Trae Patton/NBCI was shocked to see Michael Grimm beat Jackie Evancho on America's Got Talent. Can Michael really have a career?
—Honeee, via the inbox
He kind of already has one, thanks to his prize, which includes a million bucks and a slot on the upcoming AGT tour. And America already adores him, thanks to his aw-shucks-now-grandma-can-get-a-new-house brand of humility.
Still, long-term fortune is not guaranteed, unless...
Unless he produces a hit single but quick. That's according to people who would know, mind you.
"If he can find the right single, it can buy him about a year" of fame and fortune, says Kevin Cyka, the iShine A&R guru who used to work with Katy Perry.
Specifically, Cyka tells me, Grimm needs to release a single that displays a singer-songwriter-y feel, along the lines of "Maroon Five, Gavin DeGraw—a hit song heals all wounds. It almost doesn't matter who sings it, as long as it's not a mouse or something."
What Grimm needs to avoid is a slicker, less organic sound à la Jason Derulo or B.o.B. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) "Something with more of a guitar element," Cyka notes. "And not too college-y, nothing that requires weed to understand."
And it seems that Grimm knows this as well.
"If people are thinking I'm gonna reinvent myself—it won't be that much," Grimm told People immediately following his win. "I'm definitely staying me."
What must Grimm do after that? Well, release another hit, of course, or at least have one in mind.
For a person in Grimm's position, Cyka says, "Nine months to a year flies by in a heartbeat. He's going to be touring and trying to support his single, but you can't be two months away from doing a [second] record and not have your hit song together."
Right, Taylor Hicks?