Life is surreal, says 'America's Got Talent' winner Michael Grimm as he heads for Soaring Eagle

Courtesy PhotoMichael Grimm

When Michael Grimm calls from Denver, where he'll open that night for Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks, you know this is one musician living out a lot of people's dreams.

"We're at the Red Rock, which I hear is pretty cool," said the man who in 2010 won NBC's "America's Got Talent" competition and soon after proposed to his fiancée Lucy on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show.

"I still can't believe I'm going to open for Stevie – she actually requested for me and I'm a big fan of hers – but everything's been pretty amazing since I won the competition. It goes to show you the power of television."

Of course, that sort of sudden stardom comes with another realization – this is when the real work begins, he said, chorusing what many others have said after televised competitions thrust them in the spotlight.

While Grimm admitted some people have accused the soulful crooner of selling out, using "America's Got Talent" to get his break instead of making the industry recognize him on his own, "the whole experience has been a blessing," he said. "I signed with Epic Records, working with Michael Flynn, and Don Was produced my first album.

"He's a great guy, a really fun guy. I got to put the songs I wanted on the album; they respected my years of experience. And we had a lot of people come in, like Ann Wilson and Travis Tritt, to help out. It's all been very surreal."

If there is one aspect of the business that hasn't come easy, "it's the politics," Grimm said. "I'm not that good at that, playing the games. It doesn't come as natural as going on stage."

He'll take the stage Friday at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mount Pleasant with fellow "America's Got Talent" winners Terry Fator, a ventriloquist, and country music singer Kevin Skinner.

"I'm going to get up there and do my thing," said the Louisiana man who wowed judges Sharon Osbourne, Howie Mandel and Piers Morgan with his Al Green-style vocals and ultimately helped Ozzy Osbourne win a bet on the season's outcome.

"I don't talk too much; people come to hear me sing."

And Grimm has been singing a long time, for close to 20 years, he said.

"When I was 12 years old, I'd sing in this little ballroom for tips, with my grandmother there drinking a Coca Cola, chaperoning me," he said. "Sometimes, my aunts would come, too. It's all I ever wanted to do, and all I know how to do."

When he first auditioned for "America's Got Talent," judges turned him down, he said, but the next time around, they called him to come on down. He picked the show because, unlike "American Idol," the NBC show "lets people do their acts," he said. "The other shows instruct them too much instead of allowing you to show your talents."

And there was so much talent, he said, "that I never intended on winning. It's not easy to get on that show, but once the door was opened, I just went out there and did what I've always done."

Since winning, Grimm has fulfilled a few more dreams.

"I knew I was going to ask my Lucy to marry me," he said, adding that they tied the knot a couple of months ago. "I want to create a family and she's the one I want always by my side.

"The time was perfect; she said the proposal had better be good or she'd make me do it again. After I proposed on Ellen's show, she told me I'd done good."

Grimm is also using part of the million-dollar prize that came with the win to build his grandparents a new home. They took Grimm and his sister in when he was 5, he said, "and I know any one of the kids in our family would do the same for them, if we had the resources. I was just lucky enough to be able to do it."

The label is picking out a new single – "I don't know which one it is, but it will hit radio soon," he said – and he's already making plans for the next album.

"I'll probably get back in the studio next summer," he said. "When you all this coming so fast, it's surreal. Here I am, opening for Stevie Nicks tonight! It's all a dream come true."