Jake's Take with Jacob Elyachar

America’s Got Talent (AGT) is celebrating its 21st season!Judges Simon Cowell, Sofía Vergara, Howie Mandel, and Mel B, alongside host Terry Crews, will return for the 21st search for the million-dollar talent on June 2 on NBC and Peacock. To commemorate the 21st season, Jake’s take with Jacob Elyachar is taking a retrospective on the 21 auditions that changed the NBC talent competition forever:1) Rapping Granny (Vivian Smallwood)* - Season One FINALIST2) Terry Fator - Season Two WINNER3) Nuttin' But Stringz - Season Three FINALISTS4) Barbara Padilla - Season Four RUNNER-UP5) Prince Poppycock - Season Five FOURTH PLACE6) Team iLuminate - Season Six THIRD PLACE7) Kenichi Ebina - Season Eight WINNER8) Mat Franco - Season Nine WINNER9) Emil & Dariel - Season Nine FINALISTS10) Drew Lynch - Season 10 RUNNER-UP11) The Clairvoyants - Season 11 RUNNERS-UP 12) Shin Lim - Season 13 WINNER 13) Angel City Chorale - Season 13 SEMIFINALISTS14) Kodi Lee - Season 14 WINNER15) Voices of Service - Season 14 FIFTH PLACE16) Brandon Leake - Season 15 WINNER17) Nightbirde* - Season 16 PARTICIPANT 18) Drake Milligan - Season 17 THIRD PLACE & Chapel Hart - Season 17 FIFTH PLACE 19) Mzansi Youth Choir - Season 18 FINALISTS20) Ramadhani Brothers - Season 18 FIFTH PLACE21) Jessica Sanchez - Season 20 WINNERWhat are your favorite AGT auditions of all-time?*= Of Blessed MemoryBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jake-s-take-with-jacob-elyachar--4112003/support.

Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar acknowledges Mental Health Awareness Month (MHAM).Mental Health America was established this observance in May 1949 to increase awareness of mental health issues, reduce stigma, celebrate recovery, and provide resources for individuals and communities. I am thrilled to welcome Sean Martin as this year’s MHAM special guest. Sean is the executive producer, guitarist, and vocalist behind the Quarantined. Singing in community choirs from the age of four in Fort Bragg, CA, and playing guitar by age twelve, Sean is a 2012 Musicians Institute alumnus with an A.A. in Guitar Performance and Music Industry Studies. An award-winning vocalist in high school, he placed in Regional and State Honor Choirs and earned a Lenaea Award as a writer and actor for the one-act play The Black Widow Project (Best Docudrama, 2003), directed by Meg Patterson. Sean Martin served in the U.S. Army Airborne Infantry (3/509th PIR, 4th Brigade, 25th Infantry Division) from 2004–2007, deploying to Iraq from October 2006 to September 2007. He is now an outspoken advocate for veterans’ mental health and the therapeutic use of cannabis for PTSD. Independently owned and operated, The Quarantined continues to release music defined by substance, intensity, and purpose. In partnership with Free2Luv.org, the project pushes toward a more inclusive and conscious future—setting a new standard for DIY music on an international scale. In 2010, Sean and several former students at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California, began to perform music together as the Quarantined. Throughout 2010 to 2013, the band blended raw musical force with vivid imagery, creating songs that confront politics, trauma, addiction, and the cost of modern life. In 2013, the Quarantined released their self-titled extended play, and throughout the mid-2010s, the band’s music presence expanded with high-profile shows. In 2016, the band released another EP, Antiquate Hate, which earned international press coverage, radio play in 13 countries, and widespread rotation on US college radio. Five years later, Sean Martin shifted the Quarantined into a solo venture. He traveled from Florida to Boston and back to Los Angeles, performing at numerous open mic nights in support of upcoming material and partnering with Plaid Dog Records with a successful crowdfunding campaign that led to the release of “One Last Chance” and “Instagram Hell.” In 2025, Sean recorded, executive-produced, and released Aversion to Normalcy, which is a cathartic confrontation with trauma, resilience, and the illusion of “normal” in a fractured world. The release has generated international press, surpassed 1 million Spotify streams, and accumulated over 40 million views on TikTok—cementing Sean as a distinctive voice in modern rock. On this edition of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Sean Martin shared the Quarantined’s origin story, the stories behind their most-streamed Spotify songs, and how he used his music to have mental health dialogues with his fans.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jake-s-take-with-jacob-elyachar--4112003/support.

I am very excited to launch a very special series for Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar. May is Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM), which annually celebrates the history, culture, and contributions of Jewish Americans to the United States. I am honored to welcome my dear friend and mentor, Joanne J-Bird Phillips, to the podcast. I first met J-Bird in New York City through our mutual friend and former guest, Beatrice Kimmel. She and I instantly bonded and became fast friends. I love her zest for life, and it was Beshert (Yiddish for “destiny”) that the stars finally aligned for her to come on the show for our third JAHM special. Born in The Bronx and raised on Long Island, NY, Joanne Phillips grew up in a family of professional drummers and band leaders. Having a natural rhythm since childhood, Joanne's father taught her to play drums with brushes when she was seven, and her first song was "Come Fly with Me" by Frank Sinatra. She grew up listening to Swing, Motown, Bossa Nova, and Rock 'n' Roll, and honed her drum skills on a full orange sparkle drum kit that her family bought for her. At age sixteen, Joanne was asked to join a local garage band of teenage boys who needed someone to play their cover of "Wipeout" by The Surfaris correctly. She stepped in and nailed it. Hence began Joanne's lifelong love of music and live performance. Fast forward to the late 70's, after Joanne had moved to Long Beach, NY, and raised two children of her own in the arts -- her son, an alumnus of Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in NYC, and one of the metro area's popular freelance Improv coaches, and her daughter, a SAG-AFTRA TV actress and comedian/comedy writer working in LA.Over the years, Joanne witnessed how many music and arts programs were evaporating and eventually terminated, due to a lack of funding and/or support from the government, as well as certain folks with no interest in keeping arts programs alive, resulting in the arts being put on the back burner in the education system. Joanne remained an avid supporter of an arts education platform for children. She saw how it created positive experiences for her own kids (and many other youths) and witnessed how even a basic arts education enriched lives of youths on many levels for years into their adulthood. In 2012, Joanne founded J-Bird Music for the Arts, Inc., with the vision of reviving arts programs by providing much-needed equipment, instruments, and resources to enrich the lives of youth through arts education. She wanted to bring that same joy, excitement, and creativity to youth everywhere, especially in underserved or underfunded areas. Through J-Bird Music for the Arts, Joanne brings her vision alive. From her tireless efforts as a brain tumor survivor with a second chance to live and continue on this mission, she has provided much-needed equipment and support to music and arts programs throughout New York State, including Still Waters In A Storm in Brooklyn, Long Beach High School in Long Island, and Goshen Central High School in Orange County, NY. On this edition of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Joanne spoke about her tenth anniversary of being associated with the US Press Association and revealed some of the J-Bird Music for the Arts’ top accomplishments.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jake-s-take-with-jacob-elyachar--4112003/support.

It is a privilege to welcome back my friend, Jeff Azar, aka Demi the Daredevil, to Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast. Hailing from El Paso, Texas, Demi, went from being the drummer to being a singer after the original lead singer, Jovan Ortiz, suddenly passed away. With this loss and his mental health struggles as catalysts, Jeff reimagined the band’s identity as an evocative blend of theatrical alt-pop, haunting soundscapes, and dark, introspective lyrics, creating anthems for other misfits who feel lost, misunderstood, and searching for their unique voice. With influences ranging from Tim Burton to Edgar Allan Poe, Demi the Daredevil’s music delves into themes of identity, mental illness, existentialism, and the complexities of the human experience. This gives the listener a deep, relatable sense of meaning, creating a safe space and a sense of community for the underdog. Not only does the brand avatar reflect the audience’s identity, but it also offers a signature allure for collaborations and partnerships. He has garnered over 25 million Spotify streams and over 1,000 pieces of fan art from the “devilins” (his fanbase). Buzzfeed, CBS, Crank That Frank, and Emo Nite have profiled Demi, while several songs, such as “Call in Dead,” have been featured on Trebel’s homepage and Pandora’s “AMP Fresh Cuts” playlist. On this edition of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Demi the Daredevil spoke about his 10th anniversary and the stories behind several songs, including “Cursed House” with AViVA.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jake-s-take-with-jacob-elyachar--4112003/support.

It is a pleasure to welcome singer Dawn Derow to the Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast. A New Yorker by way of Cape Cod, Dawn has been captivating audiences for more than 17 years with extraordinary versatility, moving seamlessly from Puccini to Brandi Carlile to Broadway and jazz. A graduate of the Boston Conservatory, she has performed on world-class stages including Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and London’s The Pheasantry, as well as leading New York City venues such as 54 Below, Birdland, The Green Room 42, and the Laurie Beechman Theatre. Beyond New York, she has headlined nationally at the Dakota Jazz Club, Café Centro, Provincetown’s Post Office Café, and appeared with the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra. Dawn Derow’s artistry has earned her three MAC Awards (including Best Female Vocalist and Best Album), a Bistro Award, and glowing reviews for acclaimed shows like Revolution, Legit: A Classical Cabaret, and My Ship: Songs from 1941. Her album My Ship won Best Album at the MAC Awards, with Cabaret Scenes hailing her as “a supremely accomplished artist” with “a remarkable range.” Her acclaimed tribute, Dawn Derow Sings Eydie Gormé (played both at Birdland and 54 below, NYC), was praised for its vocal fireworks and recently played to packed houses, cementing her reputation as one of cabaret’s most versatile performers.Equally at home on the theatrical stage, Dawn has starred as Antonia in Man of La Mancha, Cathy in The Last Five Years, Adele in Die Fledermaus, and most recently Francesca in The Bridges of Madison County at the Delray Beach Playhouse — a performance that earned rave reviews and the award for Outstanding Actress in a Mainstage Production (2025). Internationally, she has brought her cabaret artistry abroad with sold-out runs at London’s Pheasantry (My Ship, 2023; Women’s Work, 2024) and a recent premiere of Because I Can/Porque Yo Puedo in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.Expanding her creative reach, Dawn co-produces Dorothy Dandridge: The Musical and originated the role of gossip columnist Hedda Hopper in its workshop. Offstage, she teaches mobility classes, provides Thai massage, and supports older adults in wellness programs. She divides her time between New York and Florida, returning to Provincetown each summer to perform. On this episode of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Dawn Derow spoke about the feeling of performing on Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center’s hallowed stages and her latest single, “Everything’s Going to Be Alright,” which features a surprise video appearance with Dawn’s collaborator, Sean Harkness.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jake-s-take-with-jacob-elyachar--4112003/support.

It is a pleasure to welcome Shruti Sadana as a guest to The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast. With a rich background both in front of the camera as an actor and behind the scenes in production, Shruti brings a uniquely holistic perspective to managing talent — one that honors the whole person, not just the career.As Co-Founder of Hey Beauti Magazine, a platform rooted in deep and authentic conversations, Shruti partnered with Nicola Haggins to amplify voices and stories that inspire real connection. She produced compelling cover shoots featuring talents like Sarah Shahi, Steve Howey, and Emmanuelle Chriqui, and conducted intimate interviews with stars including Megan Fox, always drawing out the essence beneath the surface.During the pandemic, Shruti Sadana’s journey took a powerful turn when she became certified in Quantum NLP Coaching and hypnosis. This transformative training awakened her to the profound power of healing subconscious patterns and aligned her with her soul’s true calling. Her purpose deepened further through the Beyond Bulletproof program with Evy Poumpouras, where she embraced a mission to serve artists with fierce intuition, compassion, and integrity. Known for her intuitive insight, emotional intelligence, and unwavering commitment to her clients, Shruti is a game-changing manager who guides artists to breakthroughs not only professionally but personally — helping them rise as empowered, authentic forces in the industry. On this edition of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Shruti Sadana spoke about how she launched Unveild Artist Management and how this organization stands out in the entertainment industry’s performer and creator management space.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jake-s-take-with-jacob-elyachar--4112003/support.