Kevin Skinner is a country singer mostly known as the winner of a popular American TV show called “America’s Got Talent” in 2009. He was the fan favorite from the begining of the show.

Early life:

He was born as Patrick Kevin Skinner on February 25, 1974 in Kentucky, in the Graves County which is settled on the west of the state.

He was interested in music, singing and everything related to that from his early age. He wanted to learn how to play the guitar so he asked for a guitar when he was twelve, and learned himself both playing and writing songs.

Kentucky is known as a state where country music is greatly appreciated and where many country stars were born. Therefore, it was a great place for Patrick to show his talent.

His father Joe was also a musician so he taught his son everything he knows about music and always gave him support in his career.

He also has an older brother who found his career outside music but always thought that Kevin will be a star. His family was very supportive of Kevin’s musical talent but after a while they couldn’t handle his psychological state.

Career development:

In 2009 he auditioned for a place in a known American TV show named “America’s Got Talent”. He impressed the judges with his performance of Gareth Brooks’s song “If Tommorrow Never Comes”.

The audience voted for him a lot because he has a very loveable character and is very lovely. When he got to the finale, he said that he felt that he’ll win because his father cheered for him. He found his biggest support in his parents, but particularly his father whom he loves a lot.

He has a very simple and goodnatured character so everybody loves him on the stage, and he became a public favorite since the day one. The number of his fans enlargened after his next performances.

After he won the talent show, which was not something unexpected, he won a $1 million prize, but he decided not to take it at once because it seriously lowered the total amount he would get but he chose to receive it through the period of 40 years. In that case it came up to  $25,000 a year which is a decent amount of money for a person to continue working on his music.

He emphasized many times that he isn’t interested in getting millions with his music but to have a decent amount of money to support his family and invest in their future.

Besides the money, Kevin won a place on the Las Vegas stage which was hard for him because he was shy, but eventually he learned to play in front of the crowd and interact with them in his show.

His first CD was released in 2010 under the name “Long Ride” and for the day of the release was picked March 17, the Saint Patrick’s Day. He chose that day because his middle name is Patrick.

His next album came in 2011 and it was the collection of his most notable songs performed live, it was called “Kevin Skinner: Live and Unplugged”.

He never said no to any charoty work and if he is called to perform in local schools or churches he always responds to it.

He always says that his parents learned him to be modest and to love life, not expecting to much so you will not be disappointed.

Personal life:

He was in a marriage with Kirsten Skinner when he entered the show. They have a daughter together called Sydney.

After he became the winner of the show, his wife left him which was all over tabloids at that time.

Some people claimed that he had issues concerning his mental health and that it was one of the reason why he had so much trouble performing in front of the audience. This has never been confirmed so nobody can say what has been happening for sure.

He had a great relationship with his parents, especially his father who was a great fan of Hank Williams and who first encouraged him to sing and learn how to play the guitar. That’s why he was so happy when his father was proud of him, he knew that he actually was good and his father wasn’t saying it just to be nice.

It is not common knowledge but he did all kind of things to support his family: he was even a chicken catcher in a poultry factory. He never hid his past or was ashamed of it because it made him who he is today.

In 2014 there was a big search for him after he went missing from his home in Kentucky. The police soon found him and he never revealed why he left his home and hasn’t contacted any family members or friends about his departure.

He is an excellent songwriter and he writes songs almost every day. He has written all the songs for his 1st album and he wished that he knew how to produce them himself.

There is a song written in the memory of his late grandmother who he loved very much. He says that she always believed in him and gave him confidence to continue doing his music although he was ready to give up.

Quick summary

Full name: Patrick Kevin Skinner

Date of birth: February 25, 1974

Birthplace: Graves County, Kentucky

Age: 43

Profession: country singer, songwriter

Height: 1,83 m

Weight: 97 kgs

Net Worth:  $1 million