‘AGT’ Winner Brandon Leake Performs on ‘The Nick Cannon Show’
Denise Truscello/Getty Images for America's Got Talent LIVE Reading Time: 3 minutes
The season 15 winner of America’s Got Talent, Brandon Leake, appeared on The Nick Cannon Show on Monday to perform a poem entitled “Solace.” This spoken word artist has created a name for himself in the spoken word community since winning AGT in 2020.
It’s no secret that Brandon performs spoken word poetry that often relates to struggles of the world. In this performance, the spoken word artist talked about a poem about his solace with words that he originally shared in February 2020.
The poetry touched on how he began writing, but still writes about deep topics. Even when he’s in the darkest times, he sees his pen as the sun that’s always set to shine. He ended the poem by stating that he is still learning to paint with all of the colors of himself. As always, Brandon’s poem was moving and incredible.
How Winning Season 15 of America’s Got Talent Has Impacted Brandon Leake’s Life
After his performance, he sat down with Cannon to talk about his life after winning the show. Cannon began by asking the AGT alum how his life changed after winning America’s Got Talent.
“It’s a really interesting thing, in the beginning it felt really hollow because I thought it would define me,” said Brandon. “I thought winning would change all of who I was, when in actuality the work that you put in behind the scenes is the most important part of it.”
2020 was not the first year Brandon attempted to make it on America’s Got Talent. He originally auditioned in 2017 and wasn’t told directly that he wouldn’t be on the season. Instead, he saw a commercial for the series that included someone he had met at the event, and knew he hadn’t made the cut. Brandon overcame adversity by studying his skill, getting to know the history and never giving up on himself.
“That taught me a really valuable lesson, loving your art is not enough, you have to respect it,” Brandon noted on the show.
After winning America’s Got Talent, he has gone on to make a name for himself while also advocating for spoken word poetry. It’s an art that many people did not know existed before it appeared on AGT. Even though this industry is small as of now, Brandon shared that the best way to show support is in interacting with these artists.
Recently, Brandon released a powerful spoken word video and has been performing with AGT: Live Las Vegas. On top of performing, Brandon has released a new album, and has a book and film in the works. Brandon’s short film, Complexity, was written, directed, produced, and stars the AGT winner.
“It’s a metaphor for a complex relationship between the Christian religion and the black community,” he said. “I was really proud of myself for how well I did, but it’s also one of those things that it’s like hearing your own voice. It’s like ‘oh my God that is so annoying I look so bad.’”
