"America's Got Talent" moves into its next phase this week, as the top 48 acts perform and compete to advance toward the finals. And one of those acts is from Utah.
Well, Lindsey Stirling, 23, is a student at BYU, although she's actually from Arizona.
And she's a hip-hop violinist. Really.
Hey, compared to a lot of the acts on "Talent," a hip-hop violinist is certainly nothing out of the ordinary.
She has sort of a punk-rock look, and she dances as she plays a mean violin.
Stirling, who's studying therapeutic recreation at BYU, made quite an impression on judges Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel. They all quickly sent her on to the next round of the competition.
"Wow," Osbourne mouthed as Stirling was performing.
"I thought you were great," said Morgan.
Stirling, who served an LDS Church mission to New York, was also — get this — America's Junior Miss from Arizona in 2005. And she finished second in the talent competition at the national pageant.
Stirling seemed to surprise a lot of people, not just the judges on "Talent." She's really good.
Logic tells us that a hip-hop violinist can't possibly win this competition. The prize is not just the $1 million prize (paid out over a number of years), but a gig headlining a Las Vegas show.
But beginning this week, it's no longer the judges who decide which acts will continue. It's the viewers. And Stirling is not only good, but she projects the kind of appeal that just might take her far in the competition.
And, of course, this is "America's Got Talent." So who knows what crazy things might happen?
Remember the singing chicken farmer who couldn't really sing all that well won last summer?
If you watch…
What: "America's Got Talent"
When: Tuesday and Wednesday, 8 p.m.
Channel: NBC/Ch. 5
The format: On each of the next four episodes, 12 acts will perform. (At press time, we don't know when Lindsay Stirling will be on.) Viewers' votes will advance four acts from each episode; the judges will pick additional finalists.