Eli Mattson
Encyclopedia
Eli James Mattson is an American pianist and singer. He was the runner-up on the third season
of America's Got Talent
, beating out over 200,000 contestants. The difference in the votes during the final was less than 0.5%. His rendition of Marc Cohn
's 1991 hit, "Walking in Memphis
" during his initial audition impressed many, picking up on his maturity and vocal talent.
. He has been playing piano since he was five years old and has been performing, including his own compositions, since the age of fourteen.
When Eli was only 16, he was awarded a prestigious grant from the Peninsula Arts Association in Wisconsin to help further his music career.
After touring with a country band, he lived in Chicago for three years before his national debut on America's Got Talent
.
He has been playing at local venues for the past several years and has garnered a large and varied fanbase. He calls Door County, Wisconsin
home.
Eli's influences include Elton John
, Billy Joel
, Bruce Hornsby
, Jimmy Newquist
, Dave Matthews Band
, just to name a few.
America's Got Talent
to perform at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
On October 24, 2008, Mattson had a Meet and Greet in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
at the Ladder House.
On October 27, 28 and 29, 2008, Eli played three sold out benefit concerts in his home county of Door County, Wisconsin
.
On November 22, 2008, Eli was the Grand Marshall of the Time Warner Green Bay Holiday Parade. Then he performed a concert at the Meyer Theatre in Green Bay that same day.
In January 2009 Eli went to LA to start recording for the Epic
division of Sony Music
.
In April 2009, Eli made guest appearances on Terry Fator's show in Las Vegas. Fator reports that he actually voted for Eli ten times on America's Got Talent, the maximum per voting method.
Morgan
America's Got Talent (season 3)
The third season of America's Got Talent, an American television reality show talent competition, premiered on MediaCorp Channel 5 on September 3, 2008. Opera singer Neal E. Boyd was named the winner on January 28, 2009....
of America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...
, beating out over 200,000 contestants. The difference in the votes during the final was less than 0.5%. His rendition of Marc Cohn
Marc Cohn
Marc Craig Cohn is an American folk rock singer-songwriter and musician.- Personal life :Cohn was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from Beachwood High School in Beachwood, a Cleveland suburb. He then attended Oberlin College....
's 1991 hit, "Walking in Memphis
Walking in Memphis
-Cher version:"Walking in Memphis" is the first European single by American singer-actress Cher from her twenty-second studio album, It's a Man's World. It was released in the end of 1995 by WEA. The song was performed in some shows in Europe, and in her tours since the Do You Believe? Tour.-Song...
" during his initial audition impressed many, picking up on his maturity and vocal talent.
Early life
Mattson was born in Duluth, MinnesotaDuluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
. He has been playing piano since he was five years old and has been performing, including his own compositions, since the age of fourteen.
When Eli was only 16, he was awarded a prestigious grant from the Peninsula Arts Association in Wisconsin to help further his music career.
After touring with a country band, he lived in Chicago for three years before his national debut on America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...
.
He has been playing at local venues for the past several years and has garnered a large and varied fanbase. He calls Door County, Wisconsin
Door County, Wisconsin
Door County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 27,961. Its county seat is Sturgeon Bay. Door County is a popular vacation and tourist destination, especially for residents of Wisconsin and Illinois....
home.
Eli's influences include Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
, Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Randall Hornsby is an American singer, pianist, accordion player, and songwriter. Known for the spontaneity and creativity of his live performances, Hornsby draws frequently from classical, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Motown, rock, blues, and jam band musical traditions with his songwriting and...
, Jimmy Newquist
Jimmy Newquist
James P. "Jimmy" Newquist is the American primary song writer, guitarist, and lead singer for the alternative rock band Caroline's Spine. Born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, he is one of eight children. Newquist started song writing at an early age and moved to Los...
, Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...
, just to name a few.
Performances/Results
| Week | Song choice |
Original artist |
Performance order |
Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audition | "Walking in Memphis Walking in Memphis -Cher version:"Walking in Memphis" is the first European single by American singer-actress Cher from her twenty-second studio album, It's a Man's World. It was released in the end of 1995 by WEA. The song was performed in some shows in Europe, and in her tours since the Do You Believe? Tour.-Song... " |
Marc Cohn Marc Cohn Marc Craig Cohn is an American folk rock singer-songwriter and musician.- Personal life :Cohn was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from Beachwood High School in Beachwood, a Cleveland suburb. He then attended Oberlin College.... |
N/A | Advanced |
| Vegas Verdicts | "Your Song Your Song "Your Song" is a ballad composed and performed by English musician Elton John with lyrics by his long-time collaborator Bernie Taupin. It appeared on John's self-titled second album in 1970.... " |
Elton John Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor... |
N/A | Advanced |
| Top 40 Group 4 |
"Nobody Knows Nobody Knows (Tony Rich song) "Nobody Knows" is a song by rhythm and blues artist Tony Rich from his 1996 debut album Words. Released as his debut single, the song peaked at #2 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts... " |
Tony Rich | 9 | Advanced |
| Top 20 Group 2 |
"If I Ain't Got You If I Ain't Got You "If I Ain't Got You" is a song recorded, written, and produced by American recording artist Alicia Keys for her second studio album, The Diary of Alicia Keys. Released in February 2004 as the album's second single, the song peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Keys' second... " |
Alicia Keys Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano... |
9 | Advanced |
| Top 10 | "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" is a song written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. It was recorded by Elton John and released in 1976, both as a single and as part of the Blue Moves album. It was his second single on Rocket Records. The song is a mournful ballad about a romantic relationship... " |
Elton John Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor... |
10 | Advanced |
| Top 5 | "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now) Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now) "Against All Odds " is a song by British singer Phil Collins recorded for soundtrack to the 1984 film of the same name. It is a power ballad in which its protagonist implores an ex-lover to "take a look at me now", knowing that reconciliation is "against all odds" while considering it worth trying... " |
Phil Collins Phil Collins Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist.... |
4 | Runner Up |
Post Talent
On October 17, 2008, Mattson joined the Top 10 finalists, as well as past winners fromAmerica's Got Talent
America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...
to perform at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
On October 24, 2008, Mattson had a Meet and Greet in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
Sturgeon Bay is a city in and the county seat of Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 9,437 at the 2000 census. It is located at the natural end of Sturgeon Bay, although the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal was built across the remainder of the Door Peninsula.-Geography:Sturgeon Bay is...
at the Ladder House.
On October 27, 28 and 29, 2008, Eli played three sold out benefit concerts in his home county of Door County, Wisconsin
Door County, Wisconsin
Door County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 27,961. Its county seat is Sturgeon Bay. Door County is a popular vacation and tourist destination, especially for residents of Wisconsin and Illinois....
.
On November 22, 2008, Eli was the Grand Marshall of the Time Warner Green Bay Holiday Parade. Then he performed a concert at the Meyer Theatre in Green Bay that same day.
In January 2009 Eli went to LA to start recording for the Epic
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
division of Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
.
In April 2009, Eli made guest appearances on Terry Fator's show in Las Vegas. Fator reports that he actually voted for Eli ten times on America's Got Talent, the maximum per voting method.
Discography
| Year | Album | Peak | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
|||||||
| 2000 | First Three
|
- | |||||
| 2002 | Monsters
|
- | |||||
| First Time Flyer Sessions
|
- | ||||||
| 2005 | Eli Mattson - Compilation CD
|
- | |||||
| 2009 | Next 4
|
- | |||||
| "—" denotes the album did not chart. | |||||||
"Monsters"
All I'll Be, Father Please, Baby Doll, Morning Of, Are You There, Blue Ocean, 7, Baby Lonely, One Time More, Smile"Eli Mattson - Compilation CD"
All I'll Be, Baby Doll, Morning Of, Blue Ocean, 7, Baby Lonely, One Time More, Smile, Shadow, Soft As Sin, First Time Flyer, MissMorgan