The Yo-Yo People were a yo-yo duo from Season 2 of America's Got Talent. It was eliminated in the audition round.
Background[]
The Yo-Yo People duo consists of John Higby and his wife Rebecca Higby. John Higby grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, the youngest of three children. When John was 10 years old, his Grandpa gave him an old yo-yo from the '60s that he found in his attic. His Grandpa showed him three basic tricks, and John took it from there. John first started performing as a teenager while living and attending school in Colorado, with his first big break at the Denver Busker Festival.
Soon John was performing for U.S. troops abroad, stationed in Turkey, Italy and Spain. Employment with a yo-yo company took him to Malaysia for several months to run national yo-yo contests, while busker festivals took him all over Canada, Singapore & Japan. In 2000, at age 25, while home in Denver, CO and attending a local store's yo-yo club, he met his future wife and performing partner, Rebecca. 1
Rebecca Loomis Higby grew up on a diet of Saturday Night Live in Yarmouth, Maine, the youngest of three children. From an early age she enjoyed sketch comedy and creative silliness, and although active in numerous sports, she never really played with yo-yos or hula hoops. Rebecca received a degree in Elementary Education & Human Development from Connecticut College. Unsure what to do after graduation and uninspired by teaching in traditional classrooms, she moved to Denver, CO where she worked at a store full of games, costumes, and incidentally, yo-yos.
Rebecca & John moved to Boston in 2001, and Rebecca was easily incorporated into John's show. In 2004, they got married amidst performances in 5 different countries & their appearance on Letterman. And as of 2009, Rebecca has been busy as a mother. 2
Audition[]
The Yo-Yo People's audition in Episode 201 consisted of performing an act involving yo-yos. Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne, and David Hasselhoff all buzzed the act. At least two judges voted "No", eliminating the duo from the competition.