'America's Got Talent' Semifinals: DC's Malik DOPE Is Ready

WASHINGTON, DC — Malik DOPE, the acrobatic street performer from Washington, D.C., is promising a few surprises Tuesday night, when he competes in the semifinal round of NBC's "America's Got Talent."

"To my supporters in D.C., they already know I come with creativity and I keep them guessing," he said. "So now it's time to show the world that same DOPE boy energy. Keep people guessing. You never know what I might add to my show with the drums. It's more than drums."

At the end of the Aug. 26 episode of the popular televised talent show, celebrity judges Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel gave the drummer a last-minute reprieve with a Dunkin' save. Malik was grateful for the chance to go on to the next round, but he also was prepared if the decision went the other way.

"Honestly, I really just felt like no matter what the outcome was, I put on an amazing show that I was really proud of," he said, of his quarterfinal performance. "If I had went home, I wouldn't have felt very bad, because I felt like I did an amazing show and I lit the stage up and it was very memorable. So, I win staying and I win going home."

Now Malik will compete for the $1 million grand prize against 19 other acts in the semifinal round. To that end, he's been studying his last performance, as well as the performances of all of his competitors.

For Tuesday night's performance, Malik said audiences can expect a different element of creativity from what they've seen before, but it would also be related to his two previous appearances.

"I'm telling a story, so this is chapter three," he said. "Every performance they get a progression but another new element added."

Whatever the outcome of the competition, Malik has found being on "America's Got Talent" a positive and fulfilling experience, which has helped him advance as a professional performer.

"I did not define myself as a 'producer,' until working on this show," he said. "Of course, I'm a drummer and I'm an artist and a creative like that, but I never looked at myself as somebody who's actually a producer. I am able to put together cool shows. These shows that I'm doing, this is from my ideas but in tandem with AGT's expertise and production. I write out a stage plot and they fine-tune it up and we work together on it. ... It's been a great opportunity to find more of myself in the creative chambers that lie within me."

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View Malik DOPE's quarterfinal performance from NBC's "America's Got Talent":