Brandon Leake (born May 4, 1992) is a

spoken word poet Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

, educator and

motivational speaker A motivational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep talk. Motivational speakers ...

and the winner of the fifteenth season of ''America's Got Talent''. He was the first spoken word poet to be on ''America's Got Talent'' and received the Golden Buzzer award in the first round from

Howie Mandel Howard Michael Mandel (born November 29, 1955) is a Canadian-American comedian, television personality, actor, and producer. Mandel voiced the character Gizmo in the 1984 film '' Gremlins'' and the 1990 sequel '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch''. ...

. He performed pieces about his sister who died, his father, his mother and his daughter. He was named the champion of the 15th season on September 23 2020, going home with a $1 million cash prize, a brand new

Kia Stinger The Kia Stinger ( ko, 기아 스팅어) is a mid-size liftback manufactured by Kia since 2017. Overview The Stinger traces its roots to the GT Concept from the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show and the Kia GT4 Stinger from the 2014 North American ...

and the opportunity to star in

Luxor Las Vegas Luxor Las Vegas is a 30-story casino hotel situated on the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The hotel is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International and has a casino with over 2,000 slot machines an ...

. He has performed in 36 US states, New Zealand, Mexico and Canada with his Dark Side Tour to promote his published poetry and his album called ''Deficiencies: A Tale from My Dark Side''. He teaches at Brookside school daycare center, where he worked with his wife. Leake is the founder and CEO of Called to Move, an organization that helps youth through poetry. He founded the organization in 2012 at

Simpson University Simpson University is a private, Christian university in Redding, California. Originally founded in 1921 in Seattle as Simpson Bible Institute, the institution relocated to San Francisco in 1955 and then to Redding in 1989. History Simpson Uni ...

. He is also an academic advisor at

San Joaquin Delta College San Joaquin Delta College (Delta College) is a public community college in Stockton, California. It was founded in 1935 as Stockton Junior College. The college serves a district area that includes all of San Joaquin County and parts of Alamed ...

. On October 9, 2020, it was announced that Leake had signed with

United Talent Agency United Talent Agency (UTA) is a global talent agency based in Beverly Hills, California. Established in 1991, it represents artists and other professionals across the entertainment industry. , the company has more than 1,400 global employees. U ...

. Also in October 2020, it was announced Leake would serve as the producing partner and contributor to the Team Harmony Foundation's new international web series, ''HATE: WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?'' Leake is from Stockton, California. He is married and has one daughter who was born shortly before his first audition.

References

American poets America's Got Talent winners 1993 births Living people {{US-poet-1990s-stub