Ira was a singing puppet from Season 10 of America's Got Talent. He was eliminated in the Semifinals.
Background[]
According to Ira Fennelbloom, he grew up in Astoria and lived there for about 29 years before deciding to make the move to Los Angeles with his mother, who wanted to chase her dreams of being a singer. However, the dream then became Ira’s and after just singing as a favorite pastime, he decided to take it to the big stage.
"I thought it would be a great platform to not only share my singing with the world but also profess my love for Mel B," Ira said about the decision to audition for America’s Got Talent. "I think she’s the most beautiful thing."
Ira, who loved living in the western Queens neighborhood, enjoys living in Los Angeles because he doesn’t have to be outside waiting for the 7 train anymore but still is competing in honor of Queens. He works as a flower delivery specialist. [1]
In real life, Ira and his mother Miriam are portrayed by stars from the Broadway production of "Avenue Q," Christian Anderson (Nicky/Trekkie Monster) and Howie Michael Smith (Princeton/Rod). [2]
Audition[]
Ira's audition in Episode 1001 consisted of a hand puppet appearing to sing Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful" as a love song to Mel B. Although Mel B voted "No" (breaking Ira's heart), Howard Stern, Heidi Klum, and Howie Mandel all voted "Yes," sending Ira to the Judge Cuts round.
Judge Cuts[]
Ira's Judge Cuts performance in Episode 1009 consisted of singing Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" while his mother Miriam played backup guitar. Ira's performance was strong enough for the judges to send him to the Quarterfinals instead of Aiden Sinclair and Dr. Danger's All Stars.
Quarterfinals[]
Ira's Week 2 Quarterfinals performance in Episode 1014 consisted of singing Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual" this time with a (puppet) backing band, (puppet) backup dancers, and his mother Miriam concluding the act with her saxophone playing. Ira finished in sixth, seventh, or eighth place in America's Vote. In the Dunkin' Save, he received more online votes than both 3 Shades of Blue and Freckled Sky, sending him to the Semifinals in Episode 1015.
Semifinals[]
Ira's Week 1 Semifinals performance in Episode 1018 consisted of singing the song Barry Manilow's "Copacabana" while depicting an "embellished" story about how Miriam met Ira's father. Howard Stern buzzed the act. Ira did not receive enough votes to be sent to the Finals in Episode 1019, eliminating him from the competition along with Arielle Baril, instead of Oz Pearlman.
After The Show[]
Later in 2015 Ira & Miriam appeared on the second season of the Italian competition series Tu Si Que Vales in which they reached the Finals. [3]
Ira returned to AGT as apart of The Poptimystics where their audition was untelevised but they had a card shown in deliberations meaning they progressed past the audition round but did not proceed to the live shows.
Christian Anderson once again auditioned for AGT with another group called Puppet Simon & The Cow Belles in Season 18 without Ira.
Trivia[]
- His Semifinals performance was the last act Howard Stern buzzed as a judge.
- Ira was the only act buzzed in the Season 10 Semifinals round.
- Ira/Puppet Simon/Christian Anderson is the first act to be buzzed in the live shows in two separate seasons.
External Links[]
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