‘America’s Got Talent’ preview: Paul Ieti, soldier and viral video star, auditions

Have you heard the name Paul Ieti before? The Army soldier was a bit of a YouTube star last year courtesy of some covers of Etta James’ “At Last” and also Rihanna’s “Stay.” In total, he has accumulated a decent audience thanks to these videos, and he will be making his “America’s Got Talent” debut on Tuesday night’s new episode.

We’ve heard this critique before about “why are YouTube stars auditioning for this show,” and it makes almost no sense at all. You can have millions of hits, but that doesn’t mean thanks to the way advertisements are structured that any of these people make any money. Plus, it is next to impossible to find a truly “undiscovered” talent these days. Anna Clendening on the show last week is a similar sort of example of this.

As for if we feel Paul will do well on this show, the answer to that is a bona fide “yes.” He is a great singer with a big backstory, and America always loves to support soldiers and veterans at any opportunity that they can. If he is eliminated at any point before the top 20 or so, we will be absolutely stunned.

In the preview video below, you can see some of the other acts that are auditioning on Tuesday night, as well, including some aerialists and a guy who seems to be balancing on a champagne bottle and nothing else. Some of the best may actually still be to come, and the promo is not necessarily stuffing us full of unnecessary hype.

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Photo: NBC