Donald Braswell was an opera singer from Season 3 of America's Got Talent. He was eliminated in the Vegas Round, but he was called back as a Wild Card in Hollywood. He won the public vote and returned to the competition. Donald later finished the competition in 4th place.
Background[]
Donald Braswell II (born February 22, 1963) is an American actor, classical crossover tenor and composer. Braswell was on a fast track to become an internationally acclaimed opera singer when he suffered a car accident in 1995 that made him unable to speak for almost two years. His vocal cords were also damaged, leaving doctors telling him he would not be able to pursue a musical career. He lived a quiet life outside of the spotlight, before deciding to give a singing career another try on America's Got Talent in 2008. [1]
Audition[]
Donald Braswell II's audition in Episode 305 consisted of singing Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up". At first, the audience booed him, but in the second half of his performance, the audience turned around and started cheering for him. Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne, and David Hasselhoff all voted "Yes", sending David to the Vegas Round.
Vegas Round[]
Donald Braswell II was one of the Music Acts in the Vegas Round. He was sorted into the "Opera Singers" category. His performance consisted of singing Michael Bublé's "Lost." Donald's audition was strong enough for the judges to include him in the Top 60 shortlist, but he was not sent to the Top 40 Quarterfinals, eliminating him from the competition in Episode 309.
Wild Card[]
Donald Braswell was one of eight acts eligible for the Wild Card spot in the Quarterfinals left by the Russian Bar Trio, who was forced to withdraw due to a serious injury. Donald received enough votes to win that spot, sending him to the Quarterfinals in Episode 310.
Quarterfinals[]
Donald Braswell's Part 4 Quarterfinals performance in Episode 313 consisted of singing "Impossible Dream" from the musical Man of La Mancha. Donald received enough votes to be sent to the Semifinals in Episode 314 instead of Dallas Desperados Dancers.
Semifinals[]
Donald Braswell's Part 2 Semifinals performance in Episode 315 consisted of singing The Phantom of the Opera's "The Music of the Night." Donald received enough votes to be sent to the Top 10 in Episode 316 instead of The Tapping Dads.
Top 10[]
Donald Braswell's Top 10 performance in Episode 317 consisted of singing Josh Groban's "To Where You Are." Donald received enough votes to be sent to the Final 5 in Episode 318 instead of Paul Salos.
Final 5[]
Donald Braswell's Final 5 performance in Episode 319 consisted of singing Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up" again.
Finale[]
During the finale in Episode 320, Donald Braswell was revealed to have finished in fourth place in the competition, in front of Queen Emily, but behind Nuttin' But Stringz, Eli Mattson, and Neal E. Boyd.
After the Show[]
Since the show, he has entertained audiences both internationally as well as shore to shore in the United States in concerts, television appearances, inspirational speaking and radio. He boasts an international fan club with fans from almost 40 countries of North and South America, West and East Europe, Africa, Asia and Middle East, Australia and Oceania.
Braswell has reentered the world of symphonic music by singing in pops concerts starting with the Symphony of the Hills in Kerrville, Texas in June 2009. He performs a variety of musical genres ranging from pure classical repertoire to soul to mainstream pop. He engages people of many cultures by singing in various languages outside of English, including Spanish, Italian, Neapolitan, French and Russian.
His concerts are generally multilingual, and he has performed pieces that are themselves in more than one language. Some of these include: Mario Frangoulis bilingual version of "Nights in White Satin" (Italian title "Notte di luce"), originally by The Moody Blues; "The Prayer"; and Andrea Bocelli's "Vivere" (English title "Dare to Live"). His other non-English repertoire includes Aqustin Lara's "Rosa" (Spanish), Mario Frangoulis's "Vincerò, perderò" (Italian) and the Neapolitan standard "O sole mio".
Some of his many compositions can be heard on his album "We Fall and We Rise Again" (2010) [2]
In 2011 Braswell released another album, "Unchained", with classical-crossover and pop pieces. Then his Christian-Gospel album "The Traveler's Tale" was out in November 2014, containing Mark Niedzwiedz's original inspirational compositions and featuring Donald's eldest daughter Aria.
Donald Braswell's inspiring life story can be read in his memoir written by Mark Koopmans, Revival: How a Tenor Lost His Voice but Found His Calling (Pen-L Publishing, 2015). [3]
Trivia[]
- Donald Braswell is the third highest placing wild card act, after All That! finishing from Season 1 where they finished in 2nd/3rd Place and Broken Roots from Season 15 where they finished in 2nd Place.
- He is the second-highest placing replacement act behind runner-up act Broken Roots from Season 15.
