{alltv} 'America's Got Talent' returns

HOUSTON — With a hushed studio audience of about 1,100, a TV production crew and a trio of celebrity judges anxiously watching, Professor Splash studies an inflatable kiddie pool 20 feet below.

Splash — aka Darren Taylor — has several world records as a shallow-water diver. But the leap he's about to make is as much about money as defying bodily harm. Taylor hopes the dive into foot-deep water will propel him beyond the other acts auditioning here for a spot on America's Got Talent, NBC's variety-act competition series returning for a sixth season tonight (8 ET/PT).

AGT may resemble the gaggle of song, dance and comedy competition shows that litter TV's reality landscape. But with no age restrictions and few limits on talent, actual or otherwise, it smacks of both The Gong Show and Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour— a mixture of pure entertainment, goofball comedy, freak-show audacity, jaw-dropping amazement and heart-tugging sincerity.

The formula has made AGT among summer's top-rated shows since its 2006 debut, with average viewership climbing to about 13.3 million viewers last season from 10.9 million in Season 1. Increasingly, the series is also providing a burgeoning star-making platform for singers, dancers, magicians, comedians and performance groups.

Taylor has fetched up to $22,000 for his dives. But Talent is covering only Taylor's expenses for the Houston audition, not the two bikini-clad models he decided to hire and fly in from Denver to add some sex appeal to his act.

"I'm losing money being here. But I'm hoping for a big payoff," he says. "Believe me, you can't buy this kind of publicity with a show like this."

Taylor hopes AGT will lead him to the kind of success Terry Fator found. The impressionist/ventriloquist/singer toiled largely at schools, fairs, festivals and other small-time gigs for more than 20 years before appearing, and eventually winning, AGT's second season. That led to Fator's first booking in Las Vegas, a gig at the Hilton, followed by the most lucrative deal in reality competition show history: a five-year, $100 million contract to headline at The Mirage.

"I didn't expect to win, but I went in with a plan: This would go on my promotional stuff to get more shows and make more money," says Fator, 45. "But things began to snowball. This show can and will change your life forever."

Fator and his wife, Taylor Makakoa, are now pitching a TV show, and he has a DVD coming out in June. A contract extension with The Mirage is likely, too.

Last season's runner-up, 11-year-old opera prodigy Jackie Evancho, is about to launch Dream With Me, an album featuring duets with Barbra Streisand and Susan Boyle, the Scot who parlayed her surprising appearance on AGT's British cousin to international stardom.

"This show is a powerful, powerful thing," says Michael Grimm, 32, a struggling rhythm and blues singer who edged Evancho and another opera-centric singer, flamboyant Prince Poppycock, to win last season. "A year ago, I was really getting depressed. I didn't want to find myself singing in lounges the rest of my life."

Grimm's fortunes began turning after last season's premiere. "People were asking if I could act, but I'm just a one-trick pony," he says.

These days, Grimm is organizing a multi-city tour for his just-released self-titled album, produced by Grammy winner Don Was. Grimm, who marries longtime girlfriend Lucie Zolcerova on Wednesday, also spent some of his AGT prize money — a $1 million, multi-year annuity — on a new Mississippi home for his grandparents.

"We've seen the show change people's lives," says executive producer Jason Raff.

Seeking star quality

At 50, Taylor is hoping for something life-altering, too. He has ample competition in Houston, where AGT judges Sharon Osbourne, Piers Morgan and Howie Mandel see 60 acts over two days, including The Regurgitator (Stephen Wright, who swallows assorted objects), juggler Charles Peachock and an assortment of mimes, grade-school rap dancers, aerial artists and singers. This is the last of six cities judges and production crew have visited, where they evaluate 420 acts culled from some 100,000 auditions and videotapes viewed by Raff and co-producers. Fewer than 50 will make the final cut.

"The bottom line is star quality," Osbourne says on a set break in her cramped dressing room. "It's very, very rare."

Some look for any kind of edge. Cabaret-style singer Christiana Bianco complains she can't find show business work because she's barely 5 feet tall. Osbourne is also displeased with J. How (Jalon Deshae Howard), a cocky young singer/dancer.

Both pass the Houston audition, but Osbourne, who has been a reality show judge since Britain's X Factor premiered in 2003, has little patience for sob stories and those who aren't humble. "I've heard it all," she scoffs. "And I'm a little bit tired of hard-luck stories."

Still, Osbourne is far more patient sizing up talent than fellow Brit Morgan, the persnickety former newspaper editor and current CNN talk show host who needs just seconds to determine who gets booted. He and Osbourne quickly pass on Moonhoar, the blue-wigged, tattooed mother and daughter duo Stephanie and Joan Frederickson who belly-dance to heavy metal.

"It's just weird, the whole thing is weird," Morgan says.

Here in Houston in late April, Morgan says he has been quick to dismiss even seemingly star-quality performers because the overall talent level is far better than previous seasons. Noting that he said the same thing before 2010's season premiere, Morgan says acts such as Poppycock and Fighting Gravity, the black-light illusionist group of 13 Virginia Tech students who wowed audiences last season, have inspired more technical creativity among this season's auditioners. "I know it sounds like hype, but we've already passed on talent that would have made the finals in other years," Morgan says.

"It does sound clichéd, but over the years, (Talent) has gained a lot of legitimacy. That's brought more people out to the auditions, which gives the judges higher-quality acts to see," says Raff.

The judges are later wowed by Kelsey Nord, a 26-year-old Nebraskan visibly nervous on stage "for the biggest talent show in the world." Her version of Patsy Cline's Crazy separates her from other singers.

The trio also give a thumbs-up to singer Shevonne Philidor, who impresses them after failing two previous AGT auditions and four American Idol tryouts. Undaunted, the 20-year-old traveled from her home in Tampa for tryout No. 7. "This is the farthest I've made it," says Philidor, a salesclerk at Abercrombie & Fitch. "This is what I've been dreaming about."

Mandel, a comedian and game show host, marvels at Philidor's hippie style and singing ability, unaware of her past misfortune. Before the show, Mandel says AGT is one of the best gigs he has ever had. "I'd be sitting at home watching this show in my underwear. Where else can you see acts like this?"

Making waves

Gary Cannon, a comedian who warms up Talent studio audiences, says judges appear particularly harsh to the Houston auditioners, several of whom leave the stage dejected, in tears or shocked.

"What they don't realize is what the judges have seen in other cities. They're looking at the bigger picture. Can they attract an audience in Vegas? Can they surround the act to make it bigger? There's a lot more than performing on some stage for 90 seconds," he says.

For all the humor that bad mimes, odd magicians and slightly off-kilter rappers bring to the audition, the competition can be cutthroat.

The judges debate the performance of acoustic-rock group DiMarko, wondering if lead singer Victor DiMarko, a raspy Chris Daughtry type, wouldn't be better off as a solo artist. After conferring, Morgan says his two bandmates don't add to the performance, and asks him if he'd be willing to go solo. With his wife tending to their newborn daughter offstage, the New Yorker doesn't hesitate, agreeing to shed his bandmates. The judges move him on.

Splash also makes it, but not before some anxious pre-dive moments. "I hope he knows what he's doing," mutters show host Nick Cannon, clad in rain gear to avoid getting soaked.

Moments later, Taylor launches himself into the air, landing in the quiet, dark studio with a loud, audience-drenching belly-flop. They cheer wildly, but before voting, Osbourne says she's unsure if there's enough to sustain a prolonged Vegas-style act. Mandel, relieved Taylor isn't hurt, wonders about potential injuries from future dives.

Taylor expresses confidence in both his prowess and entertainment value. Morgan and Mandel eventually vote him through.

In the ensuing weeks, Taylor prepares scripts for his "Splash Girls" and orders custom-made costumes for $5,000. He hopes the investment will make for an extended stint on the show. Yet after seeing the show reject scores of acts, he can only fantasize about it leading to a long-running Vegas gig like Fator's.

"It's difficult to stumble upon a gold mine," Taylor says. "I've got some choreography to work on, some comedy, jumping into fire, maybe a Frankenstein voltage thing when I come on stage. But I know at any moment, I realize I could be gone. I've already seen a lot of crying faces and a lot of dreams ruined."

NBC promos featuring Professor Splash are already generating interest for interviews and potential gigs.

"I'm the best in the world at what I do," Taylor says. "I already have work. But I want the guy at the water cooler saying, 'Did you see that guy on TV last night?' I want the big Las Vegas contract. Hopefully, this show will pay off for me."