the summer an autumn of 2011, Grimm opened for Stevie Nicks.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

*
Video interview with Michael Grimm
on ''Talktails (Vegas Video Network)''
September 2012 feature about Grimm
in ''Las Vegas Weekly'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Grimm, Michael 21st-century American singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers 1978 births America's Got Talent winners American blues singers Epic Records artists Living people Singers from Mississippi People from El Paso County, Colorado People from Waveland, Mississippi