Virginia Sherwood / NBC

Tim Poe, who claimed he was injured during a grenade blast in Afghanistan, has no military record of his purported combat injuries, the Minnesota National Guard said Tuesday.

Stuttering "America's Got Talent" contestant Tim Poe, who's been accused of exaggerating his military record during his audition for the show, has apologized for misrepresenting himself -- but claims that he did not intentionally deceive anybody.

"I would like to take the time to tell the American people how truly sorry I am that they had to endure the incomplete facts," Poe told the New York Post in an email interview. "I understand how they feel."

Poe's emotional back-story during his audition segment warmed the hearts of the "America's Got Talent" judges and audiences alike, as he explained that he'd suffered brain damage from a grenade blast while serving in Afghanistan that left him with a speech impediment.

Video from TheWrap: Stern's 'AGT' debut: Funny, charming and brutally honest

However, his story has been called into question on multiple fronts. A spokesman for the National Guard unit that Poe served in released a statement noting, "Sgt. Poe's official military records do not indicate that he was injured by a grenade in combat while serving in Afghanistan in 2009, as he reports. The Minnesota National Guard can also confirm that he was not awarded the Purple Heart Medal for wounds sustained in combat."

The doubts grew after it was revealed that a photo that aired during Poe's audition segment and purported to depict Poe on duty overseas was actually of another soldier altogether.

FremantleMedia, the production company for "America's Got Talent," has issued its own apology for the photo snafu and emphasized that Poe had provided the photo.

"We sincerely apologize to U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Norman Bone for using a photo of him in our story on Tim Poe," a spokesman for the company told TheWrap in a statement Thursday. "It was supplied to us by Tim and used on the show in good faith. It has now been removed and will not be used again."

In his interview with the Post, Poe admits that the injury he claims to have suffered "may not have happened exactly like I said it did," blaming a faulty memory.

Story from TheWrap: Stern's 'AGT' gig slammed by parents' group

"I really do not remember a lot of things since the accident," Poe said. "I remember a blast going off by my head and being in Afghanistan and telling one of the sergeants.

"It is like a dream," Poe added. "I can't remember things exactly how it happened."

Poe provided the Post with his retirement orders, which indicate that he suffers from an "injury or disease received in the line of duty as a direct result of armed conflict or caused by an instrumentality of war and incurred in the line of duty during a period of war."

However, an Army spokesperson told the paper that records do not confirm the location or timing of the incident.

Poe also admitted to misleading the "America's Got Talent" judges on another front by claiming that he had never sung prior to his injury.

"I was in a band. But it was before the accident," Poe confessed. "And at the time of 'AGT,' when the judges asked, before I could even think about answering, my words had already came out."

Despite all the backpedaling, Poe claims some offense that his story has been called into question.

"It hurts me that people would think I left for a ear infection in the time that we were defending our country," Poe told the Post. 

What do you think of Tim Poe's apology? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

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NBC

Timothy Michael Poe

In less than a week, "America's Got Talent" singer Timothy Michael Poe has gone from two standing ovations and national acclaim to daily headlines about discrepancies in his military record. The Minnesota National Guard says it has no record of the injury he claims, his own squad leader has called him a liar, a photo he claimed was himself has been revealed to be another soldier, and even his stutter has been questioned.

But despite all that, "America's Got Talent" judge Howie Mandel told TMZ.com that he doesn't think Poe will be disqualified from the NBC show, and will be allowed to continue performing.

"I was blown away that I was totally taken in," Mandel told TMZ. "I'm really angry with the guy."

"AGT" judge Howard Stern spoke out against Poe on his radio show early in the week, but on Wednesday, tweeted, "Waiting to get the facts. If true I'm disgusted."

Mandel may think Poe will continue, but unnamed show sources tell TMZ that producers are considering editing Poe out of the upcoming Las Vegas show.

(TODAY.com is powered by msnbc.com, which is a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

On the show, Poe said he was injured in a grenade blast in Afghanistan, breaking his back and acquiring a stutter. He later told the You Served military-themed podcast that he actually broke his back before ever serving in Afghanistan and rebroke it at some time, but isn't sure if it was at the time of the blast.

WFAA-TV in Dallas interviewed Poe before his "AGT" episode ever aired, and he told them at the time that he served in Iraq as well as Afghanistan and said he was shot in a leg during an attack in Iraq in 2005.

But the Minnesota National Guard, whose spokesman said earlier that it had no record of Poe being injured by a grenade in Afghanistan, spoke out again Thursday and said it had no record of Poe ever serving or being injured in Iraq.

Lt. Col Kevin Olson said Poe was injured in Indiana before deploying for Afghanistan, where he served for a month before being medically evacuated to Germany. The Guard records also show Poe training for Iraq, but never being sent there due to a medical issue, Olson said.

Poe's fiancee, Carrie Morris, who appeared on the show with him, called in to the Texas-based Joe Pagliarulo radio show to defend Poe.

She told Pagliarulo that Poe mistakenly submitted a photo of Staff Sgt. Norman Bone instead of himself because "(show producers) were rushing him for pictures," and said "I do not know how the (photo of Bone) got on our desktop," mentioning that two children and her elderly father use the same computer and may have downloaded it.

Morris has also released some of Poe's medical records to media outlets. However, as military vets and active-duty soldiers at the This Ain't Hell blog point out, the only mention of a grenade blast in those records comes from Poe himself, not from other witnesses or military personnel.

Do you agree with Howie Mandel that Timothy Poe won't be kicked off? Tell us on Facebook.

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CBS, Buena Park Police, Getty

Russell Hantz of "Survivor," Ryan Jenkins of "Megan Wants a Millionaire" and Frenchie Davis of "American Idol."

Sgt. Timothy Poe sparked an uproar this week when it turned out he likely lied on "America's Got Talent" about getting injured in Afghanistan. But he's not the only guy to ever dupe a reality show. 

Now that E! News has confirmed from Defenders of Freedom -- the charitable group supporting the troops in which Poe was involved -- that the aspiring country crooner was actually wounded in training, not combat as he claimed, and that a photo that aired on "Talent" of Poe in action wasn't even him, we thought it'd be a good time to look back at five of the most memorable reality show frauds. 

Let the vetting begin! 

More from E! Online: Did an "America's Got Talent" contestant really lie about his combat injuries? 

1. Rick Rockwell ("Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?"): TV viewers will recall Rick as the so-called multi-millionaire who chose E.R. nurse Darva Conger from a pool of 50 women to be his bride on Fox's insta-marriage of a reality show back in 2000. Unfortunately for producers, it wasn't until after the series ended that they discovered Rockwell had a restraining order filed against him by an ex-girlfriend. Not only that, but with assets barely totaling $2 million, he wasn't even really a real estate mogul but rather a sometime stand-up comic and corporate speaker -- and Rockwell wasn't even his given name! No wonder Conger got their short-lived marriage annulled. 

2. Keith Michael ("Project Runway," Season Two): This would-be designer got the boot from Tim Gunn after fellow contestants found pattern-making books in his room in violation of the show's ban on any such materials to prevent plagiarizing designs. In a big behind-the-scenes brouhaha, Michael denied the accusations. But "rules are rules," as Gunn says. 

3. Jonny Fairplay and Russell Hantz ("Survivor: Pearl Islands," "Survivor: Samoa"): Call them the "Survivor" liars. Granted, there's plenty of fibbing going on in the long-running CBS reality show as contestants aim to outwit, outlast and outplay one another. But save original "Survivor" winner Richard Hatch, who went to jail for tax evasion, Fairplay and Hantz are two of the show's most practiced deceivers. The former, real name Jon Dalton, hardly lived up to his stage moniker, when he constructed a lie about his grandmother dying to gain sympathy from his fellow tribemates. Later, Hantz earned infamy for claiming to be a Hurricane Katrina victim among other shady tactics. 

4. Frenchie Davis ("American Idol"): She could belt R&B with the best of 'em, but this semifinalist and fan favorite on the second season of the Fox reality juggernaut was disqualified after failing to fess up about topless pictures she had taken for an adult website when she was 18. Davis claimed she had talked with production staff about it, but no matter. Since it was a family show, she was ousted. The singer did redeem herself however when she popped up on the most recent season of "The Voice," taking second place on Christina Aguilera's team and making the final eight. 

5. Ryan Jenkins ("Megan Wants a Millionaire"): Inarguably the most notorious of all reality-show frauds, Canadian-born Jenkins was one of 17 rich dudes vying for the heart of ex-"Rock of Love" contestant Megan Hauserman. Just three weeks after the VH1 series' premiere, the network canceled the show after learning Jenkins was wanted for the 2009 murder of his swimsuit model-wife Jasmine Fiore, whom he had a history of assaulting. Before police could find him, he committed suicide. 

More from E! Online: Gallery - Top 9 reality stars we're so sick of 

*Special honorable mention: 

Balloon boy hoaxsters Richard and Mayumi Heene: This storm scientist and his wife briefly appeared on ABC's "Wife Swap" and desperately wanted their own reality show, but when they couldn't get one, they resorted to the next best worst thing. In October 2009, the Heenes executed a stunt where they claimed their then 6-year-old boy -- named Falcon, natch! -- was trapped in a wayward weather balloon. Eventually, it turned out he was hiding in a box in the attic of their garage. The pair subsequently pleaded guilty to felony charges over the stunt to avoid jail and as of press time still don't have a reality show. 

--Additional reporting by Sharareh Drury 

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defense.gov

A photo of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Norman Bone from the U.S. Dept. of Defense website was wrongly submitted by Timothy Poe as himself and shown on "America's Got Talent."

Troubles continue to pile up for Timothy Michael Poe, the U.S. Army veteran whose successful singing audition was shown on NBC's "America's Got Talent" Monday night.

(TODAY.com is powered by msnbc.com, which is a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

When the segment about Poe ran on the show, photos were shown supposedly illustrating Poe's time in Afghanistan. But the main photo, of a helmeted soldier toting an M4 carbine in front of mountainous terrain, wasn't Poe at all. It was Staff Sgt. Norman Bone, and it was indeed taken in Afghanistan, but in 2006 -- Poe's time in Afghanistan was one month in 2009.

NBC

Timothy Michael Poe on "America's Got Talent."

Poe himself provided the photo of Bone to "America's Got Talent," the show confirmed to TODAY.com.

"We sincerely apologize to U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Norman Bone for using a photo of him in our story on Tim Poe," the show's producers, FremantleMedia, said in a statement. "It was supplied to us by Tim and used on the show in good faith. It has now been removed and will not be used again."

The photo of Bone is downloadable from the U.S. Department of Defense website, but it is not clear why Poe had the photo or why he submitted it instead of one of him.

In a lengthy interview with the You Served military podcast on Tuesday night, Poe admitted that he had in the past claimed medals he did not earn, and was unable to explain why the Minnesota National Guard says it has no record of him being injured by a grenade in Afghanistan.

Current and former military members on the This Ain't Hell blog were quick to point out that details of the body armor, vehicle and other details from the photo didn't match those used by the Army during the time Poe served in Afghanistan.

TMZ.com used the photo on Thursday with a caption identifying it as Poe, then retracted that caption and posted quotes from an interview with Bone, the real soldier shown in the image.

"First thing that came to my mind was 'Why would this lying (expletive) do this?'" Bone told TMZ. He added, "I'm absolutely furious. Been seeing red all day."

FremantleMedia confirmed to TODAY.com that they do not perform background checks on "America's Got Talent" contestants until they make it to the Top 48, and would not say how far Poe had progressed in the competition.

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NBC

Timothy Michael Poe on "America's Got Talent."

Timothy Michael Poe's singing talent and his story of struggling back from a brain injury caused by a grenade in  Afghanistan captivated the crowd on Monday's episode of "America's Got Talent." After just one song, Poe was already being called a favorite to win it all.

The talent appears real. But could the story be exaggerated?

The 35-year-old from San Antonio sang a pitch-perfect version of Garth Brooks' "If Tomorrow Never Comes," earning a standing ovation and the chance to continue on the NBC show. But it was his background story as well as his voice that earned him two standing ovations.

Poe explained to the audience and the judges that the slight stutter he displayed onstage was caused by a war injury caused by a grenade blast in Afghanistan.

"My (military) career was ended in 2009," Poe said. "I had got hit by a grenade in Afghanistan and it broke my back and gave me a brain injury so that's the reason why I stutter."

In a filmed segment shown over photos of Poe in military uniform, he said that he had volunteered for a team that was clearing buildings and helping with the wounded when "there was a guy who came up with a rocket-propelled grenade."

"By the time I turned and went to go jump on top of my guys, I yelled 'grenade!' and the blast had hit me," he said.

Poe also described vividly how he felt after the injury, saying, "When I was laying there I thought I'd never see my daughter walk down the aisle or throw the baseball with my son or be able to hold them and see them."

But military records don't match Poe's story, the Associated Press reports.

"Sgt. Poe’s official military records do not indicate that he was injured by a grenade in combat while serving in Afghanistan in 2009, as he reports,” Lt. Col. Kevin Olson, a spokesman for the Minnesota National Guard, said in a statement to the AP.

He also noted that there was no record of Poe receiving the Purple Heart, awarded to military members injured in enemy combat, though Poe never claimed he had the medal, the AP points out.

"We looked very closely at (Poe's) record," Olson told the AP. "We did not find something to substantiate what he said."

The AP reports that Poe served with the Minnesota Army National Guard from December 2002 through May 2011, working as a supply specialist, and was deployed in Kosovo from Oct. 10, 2007, to July 15, 2008, then served in Afghanistan for about a month in 2009.

Poe's stutter came and went onstage. He said that he didn't stutter when he sang, which was true, but celebrating after the performance with host Nick Cannon he didn't stutter once, a fact Cannon pointed out. "Oh, see that's amazing!" said Poe at the time.

NBC and Poe had no comment on the AP report.

"AGT" judge Howard Stern was impressed with Poe's talent and his tale, saying on the show, "I do want to thank you for your service in Afghanistan. I don't know what to say to a hero like you."

But Wednesday morning on his Sirius XM satellite radio show, Stern had obviously seen the reports about Poe's past.

“You never lie about your military service," he said, angrily, according to the New York Daily News. "This lie is so wrong on so many levels ... This really sickens me."

Do you think he made up the injury, or could there be another explanation? Tell us on Facebook.

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NBC

"America's Got Talent" hopeful Ulysses wowed the crowd, but he failed to impress judge Howard Stern.

So does Tampa have talent? We’d assume so, but there wasn’t much of it on display during Monday night’s "America's Got Talent" audition episode.

You know things have gotten pretty bad when one of the highlights was a guy dressed in a Bill Cosby sweater singing TV theme songs. "Love… Exciting and new… Come aboard… We’re expecting you…"

Doc concerned about Horse’s nutty act

Judges Sharon Osbourne, Howie Mandel and Howard Stern were able to filter out a bearded-lady belly dancer, a hair stylist with "scissor hands" and a guy who considers himself "America’s escape artist."

Here are a few of the acts that made it through:

All That! 23 - 36 (cloggers)
They looked like grown up frat boys with tap shoes. This muscle-bound group of professional cloggers from Myrtle Beach started off competing against each other before banding together 14 years ago. They brought perhaps the only act of the night that has a chance at making the top ten. "When you could bring (the crowd) to their feet with just your feet, I think you have done something," Howie said. Sharon loved it too. She even asked if they could give lessons to Ozzy. Three yeses!

Inspire the Fire, 13 - 29 (singers & dancers)
It’s “urban Glee” with a side order of inspiration. The talented crew -- which took the stage in khakis and bright colored sweaters -- represents a non-profit organization that helps teens find their way through the arts. Their interpretation of the Bill Withers classic “Lean On Me” was straight out of a (off-off-off-) Broadway musical, inspiring a standing-O from the judges. "You guys are so upbeat. You make us smile. You can sing, you can dance…you do it all!” Howard said. “By the way, I hate 'Glee,' but I love you.”

7-year-old rapper Mir Money posts message to fans

Distinguished Men of Brass, 24 - 60 (brass band)
They lost their jobs working at a local theme park when the economy went south.  But that’s OK. “We took a bad situation and turned it into a new dream for us,” one member told the judges. Now clad in black suits, white shorts and fedoras, the nine men of d’Mo Brass are ready to bring some Mardi Gras heat to the "AGT" stage. Howie loved it – "Just one word described watching you — fun!"  So did Sharon -- "All your hard work has paid off.  I adore you."  And Howard?  "There are people who can’t get to the next level, and you know what?  You are not one of them," he praised.  "You are there.  Thank God for bad times." Yes, yes, and yes.

Ulysses, 49 (singer)
He’s been singing since the age of three and said it had been a lifelong dream to be in show business. But the theme to “The Love Boat?"  He wasn't serious, right?  Howard didn’t even let him finish and dropped an "X" -- but by then the damage was already done. The entire crowd was on its feet and whipped into a bit of a retro-schmaltz frenzy. "I haven’t heard that song since the early ’80s," Howie joked before passing him through. But Howard remained unimpressed -- even after getting the poor guy to drop in a few bars of "Green Acres" and "The Addams Family."  Still Sharon wouldn’t let him go home disappointed:  "You thoroughly entertained me," she said.  "Everybody could sing along.  I want to hear more!" So on he goes to the capital of schmaltz -- Las Vegas.

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Virginia Sherwood/NBC

Who's "Got Talent"? Granny G, the 80-year-old rapper, does, if Tuesday night's performance was anything to go by.

Howard Stern likes opera-singing nurses and rapping grandmas. Who knew? Night two of "America’s Got Talent" auditions brought the traveling circus to San Francisco, where the acts got more compelling — and so did the backstories.

No one captured the hearts of the judges — and the audience — like 21-year-old Alonzo “Turf” Jones, an “extreme hip-hop contortionist dancer” who was homeless for two years after being kicked out of his home by his mother. Turf, it seems, can do things with his body that hurt most of us just to watch. But he is certainly impressive to watch.  And when he started crying tears before the judges even spoke, you could feel potential voters already throwing their support behind him.

“You are a true original and I think you are what we’re looking for,” Howard told him.

Turf will easily make it to New York — and he’ll probably have some company from his hometown.

Ratings Slip with addition of Howard Stern

Among the night’s other standouts:

TIM HOCKENBERRY, 49 (singer)
Tim showed up with his girlfriend, 3-week-old baby girl and a standard issue back story about battling the bottle. Singing in public made him nervous, he said. “The only time I could pull it off is if I had enough beer or wine in me. I knew I was an alcoholic pretty early — around 17 or 18 years old.” Now clean and sober, the Binghamton, New York native took the stage to deliver a raspy version of “You Are So Beautiful” that Joe Cocker might have had a tough time beating. Tim has the look, sound and story to win the whole thing.

LUIS MENAGHIN, 54 (nurse)
Up until now, the only audiences that had heard Luis’ amazing opera voice were the folks at the old-folks home he works at.  “Every day down at work they gather after lunch in the lobby, and I sing for half an hour for them,” he explained. “I tell them that I sing opera for them because it helps them with their bowel movements.” Turns out the Brazilian import (by way of Utah) has quite a voice.  He’s no Susan Boyle, but impressive enough to make it to Vegas and probably beyond.

DAVID GARIBALDI & CMYK’S, 25 (concept painters/dancers)
Both original and amazing, David had the audience roaring as he performed a dance routine with his team while each of them took turns splashing colored paints on a huge canvas. In less than 2 minutes they had created an incredible portrait of Beethoven (though Howard admitted he thought it was a painting of him).

See the boy Howard Stern made cry

GRANNY G., 80 (rapper/comic)
Where else in prime time can an octogenarian come on stage with a walker, grab her backside and earn a free trip to Vegas? Granny G performed a rap that basically warned young men to be responsible and not ditch their baby mamas. But all she really had to do was come on stage and smile. If the judges let her advance to New York, expect Granny G to be a shoo-in for the Top 10.

What do you think of the talent so far? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

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Hey now! Shock jock Howard Stern's first night as a judge on "America's Got Talent" is now in the bag! What did you think of him?

Have more to say about his performance? Tell us on our Facebook page! 

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What can "America's Got Talent" fans expect when the next season of the competition kicks off? Well, other than 100 percent more Howard Stern? According to judge Howie Mandel, the whole show will be bigger and better than ever before.

Mandel joined "AGT" host Nick Cannon on TODAY Monday morning to give his take on what's to come.

"I think (the tapings so far have) been bigger, more exciting, more insane than it has ever been," he raved.

And as for that notable addition of a certain shock jock, Mandel promises viewers will be pleasantly surprised with his approach.

Mandel, Cannon judge fourth hour's drunk talents

"I think people are going to be surprised by Howard Stern," the returning judge insisted. "I think they're going to be surprised by how compassionate, passionate, sensitive and serious he is about being the consummate judge."

After that assurance, TODAY's Al Roker gave Mandel a first-time tour of Studio 1A. See what the funnyman thought of it in the above clip.

The new season of "America's Got Talent" premieres May 14 on NBC.

Will you tune in to "AGT" to judge the newest judge for yourself? Tell us on our Facebook page.

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Mark Seliger / NBC

"America's Got Talent's" panel of judges: Sharon Osbourne, Howard Stern and Howie Mandel.

Love him or hate him, Howard Stern is looking like just the man to reinvent “America’s Got Talent.”

Both controversial and compassionate, he brings an element of danger and unpredictability to the aging reality show.  Even producers admit they are never quite sure what he might say or do next.

After six years, NBC’s highest rated summer series was becoming a bit predictable, too plain vanilla. Despite its 15 million or so viewers, “AGT” began to lack edge, excitement and cultural relevance. With the exception of opera cutie Jackie Evancho and a few other noteworthy acts, there was simply little buzz left.

(TODAY.com is powered by msnbc.com, which is a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

Stern changes all that. NBC and show creator Simon Cowell have made an all-in bet -- and a darn good one -- that the King of All Media will ignite a national conversation about the family-friendly variety show and drive ratings even higher.  

Stern has become an icon in broadcasting because he knows exactly how to keep people guessing. At auditions in New York last month, he appeared to confirm his worst critics’ nightmares by reducing a second-grader to tears -- then artfully turned himself into a hero by rushing on stage and embracing the young boy.

“It is difficult to look into the eyes of a (kid) and say, ‘I am going to give you the X,’ ” he admitted a few weeks ago.  “But I am not going to sit there and suck up to a 7-year-old either.” Nor should he.

I’ve had the opportunity to cover “AGT” since it debuted in 2006, and I was in the audience for Stern’s first day of auditions in Los Angeles. There was a new excitement in the air with him on the panel. The crowds were bigger and rowdier. But the rest of the show was largely the same: a steady parade of jugglers, comics and dancing poodles. 

Stern approached each act with far greater compassion and constructive criticism than his predecessor, Piers Morgan -- who often seemed to be intentionally cruel and mean spirited.  That could be one reason insiders say the new lineup of judges -- Stern, Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel -- seems to get along so much better, both on screen and off.

The new season of “America’s Got Talent” kicks off Monday and features a breathtaking goth opera singer, an all male tap dance team and a stunt man who shoots himself out of a cannon.  But the real star of the show is Stern.

“I wanted to do this because I really love the show,” he told me a few weeks ago. “I don’t want to be the guy who comes in here and ruins it.”

There seems to be little danger of that.

Who do you think will be the best judge this season: Sharon, Howard or Howie? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page!

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Once, May meant that all television shows were ending and a season of reruns was ahead. No more. Now we've got a year-round TV season, so you can choose from small-screen or big-screen entertainment pretty much year-round. This week, "America's Got Talent" is just about to get underway, and some of the movies you've been hearing about for months are arriving in theaters.

Here are our top three entertainment picks for the week ahead.

1. MONDAY: "America's Got Talent" premiere
Yes, fans are divided about radio host Howard Stern joining "America's Got Talent" as a judge when the show premieres this week. But Stern himself told Matt Lauer he plans to be a "very serious judge" and confesses he even hugged one young auditioner who didn't make the grade. Can he change the opinion of those who know only his raunchy radio image? Tune in and find out. (Premieres May 14, 8 p.m., NBC.)

2. WEDNESDAY: "The Dictator"
Sacha Baron Cohen has been parading around as "The Dictator" for months now, even making a controversial appearance on the Oscars red carpet (he actually apologized for dumping ashes on Ryan Seacrest). Now the film, which features Baron Cohen as Admiral General Aladeen, a North African dictator who heads to America, where he finds himself having to fit in to the culture he's railed against. A scene from the trailer shows him leaning into a NYPD patrol car, asking the officer, "Is there any way you could lend me some money? Maybe ... $20,000,000?" Note: This film opens on a Wednesday, not the normal movie-opening day, Friday. (Opens May 16.) 

3. FRIDAY: "Battleship"
Yes, it's inspired by the Hasbro board game, leading to plenty of jokes as to whether Liam Neeson will growl "You sank my Battleship!" But if you can't lead into the summer movie season with aliens and a lot of explosions, when can you do it? You may need to put your brain on hold, but mixed early reviews praise the unapologetic action and escapism. Plus, it may be your first chance to see singer Rihanna act. (Opens May 18.)

Related content:

• Stern tells TODAY: 'Someone should be fired' for hiring him
• Readers split over whether Stern good choice as judge
• 'Dictator' threatens Matt Lauer's family -- jokingly
• Decker was on the (snot) bubble for 'Battleship'

Virginia Sherwood / NBC

Sean Milan DeBose on "America's Got Talent."

Pass the Kleenex, please!

Sean Milan DeBose — an L.A. area internet comic/dancer appearing on Monday night’s premiere episode of "America's Got Talent" — has one of the show’s most touching backstories ever.

More from AGTNews: See the boy Howard Stern made cry

DeBose, who uploads comedy videos to YouTube under the name DiscoSean21, buried his 6-month-old son, Sean II, two days before Christmas of 2008 — after the young boy’s organs were used to save the lives of four other children. 

“His heart went to an 18-month-old baby girl,” DeBose shared in a video on his YouTube channel. “She was in her last days.  He was able to keep her alive.  His liver went to a baby boy.  And his kidney’s went to two other babies.  My son is a true hero.”

Baby Sean apparently passed away from SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), the entertainer says.

“I sat there with my son and I prayed to God and I cried,” DeBose shares.  “When I [spoke] to him, little tears would come out of his eyes.  I know he could hear me.  I know my son was fighting as hard as he could.”

More from AGTNews: Vegas week Q&A with Sharon, Howie and Howard

“I made him promises telling him I was going to make it as big as I can, maybe get my own television show.  Maybe make movies.  He was going to follow in my footsteps.  Now that my son is gone, I want to keep my promise.  I won’t quit for nothing.”

Which backstory do you remember most from "AGT"? Will Sean's top it? Tell us on our Facebook page.

Related content:

• Stern on 'Got Talent' gig: Someone should be fired for hiring me 
• PTC warns 'America's Got Talent' sponsors about 'vile' Stern
• Howie Mandel 'Thrilled' to work with Howard Stern on 'AGT'

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