Posted Wednesday, January 10, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Darci Lynne Farmer, a mere age 13, showed up on "America's Got Talent" last year with a radiant smile and a killer combo of skills that marked her as the likely winner from her opening audition. She incorporated ventriloquism, cute puppets, singing and humor into a perfect 'AGT" package.
While Johns Creek's phenomenal 10-year-old singer Angelica Hale might have won many other seasons, Farmer was simply too formidable to lose. She became the third ventriloquist to take home the "AGT" crown and the $1 million prize in 12 seasons.
The Okahoma City resident is now on a victory tour of sorts, generating strong enough ticket sales for her 7 p.m. show on Saturday at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre to add a second show at 3 p.m. (Buy tickets here.)
Attendees will see her interact with several of her signature puppets, including Petunia, a singing rabbit; Oscar, a stuttering mouse; and Katie, a sassy cowgirl. She will also do some traditional non-ventriloquist singing as well. The musical genres include Motown, opera, Broadway, pop and yodeling but no rapping - at least not yet.
"I want to give the audience a laugh and a smile, an 'awww' and an 'oh my goodness!' " said Farmer in a recent interview. "Never bored, hopefully."
Doing two shows in one day can be daunting. But she said she works hard to ensure her voice is okay. "I do a lot of vocal exercises and drink hot tea," she said, "which I hate." Her mom Misty is "a tea Nazi. I don't like sweet, warm beverages. It makes me gag!"
Farmer had no real clue whether she had any shot at winning "AGT" when she stepped on the audition stage a year ago, when it was taped. "My parents prepared me for the worst, hoped for the best," she said. "It ended up going well."
She and Hale became good friends during the show, not bitter rivals. "I'm kind of like her big sister," Farmer said. "We had a bond. She's precious and so very sweet and such an amazing singer."
While season 2 winner Terry Fator, as an adult, was able to sign a deal at a Vegas casino for a whopping $100 million and continues to perform there a decade later, Farmer is just 13. She is still going to school and figuring out her future as an entertainer.
"I really want to do it all," Farmer said. "I don't just want to be known as the puppet girl. I want to be an artist. I love acting. I'd like to do TV shows, movies, Broadway. When I was on 'AGT,' I was also doing musical theater in Oklahoma. It was very fun."
She has no plans yet to move to Los Angeles or New York. "Oklahoma is my home," she said. "It's definitely slower paced than California. I have so many friends and family here. My church is here. And I love my school."
CONCERT PREVIEW
Darci Lynne and Friends Live
3 p.m. and 7 p.m. shows, Saturday, January 13, 2018
$22-$32 plus fees
Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta
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