By David A. Farrell, Item Staff Writer
The Picayune Item
PICAYUNE —
Singer Michael Grimm’s grandmother, Laura Butters, says Michael has moved into the semi-finals in competition on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” hit television show.
Butters lives in a trailer in Pine Grove Community seven miles west of Picayune.
Grimm also is scheduled to perform at the Silver Slipper Casino near Bay St. Louis at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 13 and Saturday, Aug. 14. Both engagements are free and will allow his local fans to see him in person.
“He still calls me every week,” Butters said, “and he said he was coming to see me when he performs at the Silver Slipper.”
Butters is a native of Waveland and she got custody of little Michael and his sister when Michael was four years old and raised both of them. Grimm told a national television audience when he first performed June 1 on “America’s Got Talent” that he and his sister would have probably been separated and raised as orphans had not his grandmother rescued them.
Grimm, who began singing and playing the piano with his grandmother at the age of 5, developed his talent, performed all along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and about 10 years ago made the move to Las Vegas. The singer is 30 years old.
He was a sensation when he first appeared on June 1 on “America’s Got Talent,” blowing away the judges and grabbing national attention.
He told the judges that the first thing he would do with the $1 million prize, if he wins, would be to build his grandmother a new home in Waveland and “get her out of that trailer in Picayune, Miss.”
Butters and her husband, Thomas, moved to Picayune after their Waveland home was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina.
“I will be right there on the front row when he performs at the Silver Slipper,” said Laura Butters. “I am so proud of him.”
Said Silver Slipper COO John N. Ferrucci, “Michael’s incredibly talented. He’s a real credit to Waveland, South Mississippi and most importantly, his grandmother. Now, the whole country knows about him, and we’re glad to host his performance here at the Slipper.”
Michael’s explosive appearance on the national scene is developing into a great success story.
Show judge Pierce Morgan said that Grimm is the best talent he had ever seen “on the show.” Sharon Osbourne said, “Michael will definitely go up.” Morgan and Osbourne, along with Howie Mandel, are the show’s judges.
Grimm’s appearance at the Silver Slipper will be in “The Original Stage Bar.”
Silver Slipper Casino, Mississippi’s first land-built casino, opened in November 2006 and is located on the beach at 5000 South Beach Boulevard in Hancock County.
For additional information go to www.silverslipper-ms.com, or call 866-775-4773 or 228-469-2711.
Grimm’s grandmother, Mrs. Butters, said that Grimm showed talent early. She said she gave him an electric guitar when he was five, and that he learned to play it over the years and eventually hooked up a full band to it, and was performing on her back porch to neighborhood kids before he was a teen-ager.
When he entered his teens, he began singing in churches along the Gulf Coast and later, accompanied by his grandmother, in bars and restaurants. He specialized in country music.
He later moved into Christian music in addition to Western style and hit his stride when he discovered rhythm and blues.
He won the Christian Country Music Association’s Star of Tomorrow award in 1997 for his rendition of “John Wayne and Jesus.”
“America’s Got Talent” is on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and Wednesday at 8 p.m. on NBC affiliates.
A Las Vegas promoter discovered Grimm in 2000 singing in clubs along the Gulf Coast and Grimm later toured with B.B. King, The Doobie Brothers and opened for Heart in Los Angeles. He has recorded with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
In a poll conducted by the Web site “NJ.com” Grimm took first place in votes cast by 1,432 trying to predict who would move into the semi-finals. Alice Tan Ridley was second. Grimm had 24.4 percent of votes cast and Ridley 21.6 percent.
Emily Exton on the Web site “PopWatch” said Sharon Osbourne last night said “that her husband, Ozzy, thinks soulful crooner Michael Grimm has what it takes to go all the way.” She said that Grimm and Ridley so far have consistently been the favorities on the show.
