Father-Daughter Team Shows Moapa Valley’s Got Talent

By MAGGIE MCMURRAY

Moapa Valley Progress

Those who have been to the annual Moapa Valley community talent show know that Moapa Valley’s got talent. But one father-daughter duo may soon be proving that fact to all of America.

Alicia Silva and her dad Rick Houston, performing under the name of “Houston and Girl,” were recently short-listed for a spot on the hit reality TV show “America’s Got Talent” at recent auditions held on December 13 at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The pair were called back again and again for a total of three auditions that day, with their final audition being before a group of five executive producers.

In the end, the father-daughter team was told that, unless they were displaced by an act yet to audition from another city, their next performance would be in front of the TV cameras for all of America to see.

This was not the first audition for Silva. She has tried out for similar shows before.
“I’ve auditioned in the past, but I’ve always gone about it trying to be somebody that I’m not,” Silva said. “This time I decided to just be me. And my favorite person in the whole world to sing with is my dad. So that’s what I wanted to do.”

Silva went on to say that her dad is one of the few people in the world she can trust with anything at anytime and that he’s always stuck by her. That made him a natural choice to stick by her in this situation, she said.

When Silva first brought up auditioning to her dad, they both kind of joked about it. Then they realized that it was something they really could do.
“We realized it was a now-or-never kind of thing,” Silva said. “We didn’t want to be sitting at home watching the show saying ‘We could have done that!’ So we just decided to do it and give it our best shot.”

Houston explained that there were several thousand people that showed up to audition. Organizers placed these all into groups of hundreds and then fifties. Then they divided those groups into groups of ten which went into the audition together.

Each act in the group of ten was given only ninety seconds to show their stuff.
“Our first audition was in front of a girl with a laptop (computer),” Houston said. “She cut us off fairly quickly so we thought we were out.”

But the two were asked to wait in the hall with the others until the whole group had auditioned.
Finally someone came into the hall and announced that they all would get back to them in March. But they then asked that “Houston and Girl” follow them because they had some “paperwork to finish.” When they were alone, Houston and Silva were told not to tell anyone, but they were being sent to a second round audition and that they had loved them.

Houston and Silva had to scramble a bit before their second audition. The only song they had prepared was Vince Gill’s “High on the Mountain.” But they managed to put together a great rendition of Journey’s “Lights” for their next judge. After that audition, the judge described them as being “refreshing” and “awesome.”

They then went through some interviews which took down their whole backstory and took profile pictures of them.
Then they faced their third audition before five of the show’s executive producers.
“There were five guys with English accents; and no sense of humor it seemed; all behind massive cameras,” Silva said. “It was like being in front of five ‘Simons’.”

After their third audition, they waited until they were brought to a room with about fourteen other acts. There they were told that they were the finalists for the day. Unless someone in a subsequent audition bumped them out of their spot, they were in line for a shot at the big-time in front of all of America.
“They seemed to really like the fact that we were a father-daughter duet,” Houston said. “It was something they hadn’t seen much of.”
“They said they would contact us in January and let us know if we still have a spot,” Silva added. “So we’re just waiting.”

Silva said she knows from experience not to count on too much yet. She admits that every audition is a learning experience, a fact she shared with the many other acts from Moapa Valley that tried out that same day.
“If they don’t see you for what you know you are, your only way to change that is to keep practicing, work hard, and prove them wrong,” Silva said. “You have to keep trying because it’s the only way to change their opinions.”

Regardless of what happens from here on out, Silva and Houston are both grateful for the experience that they’ve had.
“It was a great experience whether we get on TV in the spring or not,” Silva said. “I feel so blessed that I had this great experience with my dad. It was very humbling, especially performing in front of those five executive producers, but I’m so glad we did it and I’m proud that we’ve gotten as far as we have.”