America’s Got Talent fans fell in love with former chicken-catcher Kevin Skinner — a country boy with voice to match. He crooned his way to a $1 million prize and a headlining gig in Las Vegas. The Kentucky native chatted with PEOPLE from the airport about his new jet-setting lifestyle and revealed five things you ought to know. – Rennie Dyball
1. Catching chickens is harder than it sounds: “It’s really hot, exhausting work. It’s 100 degrees outside and there’s 30,000 chickens in the barn also putting off body heat. You’re moving fast, your skin is rubbing raw. There’s six guys catching eight chickens at a time until you’re done. It separates the men from the boys real fast!”
2. He honed his chops while on the job: “I’d always find myself passing the time by singing. I would concentrate on some lines of my own to write, and sometimes I’d sing cover tunes, like Hank Williams Jr.’s ‘The Blues Man.’”
3. The Hoff and Conan O’Brien left him starstruck: “I watched David [Hasselhoff] every week in Knight Rider as a kid. And Conan [O’Brien] was awesome. He’s more down to earth when the cameras aren’t rolling.”
4. After 30-plus years of never leaving Kentucky, he’s ready to see the world: “When I took off for the first time it was a little bit shaky, but it got better. Traveling ain’t that bad! Now I’ve been to Chicago, L.A., Vegas, New York. I’ve been around!”
5. His 12-year-old is ready to fend off the photographers: “After I won, my daughter said, ‘Are we safe from the paparazzi?’ Stuff like this doesn’t happen to people where I’m from. It’s mind-boggling.”
Trae Patton/NBC
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