Exclusive: ‘America’s Got Talent’ Saxophonist Avery Dixon Reveals How He Plans to Changes Lives
Life hasn’t been straightforward for 21-year-old Avery Dixon, who was born premature at 1-pound 8-ounces and, as a result, has had to handle physical problems that babies that are carried to term don’t face, reminiscent of knots on his forehead and issues together with his vocal cords.
As a results of his differences, the native Atlantan skilled a good deal of bullying in school, that turned him to music, through which he found solace in enjoying the single-reed instrument and creating stunning melodies.
A testament to his talent happened on the premiere night of season 17 of America’s Got Talent once Avery was awarded the primary Golden Buzzer of the season by host Terry Crews for his rendition of “Try a touch Tenderness” by Otis Redding.
Terry told him, “Avery, you touched the guts of each soul during this building right now. i need to inform you, you’ve been browbeaten all of your life, however you tell every bully that you simply have an enormous brother named Terry Crews, who has your back, and every one those bullies are about to need to watch you succeed.”
This season succeeding on America’s Got Talent will be tougher than previously. cardinal acts—a larger range than ever before—will be competitive to form it into the finale and that they can solely get unit of ammunition at it as hebdomadally eleven acts will vie and only 2 from every night will move to the finale.
“My conceive to win is to not keep things the same,” Avery told Parade.com during this exclusive interview. “I will bring them a special show when they see me so they understand what they’re obtaining themselves into after they come back to my show in Vegas. I want to form it higher, bigger, and higher each time. My goal is to present them a precursor to what they’re about to expertise at the Avery Dixon Experience.”
If he’s lucky enough to win the $1 million and also the headlining gig at America’s Got Talent board Las Vegas, Avery will bit hearts through quite his music. whereas he plans to pay a number of the money to maneuver his mother and brother into a home wherever he will apply his music as loud as potential while not threat of eviction, he also will use it to give back to the those that helped him survive his premature birth born early like he was.
Avery has already based a corporation known as GraceNotes and Totes to assist distribute premie and newborn garments and other provides to those in need. In fact, he truly created a delivery simply before his America’s Got Talent audition.
“It’s therefore wonderful establishing a relationship with the people who bring lives into this world that are like my own,” he said. “The hospital I’m operating with is that the hospital i used to be born at. They saved my life and they’re still saving lives, therefore [if I win the $1 million], an oversized a part of my goal isn’t simply to expand resources, however to induce workplace house associated extremely setup one thing that i need to try to to for the remainder of my life aboard music.”
during this exclusive interview, Avery conjointly talks concerning however his mother Lisa and brother keep lit tricked him into creating an audition video for America’s Got Talent, how he desires to be a positive example to alternative preemies, his musical influences, the letter he received from President Barack Obama, and more.
How did you come back to audition for America’s Got Talent?
At the time, i used to be truly coming back off of feat college. it absolutely was not the best time in my life. I felt like I had let someone down as a result of I didn’t end school. Growing up I knew I wished to travel to college, however I had 2 conditions. Either i used to be about to finish highschool and go straight to music, or I’d get accepted into one amongst my dream colleges with a full-ride scholarship. All of these things terminated up happening, that I’m extremely happy about. But the varsity that gave Maine a full-ride scholarship was awful and that i terminated up needing to quit music. At the time of my audition, i used to be fulfilling all my contracts, and it absolutely was my last hurrah.
So America’s Got Talent AGT happened?
Yes. So, my momma was like, “Just shoot this last video.” She didn’t tell me what she was about to do with it. She and my brother had talked within the middle of the night once I was asleep concerning this whole thing. So, my brother is aware of I’ll trust something he says, so if he says have sex, it’s OK. therefore he goes, “Just do that last video, dude, and provides it your all. simply do it however you’d do it if you were doing a show.” So, I do this video and my momma says, “Oh, yeah, you’ve got a Zoom concern America’s Got Talent.” I’m like, “What?” She’s like, “You know that video you did? we have a tendency to sent that to the show.” I’m like, “No!”
it’s as if she did the correct factor as a result of Simon Cowell known as you “great” and he same this can be your “destiny,” so perhaps it’s your destiny.
It’s quite destiny. As a believer in Christ—some individuals decision it divine intervention, I simply call it the need of God. My grannie actually continually says that I’m following in her nice gramps’s [Maxwell Davis] footsteps. It’s actually her dad, it’s my great grandfather. She’s observance all this happen in America’s Got Talent.
Is your grandfather your biggest influence?
He is. If you really get the prospect to appear at any of his pictures, we have a tendency to actually hold our hands alike once we’re playing. Even all the way down to when we’re standing associated sitting.
once Terry same “There’s no got to vote,” and you’re standing informed stage, did you recognize what he was about to do? Did you’ve got an intimation that you simply were going to get the Golden Buzzer?
Heidi Klum treasured your suit. Are you usually such a fashionable dresser to perform on America’s Got Talent?
I truly always have been. Even in school, like uniforms, if I had a riding suit jacket or a combine of shoes or maybe my bracelet to match something, i might always deviate from
the quality code and make it formal. I recently learned the way to dress down.
You’ve talked concerning the actual fact that you simply picked up the single-reed instrument as a result of you were being browbeaten at school. once you 1st picked it up did you’ve got a natural affinity for it? Or was there a learning period?
Before I started enjoying saxophone, there have been some of things happening at once in America’s Got Talent. enjoying honor band and every one state are vast things within the state of Georgia. particularly if you were in the band at school. I even have plenty of [family members] that are older than me, therefore it’s like everyone simply happened to either devour associated place down an instrument at constant time. i might be about to all-state concerts, and it absolutely was genre with everybody dressed up in suits with pin-like badges for the certain positions they attained within the band. To me, it was like music was some kind of super spy fictitious character factor and it just extremely helped me understand that I truly wished to try to to one thing that concerned dressing up and [making] music. It created me feel smart to visualize someone that gave the impression of me actually win awards for doing one thing outside of sports and band.
so my grannie told Maine—we were truly simply talking concerning this the opposite night, my grandma was talking about however once she 1st detected me play, she was like, “I knew you had a present just hearing that first note.” She was like, “They all in all probability thought i used to be crazy. all of them thought your grandma was crazy.” She said, “He incorporates a gift. I’ve heard him play only 1 note.”
And it did facilitate me mentally, too, as a result of even if you see of these nice things, you continue to don’t have something that basically solidifies you as really being a musician yet. as a result of growing up, you’re a band child and folks still titillated Maine, and that they still had everything to mention concerning my voice and every one that. It’s like having a single-reed instrument with me really helped me simply clear my mind and remove those negative words and people feelings that were connected to them.
You’ve talked about the actual fact that you simply were 1-pound 8-ounces once you were born and youngsters in class known as you Hammerhead and you had issues together with your vocal cords. Did that every one cause you to stronger?
you are feeling adore it causes you to stronger as a kid. once I have to be compelled to school, I still was bullied. And it absolutely was like in college you can’t specifically tell the total eating place to shut up. You can’t suppose what everyone’s happy about. plenty of the time I simply assumed they were laughing at me. it absolutely was straightforward to mention children are kids once they’re kids, however when they’re in college, their excuse was still boys will be boys, but it feels completely different in a way. It’s like thereforemebody’s basically brushing aside your broken heart. i used to be hunting it in college. i might skip Maineals. i might sit in my area for days till I had either a set mate or somebody intercommunicate and say, “Let’s get some food off campus.” it absolutely was those little things that basically simply helped me in an exceedingly way.
The selection for America’s Got Talent is completely different this season. They’re swing fifty five individuals into qualifier shows, so you really have unit of ammunition in 55 at winning. If you shouldn’t win, is that the dream just to be ready to create a career as a musician?
No, it’s such a lot more. My dream is to be a voice for individuals like Maine, the bullied, the broken, and also the battered, I’ll decision it. My fighting few. i need to be a voice for them therefore this dream goes manner on the far side music. It’s a message for the children that are rather like me that are still hunting it and for those which will bear it.
There are babies that are born simply like me. If I will show them that their life won’t be all bad, that’s my goal. My goal is to send a message that goes way on the far side any note I will play. i need to assist someone. I don’t simply want to be the quality Hollywood musician; i need to be approachable to people. i need to succeed in somebody and teach somebody and possibly bring somebody up that doesn’t have constant opportunities that I do.
Who are your musical icons are and perhaps who you’d prefer to play with?
the primary one that involves mind is Gerald Albright. There’s conjointly Dave Koz. they need associate album along known as Summer Horns and that’s however I found all of them. The funny factor concerning this whole story with Gerald Albright is I truly met him many, a few years ago. He was on with a bunch of alternative artists, and that i didn’t even understand he was about to be there. So, it absolutely was a surprise to me. it absolutely was in October, my birthday was coming back up.
You’ve won a couple of awards. The Tommie Smith Youth Institute Initiative, the Gospel selection Awards, and a few others. You also received a letter from President Obama. however did that happen?
OK, that the letter from the president, we have a tendency to had affected from the place wherever we had fully grown up at and visited a special county. the owner truly unbroken that letter for 2 years and was trying to find a chance to present it to us as a result of she saw that it had the u. s. seal thereon and it absolutely was a manila envelope. She had actually said, “I have one thing for you, you had a chunk of mail that came.” This was two years when she had received it at our recent place.
however did President Obama hear concerning you?
For a protracted time, I truly submitted requests to perform at the White House for his or her Christmas stuff, something I could. anyplace there was a request, I signed up to try to to it. I knew I wished to satisfy Barack Obama therefore it absolutely was like “anything I will do to do it, I’m about to do it.” Then he checked out my website. The White House looked at my website.
I’m certain you’ve got that framed, right?
Buckeye State God, yes. the first letter is at my grandma’s house in an exceedingly frame. it’s one amongst the highlighted achievements of my lifetime, obtaining a letter from President Barack Obama.
Avery are playacting for his probability to form it to the finale tonight once America’s Got Talent airs at eight p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
