Pynk Beard Nearly Quit Music... Then He Bet On Himself | Auditions | AGT 2026

My mom tells me that I was three years old when I wrote my first song. I don't remember that. The first song I remember writing, I was five. And it was called, uh, God Is My Inspiration. What's up, everybody? How y'all doing? Y'all all a group here? We're a band, man. Talk to me, what's the name of the band? I'm Pinkbeard. Pinkbeard, and you the star, because I see a pink beard. I don't know if I'm the star, but yeah. I tried to be an artist. Didn't work out. They didn't quite understand black people doing country at the time. So I gave up on the idea of, like, putting out an album on my own. And so I just really pursued being a songwriter. One of my main questions I always ask any artist is, who are you? I spend a lot of time talking to artists about just who they are. And over time, I think I just kind of forgot who I was. And I became just a songwriter. Just last year, 2025, I was actually about to literally quit making music. I was like, you know, I can't keep doing this. I'm getting too old. And this is a young man's game. I'm going to bring you guys backstage now. You can call me. And just as I'm getting ready to quit, I hear about an opportunity like this, and it sparked. I mean, this is obviously a band. So I'm going to try my hand at a little magic. Last act of the day is this one. How are you? I'm great, actually. How are you? Man, I am more excited than I can say. So your name is Ping. Ping, of course. OK, tell us about you. I'm a singer-songwriter from Birmingham, Alabama. Yes, sir. If you need a ride, let me know. I'll take you home with me. Right. And this is what you do full-time, songwriting? This is what I do full-time. I've been writing songs for a long time. Yes, sir. And how's it going? It's been really well for me. I don't know if you guys remember the song Scars to Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara? Yeah. I wrote that. You wrote that? I wrote that. No way. That's an amazing song. Thank you so much. I mean, seriously good. Thank you. I really appreciate that. Of course. OK, so you've been writing songs for other artists. Yes, sir. So why are you here now? I'm here because I got something I want to say. I spent the last 15 years helping people say what they want to say. And I'm so thankful and blessed that they allowed me to help them do that. And I wanted to have the experience of like getting to know what it is to be a front man. Right. There you go. That's amazing. I don't think that's ever happened before. A well-known songwriter has come on and been the performer. This is brilliant. Thank you. The song you've written today is obviously yours, right? Yes, sir. It's called Mind, Lord, Willing. Right. I really, really hope this goes well. Good luck. All right. Fellas, y'all ready? All right. Come on out. All right, guys. How about you? I hope it's good. I hope so, too. And she want to go shopping and get crab legs in Atlanta, and her body say Miami. But I say that don't matter, because she dressed like a city girl and cooked just like my grandma. She ain't from Tennessee, but she attended my eyes. Mind, Lord, willing in the river. On a Monday, she works. On a Sunday, she might be in church. But baby, daddy got the baby for the weekend. On a Friday, she gon' twerk. And she a demon in a dress. She stay on that type of time. Mind, Lord, willing in the river. She pretty and offended. She was independent. She know how to go get it. So make sure that you got it yourself. Oh, she said, hey, boy, come over. I told her, drop the attic. A perfect mix of good girl. After, she gon' call me daddy. Her body still smoking. I'm trying to kick the habit. Her face got good. It ain't never gonna be fine. Mind, Lord, willing in the river. In church. But baby, daddy got the baby for the weekend. In church. In a dress. She stay on that type of time. Lord, willing in the river. This is not my go-to music. But you made me fall in love with this genre of music. This is great. It was a perfect audition. Your voice is amazing. The song was amazing. Your band is amazing. All of it was what AGT is all about. If only it was at a good audition, I believe that we just heard a hit. The chart's tomorrow. I bet this song is charting right now. That was really, really fantastic. I think that's a hit song. Such an amazing feeling when everything goes right. The performance, the band, the song, everything. I just love you. I wish we had some golden buzzers. If I have one, you'll be getting it. Let's vote. I hear that song fast, slow. It's just a great song. I love the idea that my opinion is in his top drawer for years. I'm going to hang on to this one myself. It's wonderful. Pinkbeard might be my favorite today. When you've been writing songs for a long time, the word yes goes a long way. To hear it four times in a row is like, ah. I love it.