{alltv} Michael Grimm: 'I just never thought of winning this'

Blues singer Michael Grimm, who couldn't make it past the early audition rounds a year ago, won NBC's America's Got Talentcompetition show Wednesday night.

Grimm, 32, has been performing professionally since 12, but had spent most of his career playing lounges and other small venues. With his AGT win, he'll pocket a $1 million annuity and a potentially lucrative contract as a Las Vegas headliner.

The humble singer/guitarist, who dedicated his season to grandparents Tom and Laura Butters, appeared to gain confidence as he marched through weeks of performances. But he appeared shocked to have won over heavy favorite Jackie Evancho, the angelic 10-year-old with a heavenly soprano voice.

"I was so prepared to bow out — the biggest nightmare was standing next to her on stage — I knew she was going to win," Grimm told USA TODAY afterwards. "I just never thought of winning this."

Grimm sang the Percy Sledge hit When A Man Loves A Woman in Tuesday's finale. The "perfect song, a perfect delivery and a great performance," said AGT judge Sharon Osbourne.

Raised by the Butters, Grimm promised to use his winnings to buy them a new home. The Mississippi couple lost theirs in Hurricane Katrina.

Grimm was still absorbing the impact of his win a half hour after the show ended when he and his girlfriend, Lucie, hugged and cried on stage. "I'm getting cold sweats, a queasy stomach — yet at the same time, I'm so happy," he said after performing an earlier duet with singer Jewel. "To make it after so many years of struggling, it's like a big payday."

Evancho, a fifth-grader from suburban Pittsburgh, finished as runner-up. She discovered a knack for opera after watching Phantom of the Opera three years ago, edged flamboyant classical singer Prince Poppycock (John Quale) and Fighting Gravity, a novel performance group composed of 13 Virginia Tech students.

"I think her life is going to be very, very special," says British opera star Sarah Brightman, who performed a duet with Evancho on Wednesday's finale, a star-studded event that included performances by Usher, Donna Summer, the Goo Goo Dolls, Lionel Richie and illusionist David Copperfield.

Evancho was a late entry to the perennial summer series, among a dozen acts chosen through a YouTube contest that bypassed the traditional multi-city audition process that attracted thousands of singers, magicians, dancers, performance artists and the dubious oddballs that have made Talent summer's most popular series since its 2006 launch.

Since her first appearance in early August, Evancho became a fan favorite. Her Internet videos have drawn more than 20 million views.

Morgan noted Evancho's potential in Tuesday's finals performance.

"I've seen a lot of auditions over the past five years," said Morgan, who is also a judge on the show's British spinoff. "I've never seen more potential than Jackie Evancho."

Fighting Gravity, which performs dance moves and illusions against a black-light background, finished third in viewer votes and seems destined to make it as a Las Vegas act. "This isn't the end of Fighting Gravity," said Gregg Curtin, a senior electrical engineering major.

Curtin and fellow group members — who skipped their fall semester to compete on AGT— had a misstep Tuesday when an errant stage light illuminated a performer, but Morgan called the group "brilliantly clever."

Poppycock finished fourth among fan votes. Facing off against Evancho, Grimm and Fighting Gravity Tuesday, the campy Poppycock seemed to stumble from last week's semifinal performance, a Yankee Doodle Dandy-meets-Liberace medley. "You're guilty of that terrible crime, taking yourself a bit too seriously," Morgan said. "This was self-indulgent."

The Los Angeles store clerk hopes to parlay exposure from the show into a full-time entertainment career. "You are a star, and you will be a star," Morgan said after Quale's ouster Wednesday.