Taylor Williamson is an American stand-up comic. He is known for finishing as the runner-up on the eighth season of America's Got Talent and as a semi-finalist on Last Comic Standing . [1]
Taylor Williamson is an American stand-up comic. He is known for finishing as the runner-up on the eighth season of America's Got Talent and as a semi-finalist on Last Comic Standing . [1]
Williamson started his stand-up career at the age of 17 while a student at Torrey Pines High School in San Diego. Because he was under the age of 21 when he started performing, he would be told to wait outside the comedy club upon completing his set, preventing him from watching other comics. Earlier in his career, he also performed at venues such as coffee houses, pizza parlors, and cafeterias. [2] [3]
Williamson's performance trademarks include a dry, awkward stage persona and self-deprecating humor. He has listed comics such as Zach Galifianakis, Greg Giraldo, and Jim Gaffigan as some of his early influences. His notable appearances have included the Just for Laughs comedy festival, Live at Gotham, Total Request Live, and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson , where he was the youngest comic to ever appear on the show. [3] [4]
In 2010, Williamson was a contestant on the seventh season of Last Comic Standing, where he was eliminated by the judges in the semifinals. [5]
Following a successful preliminary audition in Los Angeles, Williamson was unanimously selected for the Vegas round by the show's four judges. A favorite of Howie Mandel and Howard Stern, he advanced through each round, relying on a save by judges' choice in the quarterfinals. [6] During his run to the finals, he also coined the term "Taylords", affectionately referring to the members of his growing fanbase. [7] In the season finale, Williamson was announced as the competition's runner-up, finishing second in votes behind Kenichi Ebina. He has since vacillated between expressing dismay at the finale result and appreciation for his experience on the show. [1] [8]
Taylor returned to the show as a guest in Season 9 (appearing on both the August 13 and 20 shows), and Season 16 (appearing on the September 15 season finale).
In the tenth anniversary special of the show, Taylor was named judge Heidi Klum's all-time favorite act.
He later returned to and participated in America's Got Talent: The Champions in 2019, but didn't receive enough votes to advance to the finals.
Last Comic Standing is an American reality television talent competition show on NBC that aired from June 1, 2003, to August 9, 2010, then again in 2014 and 2015. The goal of the program was to select a comedian from an initially large group of hopefuls. For the first seven seasons, the winner received a cash prize and a television special; for season eight in 2014, the winner won a cash prize, a talent deal with NBC, and a half-hour scripted project developed by Universal Television.
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.
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Frances Lee Strong, better known by her stage name Grandma Lee, was an American stand-up comedian who was a talent show contestant on America's Got Talent in 2009. She began performing when she was in her 60s and became known for her off-color humor.
The fifth season of American talent show competition series America's Got Talent was broadcast on NBC from June 1 to September 15, 2010. For this season, production staff introduced two new quarter-finals: one for Wildcards selected from the participants eliminated during auditions or their respective quarter-final, and one for acts that auditioned via YouTube, following changes in the online application process. Following the conclusion of the fourth season, David Hasselhoff left the program, and was replaced by Howie Mandel.
The tenth season of American talent show competition series America's Got Talent was broadcast on NBC from May 26 to September 16, 2015. After the previous season, the format of the second round of auditions was changed to a more competitive stage under the title "Judge Cuts", with each episode under this new arrangement featuring a guest judge. For the first use of the format, the guest judges included Neil Patrick Harris, Michael Bublé, Marlon Wayans, and Piers Morgan.
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 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.
The twelfth season of American talent show competition series America's Got Talent was broadcast on NBC from May 30 to September 20, 2017. Following the previous season, Nick Cannon ended his involvement with the program following a disagreement with the network, and was replaced as host by Tyra Banks before production of the new season began. The guest judges for this season's Judge Cuts stage included Chris Hardwick, DJ Khaled, Laverne Cox and Seal.
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