America’s Got Talent Poet Reflects On ‘Risky’ Black Lives Matter Performance [VIDEO]
NBC Reading Time: 3 minutes
Brandon Leake’s life changed forever the second he stepped on the America’s Got Talent stage for his audition. He moved the judges with a performance of a poem about his late sister, so much so that he received Howie Mandel’s Golden Buzzer. Brandon went on to deliver a moving poem about the Black Lives Matter movement during episode four of the live shows.
Brandon Leake Speaks About His Black Lives Matter Poem On ‘AGT’
Brandon spoke to Talent Recap on the virtual ‘AGT’ red carpet about how he feels after such a monumental performance. “I feel proud because like it’s one of those things where you put in the practice, you put in the work for some time and you’re just anxiously waiting to go show it” he said. “With how timely the piece was with the way the world is right now I knew that it was a statement that needed to be heard.”
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During the performance, Brandon said “Normally death don’t really bother me, I’m from southside Stockton. I’m all too familiar with how some family reunions only ever take place on graveyard grass, and a hole can be a safe haven for a soul in this mortal game of hide and go seek. But, there is something so different about Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake and the countless others.” It was the most memorable moment of the night on this episode of the ‘AGT’ live shows.
Howie Was Moved By Brandon’s Performance
Howie spoke to People about how his Golden Buzzer really moved him with this Black Lives Matter tribute. “Brandon’s words were able to take a 64-year-old white guy and put him inside the heart and mind of an African-American mother whose just saying goodbye and fearing for her son’s return,” he said. “I think just aside whatever this contest is and this talent show is, it’s probably the clearest vision of what is going on today than what I have ever heard.” Howie also posted the performance on his Instagram account.
Brandon also had a backup option in case he changed his mind in performing the Black Lives Matter poem. “I had two poems in mind. One of them barred more safe than this one and then this one I wouldn’t necessarily even call it a political piece it’s like a letter to my mother.” In the poem, Brandon talked about how hard it is for a black mother to worry about her son’s safety in this very divided world we live in. He called it “an apology for all the times I never called her when I got back from a show.” He went on to say “I knew that it would be a risk but risk-reward factor. Being safe never got anybody everywhere.”
Brandon Leake Is Hoping To Make It Through To The Semi-Finals
Brandon also said that he hoped for his idols Dave Chapelle, Kendrick Lamar and LeBron James to see his performance after people have begun to share it all over social media. His mother teared up watching his performance after hearing the poem for the first time. There was also a ton of buzz on Twitter as people were really moved by this performance.
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Brandon said that he already has an idea of what he wants his next poem to be about should he make it through to the next round of the live shows on ‘AGT.’
