Sínann Fetherston sits down with stand-up Preacher Lawson ahead of his gig in Dublin's Liberty Hall Theatre on June 6 to discuss his love of stand-up, being raised by a single mother, and appearing on both AGT and BGT.
"My mom started calling me Preacher when I was two weeks old," the comic says over Zoom, just slightly bleary-eyed as he kindly accommodates the time difference at the eye-watering time of 2:45am.
Born Jovan Lawson, the stand-up explains that he earned the nickname because "a bunch of people thought I was going to be a pastor".
"I don't know if I was changing my mom's milk into wine," he quips, "but she just decided to call me Preacher. And I was close, I was close. I got a microphone, I'm on stage, and I'm talking to people, but you don't want me to be your preacher."
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Born in Portland and raised in Memphis, Lawson began writing jokes at the age of 16, made his stand-up debut at 17, and spent much of his 20s couch-surfing across the United States searching out gigs.
"I knew from the first moment I was on stage that I wanted to be a comedian," he insists.
Although he originally hoped for stand-up to lead to a sitcom, he soon fell in love with the live aspect of comedy and interacting with audiences.
"I thought it was sit-coms until I did it, you know? I just loved stand-up comedy, it was the craziest, greatest kind of rush; I had never felt anything like it. When I first got on stage, I got that first laugh, it was an unfamiliar feeling but it was just great.
"My first gig was pretty bad," he admits. "I only got one laugh, but that was all I needed."
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Raised by a single mother as the youngest of four, Lawson explains that he moved around a lot as a child and the family often spent time living in their car. Although the situation was tough, he credits his "creative" and "hard-working" mother for always making him feel cared for.
"I feel like I had a really good life," he says. "Obviously, I was homeless at times, I was broke, and you know, you'd be hungry or cold because sometimes the heat didn't work, but I always had a roof over my head and clothes on my back - even though they were the most jacked up clothes," he laughs.
"My mom would make the clothes, so, you know, they were cheap, but I thought it was cool. Everyone in school was saying they had name brands, but I was like, 'my clothes are custom made'," he jokes.
"We had struggles but, for me, as a kid, I didn't know."
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Lawson's first big break came about when he appeared on America's Got Talent in 2017. Having failed his original audition in 2016, he was thrilled to see his crowd-pleasing routine lead him to the finals, and eventually earn him a spot on both America's Got Talent: The Champions and Britain's Got Talent: The Champions in 2019.
"They changed my life," he says of the popular franchise. "When I was on that show I was so broke. I went and did my first headline gig in Tempe, Arizona, and I had like negative $14.87 in my bank account. Negative. People say they're broke, I was shattered. I was in debt. Then I was on the show, people recognised me, I was selling out places."
According to the comic, the adrenaline rush of that first appearance on AGT was so intense that he went skydiving the next day (an interesting gift from an ex-girlfriend), but insists it didn't compare to being on stage.
These days, although he doesn't reach the same heights (metaphorically or literally), he says he still gets a rush from performing to an audience.
"If I don't get on stage for a few days I get sad," he admits. "It's almost like medication. I still get the rush. It's a different rush. For me, I get that nervous feeling when I do something new, so I wonder if I'll get that feeling when I'm in Dublin. It will be the first time I headline outside of the US."
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As far as typical stand-ups go, Lawson doesn't exactly fit the often hedonistic profile. Not only is he a fitness enthusiast with a number of MMA fights under his belt, but he is vegan and rarely touches alcohol.
"I drank and all my abs disappeared," he deadpans.
Despite his healthy living aspirations, though, he has decided to plan a European stretch for his latest tour which will see him bounce around Ireland, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK throughout the month of June.
Although he has predominantly performed in America, he hopes that his 642k YouTube subscribers, 510k Instagram followers, 3.4 million TikTok followers from across the globe will help him sell out some shows.
"Not much thought went into this," he laughs. "I was just like, hey, I want to go to Europe."
"I do know some Irish comedians, though," he insists as we reach the 3:15am mark of our conversation. "Sean Finnerty. Connor... I know all the Irish comedians. It's Connor... There are three big ones in the US. It's Sean, Connor, and another guy I'm forgetting..."
We'll blame it on the time difference, Preacher.
You can catch Preacher Lawson at Dublin's Liberty Hall Theatre on June 6. Click here for more info.
