The musical duo impressed judges with their original song ‘I’ll Always Be There.’
‘America’s Got Talent’ (AGT) Season 21 has found some rare talents over the last four weeks of the audition rounds. Episode 4 of the competition was released on June 23 on NBC, and one of the night’s most moving performances came from Bird and Byron, an indie rock and soul duo comprising Blake Bird and Nick Byron. The two men from Columbus, Ohio, have been friends for over 20 years and have collaborated on music together for the last seven years. They have tried to break into the mainstream music scene for a while, and their ‘AGT’ audition may as well prove to be their big break. Judges Simon Cowell, Mel B, Howie Mandel, and Sofia Vergara were left speechless by their performance and wondered how they had stayed under the radar despite their exceptional talent.
The duo performed an original song, titled ‘I’ll Always Be There,’ with Blake singing the vocals and Nick playing the guitar. From his first note, Blake blew away the audience with his soulful voice. Sofia and Simon were left speechless by his crooning voice and his heart-wrenching performance about love. The duo wrote the song about finding a special person to ride out the tough days during a difficult period in Blake’s life. Mel B later mentioned that she felt Blake’s personal connection to the song. Nick’s mother, Stephanie, who was sitting in the audience, was on a video call with Blake’s mom throughout their performance.
Howie called the performance “absolutely beautiful and haunting.” He was moved by Blake’s voice, saying, “It’s like you’re crying and singing,” while Mel added that he was “in tune and in perfect pitch.” The ‘Modern Family‘ star was blown away by the performance and said, “That was like the most perfect audition I’ve seen this season. I think America’s gonna go crazy for you.” Meanwhile, Simon wondered how they had not been discovered by a major record label yet. He asked the guys, “How come we haven’t heard of you?” Blake replied that they have surely been trying. Simon assured them of a bright future, saying, “You boys are sensational. Amazing. Well done.” All four judges gave their enthusiastic yeses to Bird and Byron. Backstage, Terry Crews commented on their cool demeanor, calling them “cool cats.” He also praised the guys for taking him to a whole other era.
Their music journey took off in Los Angeles. However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to return to their hometown. In the next few years, the duo released four singles and launched their One Take Tuesday series, which helped them gain attention from renowned artists like James Taylor, Coldplay, Noah Kahan, and Willow Smith. They collaborated with producer Andrija Tokic for their debut EP, which was recorded at Nashville’s renowned recording studio, Bomb Shelter. After relocating to Nashville in 2022, Bird and Byron have played in front of sell-out shows and festivals.
They have also headlined for the surf-rock band ‘Ocean Alley,’ the soul singer Durand Jones, and the string band ‘Old Crow Medicine Show.’ Their popularity has been growing steadily, and they now have over 180k monthly Spotify listeners and over 100,000 TikTok followers. Bird and Byron released their debut studio album in July 2023 and followed it up with a second album in 2025. They are set to go on tour in the coming month. All episodes of ‘America’s Got Talent’ Season 21 are slated to drop on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET only on NBC. The episodes can also be streamed on Peacock the next day.