Nuttin' But Stringz were a violin duo from Season 3 of America's Got Talent. The pair finished the competition in 3rd place.
Background[]
Nuttin' But Stringz, consisting of two brothers, Damien and Tourie Escobar, began studying violin at ages 8 and 7 respectively, and eventually studied at the Juilliard School. In 2005, the duo entered and won a talent competition at the Apollo Theatre in New York. Their victory on Showtime at the Apollo led to media attention and appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Today Show with Katie Couric, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Around the same time the duo showcased their talents at Carnegie Hall and performed for President George W. Bush at The White House.
On January 8, 2006, the Escobars performed their song Thunder at the debut of the redesigned Cadillac CTS at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Nuttin' But Stringz performed after a classical string quartet. General Motors Corp. executives used the two performances as an analogy, to demonstrate that what used to be good enough (the quartet) needs to be reinvigorated (N.B.S). A video for "Thunder" is also featured on the website for Jack's Big Music Show on Noggin. The exposure continued when they were featured in the first of five commercials featuring local artists on New York's local news channel, NY1.
NBS gained some national attention when their unique brand of music secured the brothers a small part in the 2006 dance movie Step Up, and shortly after CBS featured "Thunder" during the 2007 NCAA Tournament. "Thunder" was also featured in the pilot episode of the television series The Black Donnellys, and was sampled in various television commercials. 1
Audition[]
Nuttin' But Stringz's audition in Episode 301 consisted of performing "Thunder," an original piece. Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne, and David Hasselhoff all voted "Yes", sending the duo to the Vegas Round.
Vegas Round[]
Nuttin' But Stringz was one of the Music Acts in the Vegas Round. It was sorted into the "Duos" category. The duo's performance in Episode 308 was not fully televised, but it consisted of performing a hip-hop violin routine with rapping. Nuttin' But Stringz's audition was strong enough for the judges to include it in the Top 60 shortlist and to later send it to the Top 40 Quarterfinals in Episode 309.
Quarterfinals[]
Nuttin' But Stringz's Part 4 Quarterfinals performance in Episode 313 consisted of performing original piece "Broken Sorrow," a dedication to the duo's cousin who died in New York. The duo received enough votes to be sent to the Semifinals in Episode 314 instead of Indiggo.
Semifinals[]
Nuttin' But Stringz's Part 2 Semifinals performance in Episode 315 consisted of performing original piece "Thunder Remix" as zombie-like dancers moved in the background. The duo received enough votes to be sent to the Top 10 in Episode 316 instead of Taubl Family.
Top 10[]
Nuttin' But Stringz's Top 10 performance in Episode 317 consisted of performing original piece "Winner." The duo received enough votes to be sent to the Final 5 in Episode 318 instead of The Wright Kids.
Final 5[]
Nuttin' But Stringz's Final 5 performance in Episode 319 consisted of performing original piece "Thunder" again.
Finale[]
During the finale in Episode 320, Nuttin' But Stringz was revealed to have finished in third place in the competition, in front of Queen Emily and Donald Braswell, but behind Eli Mattson and Neal E. Boyd.
After the Show[]
In spring 2009, Nuttin' But Stringz announced via the group's My Space pages that a new album was in the works and was followed later in that year by a hugely successful tour. Their music has sold platinum. They debuted their song "Winner" on "The Debrief with David Ushery" on New York Nonstop on July 23. On February 13, 2011, Nuttin' But Strings performed "Winner" for The Boeing Company at the introduction ceremony of their new airplane, the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental. 2
Their original piece, "Thunder", was used as a backing track to All That's live show performance in Season 7.
Trivia[]
- Nuttin' But Stringz and Season 13 act Brian King Joseph are the highest-placing violin acts in the show's history, both finishing in 3rd place.
