There’s certainly been some memorable acts on America’s Got Talent over the years, with some acts who didn’t necessarily progress particularly far in the competition still going on to remain branded in the public’s memory long after their television appearances. One previous America’s Got Talent act who perhaps falls into this category is The Other Direction, a five-piece singing group who took part in season 16 of the show, hilariously describing themselves as “the world’s gayest boyband”.
The boyband made an impression right from the start too; when judge Simon Cowell asked “who are you?”, one of the members, Jason, compared the group to One Direction before proudly declaring the five-piece to be the world’s gayest boyband. With their breezy confidence and cheeky humour, even at this early stage, the audience clearly loved Jason and his bandmates Greg, Deyvnn, Alex, and Norm, even more so when they described how they met as kids at choir camp and later came out to each other.
Subsequently, expectations were high when it finally came to The Other Direction’s performance. Fortunately, the group completely smashed their audition, performing a fun original song ‘Girl, Ur The Best’ (written about the joys of being a girl’s gay best friend) complete with a full dance routine and beautiful harmonies. There were lots of humorous lyrics included too, many of which had the judges in stitches (notably the chorus, “girl you’re the best and I love you, but not like that”).
Devoted AGT viewers might remember another boyband who took part in the show who also got compared to One Direction, T.3. Also featuring in season 16, this New York City-based trio walked into their audition looking a little nervous and timid – with the show’s interviewer having called them “the new One Direction” just minutes before – but blew the judges away with their huge voices. T.3 went on to receive a yes from all four judges, but sadly were later eliminated in the quarterfinals.
The Other Direction had a similar journey on the show, receiving four yeses from the judges at their audition as well as a slew of positive feedback from fans all over the globe. Rather unfairly, however, (as claimed by many of the show’s viewers) the five-piece didn’t even make it to the quarterfinals, eventually being eliminated in the deliberations round which falls between the auditions and the live shows.
But although they didn’t reach the end of the competition, they made for a memorable and entertaining act that it seemed Simon Cowell had a bit of a soft spot for, saying “I think you guys are very clever, I’ve got to hand it to you” and calling their song (which has since been released as an official single) “well written”.
If you enjoyed The Other Direction’s performance on America’s Got Talent and want to keep up with their latest music and updates, you can follow them on their [Facebook](https://m.facebook.com/theotherdirectionboyband/) and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/theotherdirectionboyband/?hl=en).