Interview: America’s Got Talent comedian Preacher Lawson

Preacher Lawson was a top-six finisher on America’s Got Talent. He recently spoke with us about all things comedy, cooking, and life.

Preacher Lawson was born in Portland, Oregon on March 14, 1991. Lawson moved to 20 different places before he was 10 years old. He learned how to develop and adapt to each place he lived. The one constant in his life was his humor and Lawson brought comedy to whomever he came across.

As he grew and developed into a man, his comedy exploded, but the fast-paced energy we all know him for was with him at birth. It’s easy to see where he gets the zoom motor from, his mother. I noticed it during his back story and first audition performance for America’s Got Talent.

Preacher went on to blow up the AGT stage and earned a spot in the final show. Unfortunately, he lost to the eventual champion Darci Lynne. Preacher now tours like the beast he is, and even if you don’t like his comedy, you will love his cooking show on YouTube. It makes me want to cook and I burn toast.

Hidden Remote was happy to connect with Preacher Lawson and get his input on comedy, cooking, and life.

Hidden Remote: The first thing I got to ask is where do you get all the energy man. Is like Red Bull calling you up, getting directions, on how to bottle it?

Preacher Lawson: That is hilarious. You want to know what I get from? Crack, Lots of it [laughs]. Nah, man, I’m just hyper bro. I just always had this much energy. I love to play basketball. I’m always running around the court and always play like crazy hard. People are like: “Aww, you’ll run out of energy” and I never do. I get tired, I just keep going, that’s who I am. I just love being up. I like moving, I am just loud that’s just my personality like some people when they talk low all the time, I’m like how you do that? I don’t know how you do that. So, it’s just genetics I guess. My mom’s crazy hyper like my mom is more hyper than I am, I’m just more physical. That’s all that is. I’ll hurt myself for laughs, and I’ve done it plenty of times.

 Hidden Remote: I could imagine-

Lawson: I hurt myself last night while I’m thinking about it-

Hidden Remote: I don’t think anybody out there is that willing to risk harm to their body doing comedy as much as you do.

Lawson: Thank you man, I appreciate it, thank you.

Hidden Remote: You speak about your mom. The first phone call when you’re talking to her and I forget what she says, but you could see that connection. I can see she has you matched in the energy department. You could see that some of that comedy of yours comes from mom.

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Lawson: Yeah, it’s funny. When they were recording me and my mom, they were like “Hey can you tell your mom to stop acting like this, she can just be normal, and she doesn’t have to do any of the extra.” It’s like this is who she is. Like my mom wasn’t trying to act for the camera.

Hidden Remote: Before you go on stage, what kind of preparation do you make?

Lawson: I just kinda go on stage. I used to do a bunch of things to try to get my nerves down. But now I just go on stage. I’m definitely more conservative with my energy. When you do so many shows you’ve got to conserve your energy. I do like around eight or nine shows a week. I’m on a plane, like maybe three or four times, and I still gotta maintain working out. I used to get super pumped like five minutes (show), now I’m doing an hour (show), so it’s like, just let me chill.

Hidden Remote: On your final performance for a AGT you’re sitting in Tyra’s [Banks] chair. Tyra comes up to you and then asks you to leave. You get on stage and that seems very seamless. 

Lawson: I wasn’t nervous once on AGT. Not one time was I nervous. First time, I was ever on AGT before I got on stage, that was the most I’ve ever been in my entire life. Next, to the first time, I went on stage. When I got on stage and seen Simon, and seen Howie, and seen all the people, I was like “whoa, that’s crazy!” But it just went away, because I seen more people in the crowd. I was like stop like this is home. I feel more comfortable on stage then when I’m talking to people sometimes. When I’m on a stage, I’m like this is mine, this is my world, So I was never nervous.

Hidden Remote: I think you once said that there were three people in the audience or some minimal amount when you first performed. When you got on that stage for AGT for the first time, and you look at the audience in thousands, you were just like “welcome to my house, let me just show you around?”

Lawson: Exactly. Man, that’s the first time I’ve heard it worded like that. That’s so dope and I’m stealing it. That is so great, and that’s pretty much how I felt. Like alright, you guys are at my house. Let me show you around these jokes, that is pretty much what it was, and I feel so at home on stage, that’s exactly how I feel like this is my home right here. So, I just love it, so feel comfortable on stage.

Hidden Remote: Were you comfortable when Simon on the first audition, said, okay, I need another joke?

Lawson: Yes, because I plan on doing this and I was planning on doing the motorcycle bit or the grandma bit, so I did one joke and he was like do another one. So, I said alright, and did another one.

Hidden Remote: Was that plan b? Because, honestly for me, that was the best joke of the set. Was there a reason why you planned that out or did you just go with it? 

Lawson: I kind of went with it. I was just like this is a safe joke. I’ll just go through with this. I definitely agree the grandma bit is way funnier. I felt like that was one of the best bits in the whole season. Well, probably next to “Get the Camera, Linda.” That’s everyone’s favorite joke. So, yeah, but I just kind of knew the motorcycle bit was safe.

Hidden Remote: I have to say that was awesome-

Lawson: Thank you, that’s how she is.

Hidden Remote: I think comedy comes in two forms one is truth and the other is truth exaggerated-

Lawson: 100 percent. It all comes from truth. I just exaggerate that’s it. Every single one of those jokes. The motorcycle bit, the shoe store, and somebody would like fill my coffee eight times and I was like how? I did it and then my grandma was my grandma. I mean you know she is that spiritual.

I remember it was actually a family dog that was hurt and she was praying. It’s like “Yo! what are you doing?” Like that was a true thing. I just put me in that scenario. The clap bit, I was watching it, and I was like how is he clapping that fast?

The homeless bit was where the guy was like freaking out, that was a true story. I mean its this crazy because it was actually a crackhead that asked me to borrow $75. No, it was the homeless guy that asked about the $75 and the crackhead was acting like that. I just fused those two together

Hidden Remote: So you do your second audition, and you don’t know if you’re going to be one of the six contestants to move on. What is the buildup like compared to what is shown on television?

Lawson: It was all day! All day, multiple days. It took forever. It was like three-four days just as it was.  We had to have someone take us to the bathroom because they might need us. So, they would have someone walk us to the bathrooms.

Sometimes I would slip away. Like I got to pee. I’m not going wait on somebody to come walking. It’s like “Y’all going to walk with me right now to the bathroom right now” or “Y’all going to clean it up.” It’s like getting on the plane the other day because I had to use the bathroom. She was like, “sir the seat belt sign is on you can’t use it.” I was like look, “I’m going to go either way, where did you want to be?”

Hidden Remote: So you guys are just sitting there for six days wondering what is going happen. Like it’s got to be kind of nerve-wracking I would imagine?

Lawson: I would say only until the results. I think it’s pretty nerve-racking only because I just wanted to hurry up and know. Not because, I think I should win, I knew I wasn’t going to win. You know you seen my face when they lined me up next to Darcy.  I was like, “why you guys going to waste TV time?”

Hidden Remote: That’s the point I hate the most. You’re going to waste like what, Forty-five seconds, and put them through this? When you know who is going win and lose.

Lawson: Exactly.

Hidden Remote: Yes, I felt that that was real. Actually most people just sit there and say “yeah, I might have a chance” or whatever. But, you were real man-

Lawson: I was so honest. I was “man” I know. I think the reason I didn’t make top-five is everyone at Comcast missed my set and could not vote for me. So that had an effect. But I knew for a fact that I was not going to win. I don’t think I’m going to make top- three, or top four. I thought I was going to make top-five. I knew I wasn’t going to win.

Darci had all of you. It’s so obvious. You look at the view and she had like two million more. Come on, “oh, it’s a surprise.” Two million more of it was. Yes, she was the favorite the whole entire time. Everyone backstage was joking around, it was like, “hey, let’s take a picture with the winner.” This is like, this is like the live shows not even in the semis.

Hidden Remote: I thought she was talented, but I definitely think the deaf girl (Mandy Harvey) should have won.

Lawson: She was insane. She was probably the most talented person on the show because she wrote all those songs when she was deaf. You got to understand that people who write songs and they can hear everything they could hear everything and they suck and she cannot hear anything anymore. And she wrote all those songs and that was insane. She just wrote all those songs to the vibrations through her feet and it’s insane that she can’t even hear her own voice.

I remember watching her for the first time. I was like I’m not crying your crying cry. She’s insanely talented man.  Why is it raining all of sudden in my hotel, this is weird (both begin to laugh)?

Hidden Remote: I was watching you on a YouTube video and you just finished a performance. This was before AGT. They were ripping on you pretty hard, but one thing that stood out was they told you to lose the “lip joke-“

Lawson: Ohhh… you’re talking about “Kill Tony!”

I was on the “Kill Tony” podcast and the dude tells me to not use the lip anymore because it’s stereotypical something like that. I’m like my lips are big, it’s not stereotypical, it’s not like it’s like a thing. I mean, I’m black and I know, I know black people typically have big lips and stuff but I’m not playing. I definitely get his point, but my lips are visibly bigger than normal, they are bigger than black people’s lips.

Hidden Remote: What I did notice it is at you use the joke with “Kill Tony” as I believe airbags. That was the punch line for you at that time. And then at AGT, it was about saving your life for saving your lives. Now what. Why did you change it? Was it because he mentioned something or did you just find it funnier the other way around?

Lawson: No I took it out, but I took it out because it wasn’t funny. I would use it and it would be hit and miss. When I get a big laugh it would be a big laugh, but I’ll probably say one out of four times, it wouldn’t get a laugh. When I use it as I use it like me having big lips, bet I never drown. I bet that! That was just a totally different joke. So that was another joke about my lips or whatever, and how people would make fun of my lips as a kid. The other one is what we call “tag” in the comedy world. So it’s not the punchline. A tag is like a mini punchline. So it was just a tag on to already punchline. And for me when I say “I bet I’ll never drown.” That was more of a punchline I guess.

Hidden Remote: Gotcha. That makes sense.

Lawson: I watched that “Kill Tony” clip the other day, like yesterday, and there was a guy telling me, and I don’t know if you seen this, his name is Kirk Fox he’s telling me how I should not be energetic he’s like I’m hiding behind my insecurities. They are scared of me.

Hidden Remote: That’s ridiculous-

Lawson: Yes, it was crazy, but it was when I first got to L.A. and my second appearance on “Kill Tony” and I am energetic. like I definitely have calmed down but he just doesn’t like my style which is fine. But what it is, I think it was totally invalid to say you don’t got to move around you, don’t got to be loud. “I’m loud” some people are just loud, some people are quiet, Some people are like, that’s is just my personality. So I don’t know if you’ve seen that clip but everyone destroys him in the comments section. They are like “the black guy is funny he should just keep doing him.”

Hidden Remote: The new season is about the start for AGT I was wondering if he could maybe give some advice for the new contestants?

Lawson: I would say, this is going to sound so cliche and corny but I would honestly say to everyone who is auditioning to have fun and be themselves because that’s what I did. It turned out fine. What’s going to happen is if you don’t be yourself you won’t have fun. You know, let’s just say you make it as being someone else. So now everyone identifies you as that person and now you have to be that person. To me, it’s easy, I was me. So now I just go on stage when I go and headline, I’m me the whole entire time. I don’t have to switch things up. I would say you can’t I guess trick someone into liking you. You know what I mean. They either like you they don’t go out there and be yourself.

Hidden Remote: Tell us what we’re going to be in store for all people coming to see you in tour?

Lawson: Oh my gosh bro, It’s going to be so much fun. You’re going to see a lot of sweat a lot of movement, and a lot of laughing you going to laugh, everyone is going to laugh. It’s going to be so much fun on my show. It’s just another level like I mean a lot of times on AGT, they were like “I can’t say this and I can’t say that.” I’m not even like dirty. Still, they were like you can’t say this that and that. They made me switch on my jokes so much and then this going to be me. 100 percent me. It’s going to be a lot of fun. You can expect a laugh a lot.

Hidden Remote: Where can we find you like on social media, and anything else you like to share that we didn’t cover?

Lawson: Yeah, I mean I got that “Cooking with a Comedian” YouTube page that’s really doing well. I have my Twitter, Instagram, everything is pretty much Preacher Lawson. Cooking with me is definitely popping off more. People love it. I have to come out to my shows just for that. They are like “Oh man I didn’t know you did comedy?” Ya. their like “The set was great, but that vegan fried chicken!”

Hidden Remote: Would you like to talk about that a little bit?

Lawson: Yes. I’ve got a vegan cooking. Most of the time we talk about vegan because I’m a vegan. People don’t watch it to learn recipes, they learn it, they watch it because I’m being me. I’m being silly and hyper. I just have so much fun. It’s so much fun but it takes so much work. I need to find someone to edit because I have someone record it, then I edit it, I write the jokes.

I look up these recipes and I look at all these different ways and I have to cook all these trial errors and I have to do all these things so much work, but I love it, the fans love it. Then I’m like “hey what you want me to cook next?” and they are like, “this, this and this.” It’s helped me reach 130,000 subscribers. My most viewed video for my personal is almost at 700,000.

I just show people how to cook stupid easy recipes to read that are super healthy. Some aren’t healthy, but you know they’re just really simple. Pancakes. You need three recipes. You need Almond flour, Oates, and Banana. A cup of Almond milk, a cup of Oates, and a banana blend it. Then go get pancakes.You just take some berries strawberries whatever with some syrup and you boil it for a little bit and then you put it on top. It is sooo good

I made some vegan pulled pork the other day and if I swear to you, if I made you vegan pulled pork, you would not know the difference. It’s super easy. Just take Jackfruit you can get them like Trader Joe’s or whatever you put it in a skillet and with some paprika and some chili powder, you just mix it and then let it soak in some vegetable stock like 30 minutes. Then you take that and you put inside a pan and then you cook it for about 30 minutes with barbecue sauce. It tastes exactly!

Hidden Remote: Any last wisdom of advice for those aspiring comedians.

Lawson: Any advice I would say you should think about doing stand-up, “Never do tomorrow what you can do today.” It’s one of the best quotes I ever heard. I say get on stage as much as possible, as much as possible, I don’t care where you at, perform everywhere. I still will perform everywhere.

Just write every single day, every single day. Even if it’s about your day and it isn’t funny, whatever. You’ll get better. I tell a lot of people all the time. I think I’m funny. I think I’m really funny but I’m not the funniest comedian you have ever seen in your entire life. I’ve seen comedians in L.A. who aren’t famous and I’m like: “I will never be that funny” because they’re so good.

The difference between me and most of talented people is I walk up escalators. I worked hard a lot of people like to rest on their talent. They get on the escalator like: “I’m going to the top” I’m like: “I’m going to walk. I’m going to take the escalator use it as opportunity to get there faster.” So I would say to all inspiring comedian’s just work hard to be funny.

To catch up with more Preacher Lawson, check out his personal website here.