Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Edon Pinchot Bounced From ‘Talent’

Edon Pinchot, a kipah-wearing Jewish day school student singer and pianist, was eliminated in the semi-finals of “America’s Got Talent.”

Three of the 12 acts that performed in the first set of semifinalists were sent through to the finals during the show broadcast on Wednesday.

Edon had won cheers from the live audience and accolades from the judges following his performance on Tuesday’s broadcast.

Edon, 14, of Skokie, Ill., performed One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful” on the popular NBC reality show and received a standing ovation from the live audience. Judge Howie Mandel told Edon that he is “the best singer of the competition.”

The teen was among 12 acts performing live Tuesday night. Other semifinalists included singers, a dancer, a dog ventriloquist, an acrobat, a mind reader and a comedian.

The second set of 12 semifinalists will perform Sept. 4, vying for a chance to take home the $1 million prize.

Edon had performed an audition, in the Vegas round and in the quarterfinals to reach the semis. His kipah has made him a focal point for viewers.

Edon, who is Sabbath observant and keeps kosher, is the fourth of five children and has been playing piano since he was 9. His grandmother, Ginger Pinchot of Silver Spring, Md., says Edon is “very athletic. He’s one of the stars of his soccer team, and he’s also a straight-A student. He’s just kind of an all-around guy.”

The show’s three judges – Mandel, Sharon Osbourne and Howard Stern – are Jewish.

Edon is a student at the Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Chicago.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.