Topic: America's Got Talent

[Jeffrey Scott]

I've seen bits and pieces of Britain's Got Talent, and I tell you, if the talent we have is just as good as in Britain, we are in for a real treat this year. Piers Morgan will continue on to our format, but we'll be losing Simon Cowell to David Hasselhoff. Mix in a bit of Sharon Osbourne, and we are ready to start judging. What form of entertainment will win this year? Singer, dancer, magician, electric string quartet? I guess time will tell.

What is your favorite type of act?

[apskip]

No particular type of skill. I just like major talent.

[vanillalatte]

I've seen bits and pieces of Britain's Got Talent, and I tell you, if the talent we have is just as good as in Britain, we are in for a real treat this year. Piers Morgan will continue on to our format, but we'll be losing Simon Cowell to David Hasselhoff. Mix in a bit of Sharon Osbourne, and we are ready to start judging. What form of entertainment will win this year? Singer, dancer, magician, electric string quartet? I guess time will tell.

What is your favorite type of act?

Yeah, Hasselhoff has judged both of the other two seasons along with Morgan. Sharon Osborne joined last year, replacing Brandy.  We had a child-vocal prodigy the first year and a ventriloquist last year. This year???  I have no idea, but I think I'd like to see one of those group acts win.  I really liked the family of fiddle players last year.  Maybe something like them.

[Jeffrey Scott]

Oh yes, the Duttons? Wasn't that their name? I liked them also. The first season I liked Quick Change. They still astound me.
As for the host, I truly liked Regis. I've never been a Springer fan.

[apskip]

I was with you on Quick Change. I was so disappointed they got the boot early.

Last year there was a tumbling act that I thought was super, although eventual winner Terry Fator was my favorite. He was truly amazing.

There seems to be an audience vote bias for cute-little-girls who sing.

[Jeffrey Scott]

I admit, I liked Terry also. As for the cute girl syndrome. Odd how mediocre talent, but cute kid = winner more so than mediocre looks, and great talent.

[vanillalatte]

Oh yes, the Duttons? Wasn't that their name? I liked them also. The first season I liked Quick Change. They still astound me.
As for the host, I truly liked Regis. I've never been a Springer fan.

Ah yes, the Duttons!  That's it!  I really liked them last year.  I also enjoyed those guys on the stilts, can't remember their name either but they were fantastic. 

Quick Change was great, but I got tired of the same thing every week so I ended up getting bored with them. 

And I'm with you on Jerry Springer.  I'm so not a fan of his either.  Bring back Regis!

[smitty37]

The New York Post has the following article up today...sounds like the show is really good this year...

HOW good is the third season of "America's Got Talent?" It is, without Question, the best talent competition show on TV. Period. That's the good news and the bad news for Simon Cowell, who not only created "America's Got Talent" and exec-produces it, but is, of course, a judge on the hugely successful and now-way-too-slick "American Idol," which just had the worst season ever. The difference between this show and "Idol" is that Cowell is smart enough to let the show stand on its own. There are no overproduced, over-coached, half-baked singers who have the formula down pat. Tonight's auditions take place in NYC, Chicago and LA in auditoriums with audiences of 2,000 (real audiences) who cheer, hoot and boo - sometimes dangerously so. This gives the audition episodes an edge that will keep you on edge. And the talent will astound you. Part of the reason for that is because there is no age limit for tryouts, because there is no age limit on talent. There's an 80-year-old retired waitress all the way down to a 4-year-old little girl singer. Among the highlights you must not miss are the young guy who was ridiculed on a regular basis for striving to be the best baton twirler in the world; the young insurance-salesman/opera singer who'll make you cry out loud; two brothers from Queens who do an astounding hip-hop violin performance; and two horrifyingly bad Romanian twins who look like hookers from outerspace who sing and gyrate to a version of (what else?) "New York, New York" that's so off-key you should put your pets outdoors. The judges have also improved dramatically from the first season. Piers Morgan manages the cranky-Brit thing extremely well without stooping to what Simon Cowell did last year, which was to show his contempt for everyone by practically turning his back on the talent and the viewers. Sharon Osbourne comes off better now that she's relaxed and into it and isn't trying to be the star. And then there's "the legend that is David Hasselhoff," or so they tell us in his introduction. The legend that is isn't the brightest bulb and his attempts at humor are so bad it adds even more fun to the show. And finally, there's Jerry Springer as host and stage mother who cries when people do well. "The judges are standing! Standing!" he cries at one point. At least, I think that's what he said. I was crying too hard to hear him. I love this show.

[apskip]

The NBA Finals with my beloved Boston Celtics winning the title and the AFI 10 Top 10 movies of all time were what I was watching and taping, so I only caught views of America's got Talent during commercial breaks during the game. What I saw was a really brutal audition audience in Chicago showing not even the slightest tolerance for amateur performances(shame on them!). I also say a brilliant twirling display by a teenage boy. I am now waiting for www.nbc.com to give me that second viewing chance.

[apskip]

NBC has made available only a few performance clips from last night, but I can add to my prior commentary with them. The performances of the following are up there with the twirler:

Neil Boyd - singing opera tenor arias better than Paul Potts(winner of Britain's Got Talent)
Derrick Barry - an excellent Brittany Spears impersonator
Kaitlyn Maher -  a 4 year old singer who has a fine voice in relation to her age and is very cute and precocious, but who should not win this competition
Nuttin' But Stringz - old time fiddlers aged 21 and 23 playing the violin with an upscale sound

In addition, I got to see a replay of what I saw last night from Chay Vang, a guitarist who got ripped by the audience and judges' reaction. I must admit that he deserved it by making them wait while he set up.

ADDENDUM added after finding a source which listed additional acts. All of these are going to Las Vegas:

David Martin, illusionist
Scott Land, puppeteer
Plastic Muzik, percusssionists
Jasmin, 4 Asian girl singers
Slippery Kittens Burleque
Polina Volchek, gymnast
Sterling Silver, student cloggers
Cadafin Stuart, 15 year old singer
Side Step, dancers
Extreme dancers FX, clogging/tapdance group 

[vanillalatte]

apskip, I watched the show and the ones you listed were certainly the most memorable of the night. 

Neil Boyd was simply fabulous and he was so emotionally overcome by the audience reaction, it was sweet.  My only concern about his is that he has to get control of his emotions.  Nesum Dorma is one of the most incredible tenor arias ever written and one of the finest moments in it is the final glorious note that is held forever.  He couldn't hold it because by that time, he was fully in tears (ever tried to sing and cry? It's impossible! )

Kaitlyn was just too adorable for words.  She sang "Somewhere Out There" in a voice that made rivalled Feivel.  I agree, she shouldn't win, but the cute factor was so sweet.  Her answer to the judges when they asked if she was from New York..."I'm fwom Amewica"...was just priceless.

Nuttin' but Strings was amazing.  I see them in the finals, and I know it's really early to call finale performers, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them up there.  Great story, great performers, great message...they're just winners all around.

[apskip]

I spent the first hour of this show watching another show and seeing the action only during commercials. This was Los Angeles auditions and the first half of New York City. I saw all of the second half NYC and all of Chicago auditions.

The Ozzman - Ossie Osbourne impersonator. Sharon sees a lot of these anad she rated him below average.
Taubel Family - 9 children plus their father playing violins and singing "the Sound of Music." I was not impressed by their musicianship but the judges were.
DC Cowboys Dance Company - country western dancing by about 10 men. "Brokeback Mountain Meets Broadway". The judges gave them a strong yes. I hate country western music so I don't want to see more of it in later rounds.
Kevin Taylor - brickbreaker. This was incredibly impressive as he smashed 1000 pounds of bricks with 12 strokes of his hand.
Chellena - vocalist. Sharon said she was the 5th most talented vocalist auditioned, but the judges let her go to Las Vegas.
5 different Chicago magician acts - they had a tough night as all were rejected by the judges.
Jonathan and Charlotte Pendragon - when they were introduced I was sure they were professional illusionists. It turned out due due to major surgery that shortened their professional career, they are now legitimate amateurs. They got a strong yes from the judges.
2 impersonators - Neither the Elton John nor the Dionne Warwick act was judged good enough.
Joseph Hall - the WOW of the night, an Elvis impersonator who sang Hound Dog and gyrated as good as the original Elvis. At 23, he is also better looking than Elvis was. This guy is a WiNNER. Since there is an ample supply of Elvis songs to pick from, he will not have any difficulty in finding future songs to sing.

[apskip]

I have some information to fill in some of the gaps from week 1. The twirler I like so much is named Jonathan Burkin. The trombone player/dancer that I did not mention is named Jonathan Arons. I have seen his performance clip anad he may make it to Las Vegas but has little chance there since he is neither a great dancer nor a great trombone player. I loved (and actually saw on the show without knowing who they were) the Russian Bar Trio. What the female does with somersaults and twists in the air is postiviely dangerous and they pulled it off without error. I wonder how America's Got Talent obtained insurance for an act like this which is inherently highly risky but stunning when they succeed (hopefully all of the time). Eli Mattson was a so-so vocalist, but the judges like him.

This show has been the Bad and the Ugly with its lesser acts. I got to hear on the highlights video Indiggo (two females singing New York New York badly), Mary Bly (an 80 year old tap dancer giving it her all), and Bill Curley/Serious Mysterious(that name says it all). All were rejected by the audience and judges, rightly so.

Average performers moving ahead are:
Eli Mattson - vocalist/keyboardist
Miss Pussykatt - dancer using plates attached to her body to create friction
Lil Countrie and Page 1ne - break dancers
Next II None - singers/dancers

[apskip]

I only got to see the second half of this show. I will fill in after the video highlights are available on the identified talent from the first half. The second half started in Chicago and then went on to Atlanta. Atlanta was notable due to the lack of talents who auditioned there. Here is a synopsis of the acts I witnessed:

Zane and Stephanie - married singers who did not impress the judges
George the Giant - a 7'3" man who ran a tube in his nose and out his mouth and coiled around an audienc member so that he could demonstrate drinking milk; he finished by setting off a series of firecrackers against his chest and navel; the judges found him bizarre but they accepted him for the finals
Jessica Price- a forlorn singer accompanying herself on guitar who is still suffering at age 24 from the separation from her father when he divorced her mother at a younger age; she passed but the admonition from Sharon Osbourne was "Smile next time" although she also has to sing happier music

The venue changed to Atlanta, where David hasselhoff appeared embarassed by the dearth of talent.
Smokey McQueen - an 18 year old male who did a striptease act; this bizarre act was rejected with David Hasslefhoff advising him to "eat"(as in get his body larger and more toned)
Coburn Hartsell - another young male stripper; he just got soundly rejected
Estelle and her sister - the ? Plus Favorites were doing turns around a pole upside down; it was totally useless
Simulesque Dance Troupe - no comment other than they were rejected
Hollywood Men - rejected
Busty Heart - a woman with extra-large breasts; she crushed objects between them; she was rejected
The Southern Belles - 4 females age 15 to 31 who do synchronized clogging to a jazzed up beat; excellent; watch for them in the final 4
Dan Meyer - sword swallower; strictly a novelty act; he is going to Las Vegas but I cannot predict him making it to the 2nd round there
David Militello -  a 9 year old boy singer; he's pretty good and of course the audience and judges fawn all over this type of act; I just hope that "America" has better sense because his singing skills are limited by his experience

So the judges took 2 that I saw from Chicago(there were probably more in the first half of the show) and 3 from Atlanta.

ADDENDUM - I have obtained from another source additional acts who made it to Las Vegas:

Holly Hardin - singer
Duo Genesis - strength act
Lewis Warren -11 year old pianist
Shaolin Warriors - mertial arts
Beyond belief Dance Company - 22 dancers age 12 to 17
Paul West and his dog - canine performance

[apskip]

I have now had a chance to look at the NBC.com America's Got Talent website. There is no full show there, but i did see highlights of two first half performacnes which really wowed the judges:

Paul Salos - a 72 year old Frank Sinatra impersonator; he's really good, although he wears a hat that hides his impressive silver hair; he got picked to go to Las Vegas. I do not think he will make the Final 5, but you never know.

Junior and Emily - this brother and sister Latin dance act was spectacular; their intricate choreography was perfectly synchronized; they and going to Las Vegas and I believe they could win the million.

[apskip]

I expect that there will be one more round of mixed performances before the Las Vegas performances work down to one winner. Here are the 4 performers so far who I think belongin the final 4:

Russian Bar Trio
Jonathan Burkin - twirler
Jospeh Hall - Elvis impersonator
Neal Boyd - opera tenor

[apskip]

For the first time I got to see the Whole show except for the very first performance. This week the action started in Atlanta and then moved to New York City.

Alexandra Pollock and her father David did a mock martial arts battles with tumbling moves added. I was not impressed by this but the judges were. When asked what she would do for an encore, she said add more people to the act. To me that is absurd. Jerry can't wait to see it. What does that say about him?

Sarah Lenore - country western singer/guitarist whose performance includes diva vocal moves at the end. I really hate that, but at least she had a solid voice throughout her performance. Sharon encouraged her to go for it, since "there are a lot of blond, young pretty girls around."

Flambeaux (aptly named) - a fire eater whose performance was simple and direct. I liked it.

Nichole Romaine (the trend of parents wanting to have their kids named by spelling a common name differently is abominable, by the way) - a pole dancer. Once again I saw little value in her performance (or any pole dancer's performance).

Giwayen Mata - their entire act was presented in about 5 seconds. It involved using sticks as percussion instruments as best as I could tell.

SQ Entertainment - 9 family members dancing and demonstrated great choreography.

the James Gang - 4 young men from Harlem ages 18 to 31 who sange and danced. They were good.

Victoria Jacoby - an 11 year old contortionist who was born in china and adopted at age 2; fabulous performance worthy of being in the top 6 Finalists so far, although I thought her thick glitter lipstick was a bit much.

Kyle Rifkin - a fabulous Rhythm and Blues singer; Piers gave him the ultimate compliment of asking him to bring his mother onstage for kudos.

All of the above acts were passed through to Las Vegas. Some of them were not worthy, but apparently the judges were under pressure to fill up 40 total slots.

The following acts were classified as Gone Completely Crackers. That means they were buzzed off.

Matt and Elena - married polka dancers who followed the mantra of "Polka Today". The judges found them a tired act that would fit right into a talent competition 50 years ago.

Mr. Phil  - he was "doing the Phil" which brought him totally negative reactions

Petra McIntosh - ventriloquist

Ursula -  a singer

? - dancing with bare feet on broken glass shards

Debra -  a singer who feigned innonce of the rules when she get the hook. She would not stop performing until David danced her off the stage.

Next week they will have one more preliminary round (when will they end?). The previews indicated that there are at least 2 performers of true excellence for us to see.

Tonight I felt that Victoria Jacoby and Kyle Rifkin were both worthy of being in my Final 6 (including the 4 identified last week from the first 3 weeks of preliminary rounds).

[apskip]

NBC has apparently released its schedules for the next 1.5 months of America's Got Talent

July 15(tonight), 22, 29 and presumably Aug. 5(the notice says Aug. 4) - continuation of preliminary rounds

Aug. 26 - beginning of Las Vegas live shows, with results on the following night

The 2 week gap is for the Olympics.

Also, I have developed a commitment that will make it impossible for me to provide any further America's Got Talent recaps although I will make occasional commentary on this thread. It would benice if someone could step up and take over America's Got Talent  recaps.

[marigold]

NBC renews 'America's Got Talent'

NBC says it has renewed the television competition show "America's Got Talent" for a fourth season.

The announcement was made Thursday by Craig Plestis, executive vice president of alternative programming, development and specials for NBC Entertainment.

"The production team has stepped up their game creatively as proven by the strong ratings," Plestis said in a statement.

"This is the only show where truly unique and talented performers can achieve their ultimate dream. There's nothing like it on television."

NBC said "America's Got Talent" is averaging more than 13 million viewers so far this summer.

Each week, the top acts perform for viewers' votes with the ultimate winner of the $1 million prize to be crowned during a live finale Oct. 1.

Jerry Springer serves as the show's host, while David Hasselhoff, Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan make up the panel of celebrity judges.

Source: http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2008/08/29/NBC_renews_Americas_Got_Talent/UPI-72881220017173/

[apskip]

Next week's live episodes of AGT 3 are Tuesday Sept. 9 8pm - 10pm EDT and Wednesday Sept. 10 8pm-10pm EDT. In addition, there will be a special results show Thursday Sept. 11 from 8pm - 830pm EDT(Note: this is a change from previous reporting in TV Guide, which is wrong on this show).

[apskip]

America's Got Talent will have just one competition show next week, Wed. 9/17 at 8 to 10pm. There will be a 30 minute results show on Thurs. 9/18. TV Guide says it will be at 830pm, but tonight the results show is at 8pm (versus 830pm from TV Guide) so I am confident it will be at 8pm next thursday

[marigold]

America's Got Talent will have just one competition show next week, Wed. 9/17 at 8 to 10pm. There will be a 30 minute results show on Thurs. 9/18. TV Guide says it will be at 830pm, but tonight the results show is at 8pm (versus 830pm from TV Guide) so I am confident it will be at 8pm next thursday

Thanks for the updates apskip

[apskip]

Thr AGT final 5 are Nuttin but Stringz, Neil E. Boyd, Queen Emily, Donald Brasswell, and Eli Mattson. All but Nuttin But Stringz are solo vocal acts.

[apskip]

I offer my opinion, which is that America's vote will be between Neal E. Boyd as the best of 4 vocalists and Nuttin But Stringz. The results show for this final competition round will be Wednesday Oct. 1.

[marigold]

America's Got Talent Video:

BuddyTV interviews Piers Morgan and Jerry Springer



Link to the article: http://www.buddytv.com/articles/americas-got-talent/piers-morgan-americas-got-tale-23114.aspx

[marigold]

An interesting article:

Osbourne has a rooting interest in talent finale

Sharon Osbourne isn't shy about her favorites on Wednesday's "America's Got Talent" finale. "I'm really rooting for Nuttin But Stringz, for Eli and for Neal," said Osbourne, a judge on the NBC talent contest.

Nuttin But Stringz is the violin duo of Damien and Tourie Escobar, brothers from New York; Eli Mattson is a pianist and singer, born in Duluth, Minn., and raised in Wisconsin; opera singer Neal E. Boyd is an insurance salesman from Sikeston, Mo.

Also competing: singer Donald Braswell of Boerne, Texas, whose focus is musical theater, and soul singer Queen Emily from Stockton, Calif.

"You've got a wide variety of talent and they're all great at what they do," Osbourne said of the finalists.

But she sounds especially taken with Nuttin But Stringz, noting that the brothers write their unique material.

"How many times do you see classical music together with rock and hip-hop?" she said. An album from them "would be something different out there in the marketplace."

Osbourne is planning something different herself with her next TV project, a variety series for Fox with the working title "The Osbournes: Loud and Dangerous." It's tentatively set to debut with a Christmas special.

The show features Sharon and rocker spouse Ozzy with children Jack and Kelly, familiar to audiences from their MTV reality series "The Osbournes."

"It's really like a house party," Osbourne said of the upcoming series. "We're going to do comedy sketches, the four of us, and there's going to be music and pranks."

The goal is to fill the studio audience with families, especially those willing to reveal embarrassing episodes that happened to their relations.

But, she said, "We're not here to humiliate people. This is about entertaining people."

Link: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TV_AMERICAS_GOT_TALENT_GTV--?SITE=MAQUI&SECTION=ENTERTAINMENT&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-09-30-16-39-27

[marigold]

America's Got Talent Season Finale

Wednesday, October 01, 2008 9:00 PM-10:00 PM EST

LIVE FINALE

The final five contestants compete for a chance to win the million-dollar prize and become the most talented person in America

[apskip]

It's over. Here it is. Neal E. Boyd the opera singer wins the $1,000,000 and headlines the Las Vegas performance on Oct. 17. He won by less than 0.5% over Eli Mattson.

[pledge]

This was a tough one.......They are both very good.....different type of music.

My vote was for Eli Mattson, however.

Hopefully they will both have long, successful careers.