Topic: America's Got Talent 5

[Kacper]

It was a good show yesterday but some acts were just 

BTW apskip great job on what you are doing about the show on this forum  

[apskip]

AGT5, Semifinals

Last night was the semifinals performances for half (12) the remaining acts. There were a few surprises, all negative, but as Piers put it there were only 2 outstanding performances all evening. Which were they?

Anna and Patryk - they were cute, they danced well (although not the paso doble they promised) and they got the show off ot a good start
Grade B+

Christina and Ali - I have never liked these two and suspect that their audience is all a function of their handicap. They did OK
Grade B

Antonio Restivo - he was accused by Piers of having using a commonplace magicians trick and lots of fire. His response was that the magician's art is in making people believe. He make me beleive he was sawing Nick Cannon's arm in pieces (can you imagine doing that to phobic Howie?)
Grade B+

Michael Grimm - just an average performance
Grade B

Taylor Mathews - he was too ill to rehearse (a blatant ploy for the sympathy vote?) but performed well although nothing special
Grade B

Connor Doran - the kite flyer was told by the judges that he was boring and had nothing new; it's true
Grade C

Dan Sperry - he is the performer the judges love to hate; he was sub-par last night and will pay the price for not having something a state-of-the-art trick
Grade C

Kristina Young - the judges seldom agree on anything, but they did on how awful her song choice was
Grade C-

Future Funk - the last of the kid acts, these genial twerps are brash and can hip hop dance, but their act is just not enough to make it any further in this competition
Grade B-

ArcAttack - the audience had to move outside to a special theater, then back inside for the judges comments; the judges carefully noted that this performance is spectacular in person but the home viewing audience cannot fully appreciate it; it had all the WOW factor Howie stated he wanted to see
Grade A+

AscenDance - they wanted to speed up their act and it will cost them everything. That faster performance to lower grade music lost the poetry of what they had previously accomplished. There was no longer any WOW factor to AscenDance,
Grade B-

Prince Poppycock - he was transcendant in singing nonsense songs with great exuberance and strutting around the stage like only he can do. This performance should easily move him into the finals where he can return to an opera aria
Grade A



The top 5 acts as graded above and those I expect to reach the finals in 2 weeks are:
ArcAttack
Prince Poppycock
Anna and Patryk
Antonio Restivo
it's a pity that one of Christina and Ali, Michael Grimm and Taylor Mathews will be selected for the final spot. None really deserves it.

[apskip]

Let's start with my summary comment from my analysis of the Tuesday night performance show: "it's a pity that one of Christina and Ali, Michael Grimm and Taylor Mathews will be selected." I still believe I am right on the relative talent of these performers, but the net impact is that better acts will not get their chance at the finals.

The most obvious of those better acts is ArcAttack. They wuz robbed by the home audience, who could not properly appreciate the overwhelming force of what they were witnessing.

Out of the first group of reported results, Dan Sperry, Future Funk and Kristina Young all deserved their fate of being out. 

The home audience called it right on Ascendance vs. Anna and Patryk. AscenDance attempted the equivalent of "A Bridge Too Far" in moving beyond normal boundaries of their act. Anna and Patryk were totally solid and had that cuteness factor.

The next group was Prince Poppycock, Michael Grimm and Taylor Mathews. I expected Prince Poppycock and one of the other 2 to make it, but all 3 did.

The final group would be decided by the judges after the lowest vote getter was eliminated. My analysis said Antonio should be the choice for the finals, but he was voted out by the home audience. The judges went for - yuk - Christina and Ali for the fifth slot. So be it. Home audience, you are getting what you deserve.

[apskip]

Maestro Alexander Bui - boogie woogie version of Flight of the Bumblebee
Grade B-

Jackie Evancho - the prime talent of AGT5; a modern-day 10 year old Judy Garland
Grade - A+

Fighting Gravity - as good as any of the super performances done earlier in AGT5
Grade - A

Murray - make a locomotive vanish on stage
Grade - B

Nathanial Kenyon - why was he here in the first place?; his talent is very limited
Grade - B-

Michael Grasso - the old switcheroo with his assistant; super execution
Grade - A-

Jeremy Vanschoonhoven - he flubbed in the first 15 seconds, then recovered to give a fine performance
Grade - B-

Debra Romer - clearly outclassed and did not belong here
Grade - B-

Studio One Young Beast Society
Grade - B+

Michael Lipari and Ashleigh Dijon - aerialists with a smooth, sexy act
Grade - B

HASPOP - changed his act to fight a projected figure; this did not work
Grade - B

Alice Tan Ridley - super
Grade - A

[apskip]

AGT5 Semifinals Results Show

If the American public voted the way I graded these acts based on Tuesday night performances, the top 4 slots would go to:
Jackie  Evancho
Fighting Gravity
Alie Tan Ridley
Michael Grasso

and the 5th would be decided by the judges to be Studio One Young Beast Society.

4 out of 5 isn't bad. The actual vote allowed Jeremy van Schoonhoven to make one of the top 4 places. That pushed Alice Tan Ridley into a runoff for 5yh, which the judges decided 2 to 0 for Studio One.

[Kacper]

Good job apskip 

and the final 10 this year looks reaallly cool...a lot of diversity 

[apskip]

Kalcer,

I agree with you. Here are the 10 finalists:

Jackie  Evancho
Fighting Gravity
Jeremy vanSchoonhoven
Michael Grasso
Studio One Young Beast Society
Christina and Ali
Michael Grimm
Taylor Mathews
Prince Poppycock
Anna and Patryk

Bianca Ryan, winner of AGT1, would not be at close to the same level as Jackie Evancho, who I expect to easily win this. Her only real competition is Prince Poppycock for originality. Fighting Gravity should be third and Anna and Patryk 4th. We'll see. It looks like the finals will be done over 2 weeks to stretch out NBC's high ratings to the maximum.

[apskip]

My position, that AGT5 is between Jackie Evancho and Prince Poppycock, is supported by this New York Post today article which has additional information about both performers::

The battle of the high Cs
'Talent's' Jackie hunts Quale

By SEAN DALY

Last Updated: 4:24 AM, September 4, 2010

"America 's Got Talent" singing sensation Jackie Evancho fears she could lose the $1 million top prize to fellow opera singer Prince Poppycock.

"He's very theatrical," says the 10-year-old prodigy. "He has a great voice and he's funny. He'd be a perfect Vegas act."

The alter-ego of aspiring opera singer John Quale, Poppycock is what you might expect if Lady Gaga and Boy George had a child: a towering, powder-faced concoction of glam-rock, synth-pop and light opera wrapped up in flamboyant period costumes.

He's a perfect nemesis for Evancho, the fifth-grader from suburban Pittsburgh whose Susan Boyle-like performance at the show's YouTube auditions made her an overnight viral video sensation.
Ten-year-old opera singing sensation Jackie Evancho  is battling flamboyant opera singer Prince Poppycock for the crown on NBC's 'America's Got Talent.' They'll perform again Tuesday night. -

Both are among the 10 acts still standing on "Talent," all of whom will perform live Tuesday night.

Quale, who was raised on a Virginia horse farm, developed the Poppycock character in 2006 so he could perform in an LA nightclub show. The openly gay performer admits his parents (Dad is now deceased) were "a little concerned" about his outrageous new persona. "But my mom couldn't be more pleased now," he says.

Evancho, who is missing her first days of fifth grade to perform on the show, discovered her bigger-than-life pipes two years ago while singing tunes from Phantom of The Opera around the house.

"My mom said I was really good. But she's a mom," the precocious soprano says. "She asked me if I wanted to do a talent competition in Pittsburgh. I was first runner up to a 20-year-old!"

Quale trained for two summers at Michigan's famed Interlochen Arts Camp and admits the flair for theater and arts made his teen years particularly rough. "I was hazed quite a bit," he remembers. "High school was a very dark point in my life. I dropped out and junior year and got my GED."

Despite his newfound national fame, Quale continues to live like a struggling LA thespian. Winning the summer's top-rated variety show would help revive his bank account -- or maybe he could just team up with his pint-sized opponent.

"I want to do a duet with [Jackie]," Quale says. "I want to do 'Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows' on a Candyland set with her on my shoulders.


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/the_battle_of_the_high_cs_iSm80QrSSz88ddftlBVBJK#ixzz0yZMghYXD

[georgiapeach]

If you haven't heard Jackie yet....goosebumps!





SemiFinals

[apskip]

The finals part 1 to cut from 10 acts to 4 acts are done. Here is my take on them:

Studio One Young Beast Society
I did not think this was as risky a performance as their semifinal one. It was well done but not all that special.
Grade B

Christina and Ali
What an unbalanced act they have become. Christina (the younger one) has improved her singing to a high quality level, leaving her older sister in the dust.
Grade B-

Jeremy Vanschoonhoeven
He took his bicycle onto the narrowest of supports, always perfectly balanced. It took his act up a notch in my view to where he might make the Final 4.
Grade B+

Taylor Mathew
Back on his guitar, he sang his original redo of "what a Wonderful World" to a vaguely Caribbean rhythm where he wrote the music.
Grade B

Anna and Patryk
She slid down the steps as they opened their act, but recovered for dance as well as is possible after that, including Patryk flipping Anna all the way backwards. I like it a lot. they are troopers.
Grade A-

MIchael Grimm
He followed Sharon's advice and ditched the guitar, leaving his crutch offstage and relying on just his voice and smile. They were good but not good enough to get him into the Final 4.
Grade B

Michael Grasso
He did a stunning magic act with 2 assistants. One got into a box with movement restricted by swords at all angles. The magic screen appeared, Michael stepped behind it and then out stepped the original assistant from the box. In the box now was the 2nd assistant and Grasso was onstage as something approximating a swami. Brilliant! Great magicians can do these tricks but you have to be the best to execute it.
Grade A

Fighting Gravity
They had a totally new concept with the lunar landing and moon rocks. Despite their set difficult to construct in a week and then to practice the totally new routines, this is top-notch entertainment.
Grade A

Prince Poppycock
We are now down to the last 2 (and best 2 acts from the semifinals). He did a patriotic show, starting with the Star Spangles Banner, then I'm A Yankee Doodle Dandy and finishing with the Stars and Stripes Forever performed to a kick line. Incredible entertainment! His act reeks Las Vegas but also would play anywhere in the world.
Grade A+

Jackie Evancho
Another incredible talent, a 10 year old who sang Pie Jesu by Andrew Lloyd Webber absolutely perfectly (and as an amateur singer myself I can't do it but I know it when I hear it).
Grade A+

So, my rank order for the Final 4 is:

tied for first - Prince Poppycock and Jackie Evancho
3. Fighting Gravity
4. Michael Grasso
5. Jeremy Vanschoonhoeven
6. Anna and Patryk
tied for 7, 8 and 9. Michael Grimm, Taylor Mathew, Studio One Young Beast Society
10. Christina and Ali

So I cast my 10 ballots on www.nbc.com (open for another 45 minutes on the East Coast)  for Prince Poppycock and I hope he makes it to the final 4. I believe he and Jackie Evancho pretty much have a lock on that. The other 2 positions could be interesing. I see Fighting Gravity and Michael Grasso as having earned them.

The drivel from the judges tonight was the worst I can remember. They should shorten the show by leaving all of it out.

[bee1233]

I think the top two for me is Prince Poppycock and Fighting Gravity.  They could both have their own show in Vegas. 

Jackie Evancho is too young.  She has a great voice but ... she has been too prepped for her talking segments.  The pressure of a Vegas show would be way too much for someone as young as her.  Just my opinion.

I always hold my breathe while Jeremy is on his bike.  I get excited for him when he finishes without hurting himself.

I agree with you on Christina and Ali.  Christina would have done better without her sister.  I had trouble listening to their song tonight.

I only have two I want in final 4.  Really could care less about the others.  Can you tell this is my first season watching the show?

[apskip]

Here are the results of America's votes and the pairings:

Prince Poppycock vs. Michael Grasso - I thought they both should make it, but only Poppycock did

Michael Grimm vs. Taylor Mathews - Gross goes to the final 4

Jeremy VanSchoonhoeven vs. Christina and Ali - neither made the final 4

Fighting Gravity vs. Studio One Young Beast Society - Fighting Gravity to the Final 4

Jackie Evancho vs. Anna and Patryk vs.  - Jackie Evancho to the final 4.

[apskip]

Final 4 performances are history. the big loser tonight was Prince Poppycock, whose mediocre performance singing the famous opera aria Nessun Dorma compared poorly to that of better professional singers. Piers even buzzed him, as he heard no sense of fun. I heard difficulty in reaching the penultimate note, something he never did in previous performances. I expect Prince Poppycock to finish 4th.

The Jackie Evancho  juggernaut rolled along, undoubtedly to first place. She sang Gounod's Ave Maria, evoking the same angel analogies of last week. It was another flawless performance.

Michael Grimm and Fighting Gravity were fighting for second or third place. Both had outstanding performances, but neither will be able to catch Jackie. I think fighting Gravity should be rewarded for a more unique concept but concede that Michael Grimm has an outstanding voice.

Tomorrow night the Results Show will be from 8pm to 10pm.

[apskip]

The Final 4 Results show went down with one major surprise but otherwise as expected. Prince Poppycock was voted by the American public into 4th place.  Fighting Gravity was 3rd. The surprise for me was Michael Grimm #1 and Jackie Evancho #2. Michael must have had a huge following of young female fan base voting(they announced it was the highest total vote ever for any America's Got Talent season). The other angle is that Howie called Michael the best pure singer in the competition. I don't agree with that but others may have. He has a gravelly voice that my wife likens to Bruce Springsteen's.

So that's a wrap for AGT5.