Archie Williams (singer)

Last updated
Archie Williams
Born (1961-03-23) March 23, 1961 (age 62)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
Known forPerforming on AGT Season 15 after released from prison
Height5 ft 4 in (163 cm)
Criminal chargesWrongfully sentenced to 37 years of prison for aggravated rape, battery, and murder [1]
RelativesSheila Varner, Charlotte Alexander (Sisters)

Archie Charles Williams (born March 23, 1961) is an American singer who appeared on season 15 of America's Got Talent . He was wrongfully incarcerated for 37 years in prison and released on March 21, 2019.

Contents

Early life

Williams was born from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Wrongful incarceration

On April 21, 1983, he was convicted in a case of rape and attempted murder four months earlier. Williams was 22 at the time and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. The Innocence Project fought for him for decades to get access to evidence that could prove that he was innocent. On March 21, 2019, after a judge ordered a review of the fingerprints found at the scene, Williams was found to be innocent and was released from prison. [2] [3] [4]

America's Got Talent

Williams sang "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" by Elton John for his first performance on America's Got Talent on May 26, 2020. [5] All four judges voted for him to move to the next level [3] and he received a standing ovation from the audience and the judges. John said that he was "moved to tears" by the performance. [6] As a result of Williams' story, Simon Cowell became an ambassador for The Innocence Project. [7] Williams sang "Flying Without Wings" by Westlife during the semi-finals. [8] He moved ahead to the finals with four other acts. [9] Archie finished as a Bottom 5 finalist of the top 10. Archie Williams came back to compete in America's Got Talent: All-Stars singing "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers, but failed to secure a spot in the finale.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Cowell</span> English reality television judge, television producer and music executive

Simon Phillip Cowell is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the founder and sole owner of the British entertainment company Syco and is the creator of The X Factor and Got Talent franchises. He has judged on the British television talent competition series Pop Idol (2001–2003), The X Factor UK and Britain's Got Talent (2007–present), and the American television talent competition series American Idol (2002–2010), The X Factor US (2011–2013), and America's Got Talent (2016–present).

Innocence Project, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal organization that is committed to exonerating individuals who have been wrongly convicted, through the use of DNA testing and working to reform the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. The group cites various studies estimating that in the United States between 1% and 10% of all prisoners are innocent. The Innocence Project was founded in 1992 by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld who gained national attention in the mid-1990s as part of the "Dream Team" of lawyers who formed part of the defense in the O. J. Simpson murder case.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miscarriage of justice</span> Conviction of a person for a crime that they did not commit

A miscarriage of justice occurs when a grossly unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Innocent people have sometimes ended up in prison for years before their conviction has eventually been overturned. They may be exonerated if new evidence comes to light or it is determined that the police or prosecutor committed some kind of misconduct at the original trial. In some jurisdictions this leads to the payment of compensation.

America's Got Talent is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global Got Talent franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle USA and Syco Entertainment, and broadcasts on the NBC television network. It premiered on June 21, 2006, after plans for a British edition in 2005 were suspended, following a dispute within the British broadcaster ITV. Production would later resume in 2007, following the success of the first season. Each season is mainly run during the network's summer schedule, and has featured various hosts over the course of the program's history. The current host is Terry Crews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Fator</span> American entertainer

Terry Wayne Fator is an American ventriloquist, impressionist, stand-up comedian, and singer. Born in Dallas, Texas, he developed an interest in ventriloquism from a young age, developing both this and a talent for singing. After initially performing with two bands, Fator eventually conducted solo performances, combining ventriloquism and singing with comedy. He gained national recognition for his talent when he won the second season of America's Got Talent, which helped to boost his career.

Amanda Lynn Harvey is an American jazz and pop singer and songwriter.

<i>Americas Got Talent</i> (season 11) Season of television series

The eleventh season of American talent show competition series America's Got Talent was broadcast on NBC from May 31 to September 11, 2016. Following the previous season, Howard Stern left the program and was replaced as a judge by the Got Talent creator, Simon Cowell. Stern's departure removed the contractual condition he had imposed for his involvement, leading to moving live round productions to the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. While open auditions were held in multiple cities, the judges' auditions were filmed within the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California, an arrangement that would persist in future seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emanne Beasha</span> American singer

Emanne Beasha is a Circassian American classically-trained singer. She is the winner of the fifth season of the program Arabs Got Talent and finished in 9th place on fourteenth Season of America's Got Talent.

<i>Americas Got Talent: The Champions</i> Spinoff to the television talent show Americas Got Talent

America's Got Talent: The Champions is a spin-off of America's Got Talent, a televised American talent show competition, created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle for the NBC television network, and first premiered on January 7, 2019. The program functions similar to AGT, but involves a variety of participants taken from across both AGT and the Got Talent franchise – including winners, finalists, live round participants and other notable entries – who compete against each other to secure a place in a grand final, in which the winner receives a cash prize and the title of America's chosen "World Champion" within Got Talent.

Zurcaroh is an acrobatic show group based in Götzis, Vorarlberg (Austria), and directed by Brazilian choreographer Peterson da Cruz Hora. The group became internationally known after they won a golden buzzer on the 2017 season of France's Got Talent and again in 2018 on season 13 of America's Got Talent, when they finished second overall.

Courtney Hadwin is an English singer. She rose to fame by competing prominently on the first season of ITV's The Voice Kids UK 2017 and the 13th season of the NBC competition show America's Got Talent the following year.

V. Unbeatable is a Mumbai-based dance crew. They rose to fame in India when they took part in the dance series Dance Plus for season 4 in 2018 and finished in the top 4. They received international coverage when they took part in season 14 of America's Got Talent and received a Golden Buzzer from basketball player and guest judge Dwyane Wade.

Kodi Taehyun Lee is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He rose to fame after participating in, and ultimately winning, the 14th season of America's Got Talent.

<i>Americas Got Talent</i> (season 15) Season of television series

The fifteenth season of the American talent show competition series America's Got Talent was broadcast on NBC from May 26 to September 23, 2020. Following the previous season, both Julianne Hough and Gabrielle Union left the program, leading to both being replaced prior to filming. Heidi Klum was brought back to resume her former role, while Sofía Vergara was hired to join her as a new judge on the judging panel. Simon Cowell missed the live shows, after sustaining an injury in August. While the first two quarter-finals featured guest judges in his place, the remainder of the live episodes were conducted without any further stand-ins.

<i>Britains Got Talent</i> (series 14) British talent competition series

The fourteenth series of British talent competition programme Britain's Got Talent was broadcast on ITV, but in two parts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom during that year which affected production on the programme. The first half consisted of audition episodes that had already been filmed, which were aired between 11 April to 30 May 2020. The second half consisted of the remaining episodes when production could resume, and were aired between 30 August to 10 October 2020. The series was notable for Simon Cowell's absence from the semi-finals and final after he sustained an injury following an accident in August, forcing him to be replaced by Ashley Banjo. He still appeared in the audition episodes as they had been filmed and aired before his injury. Before Cowell's injury, it was intended for him to be virtually present for the semi-finals because of travel restrictions and his commitments to America's Got Talent.

<i>Americas Got Talent</i> (season 16) Season of television series

The sixteenth season of the American talent show competition series America's Got Talent was broadcast on NBC from June 1 to September 15, 2021. Although production was still impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, live audiences were involved during audition sessions and live round stages of the competition. After Simon Cowell returned to his role on the program after an accident the previous year, the Judges Cuts round was replaced by him with a new deliberation format arrangement similar to that used in Britain's Got Talent.

Jane Kristen Marczewski, known professionally as Nightbirde, was an American singer-songwriter.

Victory Brinker is an American singer, actor and performer specializing in opera and live covers of arias. She performed on season 16 of America's Got Talent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sara James</span> Polish singer and songwriter

Sara Zofia Egwu-James is a Polish singer and songwriter. She won the fourth series of the Polish talent show The Voice Kids and represented Poland at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021.

<i>Americas Got Talent: Extreme</i> Spinoff of Americas Got Talent

America's Got Talent: Extreme is an American reality television and talent competition series created by Simon Cowell that aired on NBC from February 21 to March 14, 2022, following a sneak peek episode that aired on February 20. The series is a spinoff of America's Got Talent that focuses on stunt performers. Terry Crews hosts the series, with Cowell, Nikki Bella, and Travis Pastrana serving as judges.

References

  1. ↑ Keegan, Kayla (2020-08-12). "Simon Cowell Breaks Down Hearing Archie Williams's Heartbreaking True Story". Good Housekeeping. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  2. ↑ Fuller, Thomas (2019-03-22). "He Spent 36 Years Behind Bars. A Fingerprint Database Cleared Him in Hours". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  3. 1 2 Henderson, Cydney. "'America's Got Talent': Singer Archie Williams gets second chance after wrongful conviction". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  4. ↑ Staff report (22 May 2020). "Archie Williams wrongfully spent years at Angola. Now he's a budding 'America's Got Talent' star". The Advocate. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  5. ↑ D'Agostino, Ryan (2020-08-12). "Archie Williams on His Wrongful Conviction, George Floyd, and 'America's Got Talent'". Good Housekeeping. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  6. ↑ "Archie Williams: Wrongfully convicted man who spent 37 years in jail now favourite to win America's Got Talent". Sky News. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  7. ↑ "Archie Williams Inspires Simon Cowell to become an Innocence Project Ambassador". Innocence Project. 2020-05-26. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  8. ↑ "AGT: Exonerated Singer Archie Williams Dedicates Moving 'Flying Without Wings' Cover to His Daughter". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  9. ↑ Henderson, Cydney. "'AGT': Is Archie Williams moving on to the finale? Here are the results". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.