Nashville, Tenn., may have its sizable pool of country music artists, but one Music City-based rock band called True Villains is making a name for themselves on reality TV via America’s Got Talent (AGT)!
True Villains, a five-piece band made up of Beau Lastavich (vocals), Tim Venerosa (guitar), Greg Herndon (keys), Barry Conaway (bassist), and Matt Carter (drums), appeared on the latest episode of Season 18’s America’s Got Talent. During their audition, which aired on Tuesday (Aug. 1) night, the group had the crowd going wild with their unforgettable and impressive cover of Billie Eilish’s hit, “Bad Guy,” the fifth single from her first studio album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?.
For their performance, as shown below, Lastavich raises his arms in the air to encourage the crowd to clap along before he launches into the lyrics of the tune. Putting all their energy into their impressive interpretation of the song, True Villains turns Eilish’s electropop smash into a mesmerizing metal take.
“So you’re a tough guy / Like it really rough guy / Just can’t get enough guy / Chest always so puffed guy / I’m that bad type / Make your mama sad type / Make your girlfriend mad tight / Might seduce your dad type / I’m the bad guy, duh,” Lastavich sings, showing off his raspy tenor vocals alongside Venerosa, who adds a bit of vocal sound effects to various parts of the tune.
Watch True Villains America’s Got Talent Audition Below
Standing Ovation From AGT Judges
Throughout the take, True Villains received heavy applause and plenty of comments of approval from judges, made up of executive producer Simon Cowell, model Heidi Klum, longtime judge Howie Mandel, and actress Sofia Vergara. At one point, Mandel told Klum, “I love them,” and she agreed. Host Terry Crews also dropped his jaw several times while standing side stage.
Before launching into the tune, the band introduced themselves to viewers and told the judges that they were born and raised in different cities across the country.
Of their reasons for auditioning on the show, True Villains’ Venerosa explained, “Well, my mother has been a huge fan of the show since day one, believe it or not, she’s actually here tonight. Her name is Joan. It took her a couple of years to persuade me [to come on the show], but here we are, and it’s a huge blessing to be able to have this audience.”
Advances To Next Round Of America’s Got Talent Competition
Luckily, momma Joan gave the band members the push they needed to audition for the popular competition series because True Villains had what it takes to receive four yeses from the judges. That means they are moving to the next round of the AGT competition.
Released in the early spring of 2019 and co-written by Eilish with her brother Finneas O’ Connell, “Bad Guy” received rave reviews straight out of the gate. The song topped 16 international charts as well as the US Billboard Hot 100, where it edged out Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ record-breaking 19-week run of “Old Town Road.”
America’s Got Talent airs every Tuesday on NBC. The live shows of the competition series begins Tuesday, (August 22), with voting results airing the next day.
