As auditions go on “America’s Got Talent,” this was a triumphant one.
Alabama’s Sebastian Kole, also known as Pynk Beard, performed an original country song on Tuesday’s episode of the NBC reality series, wowing all four judges and earning a major vote of confidence from Simon Cowell.
The singer-songwriter from Birmingham, 44, chose “Mine, Lord Willing” for his AGT debut, strutting across the stage with charisma and confidence, backed by a five-member band. It’s a tune from his 2025 EP, “Red Dirt Diaries,” which pays tribute to his hometown.
With his uptempo song, Pynk Beard ignited the studio audience and earned a standing ovation from Cowell and his colleagues: Mel B, Howie Mandel and Sofia Vergara.
(Watch Pynk Beard’s AGT performance in the video below.)
Four “yes” votes for Pynk Beard were a foregone conclusion at that point, and the judges were ready to toss effusive praise his way.
“I just want to say this is not my normal, like, go-to music, but you made me fall in love with this genre of music,” Mel B said. “You made me feel really happy. I love everything about this.”
“Love it, love it, love it,” Vergara said. “That was a perfect audition. Your voice is amazing. The song was amazing. Your band is amazing. The energy, the joy that you bring to people is amazing. All of it was what AGT is all about.”
“I believe that not only was that a good audition, I believe that we just heard a hit,” Mandel said. “Go check the charts tomorrow. I bet this song is charting right now.”
“That was really, really fantastic,” Cowell said. ”I think that’s a hit song. Such an amazing feeling when everything goes right. The performance, the band, the song, everything. I just love you.”
Cowell continued with kudos for Pynk Beard after the artist left the stage, saying, “I can hear that song fast, slow. It’s just a great song. I love the idea that might have been, like, in his top drawer for years, but I’m gonna hang on to this one myself. … Pynk Beard might be my favorite today.”
Viewers got to hear part of Pynk Beard’s backstory on Tuesday’s episode, as well. In an intro video, he talked about songwriting, performing and the rigors of being a recording artist.
“The first song I remember writing, I was 5, and it was called ‘God Is My Inspiration,’” Pynk Beard said. “I tried to be an artist, didn’t work out. They didn’t quite understand Black people doing country at the time. So I gave up on the idea of, like, putting out another (album) in my own, and so I just really pursued being a songwriter.
“One of my main questions I always ask any artist is, who are you? I spend a lot of time talking to artists about just who they are. And over time, I think I just kind of forgot who I was. I became just a songwriter.
“Just last year, 2025, I was actually about to literally quit making music,” Pynk Beard continued. “I was like, you know, I can’t keep doing this. I’m getting too old. And this is a young man’s game. And just as I’m getting ready to quit, I hear about an opportunity like this, and it sparked doing it again. Normally when I get ready to quit, something magic happens. So I’m here to try my hand at a little magic.”
Mission accomplished on AGT, as Pynk Beard moves on to the next phase of the competition for Season 21. According to Cowell, Pynk Beard is a lock for the live shows, which start on Aug. 18. (Early episodes in the season were filmed in advance.)
Want to know more about Pynk Beard? He was born Coleridge Tillman and grew up as a Pentecostal preacher’s son in the Dolomite neighborhood of Birmingham. He performed during his youth with the Birmingham Boys Choir, and graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in music technology.
He moved to Los Angeles and landed a deal with EP Entertainment and Motown, using the professional name Sebastian Kole. He then earned acclaim as a songwriter, working on songs recorded by big names such as Alessia Cara, Alicia Keys, John Legend and Jennifer Lopez.
He later became an recording artist, blending soul, R&B, gospel and pop on albums such as “Numb” (2020) “Soup” (2016) and a “Sebastian Kole EP.” In 2025, he introduced the persona of Pynk Beard, moving into country music with his EP, “Red Dirt Diaries,” on Red Bull Records.
Pynk Beard earned an Emmy nomination this year under the name Sebastian Kole, for a song featured on Spider-Noir,” a Prime Video series starring Nicolas Cage. Kole is one of three songwriters who collaborated on “The Devil You Know,” which can be heard in an episode titled “A Mistake I’ll Never Make Again.”
Kole, Warren Oak Felder and Daniel Pemberton share the Emmy nomination in the category of Outstanding Music & Lyrics. It’s one of 11 Emmy nods earned by “Spider-Noir” for the series’ first season. Winners will be announced in September.
Meantime, Pynk Beard is likely to up his public profile and earn new fans with his appearances on “America’s Got Talent.” Viewer votes will be important during the live shows, as 44 acts are trimmed to 11 finalists — and eventually the season champion — during weekly eliminations.