Carlsbad’s Brody Schaffer has already caught the attention of millions of people online, and on Tuesday night, fans can watch the 8-year-old dance on national television as a competitor on “America’s Got Talent.”
The prerecorded audition – which can also be seen now on YouTube – will air on NBC, showing Brody dancing to “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen for “AGT” judges Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel and Sofia Vergara.
Born and raised in San Diego County, Brody began dancing at the age of 3 and said he fell in love with performing because he wanted to make people smile.
“Whenever I played music, even though he wasn’t walking, he was always dancing,” his mother, Danielle Schaffer, said in an interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune on Monday. “He was a late bloomer in walking. He was 19 months when he started walking, which is really late for any mom. But when he stood up, that was it, he started dancing.”
His dance teacher, Kristen Hibbs, from Danceology Performing Arts Campus, helped him prepare for his “AGT” audition. Danielle Schaffer said Brody only had to practice the choreography two or three times before performing it in front of a live audience on the show.
At the taping for “America’s Got Talent,” Brody said he felt a little nervous but couldn’t help but take in all the excitement of being on that big stage in front of so many people. His passion to perform inspired him to go on the show and it meant a lot to him to tribute his audition to Queen.
“I felt like it was going to be really fun and I thought I was going to get the golden buzzer. I dance so much – that’s why I wanted to do a lot of competitions because it’s really fun for me,” Brody said.
But he isn’t a stranger to the spotlight. There are videos of him competing at various dance competitions on his mother’s family channel @citygirlgonemom, which has gained over 5.7 million followers on TikTok. He became increasingly popular on the Internet for his energetic dance moves and what he referred to as his “sassy” personality — which is how his mother coined his nickname “Boss Baby Brody.”
His Internet fame has led to a starring role in a Niall Horan music video and appearances on “Good Morning America,” “The Kelly Clarkson Show” and “Tamron Hall Show.”
Danielle Schaffer calls the young dancer her “joy trigger” because he’s constantly thinking of others and looking for ways to make people happy. In the competition for the show’s prize money of $1 million, Brody plans to donate his winnings to a dance or homeless charity if he wins at the end of the season.
To watch Brody’s full audition on “America’s Got Talent,” episodes will be streaming on the platform Peacock and at 8 p.m. on the NBC channel.
