Texas Tenors at Whitley Bay Playhouse

With the X Factor returning to
television last weekend and the media frenzy surrounding it, one thing is for
certain, within a few months we will have a new crop of reality TV stars.
Sometimes these people fade back in to obscurity as quickly as they emerged
from  various reality shows,  but others go on to carve themselves a career
as performers either in musical theatre or their own acts. We only have to look
at the West End and many UK
touring productions to see a crop of these personalities. In the West End we
have Ray Quinn currently in Dirty Dancing, Niki Evans starring in Blood
Brothers and both Lee Mead and Rachel Tucker in Wicked. While the tour of
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has featured many such
personalities and after an initial West End
run, Connie Fisher is still touring in The Sound of Music.

Across the Atlantic,
Americas Got Talent is classed as the worlds biggest reality show and the X
Factor is due to be introduced in the States in the not too distant future. So
no doubt Broadway and touring shows will feature the new reality stars in due
course. As there is no doubting Susan Boyle and Paul Potts have made themselves
global superstars via these reality shows in the UK. So we took the opportunity to
speak to one of the acts who had recently been through the Americas Got Talent process
and have now embarked on a UK
tour. By coincidence, the tour by the Texas Tenors, which comprises of Marcus
Collins, JC Fisher and John Hagen, coincides with end of the UK airing of
Americas Got Talent, where they came forth in the whole competition.

Marcus told us there was no
single point of the TV extravaganza which sticks out, as the guys considered
the whole journey as an experience. But when you consider they worked a
fourteen hours day to sing for just ninety seconds, you start to understand the
pressure behind the glitz and glamour. The Texas Tenors felt progressing
through the competition week by week was a challenge in itself, as they headed
for the final. At no time did they hear the dreaded buzzer or see a red cross
appear above them. But they told us the sound could clearly be heard backstage
and throughout the auditorium when any of the judges pressed their
buzzers.   

Life has changed dramatically for
the three Texan guys since the show, but the careers for the three school boy
friends was firmly based in show business before the TV talent show. From
classical singing, cruise ships, TV dramas and Broadway shows the guys have
worked extensively but never broken through in to the big time. So they joined
forces and entered Americas Got Talent and now a year later, they have toured
the USA, played Las Vegas and commenced their first UK tour.

There is no doubting the drive of
Marcus, JC and John as they make a name for themselves as the Texas Tenors and
their success seems richly deserved as they are level headed and have worked
for years for their big break and do recognise how lucky they are. Marcus told
us their lives have changed dramatically since the show. Now they have
financially security, with sell out tours in 
the USA and now the UK and since
the finals their feet have not touched the floor.

They admitted to being totally
overwhelmed after singing in the final of Americas Got Talent, when not only
the audience rose to its feet but the three judges gave a standing ovation.
While Sharon Osborne and David Hasselhoff had admired the Tenors from the start,
it was winning over  Piers Morgan that
gave them the most satisfaction. Piers had been the hardest critic of the group
but his views softened as the Texas Tenors won through each round.

The closeness of all the
finalists meant they have kept in touch and several have even performed with
each other in Vegas since the final.

Even the staging is a group
effort as each of the Tenors contributes to their act, while music producer
Nigel Wright lends a guiding hand and will work with the group once more when
they are back in the USA.
Each of the three singers has their own responsibility with Marcus dealing with
the routines, while JC looks after lighting and arrangements and John
concentrates on the musical arrangements. But the actual song choice is a
combined effort with each musical number meaning something to each of the
singers. This is best identified by the Texas Tenors having seen Susan Boyle
sing Wild Horses on the final of Americas Got Talent , which they felt was very
spiritual to all of them and is now included on their tour.

While the guys feel there is not
too much difference between USA
and UK
audiences at the moment they are looking forward to their appearance in the
North East as they have heard North East audiences are very enthusiastic.
During their concerts songs will include My Way (which they sang in the
Americas Got Talent final), Somewhere, Unchained Melody and their own version
of Danny Boy.

Once the twenty four UK date tour is over, its back to the USA for more
sell out shows through the rest of 2010 along with the release of their second
CD. There is no doubting that the Texas Tenors will be around for a long time
and prove that there is still valid reasons for these reality shows.