Landau Eugene Murphy Jr.

Before America's Got Talent

Murphy's father had been a coal miner. His parents divorced when Murphy was eight, after which he moved with his mother, and his two brothers and two sisters to Detroit, Michigan. He dropped out of school in the 11th grade to take care of his family.

After moving back home to Logan, West Virginia in the late 1990s, Murphy renewed a friendship with a childhood friend, Jennifer Carter. They worked together at a restaurant where she was a manager, and they married in 2005.

Murphy had been homeless at age 19, sleeping in his car. He worked as a car washer during the months leading up to his TV performances, and was nearly destitute as a result of his home having been robbed. He was down to his last pair of pants and jacket when he arrived to sing at his America's Got Talent audition.

America's Got Talent

In November 2010, Murphy and his wife Jennifer left their hometown of Logan, WV for New York City, where they stood for over twelve hours outside the Jacob Javits Convention Center to audition for NBC’s America’s Got Talent.

Murphy was named as the winner of the show on September 14, 2011, after a performance of "My Way", a song popularized by Frank Sinatra. He won the $1 million grand prize and began a headlining act in Las Vegas on October 28.

That's Life

After winning, Murphy signed to Sony Records and Columbia Records, and released his first album That's Life on November 21, 2011. The album debuted at #34 on the Billboard 200, selling 28,000 copies, then fell to #41 the next week on the charts. It debuted at number one on the Billboard jazz charts, and also reached #1 in the Jazz category on Amazon.com.

Many have compared Murphy’s vocals and phrasing to that of Frank Sinatra, a singer he has always admired. Many of the tracks from That’s Life are Sinatra standards. Murphy said of the album, "For a lot of music fans, especially older people, I can bring back some happy memories. And hopefully I can create new memories for generations to come."

That's Life was produced by Steve Tyrell, himself an aficionado of Sinatra’s music.

Live performances

As part of his AGT prize, Murphy headlined a show at the Colosseum Theater at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Other tour stops include the Apollo Theatre, the DTE Energy Center in Detroit with The Temptations, headlining appearances at the West Virginia and California State Fairs, a Super Bowl appearance, a televised performance at The Hollywood Christmas Parade and a string of sold out headlining shows across the USA (many supporting local charities). Major media appearances have included The Today Show, Anderson Cooper, The View, The Talk, The Wendy Williams Show, Fox and Friends, CNN, The Tom Joyner Show, Scott and Todd on WPLJ, Good Day LA, and many more.

He has also sung the national anthem at Madison Square Garden, WVU's Mountaineer Field, prior to a West Virginia University/LSU matchup and at several other public events.

Literary career

In 2013, Headline Books Inc. published "America's Got Talent Winner Landau Eugene Murphy Jr.: From Washing Cars to Hollywood Star," a memoir of his rags-to-riches life story co-written by Rick Robinson, the 2013 Independent Author of the Year.