WATCH: Latino Rapper Steals the Show During ‘America’s Got Talent’ Season 20 Premiere
AMERICA'S GOT TALENT -- "Auditions" Episode 2001 -- Pictured: Micah Palace -- (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC)
A Latino rapper’s audition on the season premiere of America’s Got Talent Season 20 has stolen the show. During last night’s episode (May 27), Micah Palace made waves with his original song “No Sabo.”
The 20th season of America’s Got Talent started airing last night. Palace, who is of Argentine descent, got the crowd moving and a standing ovation from judge Sofia Vergara. The Connecticut-based rapper proudly performs in Spanglish in his videos on TikTok. He cites Feid, Justin Bieber, Rauw Alejandro, and Bad Bunny as his inspirations. Palace’s song “No Sabo” spoke to the experience of young U.S.-born Latinos.
“‘No Sabo’ is a term to make fun of kids who came from Latin descent but don’t speak a lot of Spanish,” he explained after his performance. “I do speak Spanish, but I grew up in an Argentine household in America, so I never felt like I belonged in either culture. So this is for everybody who feels like they don’t belong.”
Reflecting on his musical beginnings at home, Palace started his performance by playing a tiny keyboard on top of an ironing board. From there, he charged into his feel-good performance of “No Sabo.” Palace seamlessly blended English and Spanish lyrics with his versatile flow reminiscent of Pitbull. And he had the crowd swooning after removing his jacket before ending the performance with a backflip.
Palace received high praise from the judging panel, which included Vergara, Simon Cowell, the Spice Girls’ Mel B, and Howie Mandel. He also got four enthusiastic yeses to proceed to the next round. The auditions will continue into the next episode on June 3.
America’s Got Talent airs on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. EST on NBC.