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‘AGT’: Jourdan Blue Teases First Live Show & Reveals What He Learned From Being on ‘American Idol’

Originally posted on TV Insider | Last updated Aug 19, 2025 1:39 PM ET

America’s Got Talent will enter live shows during the Tuesday, August 19, episode, with 11 of the 44 Quarterfinal acts taking the stage. One of those will be Jourdan Blue, who earned one of Howie Mandel‘s Golden Buzzers after his audition.

“[Getting the Golden Buzzer] feels great in the moment and even after, but then you get to the point where it’s like, OK, now I really have some big shoes to fill, and they’re my own,” Jourdan tells TV Insider. “I definitely feel the need to not only live up to that expectation, but also exceed it and bring even more than I did the first time, which, after picking the song that I have now, I definitely feel like it’s going to be a few steps up. I’m excited for this next round.”

For his audition, Jourdan performed “Breakeven” by The Script, which he chose because he “connects so much with [it]” and “loved the rendition of it.” As he explains, “I look for being unique as much as I can and, most importantly, just having that emotional connection to a song.”

This is something he plans to bring into his Quarterfinals performance with a song that he thinks will “show even more of the range and depths” of his voice. “It’s going to have an emotional connection and it’s going to be an emotional song, but it’s going to sound a bit different [than my audition] and I’m really excited to share it with everybody,” he says.

What some viewers may not know is that this isn’t Jourdan’s first competition show. He was previously on American Idol in 2022, and although he made the Top 25, his performances never aired.

“I met so many amazing people and I still don’t regret doing it, but it low-key put a bad taste in my mouth for those type of shows, which is why I was hesitant to do America’s Got Talent,” he admits. “But when I say that this is, like, 20 times better than what I was anticipating … it’s been a great experience so far and I hope it continues to be.”

Plus, he was able to walk away from American Idol with something valuable that he still uses today. “The main thing that American Idol taught me was to have confidence in myself,” Jourdan shares. “That was the first time that I really came to the conclusion of, ‘Hey, I could actually do this is if I wanted to. I could pursue music and be successful at it.’ That really instilled confidence in me to really put myself out there and believe in myself.”

America’s Got Talent, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8/7c, NBC

This article first appeared on TV Insider and was syndicated with permission.

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