Turf: Is He Really Worth the Hype?

Anyone who has been watching AGT this season knows the name Turf. He’s the street dancer/contortionist that came to the auditions with an inspiring story, and a pretty unique talent. So far, he has flown through the auditions, Las Vegas, and now, the top 48. Here’s his act from last weeks performances.

Among many, he is the favorite to win. For me, I think he’s interesting. Granted, I get a little sick to my stomach while watching some of his act, just because it hurts me to watch a body move like that. I’m not sure if he’s been my favorite act so far (Donovan and Rebecca, as well as Shanice and Maurice Hayes, are the ones I am rooting for), but I do think he has a chance of winning. However, on the flip side, there are some who wonder, what’s the big deal. On my commentary from last weeks performance, the following comment was left by JP about Turf:

This is probably just me, but I need to know something about one act. What does everyone see in Turf? I don’t get it. They’re overhyping him as this great act, but I don’t see it. I’ve seen this type of act before, and he doesn’t do anything that really impresses me. He’s talented, but I don’t think he’s one of the best acts. There generally seems to be act every season that everyone loves but I don’t get, and this seems to be this season’s act. Based on tonight’s performances, I would say Tom Cotter and Donovan and Rebecca are the only two slam dunk acts in the round. After them, I would like to see two of Hawley Magic, Ben Blaque and Tim Hockenberry advance. Unfortunately, I think Turf is going to take one of those spots even though I just don’t think he was as good as the others. Maybe I’m just missing something with his act, but I just see him as good, but not great. He’s below those five in my mind, and might even be below The All Ways (though I have to admit that I generally like rock music, so they were better to me.)

Can someone answer JP’s question — what is it that everyone sees in Turf? Most comments and articles I have seen on this year’s season of AGT really do praise him, and  in a way, that might bias some into thinking he’s better and more unique than he really is. In his critique last week, Howard Stern warned Turf about not letting all of the praise go to his head, because there are some other great dance acts this year (specifically, as Howard mentioned, Unity in Motion). While he appears to have a fairly large fan base now, he still needs to continue putting his best foot forward and keep his current fans, as well as win over those a little more unsure. Is Turf going to be able to step it up, and prove he is more than just a good dancer and deserves to be among the winners of AGT? What do you think of Turf? Feel free to leave your opinions, as well as vote in this poll. I’m interested to see what others think of him.