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Tape Face was a mime from Season 11 of America's Got Talent. He finished in the Bottom 5 of the Top 10. Tape Face returned for America's Got Talent: The Champions. There, he was eliminated in the Preliminaries, finishing his night tied for third place. He returned again for America's Got Talent: Fantasy League, competing on Mel B’s team where he was eliminated in the Preliminaries.

Background[]

Tape Face, whose real name is Sam Wills, is from Canterbury, New Zealand. Wills started his performing career as a busker in Christchurch and won the The Press People's Choice Award at the World Buskers Festival in 2008. He used the prize money to develop his hit show The Boy with Tape on his Face, which sold out around the world and attracted dozens of five star reviews.

Wills has packed theatres in Britain, enjoyed several sellout runs at the Edinburgh Fringe and performed at the Royal Albert Hall. His silent comedy shows always sell out when Wills brings them to Christchurch for the World Buskers Festival. Wills married performer Lili la Scala at the buskers festival in Christchurch in 2009. Former World Buskers Festival director Jodi Wright gave Wills his first break by selecting him for her festival. [1]


Through simple, clever and charming humour aimed at satisfying that hunger, Tape Face has created a unique show. Mime with noise, stand-up with no talking – drama with no acting: Tape Face has to be seen to be believed.

So what does he do exactly? Simply mentioning any aspect of this diverse show would be a disservice – the less you know the more you will enjoy this show. Tape Face aims to be delightful, wry, many-layered and hilarious, and to transcend the barriers of language and culture. [2]

Audition[]

Tape Face's audition in Episode 1101 consisted of wearing two oven mitts with eyes as puppets singing Diana Ross & Lionel Richie's "Endless Love." Tape Face then playfully caressed himself with a red dress to Chris de Burgh's "Lady in Red." Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum, and Simon Cowell all voted "Yes," sending Tape Face to the Judge Cuts.

Judge Cuts[]

Tape Face's Judge Cuts performance in Episode 1109 consisted of first miming flying in a biplane by spinning a toothbrush with one finger. Next, he spun on a stool to portray free falling, with Tom Petty's "Free Falling" playing in the background. Next, he invited Howie Mandel to the stage and put tape on Howie's shirt in the shape of eyes and a nose. Finally, Tape Face placed an envelope on Howie's belly to act as a singing mouth, mouthing Elvis Presley's, "Return To Sender." Tape Face's performance was strong enough for the judges to send him to the Quarterfinals instead of Ryan Beard and Sam Morril.

Quarterfinals[]

Tape Face's Week 1 Quarterfinals performance in Episode 1111 consisted of first performing a skit where he held his arms around Heidi Klum as she molded Playdough on stand in front of them, in a parody of a classic pottery wheel scene from the film Ghost. Next, he wore a pair of sunglasses that played Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone" when he wore them; however, when host Nick Cannon wore them, they played more embarrassing songs, specifically Madonna's "Like a Virgin" and Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". Finally, Tape Face brushed the glasses, gave the pair to Nick, and wore his own, causing the Peter Gunn theme to play for both men. Tape Face received enough votes to be sent to the Semifinals in Episode 1112 along with Jon Dorenbos, instead of Sila Sveta.

Semifinals[]

Tape Face's Week 1 Semifinals performance in Episode 1117 consisted of performing the generic 'cowboy showdown' act by picking a random audience member from the stage. He put balloons under his pits and crotch, and Tape Face did the same. Using staple guns, Tape Face and the audience member shot each other's balloons until Tape Face's last balloon was popped. Shortly after, Tape Face pulled out a small party popper which resulted in larger confetti streaming on the stage. Tape Face finished in fourth, fifth, or sixth place in America's Vote. In the Dunkin' Save, Tape Face received more online votes than both Edgar and Laura Bretan, sending him to the Finals in Episode 1118.

Finals[]

Tape Face's Finals performance in Episode 1121 consisted of first shaking two horsies on a stick and finger snapping to "William Tell" by Rossini (Classical music composer). Next, he invited Mel B to the stage and instructed her to shake golden sparkly pom poms. Next, he placed a toilet lid around her neck and threatened to toss a plunger, but instead lay a striped cloth on her head. Next, he proceeded to toss it. After it landed on the lid, Tape Face placed a toilet roll on the plunger stick, and pulled out a stream of toilet paper and tied it around his microphone stand. Finally, with the toilet paper stream resembling a finish line, Tape Face brought back out his horsies and broke them through the paper. Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, and Simon Cowell gave him standing ovations.

Finale[]

For the finale in Episode 1122, Tape Face led Brian Justin Crum, Jon Dorenbos, Viktor Kee, and China Lacy from Linkin' Bridge in a teamwork activity. He had the four men sit on four chairs so that each person could lean back and rest his head on another person's lap. When all four people were lying on each other with their feet firmly on the ground, Tape Face took away the chairs. Next, he calmly sat on a chair reading a newspaper while the four men stayed balanced using only their legs. Then he took a selfie with them. Finally, Tape Face relented and placed the chairs back under their bottoms. Tape Face did not receive enough votes to be included in the Top 5, eliminating him from the competition instead of Sal Valentinetti.

"The Champions" Preliminaries[]

Tape Face returned for America's Got Talent: The Champions. His performance in Episode TC04 consisted of a routine where he did record scratching with Howie Mandel and enticed host Terry Crews to do a construction worker striptease. It was revealed that the superfans voted Tape Face into the top 4 along with Brian Justin Crum, Paul Zerdin and Drew Lynch. It was later revealed that he received fewer votes than Brian and Paul, eliminating him from the competition along with Drew, who received the same number of votes.

After the Show[]

Tape Face made a brief appearance in Episode 1415 as part of Dom Chambers' performance.

In 2019, Tape Face competed on Britain's Got Talent: The Champions where he was eliminated in the Preliminaries.

On March 16, 2018, Harrah's in Las Vegas opened the House of Tape theater for Wills' multi-year residency.

In mid July 2020, Tape Face competed on France's Got Talent: Battle of the Judges, which was most probably the countries format for 'The Champions', however his team was eliminated during The Duels.

In 2022, Tape Face auditioned for the ninth season of the Italian competition series Tu Si Que Vales on which he was eliminated before the semifinals.

In 2023, Tape Face auditioned for Spain's Got Talent: All-Stars but did not advance to the final.

Fantasy League Nominations[]

Tape Face was nominated as one of the top 40 acts, sending him through to the Draft Pool.

Fantasy League Draft Pool[]

Tape Face was drafted onto Mel B's team.

Fantasy League Preliminary[]

Tape Face's Preliminary performance in Episode FL01 consisted of performing a comedic routine involving a puppet act and a blindfolded Simon before catching a ball in a cup on his nose. Howie Mandel, Mel B, and Heidi Klum gave him standing ovations. He did not receive enough votes to advance to the Semifinals, eliminating him from the competition.

External Links[]


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