Ahren Belisle is a Canadian stand-up comedian from North Bay, Ontario,Chris Dawson, "Local Comedian Ahren Belisle returns to America's Got Talent". Bay Today, August 29, 2023. best known as a finalist in the eighteenth season of America's Got Talent.Lottie Elizabeth Johnson, "He’s an engineer. But now he could win $1 million on ‘America’s Got Talent’ ... as a comedian". Deseret News, August 30, 2023.
Belisle, who has cerebral palsy and performs his comedy through a speech synthesis app on his phone, was working as a software engineer when, on a vacation in Portugal, he attended a stand-up comedy show where he made the audience and the performers laugh with his witty heckling, and was encouraged to try comedy himself."This northern Ontario comic can't talk, but he's made it on America's Got Talent". CBC Sudbury, June 13, 2023. Later in the year he appeared on Tony Hinchcliffe's Kill Tony podcast, generating such a positive reaction that he was given a "Golden Ticket" to allow him to appear on the show anytime he wanted.George Clay Mitchell, "Ahren Belisle brings his bold comedy to Oklahoma and Arkansas audiences". Southwest Times Record, December 3, 2024. He was solicited by the producers of America's Got Talent to participate in the season, which aired in 2023.
He has stated that performing through a text-to-speech app has both negative and positive aspects, as the technology doesn't always work properly, but the delay (as he types) builds up an extra layer of comedic tension.Paulette Cohn, "'AGT' Mute Comic Ahren Belisle on How Technology Limits His Witty, Fast Thinking Delivery". Parade, August 29, 2023.
In 2024 he appeared in All Access Comedy, a stand-up comedy special hosted by D.J. Demers for AMI-tv to highlight comedians with disabilities.Greg David, "AMI announces winter 2024 debut and premiere dates on AMI-tv and AMI+". TV, eh, December 12, 2023. He and the other performers on the special received an ensemble Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Writing in a Variety or Sketch Comedy Program or Series at the 13th Canadian Screen Awards in 2025."Canadian Screen Awards Television Program Categories". Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, March 26, 2025.
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