Welcome to Pure America’s Got Talent

Enough said…

UPDATE: Here’s the video of Sally Cohn and the comment (starts about 3:50):

So the first group of twelve is up… how are they going to do? Out of this twelve America is able to choose their favorite top four to move on.

Feel free to leave your comments… I apologize for the delays for the music, the computer I usually use is occupied so music from Las Vegas week onwards is going to be delayed.

You are able to choose up to four acts.

As a quick note: Twisted Trystan and Krystan had to drop from the competition, so Nick Pike was brought in one week prior to filming to fill out the Top 48. Interesting that they chose a danger act to replace a danger act.

Many thanks to Björn for helping me find the missing ones…

KungFu Heroes
- Marilyn Manson: Rock is Dead

Cristina and Ali
- Rascal Flatts: Bless the Broken Road

Airpocalypse
- Europe: Final Countdown
- The Knack: My Sharona

Hot Shot Tap Dancers
- Madcon: Beggin’

Paul Safy Jr
- Ella Fitzgerald: Cry Me a River

Future Funk
- Walter Murphy: A Fifth Of Beethoven

Sally Cohn
- Mariah Carey: Hero

Nick Pike
- Scooter: Fire

Rated Next Generation aka RNG
- Rihanna: Disturbia

Maricar

Fighting Gravity
- The Glitch Mob: How to Be Eaten By A Woman

Nathaniel Kenyon
- Hinder: Lips of an Angel

I’ve made it quite clear in the comments that I’ve finally found my favorite act for this season: the Singing Sisters. I’ll happily admit that I’m completely biased in this case. For some reason, I really like blonde girl singers (see Jessica Price and Julienne Irwin), but I love Christina and Ali’s determination and perseverance more than anything. The beauty of America’s Got Talent is that you can vote for whoever you want (at least now that we’re to Hollywood).

Let me just help you understand a little more about cystic fibrosis (CF) and my personal experience with a friend who has CF. Then, maybe you’ll understand my personal emotional connection with Christina and Ali’s performance on America’s Got Talent. Plus, hopefully you’ll have a greater appreciation for what Christina and Ali are able to accomplish.

A short description about Cystic Fibrosis:
The average life expectancy for those with CF is mid-30s, and only 47 percent survive to reach 18 years or older. Sticky mucus builds up in the lung, blocking the airways and making the child prone to many life-threatening infections. It also affects the pancreas, causing the CF sufferer to not properly digest her food.

My friend with cystic fibrosis is 56. He’s literally a walking miracle and a complete inspiration. As his neighbor and friend I would go over to his house regularly to give him what he called percussion therapy. That’s just a nice term for me going over and basically “beating” him for 30 minutes to an hour.

I’m not exaggerating. I would cup my hands and pound his chest, sides, and back (if I remember right) in three different positions. I guess the pounding helps to dislodge the mucus that builds up in the lungs that isn’t dislodged since he’s missing a chemical that the rest of us have. In one position, he would literally hang upside down off the couch and I would pound his sides while he clenched his teeth.

At one point he said, “Do you know why I do this one?” I said, “Why? He replied, “Cause all my friends that refused to do them, aren’t here anymore.” After “beating” him like this, my hands would literally hurt.

Just describing this on here, I can barely imagine Christina and Ali having to go through this type of therapy. Add in them singing with the lung problems that Cystic Fibrosis causes and their absolutely an inspiration for me.

I saw these girls first perform when I got to go and see the Las Vegas auditions taped live. Their audition performance hadn’t aired yet and so I didn’t know their story. However, when I watched Christina and Ali perform in Las Vegas I admit that my eyes welled up with tears. The same thing happened when I saw their audition. It’s too bad you didn’t get to see their full Las Vegas performance.

Certainly Christina and Ali aren’t the most talented singers that have ever graced the America’s Got Talent stage (Julienne Irwin probably wins that award for me). However, the talent they’ve shown overcoming their challenges is what makes them my favorite act on America’s Got Talent season 5.

Best of luck Singing Sisters!

Let’s be real and say it like it is. America’s Got Talent is really a popularity contest. At least once you get to Hollywood. It’s all about getting America to vote for you. So, the question is which people in the America’s Got Talent top 48 are the most popular acts and will command the most votes once we see the performances in Hollywood?

As I was watching some of the videos on NBC.com, I found a link to the “Most Viewed” videos on NBC.com. Sure, some of the videos have been up longer. Not to mention, some of the acts don’t really have videos. No doubt it’s an imperfect method to evaluate their popularity, but it’s still pretty interesting to consider. Here’s the list of acts from the Most Viewed videos from NBC.com:
Fighting Gravity
Future Funk
Michael Grimm
Alice Tan Ridley (Precious’ Mom)
Christina and Ali (Cystic Fibrosis)
Maricar (Painter)
ArcAttack
Carlos Aponte (too bad he’s already gone)

Very interesting list if I do say so myself.