New Orleans-based singer Jourdan Blue will take the stage on the season premiere of America’s Got Talent, the world’s most-watched variety show. Inspired by his music-loving grandfather, Blue began his journey as a street performer in New Orleans. Now, he’s stepping into the national spotlight, hoping to “level up” his career.

Blue is not the first local star to appear on AGT. Poose the Puppet, the adult-oriented multimedia magician and puppeteer shook up the all star celebrity judges of the NBC series and infamously appeared as an alien hot dog named Zeepglorp.

Blue has also appeared on American Idol. He told Canvas Rebel, “As a kid, I enjoyed singing, but I always thought of it as more of a hobby than a career. Growing up, I sang in church and when I got to high school, I joined theatre. Performing on stage in front of a packed audience gave me a feeling I’ve never felt doing anything else. I could feel the crowd’s energy from on stage and that’s when I knew that I wanted to keep performing. During quarantine, I started writing music and posting singing videos until one night in 2021, I get a call from a friend of mine who told me they sent one of my videos in to American Idol. They wanted me to audition! I set up a zoom call and the rest is history. Once the competition ended, I quit my job and I’ve been pursuing music full time ever since!”

The Jourdan Blue episode of America’s Got Talent will airTuesday, May 27 at 7 p.m. CDT on NBC. For more information on Jourdan Blue, visit his Instagram profile.