PureAGT Season 8 Live Show #3 – Power Rankings
I think after tonight’s show, my fear that season 8 will turn into a battle of the singers (with only a few other unique acts thrown in) seems to be coming true – and I partially blame the judges, who seemed to lavish over-the-top praise on even the most mediocre singers tonight. I really hope some of the singers cancel each other out in the semifinals – because if not, I fear this season could get REALLY dull, really quick.
1.) Kenichi Ebina – Most unique and creative act of the night for me, and I love that this guy’s skills extend beyond dancing into martial arts and animation. I just love watching him! I would say he’s probably the only act from last night that’s a sure thing – if he doesn’t make it through, something is seriously wrong with America.
2.) Chicago Boyz – Best energy of any act of the night, for sure. Loved that they had some new tricks to show off – they really upped the ante this time – and that they never were sitting still: if they weren’t doing a stunt, they were hyping up the crowd. And best of all: they looked like they were having the time of their lives out there. Hopefully America thought so too.
3.) Deanna Dellacioppa – Deanna was better last night than she was at her initial audition and her Vegas performance, I’ll give her that. But I still don’t think she’s as stellar a vocalist as the judges (and she herself) seem to think she is. Something about the texture of her voice just bugs me – some of the notes sound thin and choppy, and others come across as too sharp and forceful. On top of that, I just get this diva-ish air from her – the way she gets overdramatic when talking about how she’s always been looked over due to her weight, the freaking out about her backing track in Vegas, the cheesy Beyonce-esque hand gestures during her performance. You’re not there yet, honey. However, I think the gushing from the judges (and the fact that she’s one of the only female solo vocalists left in the competition) give her a decent shot of advancing to the next round. I’d be fine if she didn’t…but I said the same thing about Marty Brown, and I’m still eating crow about that one.
4.) The American Military Spouses Choir – Sometimes I wonder if the judges hear something completely different while in the live audience at Radio City than we the viewers do at home – because I found myself feeling only lukewarm about this performance. Once again, I felt like there were one or two women doing all the heavy vocal lifting, and those in the backround were only managing to contribute some off-key humming. I really disliked the arrangement of the song – I could barely tell that it was “Hero”, because of some of the pitch changes they made. Do these ladies do great work and have a heartwarming backstory? Absolutely. But do they have the talent to stick around and hang with some of the stronger acts this season? I’m not so sure. I think their backstory will probably carry them through to the next round (much like Marty Brown’s did last week), but I think they’re probably going to stick out like a sore thumb next to some of the really strong acts in the semifinals.
5.) Jonathan Allen – I’ll admit – Jonathan sounded good last night, save for one dodgy note at the very end of his performance. But I’m left a bit on-the-fence about him: do we really need a THIRD opera act in the semifinals? Will America put a third opera act into the semifinals? That’s the big question mark of the evening for me. I actually think Jonathan sounded better than both Deanna & AMSC last night, but I don’t feel like he got as hyped by the judges – probably because they already have opera crushes on Forte and Branden James (who I’m still not all that impressed with). He seems like a good kid with legitimate talent – but if it comes down to him and another act in the judges’ choice (a more appropriate name seems to be the “judges’ cop-out”), I think they’ll pick the other act, simply because we have 2 opera acts already.
6.) Jim Meskimen – He’s another act that did fairly well last night, but I’m just not sure what America is going to make of him. I definitely think he’s better than Angela Hoover, but I also think he had tougher competition last night than Angela did – and some of his impersonations were only so-so (I didn’t really “get” the Clooney and Woody Allen ones). My gut feeling is that he’ll probably get lost in the sea of singers from last night, but I think there’s still a slim chance he could advance to the next round…guess we’ll have to wait and see.
7.) Mitsi Dancing School – What they do is really spellbinding to watch – the precision with which they dance is just amazing to me. But I worry that their routine may have gotten a bit repetitive, and the ease with which they did some of those precise moves may not get appreciated as much as it should by the audience. Had they thrown in some more acrobatic stuff, I think they would have stood a better chance of making it through – but unfortunately, I think they’re going to end up one of those “pleasant to watch” acts that doesn’t really leave a lasting impression.
8.) Dave “The Cobra Kid” Weathers – I think Howard actually summed up the problem with this act the best: the act depends heavily on the snake, and the snake didn’t deliver. No doubt cobras are extremely dangerous animals – but I think Dave’s problem last night was that his cobra seemed more in the mood for flight than fight, and kept slithering away…which diminished the dangerous feel of his act. On top of that, I think the fact that he didn’t really have a specific goal to his act made it feel a bit aimless – in his first audition, the goal was to get the rattlesnake to pop the balloon in his mouth; what was the goal this time? Taunt the snake and then shove it back into a box? I like the guy, but I think his act has hit its plateau on AGT.
9.) Leon Etienne & Romy Low – I think in the struggle to do something cool & unique, Leon & Romy may have confused their audience a bit – which hurt them even though their trick was quite impressive for those who were able to keep up with it. The whole “deliberately show the audience that we’re faking trick A so that they aren’t paying attention to trick B” scheme would have been genuis, had it been explained better from the get-go – and if they hadn’t wasted so much time trying to distract us with the first trick, I think the act would have been far better received by both the audience and the judges. I don’t see them making it through tonight, but I could see them asked back for the wild card round.
10.) Brandon & Savannah – I think these two are proof positive that song choice is crucial at this point – and they picked the wrong one, I’m afraid. I don’t think this song suited either of their voices well, but Savannah in particular sounded off-key and flat to me tonight, which is strange considering that she’s usually the stronger of the two for me. Overall, unimpresive and forgettable for me last night.
11.) Kelsey & Bailey – I don’t think Kelsey & Bailey really benefitted too much from the fact that Olate Dogs won last season…and I think they just kind of stick out like a sore thumb as a very mediocre pet trick act. I agree with Mel that this seemed to get very repetitive and that Bailey seems to have a rather limited repertoire of tricks. He’s adorable, yes – but I feel like we saw MUCH more impressive stuff from Olate last season.
12.) Aerosphere – Just a big snoozefest for me – too slow-moving and it seemed to take forever to really get started. I think I only saw one acrobatic trick. Just…no.
So what are your thoughts on last night’s acts?
I loved Jonathan Allen-much prefer him over Branden James. Kenichi`s act was very creative and well executed. I love American Military Spouses Choir for sentimental reasons(I`m an Air Force brat) but I agree with you about the arrangement for their song- I didn`t like it. I enjoyed Chicago Boyz high energy act.Mitsi Dancing School was beautiful to watch. Kelsey and Bailey were okay, but not good enough to be voted into the next round.I did not like Howie for being so rude to kelsey-her act was not good enough for the next round, but she did not deserve to be talked to in such a rude way.
MY TOP 4:
1.KENICHI EBINA
2.CHICAGO BOYZ
3.DEANNA DELLACIOPPA
4.AMSC
TOP 5 SPOT WILL BE BETWEEN JONATHAN ALLEN AND JIM MESKIMEN
EVERYONE ELSE IS TOAST I EAT FOR BREAKFEAST!
The sad things is that dreams will have to end tonight. Anybody in your top 7 would’ve gotten through last week, but 3 great performers will be going home.
Jimmy Rose posted on his FaceBook page that he is New York. I think he will be in next week(Aug 13) lineup of 12 contestants. 3 Penny Chorus and Orchestra will also be performing next week.
I did find AMWC’s arrangement of Hero a little odd, which is disappointing because I like them. I agree that Dave Weathers act seem to just be taunting the snake. Aerosphere was a total dud for me – at the end of their act I found myself saying “That’s all?” I expect to see Kenichi Ebina advance to the the next round. 🙂
There were only a couple of things that really had me excited unfortunately. The rest were either “That was nice…but…” or just…meh.
Kenichi REALLY impressed me. Especially when I found out all of the characters in the video were him. He seems to have so many great skills and meshes them together seamlessly. On top of that, he was spot on with the video, which a lot of acts seem to have trouble with. Kenichi made the whole thing exciting and totally believable.
Chicago Boyz were also a favorite of mine and they did not disappoint. Great energy, precise, fun, talented, just great 🙂 Deana is good, but I too find myself totally unmoved by her voice. She had much better control over her voice this time around, so I do give her major props for working on that, but I still think she has a ways to go before I’m blown away by her. I also agree the judges overgushed on her, she was nice, but not fantastic.
I actually enjoyed AMSC, I was touched by their song, but a lot of it had to do with what they stand for more than anything. Also, I’m also an Air Force child, so ya know 😀 I think it was very pleasant, but I do agree that it can be a bit lukewarm at times. I like Jonathan and actually prefer him over Branden (I’m sorry the guy just doesn’t impress me that much), but I really don’t want to see a bunch of singers on the show. Jonathan did well, but I’m not sure if America will latch onto him as easily as they seemed to (and probably will for Deana) for Branden and Marty (which is a big shame).
I really liked Jim Meskimen, even though I didn’t understand all of the act (because I didn’t know a couple of those celebrities that well), but he made me laugh, he’s a good impressionist, and he seems like a really great guy. I actually hope he beats out someone other than Chicago Boyz and Kenichi for the semi spot lol.
Mitsi Dancing School was mesmerizing and I really loved it, but I just don’t think America will catch on to their act 🙁 Didn’t care for “The Cobra Kid” before, can’t say I do now. I do like him as a person, and kudos to him for going for seriously dangerous stuff so confidently, but I have NEVER liked acts where they pretty much just bug the living hell out of a dangerous animal.
Leon & Romy?? Didn’t care for it at all. I liked what they went for…sorta, but I feel that would confuse most viewers, especially with how little they explained it. I felt like parts of it were just a jumbled mess. I feel bad for Brandon & Savannah because I really like them and they’re very good, but that song choice wasn’t right for them at all. And like Courtney said, song choice is extremely important.
As much as I ADORE Kelsey & Bailey, I just don’t think they’re act is grand or big enough to fill any stage bigger than a fair, carnival, or part of a bigger show. Aerosphere was pretty…but that’s all I can say. I can only remember one moment that had my attention: when they were doing the constant spinning. Other than that?? It was totally forgettable and sleepy for me.
I really hope Kenichi, Chicago Boyz, and Jim make it. I would like Misti Dancing School or Brandon & Savannah to make it, also, but after Brandon & Savannah’s huge song choice mistake, and the fact that I just worry that Misti School wasn’t memorable enough doesn’t have me that hopeful. Honestly, I can live without Deana. But she’ll probably make it through. I’d be okay with Jonathan making it if he beats out Deana and/or AMSC.
I am basically with your thoughts on who should go through – hate snakes and in light of what recently happened in New Brunswick with two young children losing their lives to a 14 foot python at a sleep over just enhances my feelings (even though it was not a venomous snake) – would you pay big bucks to watch that?
Anyway I found that most of the acts last night were not worthy of a headliner show and the million.
My choices are Kenichi, Chicago Boyz, Deanna and well cannot say the last one they were just not good enough. but might be the The American Military Spouses Choir (the patriotic card will be there) but I agree that there seems to be a couple of front singers holding this choir together. First of all to become a headliner act there are too many of them – group could be cut in half or to around 18 or so and some of them are very noticeably pregnant which means they will not be in group down the road – it will be a group that will constantly change members.
Brandon and Savannah may have sounded ok live but what I heard on tv was not great at all and again as an adult who pays for the shows would you go watch them.
I love dogs but compared to last year’s winners Bailey is just a sweet smart cute dog – the act last year contained many dogs and just kept you glued to the tv.
Jonathon Allen left me feeling kind of good but song was shades of golly gee Jim Nabors!!!
Have to say there have so far been some really bad choices going through – last week was really disappointed to see a comedienne and a bad country singer go through but they will get swallowed up down the road (hopefully)
I really liked Kenichi’s performance. Sometimes I get a little bored with solo dances since it’s just them. But I really liked the video game idea. It was extremely entertaining. I’m with you, if he doesn’t get voted through there is something wrong with America.
And thank you, I’m really glad I’m not the only one who finds Deanna to be a bit diva-ish. I don’t know, it’s just since Vegas, I find myself not liking her so much. And, I honestly didn’t think her performance was that great. I found myself liking Jonathon more than her. I think he did a better job, but like you said, there are already a lot of opera singers.
Mel B absolutely corroborated my previous assertion of double standards, calling the Struck Boyz “cheeky” a couple weeks ago for showing their abs and saucing up their performance. Last night, she told Savannah, a girl even older than them with what was, in my opinion, a skirt just slightly on the short end and a barely-exposed midriff to put more clothes on. Stay classy, Mel.
sorry to hear johnathan allen got voted off. but hopefuly he will get a contract and make cds. he has a awsome voice. he has a bright future he just has to believe and follow his dreams. the other people are great too. I love watching america got talent.