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America's Got Talent 5

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TexasLady:
Thanks for the tips. I got behind last week so need to catch up.  :(

apskip:
AGT5 Las Vegas Round part 1

For this season, the 88 acts that advanced to compete in Las Vegas, were classified as members of any of three groups. Those in "Group A", referred to as the "the judges' favorites" received a chance to perform on the first day of this stage of competition for any of an open 38 slots, in an attempt to advance on to compete in the live shows. The audition performances of those that were placed in "Group B" of standbys, the second group, were not seen by the judges as appealing as those of the members of "Group A", and whether or not the "Group B" members receive a chance to attempt to advance to the live shows depends on the performance of the acts in "Group A". In this season, there are eleven places remaining for those in the Top 48 for the members of "Group B" to compete for. The audition performances of the third set of acts, "Group C", 10 that were seen by the judges as superior to those in the other two groups and sent straight to Hollywood, bypassing any performances in. Members of this group moved on to compete in the live shows automatically.



Group C is composed of:

Arc Attack
The Bell Dancing Duo Kaya and Sadie (male judges’ favorite, but will America be voting for them?)
Cheer SF (another male judges’favorite)
Da’ Maniacs (this is one of the 3 best dance troupe in AGT5?)
Fighting Gravity
Future Funk
Haspop (huh?)
Polina Volchek (I actually believe it was her talent that caught the judges’ eyes)
South Philly Vikings (huh?; the rowdy reputation of Mummers precedes them)
Strikers All Stars

I think NBC/AGT5 did a very poor job of identifying the acts as they were performing. If you had memorized all 78 acts performing then no problem, but for real people some graphics listing the name of the act would have been really helpful.  So I will get off my soapbox and here we go with the 50 Group A acts to the best of my ability to track them:

Magic Acts
Kung Fu Heroes – their usual ferocity
The Danger Committee – they made no impression on me
William Scott Anderson, the Army soldier magician - does a well-known trick where he appears to split his own body in two; it's disappointing because it’s common
Michael Grasso does some sleight of hand to "Breathe" by Telepopmusik – comments were slick, but not wow
Murray Sawchuck – brings a car onto the stage with an illusion
Chipps Cooley – he tries comedy illusions and I like him

The judges expected WOW and did not get it from most of these acts.

Harmonica Players
Harmonica Pierre – harmonica classical tunes OK but not fabulous
Gi Ji Yi – 5 harmonicas

It looked to me that neither of them had the requisite WOW.

Acrobatic Acts
AscenDance – I thought this act was classy once again, but how many different rock walls can you climb?
Aerialists Michael and Asti – it looked like he could not finish the act to conclusion to prevent an accident
Rudy – handstands and slow release from them on top of a female assistant’s back

Strength/Grossout Acts
Female torch person dropped one
John Beatty, the Strong Man – restrained 2 accelerating motorcycles, which shows he is strong, but where is that extra dimension?
Antonio Restivo – used fire and disappearing illusion, but “it didn’t go perfect”

Male “Classical” Singers
Prince Poppycock - he sang an aria from Figaro despite not feeling well due to an infection; Piers said it affected his voice a lot and PP agreed
Hannibal Means – singing an aria in a silly rooster costume (symbol of a new day)
Carlos Aponte Jr. – singing Man of La Mancha, he did not live up to the promise of his preliminary round performance

Dancers
Hot Shot Tap Dancers – one of the males screwed up and missed the routine
Studio One Young Beast Society - Hip hop group
Mona Sampah Dance Company – Bollwood-style Indian dance group; very energetic
Female dancer who played the violin (not that well in my estimation)
Wreckless – they did well
Street Dance Hip Hop style Group from LA - – they performed really well in my view but were eliminated by the judges

Female Singers
Lindsey Stirling – her performance did not register in my memory
Alice Tan Riley - “Rolling on the River” but not enough for me to remember her name
April Lane – her performance did not register in my memory
Deborah Romer – she has more of a smile on her face and if she was nervous it did not show; her voice is quite good singing a melancholy song
Mary Ellen – she started by calling Howie “Holly” so you know it’s not going to go well; those expectations were met; what was she doing in the Las Vegas round?; she had to be dragged off the stage by “Holly” after about 10 minutes of the same song repeated; the judges made a major mistake in not taking someone with talent to allow Mary Ellen to the next round

Kids
Simeon Mulder – classical pianist with focus on costumes
Lil Chris – “Stand By Me”
Connor George – kite flyer
CJ Dippa – rapper; I did not find it that good
Anna and Patryk – dancers did well enough to move ahead

Howie complained about judging the winners with so much talent present. Piers said “Welcome to the real world.”

Comics
Dougie – he had some funny beard jokes, but not uproarious

Novelty Acts
Maricar - female painter; her competitors called her act “incredibly clever”; I see it as the most original act in AGT5
Dog act – good but not that different from earlier performance
Lariat rope guy – ho, hum
Juggler – he dropped a ball that was supposed to go into his mouth
Arthur Makane (one man band) – I thought his poor singing ruined an otherwise good performance
Sally Cohn (hand whistler) – the whole idea of having a hand whistler get into this round was pretty weird; she performs “Over the Rainbow” quite well, but I am not interested in seeing her act any more times

Male Vocalists
?- he was asked if he thought he had blown it
Taylor Matthews – singer/guitarist as OK
Michael Grimm – singer/guitarist; I do not like his choice of song style and he overran the time limit

Band
Strange Familiar – I do not remember their performance at all, but they are going on

The acts chosen to go to Hollywood were:
Magic/Illusion Acts – Antonio Restivo, Chipps Cooney, Murray Sawchuck
Acrobatic Acts – AscenDance, Rudy
Strength/Grossout Acts – John Beatty, a couple
Male “Classical” Singers – Hannibal Means, Prince Poppycock
Dancers – Wreckless, Mona Sampah Dance Company, Hot Shot Tap Dancers, Studio One Young Beast Society
Female singers – Mary Ellen, Deborah Romer, Lindsey Stirling, Alice Tan Riley
Kids – CJ Dippa, Lil Chris, Anna and Patryk
Comics – Dougie
Novelty Acts – Harmonica, Maricar, Sally Cohn
Male Vocalists – Michael Grimm, Taylor Matthews
Band – Strange Familiar

apskip:
AGT5, LV round part 2

This episode deals with the 28 acts in group B which were competing for 11 available positions. The hyperbole was thick as the other groups in each category watched their competitors perform, commented and attempted to underscore the superiority of their own performances. The editors of AGT5 generally do a good job, but why do they subject us to this drivel? Don’t they have real material to show us?

First up is the Danger Acts. The acts considered:
Sword thrower
Martial Arts
Nick Pike - walking on broken glass blindfolded juggling butcher knives and fire
Jeremy van Schoonhoven – his bicycle act showed new tricks

Juvenile Dance Acts were:
Northwest Acro and Dance – juvenile female hip hop group looked just OK to me, but the judges are sending them to Hollywood
RNG female juvenile dancers – I like them better than the judged; they are not going on.

Singing Groups were:
NU Covenant – they sang well and made it
Gentlemen from NUCO – I don’t remember them
New Directions – it was heart-wrenching to watch this group get the news they would not go forward
Christina and Ali (sisters with cystic fibrosis) – I don’t think they have the level of talent needed but they have sentimental power going for them and made it to the next round

Novelty Acts were:
Erin Barylski – body paints a beach scene
Juggler – drops a racket
Balloon popper – does a poor job
Rick Smith Jr., who throws playing cards at high speed to break balloons; he missed at least twice on this performance, pretty much sealing his fate.
Ronith – he got the judges convulsing with hysterical laughter with his body moves and voices; I think he is very talented and very funny

Musicians
Harmonix – was only OK tonight, which is not good enough to move forward
Airpocalypse – I strongly disagreed with the judges placing them in this category when they should have been in the Category C; anyway, I got to see them perform again and they are excellent

Male Singers
Nathaniel Kenyon – I didn’t see why he was chosen; he was mediocre in my opinion
 
Circus Acts
Rick Smith Jr. got the first of 2 balloons set up over the side of the judges’ stand, but he missed 3 straight after that.

Musical Acts
? - is shown to be her screaming and him doing simple guitar
Harmonix – I like this group but they were not as good as their preliminary round performance
Airpocalypse – this air guitar group, which claims to have transcended instruments, is very entertaining
Gentlemen from NUCO – they were a cipher
Iron Horse – they did not stand out in my mind

Solo Male Singers
Paul Safy Jr. – he did not register for me at all, but he is going to Hollywood
Luigi Seno – he did OK in a highly competitive category
Nathaniel Kenyon - Howie told him it’s the toughest category (so don’t be disappointed if you don’t make it) but he did end up making it

The judge now made their decisions within each category and by comparing across categories. Piers asked his fellow judges to “not let your heart rule your head,” which Sharon in particular tends to do. The final 11 choices were:

Kun Fu Heroes
Nick Pike
RNG
Luigi Seno
Paul Safy Jr.
Nathaniel Kenyon
Ronith
NU Covenant
Airpocalypse
Christina and Ali
Iron Horse

The mathematics of the groupings showed that 27 of 50 Group A acts made it, or 54%. For Group B acts, 11 of 28 acts, or 39% made it. That isn’t a terrible penalty for being classified in the standby group.

I hear that the next round will be composed of 4 parts, with 12 acts competing in each one.

apskip:
It's AGT5 Hollywood (quarterfinal) round, part 1, 12 acts of which only 4 will survive to the semfinals. NBC messed up the sound system for the first 30 seconds, so NIck Cannon was talking but nobody other than the live audience could hear what he said. It wouldn't make any difference anyway. Most of the pre-performance stuff is just hype anyway. These are live performances and the public gets to vote during the 2 hours succeeding the end of the show (until 1am here in the Eastern time zone). Howie offered his advice to the acts: "Just do It." Acts can be forced to stop performing if they get 3 judge Xs, but the public can still vote for them (although I cannot imagine that ever happening since these judges are mostly rational). The motto of all following rounds is "Step It Up" meaning do something new, different and better. That works to give the 10 Group C acts (those who did not have to perform in Las Vegas) a big edge, since they have one less new performance to create and develop. I will use a letter grading system with A+ my best possible score. I will offer my personal comments before those of the judges. So here it is:

NOTE- I am putting up the structure now so I do not lose it (that has happened to me multiple time in the past). I will find in the blanks of the judges' comments ASAP.

Kung Fu Heroes - this act was fresh and daring and cutting edge in the preliminary rounds. What happened to them here? They used real swords and spears and a long hammer but it was lots of motion and just not very entertaining
Howie - choreography from the e preliminary round. It's like Power Rangers with no shirts and eye shadow.
Piers - not as enthralling as before; too much of a martial arts routine waving swords etc.and not an entertainment routine; I liked you when you were complete lunatics
Sharon - liked the ending
My Grade - B

Christina and Ali - they never should have been here to begin with, so I am not surprised that they did not do well on a pop song. They did have nice harmony with the older sister singing thirds above the younger.
Howie- There were some notes missed but it doesn't matter, as I love you.
Piers - Your singing was second-rate until you got together on the harmony. It was an improvement on your audition.
Sharon - I am not going to say anything negative.
My Grade - B

Airpocalypse - this group is scintillating to my ears and ears. They added 8 backup dancers to go with the 3 primary performers and from the opening to the slow descent from up top to the stage for the drummer/angel, then picking up the tempo to the end of the performance, it was mesmerizing for me. Excellent!
Howie - it is not clear whether air guitar has a place in AGT; you demonstrate how much you can do with absolutely nothing (except hot girls and music).
Piers- this was really lip syncing and it was as good as any lip syncing he had ever heard. I will buy your album
Sharon - you are great acting and it is great fun
My Grade - A

Hot Shot Tap Dancers - in the prior round one of the males missed a difficult part of the routine and thought his mistake had eliminated them, but they were fortunate to get through despite that. The audience is fortunate now, as they are very entertaining with their tap routines. I particularly loved the opening slide routine and their fine synchronization.
Howie - that storyline was distracting; it would have been better focus on pure dance
Piers -  I loved the look and choreography, but it lacks oomph. It was too safe in a comfort zone but you never exploded or caught fire onstage.
Sharon - I loved your relaxed style. Your tap routine is current and could motivate more interest in tap dancing.
My Grade - A

Paul Safy Jr. - he has a terrific crooner voice but his choice of music is poor. This cost him a spot in the next round, as he cannot get there with this performance.
Howie - likes Michael Buble, loved shadow puppets (women dancing behind screens), your ending was cheesy
Piers - I like cheese, your voice is fine but you need to relax and let the performance come to you, feel the song and chill out a bit
Sharon - great tone, but performance was dated and a bit cheesy for a 27 year old; work on delivery
My Grade  - B

Future Funk - this dance duo is cute and adorable and excellent dancers for their age of 10 and 5. They were accompanied by a high-energy rock version of the opening of Beethoven's 5th symphony. However, during the performance the imbalance between what the 10 years old can do and what the 5 year old can do was too obvious, so it's out of balance.
Howie - you were talking (the younger one said "Deal I love you."); America will love you and you have talent. YOu can have any women you want.
Piers - You have star quality.
Sharon - that was sensational and amazing.
My Grade - A-

Sally Cohen - the judges loved her singing an obscure melody I am not familiar with, but I did not think her performance was very good. I think there is  reason for her to be here because hand whistling is a unique talent, but it should not displace much better vocal and dance and variety acts. I think she may get sympathy votes for being old, but I will be surprised if she makes it to the next round.
Howie - unique, quirky, great personality
Piers - that is a fine rendition of that tune, much better than what Nick can do with it. You are a wonderful inspiration. He got her to say hand whistling is music that can be used to entertain.
Sharon - asks about her "inner kitty cat"
My Grade - B

Nick Pike - this was a huge disappointment. Nick got in as a replacement for the better Trystan and Krystan who had to withdraw for an unknown reason. He had lots of fire, a minimum of torch juggling and lots of motion, but not a coherent interesting act. He gets my lowest score and a ticket home.
Howie - what are you? Nick said he is a juggler/acrobat/comedian
Piers - America may love it, but I thought it was a shambles; without fire everywhere, only simple juggling and running around
Sharon - it was so dangerous (note - this is total b.s.); Piers had told her to set himself on fire for the semis so he did that literally
My Grade - B-

RNG - I will agree that they earned a spot in the Hollywood rounds, but now it's time for them to go home. Their performance had absolutely no redeeming value; It's just some cute girls age 11 dancing in a choreographed way to music. I found their story line insipid. Give them the hook and my lowest score.
Howie - you have a future in dance, but this is not very much talent or a headline act now
Piers - I agree with Howie. Judges are looking for amazing dancing and you are not quite there yet. Keep practicing.
Sharon - a good routine is difficult but you did it; I loved it.
My Grade - B-

Maricar - this is one of the 2 truly unique acts in this leg of the competition. She painted underwater in a large fish tank, coming up every so often for air. It was barely recognizable as a portrait of Piers, who had given her excellent marks the last round. I expect that we will see a portrait of Howie next round if she makes it since he also gave her very good marks.
Howie - I admire the act and admire your terrific pair of lungs
Piers - I can watch you forever; it was surreal.
Sharon - You have made act very very sexy.
My Grade - A-

Fighting Gravity - this is the other of the truly unique acts and I love it. These 12 guys are so talented. I think they may go all the way. They were the only act that received my highest mark.
Howie - you are phenomenal
Piers - creativity, innovation and uniqueness; it was without doubt the performance of the night
Sharon - incredible with unlimited prospects. Blue Man Group, move over.
My Grade - A+

Nathaniel Kenyon - he's out of his league here and did not belong in the Hollywood round. He has a nice voice and future potential but he is not ready for prime time. His one appeal is to female teens.
Howie - wore a mask because Nathaniel had a cold; Justin Bieber called and he wants his hair back; Nathaniel retorted that "Mr. Clean just called."
Piers - we are watching the metamorphosis of a shy young man into a pop star
Sharon - you have the "It" Factor. I expect you to be back next year.
My grade - B

So here are the groupings of acts that result from my grades above:

Likely to Get to Next Round - Fighting Gravity, Airpocaplypse, Hot Shot Tap Dancers
On the Bubble  - Future Funk, Maricar
They Have a Small Chance  - Kung Fu Heroes, Christina and Ali, Paul Safy Jr., Sally Cohen, Nathaniel Kenyon
No Chance at all - Nick Pike, RNG

Who would I rather see get the coveted 4th spot? I guess I give the nod to Maricar for showing more talent and originality but of course it's so close.

apskip:
last night NBC gave us the traditional time-wasting results show for this week's 12 acts. The ultimate decision by home audience vote ranked the acts based on "who the performers are (personality, overcoming circumstances)" rather than how they perform. This has led to several miscarriages of justice in past seasons and the audience vote is up to its usual tricks again this season. If you look above you will see that my picks for the top 5 spots based on Tuesday night's performances were:
Fighting Gravity
Airpocaplypse
Hot Shot Tap Dancers
Future Funk
Laricar

So, you can look at the actual choices for the live audience of Christina/Ali, Fighting Gravity and Nathaniel Kenyon as agreeing on one out of the top 3. The 4th group had the #4 and #5 teams of Future Funk and RNG given to the judges to decide and Piers and Howie sent future funk onward.. To me, that is a no-brainer that future Funk was in fact selected for the last spot.

What these voting patterns says to me is that weepy, sentimental performers with a story line like Christina/Ali and Nathaniel Kenyon are what turns the audience on over the superior in my opinion performers like Airpocalypse (controversial due to the status of air guitar but very fine performers) and Hot Shot Tap Dancers. I rated Christina/Ali and Nathaniel Kenyon as medium quality performers with the 5 teams above rated better. Apparently, my tastes are not those of America. I am not amused by the official choices.

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