After a successful audition video, Mr. Wines was flown out to perform for TV personality Simon Cowell, model Heidi Klum, actress Sofia Vergara, and comedian Howie Mandel. The four judges gave Mr. Wines a standing ovation for his performance and unanimously voted to send him through to the next phase, where they will be considering which of the acts continue to the live semi-finals.
“I’ve never been through anything so scary at all. Honestly when I finished it was sheer relief that it was over because you don’t know what to expect,” Mr. Wines said.
Mr. Wines stumbled upon an America’s Got Talent application shortly after talking to 16-year-old student Maya, who was nervous about an upcoming concert. Trying to encourage Maya, he shared his experiences, saying, “Look, you’ll be OK, don’t worry, I’ve seen this face a 1,000 times before.” This conversation inspired Mr. Wines to enter the competition.
“They say you should always put yourself in the shoes of your students in all fairness, so that’s what I did,” Mr. Wines explained. He performance will no doubt be inspiration for many young musicians who struggle to fight the nerves blocking them from stepping on stage.
Maya, unaware of Mr. Wines’ inspiration, expressed her surprise and shared her thoughts, saying, “I did not realize that he was inspired by me. It makes me feel like I can possibly inspire people to just go on stage and just do it.”
After impressing the judges with his guitar prowess, Mr. Wines performed to a packed audience on “America’s Got Talent,” who all clapped along as he played the Queen hit. Simon Cowell, taken aback by the performance, remarked to the rest of the judging panel, “I was not expecting that.”
In addition to his television success, John Wines, a dedicated guitar teacher from the UK, has spent years sharing his love for the instrument through teaching and performing. He played in bands for years and currently teaches guitar in three different schools in Dorset. However, his life took an unexpected turn when his guitar covers and lessons gained viral popularity on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.