Landau Eugene Murphy Jr.

Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. (born August 11, 1974)^[1] is an American jazz singer from Logan County, West Virginia. He received national attention for winning the sixth season of the NBC reality show America's Got Talent.^[4] Landau has released a total of 4 albums^[5] since his victory in 2011. Landau has performed around the world, including Shanghai, China, in 2013^[6] and at the World Expo in Dubai in 2022.^[7] Landau continues to perform around the country annually and wraps up every year with a Holiday tour across his home state.^[8] In 2014 Landau was listed in the Jaycees Ten Outstanding Young Americans list.^[9]

Murphy's hometown is Logan, West Virginia. His grandfather was Rev. Cecil Murphy.^[10] He dropped out of high school during his 11th grade year. (Decades later, he earned his high school diploma during the COVID-19 pandemic.)^[11]

For 20 years, he struggled financially, living and working in West Virginia and Detroit, Michigan.

In November 2010, Murphy traveled to New York City for the audition. Before his time on television, in 2010, Landau's house was ransacked, leading him to audition for America's Got Talent in the only clothes he owned.^[12] He was selected as the winner of the show on September 14, 2011, after a performance of "My Way", a song popularized by Frank Sinatra.^[4][13] He won the $1 million grand prize and began a headlining act in Las Vegas on October 28.^[14]

After winning, Murphy signed to Sony Records and Columbia Records,^[3] and released his first album That's Life on November 21, 2011.^[2] The album debuted at No. 34 on the Billboard 200, selling 28,000 copies, then fell to No. 41 the next week on the charts. It debuted at number one on the Billboard jazz charts, and also reached No. 1 in the Jazz category on Amazon.com. By May 2017, the album had sold 156,000 copies.^[15]

Many have compared Murphy's vocals and phrasing to that of Frank Sinatra, a singer he has always admired. Many of the tracks from That's Life are Sinatra standards. Murphy said of the album, "For a lot of music fans, especially older people, I can bring back some happy memories. And hopefully I can create new memories for generations to come."

That's Life was produced by Steve Tyrell, himself an aficionado of Sinatra's music.

As part of his AGT prize, Murphy headlined a show in Las Vegas at the Colosseum Theater at Caesars Palace. He toured other locations including the Apollo Theater in New York City and the DTE Energy Center in Detroit with The Temptations. He was a headlining performer at the West Virginia and California State Fairs. Murphy made a Super Bowl appearance as well. He performed at The Hollywood Christmas Parade and a many sold-out shows in the US, many supporting local charities. Major media appearances have included The Today Show, The View, The Talk, The Wendy Williams Show, Fox and Friends, Anderson Cooper 360°, The Tom Joyner Show, Scott and Todd in the Morning on WPLJ, and Good Day LA.^[15]

Murphy has sung the national anthem at Madison Square Garden, WVU's Mountaineer Field, and at several other public events.^[14]

Landau is an advocate for adult education in his home state West Virginia and is part of its Department of Education's campaign It's Never Too Late to Graduate.^[16] campaign.^[17] He used his free time during the COVID-19 pandemic to earn his high school diploma.^[11] Landau continues to advocate for adult education, offering the official Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. Scholarship at Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College in Logan, West Virginia, his hometown.^[18]

Following his win on America's Got Talent, Landau has hosted a series of charity events around the state of West Virginia.^[19] In 2014, he was listed in the Jaycees Ten Outstanding Young Americans list.^[9]

Murphy was married to Jennifer Carter, but they divorced in 2013.^[10] He began a relationship with Peyton Konchesky in 2020.^[20]

• Official website
• Interview with NPR's All Things Considered