VIDEO BY MARK LORENZ
Danny Donator, 19, sings “When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars.
By GAYLA CAWLEY
LYNN — Danny Donator is hoping to hit the right note with America.
The 19-year-old Lynn Vocational Technical Institute senior has a chance to appear on the upcoming season of “America’s Got Talent,” the reality competition hosted by Nick Cannon and featuring a panel of celebrity judges, including Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, Mel B. and Simon Cowell.
But first Donator has to make it through an untelevised audition round Friday in New York City. The pop singer plans to sing the Bruno Mars hit “When I Was Your Man.”
He’s making the trip with his mother, Cassandra Donator, his stepfather and a friend. He said his family support, both emotionally and financially, allows him to follow his dreams.
“In a perfect world, I just hope that the song goes perfectly because the nerves that I feel are just whoa,” Donator said on Thursday.
“You’re just singing in front of these random producers and I guess I’m just (used) to singing for crowds, but when you’re staring at their faces in a personal type of environment, it’s harder than a crowd of people … You’re not really connected with them as much as you would be in a face-to-face close-up audition.”
This won’t be his first go-round at “America’s Got Talent.” He tried out for the show in 2015, but never made it past the untelevised initial audition. Donator also auditioned for “The Voice” last year, but never made it on TV. In addition, last year, he auditioned for “La Banda,” a Latin American singing competition show. For the latter, he said his friends won the show, and are in a band called CNCO.
The local musician performs in school talent shows. He also plays several instruments including the acoustic guitar, keyboard and piano. Cassandra, 40, said that her son has an offer to go to Miami on Feb. 27 for a meeting with Universal Music, which could lead to a potential record deal.
The teen is also no stranger to media coverage. He was recently featured in the everyday heroes section of La Voz, a sister Spanish publication of The Daily Item, in a portion of the paper dedicated to people who are agents of change in the community.
Donator is studying television, film and video at Lynn Tech, which is what he plans to pursue in college. He plans to attend North Shore Community College for two years to stay close to home and keep his options open for his music career, but wants to then go to Fitchburg State University.
Right now, his main focus is on music. Donator credits his father, another musician, for getting him interested. He said his father taught him how to play the piano at a young age.
“Eventually, as I grew up, I would always see him do the performances, practices,” Donator said. “I was always so interested in that process and just the creativeness behind it. And there was a point where music kind of fell off for me. I couldn’t find an interest behind music. That was about my middle school years. And I don’t know, but I drifted away, and then all of a sudden, it just kind of snapped back into me. And one day, I found myself picking up the acoustic guitar … And ever since that day three years ago, I’ve just been practicing every single day.”
Cassandra said she remembers her son’s interest in playing the piano at 7 years old. His first instrument was the keyboard, she said, and was amazed by how quickly he caught on to playing a new instrument.
This time around, Cassandra said she’s seen a change in her son. He seems more ready for the audition, and less shy. She said she feels excited and nervous for Danny’s opportunity.
“I have this feeling that this is it,” she said.
The teen hopes to make it on TV this time for “America’s Got Talent.” He started working with a vocal teacher last year, and said he has been learning to expand on notes that he couldn’t reach before. Donator said part of him is happy that he didn’t make it anywhere with “The Voice” audition because he wasn’t ready.
“My goal is to definitely make it past the auditions and my very first goal is to feel confident with the audition piece that I’m singing. As long as I know I tried my best, that’s my ultimate goal. I’m anticipating seeing some of my old friends that I met last year. There’s a couple of people that I know I’m going to run into. And I’m just scared of letting people down. I just hope that I can make everyone proud.”
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Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley