Welcome to Pure America's Got Talent

I think that Jessica Price did really well in her semi final performance on America’s Got Talent. I hate that AGT tries to make her look so old. They need to get someone knew in makeup, hair and wardrobe for the younger girls. She looked beautiful, but I just think she could have been even more attractive with something a little more her age.

Regardless, her talent (singing) was awesome and let’s hope she keeps going. Enjoy the video of Jessica Price’s semifinal performance on AGT:

Also, I thought a lot of people would be interested to know that you can find Jessica Price on myspace. She has a nice little bit about the things she likes and some of her music on the page. Here’s her description of herself (remember this is from myspace):

okay so basically what we have here is i guess im suppose to write up a lil sumthin sumthin for ya’ll. So here i go… I grew up in a small town called Freeport, MI, “represent” and i still live there today, its pretty much the smallest town ever, i just looked it up on some population thing the other day and there are 444 people. yep. I sing and lead worship at my church in Hastings MI, and also sing at the occational local fair or coffee shop but thats about it. Oh my word i just got back from Sydney Australia almost a year ago now. I lived there for a year and attended Hillsong International Leadership College. school is not for me but i did meet a lot of cool people from all over the world. Theres really not much to do for fun in Michigan besides go to movies or go tubing down the river with my little brothers and cousins, but the last time we did that, we got eaten alive by mosquitos. I love hanging out with my brothers (i have four of them) and my sister. We are all really close. So maybe you wanna know my favorite things or something? my favorite things are… the olive garden, new shoes, mint choc chip ice cream, the office, laying on the beach, flying(on a plane), ariel, red licorice, black coffee, sleeping, pulling all nighters, the buckle, forever 21, my sun roof, cup cakes, my grandma(nonnies) stories, conan obrien, fishing…. I listen to music all day long, i mostly like mariah carey, the eagles, pat benatar, heart, jewel, alanis, bonnie raiit, eva cassidy, lily allen, sneaky sound system, family force five, toby mac, blondie, scissor sisters, MUSE, timberland, mindy smith, stevie nicks, jared crump…..yep i could keep going but ill stop. oh and im pretty much obsessed with the little mermaid, if you walked into my room you would think that a little girl lived in there. if theres anything else you wanna know??? holla back youngin and Yes!! i am the girl from Americas Got Talent

So down to earth and real.

Thanks for all of those who have voted on my poll for America’s Got Talent wild card. Before I even looked at the current results of the Wild Card poll, I’d already pretty much decided that Donald Braswell was going to be the last member of the America’s Got Talent top 40 and by a landslide.

I honestly don’t have anything against Donald Braswell. In fact, I really liked him the first time he sang. However his last couple performances haven’t blown me away like his first one did. I’m not sure what it is. Despite all that, he seems to have really captured a part of America’s heart. America does love the underdog and what’s more underdog than getting sent home by the judges and only making it back because of injury to the Russian Bar trio (who I’m still sad we won’t get to see).

I was really hoping to see the brother and sister salsa dancers, Junior and Emily take the last spot, but it’s not going to happen.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter too much since I don’t think the wild card act will win it all. There’s just too much other talent in the competition that blows every wild card act out of the water.

Also, thank you all those who didn’t vote for Dan Mayer from Hartselle, Alabama (sword swallower). Seriously, at least come and break a world record in sword swallowing or something like that. Otherwise, it’s just another routine. That goes for all those dance troupes. You better matchup with the other thousands of dance troupes or else I think you’ve got to go.

That is all.

Since Julienne Irwin is probably my favorite ever contestant on America’s Got Talent (we’ll see if Jessica Price can dethrone her), I was definitely curious as to what Julienne Irwin was up to since leaving the show a year ago. Thankfully a local news crew did a little update on the whereabouts of Julienne Irwin:

It was interesting to know that Julienne Irwin went on tour with Kenny Rogers. Best of luck Julienne in Nashville. It’s a tough town, but I think you have the personality and incredible talent to make it. Just keep at it.

It looks like Julienne has already started recording a couple songs and music videos. I came across this one called “Tell Me Why” Lyrics & Music by David Smart & Christian Lloyd with video provided by Brad & Brian Thompson of Segami

Man alive does she have one of the most pure and excellent voices I’ve heard. I can’t wait to see what else she’s able to do in the future.

I also found this video of Julienne Irwin and Chris Richey singing God Bless the Broken Road:

I love seeing Julienne and other America’s Got Talent contestants in a more intimate setting. Not to mention, I bet that’s a memory that Chris Richey will have for his entire life.

I also happened across this video of Julienne being interviewed last year after the AGT season. How can you not like Julienne?

We’ll be watching for Julienne’s album to come out. Also, this is just the first of many posts I plan to do highlighting where the various America’s Got Talent acts are now.

Today I did a post about Terry Fator being one of my favorite America’s Got Talent acts. Turns out that Terry Fator (or at least his entourage) seems to be in touch with technology. I can say this, because today my logs show someone visiting my America’s Got Talent site from TerryFator.com’s email.

Of course, it could be Terry or any of the hundreds of people who could have an email address that ends with TerryFator.com However, I’m mostly impressed that whoever it is, utilizes technology to follow the buzz around Terry Fator. My guess is that this post about Terry will appear in their email box too. That’s a really good practice to be able to know who’s talking about you. I personally do the same thing in regards to the various TV shows I blog about.

Now the question is, if Terry Fator or his people are reading my blog, can they comp me a couple tickets for his show here in Las Vegas? My wife and I would love to see the show and a visit to the show would make for a brilliant blog post. What do you say Terry? Feel free to leave a comment below or drop me a line on the Contact Us page if you can get us some tickets.

Also, I’ve been working on a post that discusses what’s happened with Terry Fator since the show. Wait until you hear his album, his autobiography and his story of being on David Letterman.

I’m always interested in how America’s Got Talent gets people to be in their audience. It’s audience is huge compared to a show like Dancing with the Stars where they make it look big, but there is hardly anyone in the audience.

Well, now you have to look no more. You can get tickets to the following America’s Got Talent shows (while tickets are available):

Tue August 26, 2008 3:30 PM
Wed August 27, 2008 3:30 PM
Tue September 2, 2008 3:30 PM
Wed September 3, 2008 3:30 PM
Tue September 9, 2008 3:30 PM
Wed September 10, 2008 3:30 PM

Here’s the information about the taping:

Jerry Springer hosts the third season of NBC’s hit reality competition. Be in the audience as the best amateur performers from around the country compete! David Hasselhoff, Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan judge! Produced by Simon Cowell.

If you have a group of 10 or more you can attend the show as a fundraiser and earn money for your group!! For more information, please read more by clicking here.

CBS Studios-Radford
4024 Radford Ave.
Studio City, CA. 91604

Kind of cool that your organization can make money just attending the taping of a TV show. Plus, it would be a cool experience to see America’s Got Talent taped live.

Cas Haley – A unique style that mixes so many

Terry Fator – I love how the Hoff complained about it being a ventriloquist.

Of course, he then blew people out of the water with an impersonation of Kermit’s “What a Wonderful World”

The Best Contortionist ever on America’s Got Talent. Plus, I give her bigger props for hitting the bulls eye at the end of her performance.

Bianca Ryan – I’m still always amazed that that sound comes out of such a little girl. It’s really something else. Props to her for getting to perform in “V” the Ulimate Variety show.

Julienne Irwin – I’ve loved this girl since she first performed. I’m not sure what it is about her. A nice mix of raw talent with humility. I think I first grew most fond of her when they asked where she usually sang and she said her bedroom.

Taylor Ware – The only time I’ve really enjoyed Yoddeling was hearing Taylor do it. Plus, I love that she learned it by going to the library.

Butterscotch – It’s amazing that those different sounds come out of her. The first time I heard her, I thought she had a background band.

And her original performance just blows me away.

Eli Mattson was really quick out of the gates of America’s Got Talent earning high praise from the judges and a lot of coverage by the show. However, Eli Mattson, from what I remember, has gotten very little time on America’s Got Talent during the Las Vegas auditions. More time has been spent on the likes of Opera singer Neal Boyd and Queen Emily. Few people would argue that those two are more talented than Eli Mattson, but I guess you could say they have more compelling stories. Plus, I’m pretty sure they emit much more emotion than the calm, cool and collected Eli Mattson.

All of that said, Eli Mattson did travel over 2000 miles riding by bus to be on America’s Got Talent. He stepped onto the stage wearing a hat and cool confidence, Eli won over audience members singing “Walking in Memphis” while playing the keyboard. Here’s a video of Eli Mattson’s performance of Walking in Memphis:

My only suggestion for Eli is to remember that in a reality TV show like America’s Got Talent, America votes for personality as much as talent. Eli, don’t be afraid to show America your personality if you want to win.

As most of you know, Jessica Price is my favorite singer on America’s Got Talent. I think that I fell in love with her when she was able to show the jaded Brit, Piers, that not all American girls are like Britney and Paris. I’m not sure that she’ll be able to win, but I’d be so happy if she does.

Well, today I came across a story of someone who attended the same church as her. Here’s their story about Jessica Price.

I can’t believe she’s in the top 40! Okay, I can, because I remember the first time I heard her sing. It was at church and right after American Idol first premiered. She started singing a praise song, and my mom and I looked at each other and were like, “She could make it on American Idol.”

Even on the ride home, instead of talking about the churches message we spent the entire ride home talking about how she had a better voice than most people who we hear on the radio. She was probably sixteen at the time, and my mom said, “I bet if she tried, she could be big.” And as silly as this may sound, I said a quick prayer for her right then and there, asking God if he could bless her in a music career. Wouldn’t it be cool if he did?

I wonder if Jessica Price new that people were praying for her to win and be successful. Regardless of whether Jessica continues on from here, God has certainly blessed her music career. Looks like at least a partial if not complete answer to prayer to me.

If you’re like me, then you’re really sad to have the Russian Bar Trio get injured and unable to continue with the show. Here’s a link to see a video of the Russian Bar Trio. With such talent, it’s sad to see them not be able to continue on with the show. I hope that they either come back for the finale of America’s Got Talent or come back to compete on the show next year.

Since the Russian Bar Trio couldn’t continue on, America was given the chance to vote for the “wildcard” act that will be the last member of the America’s Got Talent Top 40.

Here’s your chance for your favorite AGT wildcard act:

If you’ve forgotten any of the America’s Got Talent wildcard acts, then below you’ll find videos of all the America’s Got Talent wildcard acts.
Read more…

A lot was made on America’s Got Talent of Donald Braswell not singing professionally for 11 years since tearing a neck muscle. Well, it turns out that he has sung in what could be considered a professional capacity. Below’s the story from My San Antonio:

Incidentally, a couple of people who saw the performance Tuesday said they were confused by the suggestion Braswell hadn’t sung on a stage for 11 years.

After all, he did perform not too long ago in a San Antonio Symphony concert staging of “Camelot.” He’s also part of the local Three Tenors.

To be fair, I did hear him clarify on the show that he hadn’t sung professionally for 11 years. When I spoke with him, he explained further.

“Professional to me is performing for an audience in a professional environment and to be able to earn a living from it, make it your career.”

That hasn’t been the case since his accident. However, he hopes this opportunity in front of a national audience on “Talent” will help him recapture a singing career.

Meantime, he’s already had the chance to distribute a CD he made less than a year ago, called “New Chapter,” to several of the “Today” show personalities, including host/newswoman Ann Curry and weather personality Al Roker.

In case you missed it, Braswell appeared on the third hour of “Today” Tuesday morning. Curry and Roker also seemed impressed by his story and the faith it took to attempt a comeback.

If you’d like to hear selection from his CD and order one, go to Braswell’s MySpace page.

The fact that he sings with some pretty much professional groups in San Antonio cuts into his story a little, but it’s still remarkable what he was able to do. The problem for me isn’t that his story might be fake. It’s that his singing isn’t even the best opera singer on the show. That means he shouldn’t get voted back in. Unfortunately, I think I might be outvoted.