Darci Lynne was only 12 when she debuted on NBC’s America’s Got Talent with her bunny buddy Petunia in 2017. The two traded off vocals during a duet of “Summertime,” and although Petunia tried to cover Lynne’s mouth, judge Mel B was so impressed that she awarded the tweenaged ventriloquist a coveted Golden Buzzer, catapulting Lynne into the finals and towards a destiny of performing on the stages of Las Vegas.
Lynne is 17 now (she turns 18 in October), headlining at the same theater inside The Mirage where her idol Terry Fator was booked for his first residency. One of the youngest contestants to win AGT in the show’s history is now positioned to help nurture ventriloquism and move it forward by introducing to the next generation the art of speaking through hand-held companions.
She already reigns supreme as YouTube’s most-viewed ventriloquist, thanks to AGT’s channel, and has performed at Planet Hollywood Resort and Caesars Palace. Lynne has the highest profile of any female voice-thrower since the late Shari Lewis warmed hearts with her beloved Lamb Chop. But where Lewis relied on comedy, Lynne sings with a song-stylist’s maturity. She’s toured nationally, performed at the Grand Ole Opry, starred in her own NBC Christmas special and appears in an upcoming biopic of Ronald Reagan starring Dennis Quaid.
Veteran “vent” Jay Johnson gave a seal of approval in a 2017 blog post on behalf of himself and household names Fator and Jeff Dunham as well as other torch bearers like Gary Owen.
“It is not that Darci is just a wonderfully talented girl, nor that her ventriloquism technique is near perfect, and her singing chops could stand alone without the puppet assistance,” Johnson wrote. “It is that Darci seems to understand the long history and tradition that she has now become a part of. Her dedication to the art and her young spirit will influence a generation of belly talkers to come.”
The Mirage, 7 p.m. April 29, starting at $39.99 plus tax and fee. ticketmaster.com
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