In a primetime rags-to-riches story, 36-year-old Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. walked off the stage last night as the winner of this season of America’s Got Talent.
He beat out teen pop band PopLyfe, and two dance groups Team iLuminate and Silhouettes for the title. He’s now the proud owner of $1 million and a future in Vegas.
Murphy is a resident of West Virginia, and it was a running storyline on the show all season that he has worked as a car washer for the last 10 years. America’s Got Talent has always pushed the sentimentality factor, and it really couldn’t have worked out better than Murphy winning it all.
Murphy had two things going for him all season. First, the man’s a pretty good singer. Second, he had the element of surprise, as the judges put it. It’s just a fact of life – nobody expected a guy who looks like Murphy to sound like Frank Sinatra.
But here he is, singing “My Way” at the final performance show –
And here is his winning moment from last night –
To take it all back to the beginning, here’s his initial audition where he performs Sinatra’s “I’ve got you under my skin” Both the crowd and the judges seem completely wowed –
Twitter was buzzing about Murphy following his victory –
#WV native Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. won #AGT tonight! I wanna hear him sing Country Roads!
I can’t even put into words how proud I am thatCongrats Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. I hate reality contest tv shows but your rags to riches story & Sinatra voice belong in Vegas. Cheers.
Did Landau deserve to win? Let us know what you think.