‘America’s Got Talent’ performers find home in Branson

Many know “America’s Got Talent” as a television show airing on NBC during the summer TV block. The talent competition show rewards its winner with a $1 million prize and an opportunity to perform in Las Vegas. What some may not know is Branson is home to a handful of its most popular acts.

The Texas Tenors and Voices of Glory are two of those groups, and both have found success in the live entertainment capital. Though they didn’t take home the grand prize, “America’s Got Talent” provided the exposure these groups needed to take the next step.

“We couldn’t take a million dollars and use that to promote ourselves, and get as much exposure as we did on “America’s Got Talent,’” said the Tenors’ J.C. Fisher.

The exposure caught the attention of Randy Little, owner of PFI Western Store and the Starlite Theatre in Branson, who watched the Tenors act during a Top 10 showcase at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

In 2009, Little signed the trio to a contract through 2017 for undisclosed terms. They’ll perform 60 Branson shows this year.

Finishing one spot behind the Tenors in fifth place, Voices of Glory also found a home on the Branson stage.

Originally contacted by crooner Andy Williams days before his 2012 death, the trio of siblings took part in the Moon River Theater’s Christmas show.

“Being a part of that experience was a whirlwind in itself,” said Voices of Glory member Michael Cole II. “We did six weeks of four to five shows per week.”

The opportunity drew attention from Hughes Brothers Theatre owner Laura Hughes, who signed the trio to an undisclosed contract.

The group now performs around 120 shows per year in Branson and has continued to take their act on the road.

Road to Branson
Auditioning for the show’s fourth season in 2009, the Texas Tenors – comprising Marcus Collins, John Hagen and Fisher – sing a combination of country, classical, Broadway and pop music. Fisher, a Pleasant Hope native and veteran solo artist for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., said the group formed just before their big audition.

“We sang for the producers, and it was one of the first times we had ever sang together,” said Fisher, noting he knew Collins from Royal Caribbean and Hagen through construction work.

The group was invited to sing for then judges David Hasselhoff, Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne and quickly put together an act.

“We threw together ‘Mountain Music’ that night,” he said. “We learned that song that night in just a couple hours.”

After advancing through the second stage in Las Vegas, the group began traveling to Los Angeles every other week as they progressed through the quarterfinals, top 20 and finals stages.

“We’d go out to LA with nine other acts, perform, and if you advanced, then you’d go home for a week and come back the following week,” Fisher said.

Finishing in fourth place gave the Tenors the boost they needed, but launching their own show almost didn’t happen.

“We had to sign a big long contract basically saying that we would do whatever they told us,” Fisher said. “If they didn’t exercise that option, then we could do what we wanted to do and we wanted to go perform.”

In addition to Branson’s Starlight Theatre, the trio performs nationwide; their next show is slated Aug. 30 in Las Vegas.

The group also has racked up some honors for their efforts, taking home three regional Emmy Awards in 2014 for a PBS special titled “You Should Dream.” Already booking shows through 2018, the group has another nationally televised PBS special on the horizon.

“I like Branson, I want to perform there,” said Fisher. “Honestly, in 2017, we might have an opportunity to perform a few months in Branson and a few months in Vegas. We’ll see how it goes.”

Glory road
The 2009 “America’s Got Talent” season was good to Branson, with a second act – Voices of Glory – also making their way to the Ozarks.

The trio of New York state siblings – Michael, Nadia and Avery Cole – got their start following a family tragedy.

Eldest Michael Cole said after their mother was involved in a head-on collision with a drunk driver and subsequently was in a coma for eight months, their father asked for help.

“Our dad would ask us to sing gospel hymns by her bedside, just to see if she would respond,” said Cole. “We started to sing to our mom and she actually came out of the coma.”

The group didn’t plan on trying out for “America’s Got Talent,” but were approached while singing at an amateur night.

“To be honest, that was actually the first time that we heard about ‘America’s Got Talent,’” he said. “We were really hardcore ‘American Idol’ fans and really didn’t pay attention to many shows during the summer.”

With an initial tryout in New York, the siblings were on stage in front of the judges just two days later. It was big news for the family, but the show’s contract prevented any information disclosure beyond their allowed 10 invited guests.

“If you actually disclose any of the information, then they can sue you for about a million dollars,” Cole said.

Now with Branson as a home base, the siblings have performed nationwide, including shows at Madison Square Garden and the Grand Ole Opry, and have been featured in publications such as People magazine and USA Today.

At the Hughes Brothers Theatre, uncle and manager Gerard Cole said Voices of Glory performances bring in 300-400 people on average. Combined with the Hughes Brothers, the theater brought in $249,000 last year in ticket sales.

“The Voices of Glory’s future is very, very bright,” he said. “We have things that we are working on that will get us exposed nationally.”

Uncle Cole is bring on management help from Quadree El-Amin, who has worked with artists such as Michael and Janet Jackson and Boyz II Men.

Cole said the group’s next step is finding a label.

“We are working on a single that should be released prior to the end of the year that will definitely wind itself up on the Billboard,” said Cole.