When 20-year-old Alex Sampson stepped onto the America’s Got Talent stage, he was equal parts nervous and charming. Coming from the tiny town of Adakoken, Ontario—so small that he used to practice singing in a car wash because of the good acoustics—this was by far the biggest stage he had ever seen. He even joked that there were probably more people in the AGT audience than in his entire hometown.
But the moment he started to sing, everything changed.
Alex performed an original song called “Pretty Baby,” and instantly transported the room back to the golden age of the 1950s. His voice—warm, smooth, and unmistakably retro—felt like something lifted straight from a vintage record player. The imagery in his lyrics, from lipstick on a cheek to stargazing under the night sky, added to the timeless charm.
Despite his nerves, Alex’s stage presence was confident and genuine. His performance didn’t feel like an act—it felt like a revival of an era.
The Judges Were Stunned
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Sofía Vergara called him charming and said it was a great audition.
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Howie Mandel emphasized how smart Alex’s musical choice was, saying that “nobody’s doing that now.”
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Simon Cowell went even further, saying the performance sounded like it belonged in a Martin Scorsese movie and praising Alex for being “authentically different.”