Comedian Cris Sosa, who, after 13 years trying to break through in comedy, is hoping to use America’s Got Talent to emerge from the pack and on Tuesday night, he took the next step. He competed on the first night of Live Shows, and on Wednesday night, he will find out if he is moving on.
The night of his audition, Cris told the judges that he was a standup comedian, but the truth is that is his goal. In actuality, he supports himself doing photography, graphic design, web design, or extra work.
“When he asked me, I was on the spot,” Cris tells Parade in this exclusive interview. “I was just like, ‘I’m a standup comedian.’ I’m on this show to be able to really expand the eyes that are going to be on me to show that I’m worthy of what I can do on stage and to win that $1 million so I can make a living off of standup comedy.”
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Cris was one of the acts that Howie had return during the Judges Callbacks, so he asked Howie’s advice on how to become a success, hoping to get put into the Live Shows.
“He said to give them something to remember,” Cris recalls. “Be memorable. He said give them something with that wow factor, something that they will leave going, ‘Oh, man. That kid. He did that one joke.’ Something for them to never forget when they see me. So, I’m definitely going for that, definitely striving to be memorable, striving to capture that moment, to seize that moment and just be present. As cliche as it sounds, have fun, which is ultimately the goal to just have fun doing it.”
Now that he’s through, Cris has big plans. A comedian has never won AGT, and he says they are all rooting for it to happen this season, but he’s hoping to be the one.
“The comedians are also rooting for each other, saying, ‘Now it’s my time to represent for a comedian,’” Cris says. “I know that there’s other comedians in the competition — big shout out to Danny Alvarez [also competing tonight for Howie]. Again, as a comedian, I’m rooting for comedy. But it is a competition so I definitely want to get that win. I’m not going on that stage with intentions on losing, so I’m going for it.”
Here’s more of our chat with Cris about what it means to work with Howie, how he became a comedian, his plan if he continues in the competition, and more.
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Howie is the only comedian judge on the panel. Does that make it more special that he picked you for the Judges Callbacks?Yeah, it was definitely really cool to get that validation from Howie, him being a comedic legend, him doing so much work in the comedy world. It was definitely an honor to get his approval and then to be on his team as well, to be able to talk to him and get some advice from him and to have that connection now. I can say I know Howie and he knows me, so that’s pretty cool.
Cris SosaPhoto by: Trae Patton/NBC
You got to perform at the Laugh Factory during Judges Callbacks, which is a very special place here in L.A. What was that like for you as someone who’s aspiring to do this full time?It was really cool to be in a comedy club amongst the greats. A lot of the legendary comedians have come through there Dane Cook, Dave Chappelle, Jamie Foxx, George Lopez. Even comedians that are around my generation like Matt Wright Rene Vaca, Ralph Barbosa. These are all comedians that are doing amazing great things and they passed through the Laugh Factory, so to be able to share that stage with those amazing talents, it’s definitely an honor.
What is your plan to win over the audience during the Live Shows because it’s 11 people performing each night but only four will go through. How do you get yourself in that bunch?Definitely taking Howie’s advice about being memorable. I know my strength is my physicality, so really leaning in on my physicality and my act-out. My dad bet on me. He couldn’t make it to the audition round, but if I make it to the live shows, he’ll be there, so I’m like, “All right. My dad’s there. I’m going to make the best out of it.” Because he’s my boxing coach, so it’ll mean a lot to me to have him in my corner during the live shows. I’ll have that support to be able to really knock him out.
Do you have material that you use when performing in clubs? Or are you going to create something new for the live shows?I have material that works, and then there’s also some new tags added to the bits just to keep it fresh. I work them every night. I have multiple shows, three to five shows a night, just trying to really get the reps in and perfect the jokes and have them ready for the live shows.
I went back and I looked at your audition. And I loved the bit that you did where you gave yourself a wedgie and then you danced it out, and the bit where you were talking about not speaking Spanish. Do you really not know Spanish?I don’t really know a lot of Spanish. I can definitely get by with somebody speaking to me but I mean even with my grandmother, there’s a language barrier. I know when it’s time to eat, but Spanish was just always a tough one to learn.
[The dance bit] was all true. It’s my real life, and my dad really gave me that advice, so when I was a kid it was like, “Oh, yeah. It’s like taking a wedgie out of your pants with no hands.”
Related: Simon Cowell Opens Up About Historic AGT Format Shake-Up: ‘It Was Better Than I Thought’ (Exclusive)
It’s still early in the AGT season, but has anything happened in your real life as a result of your appearance?Oh, man. I’ve gained so many new followers since my audition came out. I’ve gained about 60,000 followers. I was at 70,000, and now I’m over 130,000 followers. I’m verified now. I have the blue check, which is a very big deal in the social media game. I’ve really worked hard for that, and pretty much on every platform my followers have gone up. I’ve gotten a lot of fan messages. People are reaching out to me, letting me know that they’re a new fan of me. They love my comedy. I love it when parents tell me that their children are cracking up laughing watching me. It warms my heart to know that. When I was a kid, I know how I felt when I saw a comedian for the first time and was laughing with my parents, so to be that for a kid, it means a lot to me because now I get to be that comedian that makes the kids laugh.
Do you remember the moment in your life when you decided this is what you wanted to do?I knew I wanted to be a comedian when I saw my mom was cry-laughing watching George Lopez. She was like belly laughing, and I’m like, “Oh, my gosh.” My mom is funny and she laughs and stuff but this, she was crying and laughing, and I was just like, “Oh, man. That would be really cool to be able to do something like that,” because I knew I was funny but I just didn’t know that I was going to do this as a job or as a career, so now to be in this place it’s like, “Man, now I got my mom laughing.”
Preacher Lawson was in the audience at the Laugh Factory. Did you get to talk to him about his experience because I’m sure the show has done wonders for him?It was really cool to see Preacher and Learnmore [Jonasi]. They were both a part of America’s Got Talent and that was a pleasant surprise to see him. I was able to chop it up with him and get some insight.
America’s Got Talent airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Streams next day on Peacock.
Next, Simon Cowell Opens Up About Historic ‘AGT’ Format Shake-Up: ‘It Was Better Than I Thought’ (Exclusive)
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