“America’s Got Talent” famed producer and judge Simon Cowell said it himself recently during a Pasadena taping of the long-running talent show.
“I’ve always said, ‘If you could find a singing dog, you would make a fortune.’”
Cue Pam Eberhardt and Casper, her singing Chihuahua.
Eberhardt and Casper recently wowed the four “Talent” judges — Cowell, Howie Mandel, Sofia Vergara and Heidi Klum — with a howlingly good version of the power ballad, “All by Myself,” a ’70s hit by Eric Carmen, more recently covered by Mariah Carey.
The duo’s crooning even earned a rare standing ovation from the judges.
Eberhardt, who works as an office manager, but is also a playwright of some note, talked to Pasadena Now the other day about the idea of “training” Casper for his big moment on stage, which had previously been confined to one talent show.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say I trained him,” she said. “I think that we’ve come up with a kind of communication between the two of us, like a rhythm that I think any two partners kind of develop with each other. So there are times where I can sense that he’s going to do what I need him to do, and then there are other times, when he’s just a dog and unpredictable.”
Like so many other would-be stars, Eberhardt and Casper perfected their trade on Tik Tok.
As she explained, “We’ve been singing together on Tik Tok for so long now that, again, we just kind of have this rhythm and understanding with each other, and there’s a certain way I can inflect tones or look at him or give him a treat while I’m singing. So he’s distracted.
“There are certain vowel sounds that trigger him more than other ones,” she added, but acknowledged that, “It’s kind of like throwing a bunch of pasta onto a fridge and you hope something sticks.”
But Casper wasn’t born into the musical life, unlike Pam, who was starring in her own musical theater videos with her sister, when she was 3.
“Casper was actually born without much of a voice,” she said. “He would give these little squeaks, these little noises and we all kind of wondered what his voice would sound like. And then one day I was playing guitar and singing, and he just started howling along. And it was the craziest thing to come out of any animal, let alone one that had been quiet for so long.”
The show is currently in mid-season, and it’s Eberhardt’s guess that she will return to compete again, before the sem-final and championship rounds begin.
She will likely also bring a different song to her next outing, saying “Casper loves to sing along with all types of music.”
Viewing her performance, both she and Casper appear to be the picture of cool and calm, but she is also somewhat surprised at how well things appear to be going so far.
Said Eberhardt, “I am so thrilled that everyone loves Casper so much, and I was so nervous. You can definitely hear it in my voice. So I hope I get to go again, because I know I’ll have more confidence next time.”
Judging by the reaction of Cowell and his fellow judges, we could likely see Pam and Casper back on stage more than once this season.
