Background and career
Patrick Kevin Skinner (born February 25, 1974) is an American country music singer from the Jackson Purchase region of Kentucky. He is the winner of the fourth season of America's Got Talent.
Skinner is from the Dublin community of Graves County, Kentucky, and started playing the guitar when he was 12 years old. He has been playing, writing, and singing ever since he learned the art of music from his musician father, Joe, who is a fan of Hank Williams. Skinner is divorced and has two children, a daughter and a son. He has worked as a chicken catcher for several years and claims to have caught with his friends up to 60,000 chickens in one night.
Skinner performed in a live audition on the August 4, 2009 episode of America's Got Talent. He became a fan favorite in the show after his performance of Garth Brooks' "If Tomorrow Never Comes" while strumming his guitar. Judges Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne, and David Hasselhoff all voted "Yes", sending him to the Vegas Round.
Skinner then appeared without performing in the Vegas Round. His audition was strong enough for the judges to send him to the Quarterfinals in Episode 411.
His Week 1 Quarterfinals performance in Episode 413 consisted of singing Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love" while playing the guitar. Kevin received enough votes to be sent to the Semifinals in Episode 414 instead of Mosaic.
The Week 1 Semifinals performance in Episode 421 consisted of Skinner guitar playing and singing "Always On My Mind" by Brenda Lee. Piers Morgan gave him a standing ovation, saying that singing from the heart and soul with real, raw emotion is the whole story about him while the two of them were both teary-eyed as well as the audience, in which Kevin was reminded that he had the ability to move an audience in a way that Piers never saw on AGT before concluding that Kevin is one of his favorites to win the season. In the end, Kevin received enough votes to be sent to the Finals in Episode 422 instead of Acrodunk basketball trampoline dance group.
