How One Man's Love For Parmesan Cheese Is Beating The Odds On AGT

Cheese. It's one of those things that people seem to not be able to get enough of. You often hear people talk blissfully about creamy brie and camembert or extra sharp crumbly cheddars. Some cheese cravings are so powerful that they will sometimes cause contention between vegetarians and vegans (via The Guardian). 

Research has found that cheese is, in fact, mildly addictive. It's not only the high fat content that causes this craving but other components such as casein that can cause a dopamine release in the brain. This is not necessarily a bad thing; some studies have suggested this may have anticancer and antioxidant attributes (via Healthline). When it comes down to it, many people don't need excuses to eat more cheese. 

Of course, love is something some need to express in song. A quick YouTube search reveals many songs written and performed for the love of cheese including "The Cheese Rap" by Rhett and Link, "The Cheese Song" by Rubber Brick Studio, and more famously Tim Minchin's "Cheese," which he performed at the Royal Albert Hall to thousands of fans. Now there's a new song about cheese in town and it wasn't "America's Got Talent" judge's first choice to go to the next round. 

When singer-songwriter Ben Lapidus from Pennsylvania appeared on "America's Got Talent" during the latest auditions, his back story was typical of many contestants on the show. He talked about how his father had died when he was six and how he'd been writing songs ever since (via YouTube). When he started his song, it soon became clear that this is not your typical ballad. It's about cheese, parmesan cheese to be specific, and the message of the song is clear: "I always want more parmesan, but I'm embarrassed," Lapidus sang as he lamented the relatable dilemma of going to an Italian restaurant and not wanting to seem over-zealous about the amount of cheese the server puts on his dish.

All the judges except Heidi Klum buzzed the contestant to stop but the audience was eating up the cheesy song with chants of "Parmesan! Parmesan! Parmesan!" Klum said, "It's the power of the people" and the judges agreed to put Lapidus through to the next round with the exception of Howie Mandal, who refused to remove his buzzer. According to Yahoo, at the final audition episode of AGT, the judges cut the contestant pool down from 138 to 55 people, including Lapidus. He came back to sing a heavy metal version of the exact same song (via YouTube) and his passion for parmesan cheese struck a chord with the AGT audience.