PureAGT Season 8 Live Show #4 – Power Rankings
Anyone else besides me think they could have just skipped the first hour of last night’s show and not really missed out on anything good? The first five acts really didn’t do much for me – I think I even mentioned on Twitter that the show this week was shaping up to be a big disappointment.
Luckily, the second half of the show brough some much stronger performances – not necessarily GREAT performances (I really only think one act knocked it out of the park last night), but pretty good ones. I still think this quarterfinal was one of the weaker ones – someone like Tone the Chiefrocca would have made it through without any problems if he was on last night, I think.
1.) Jimmy Rose – Ok, let me get this off my chest: I’m all opera’d out and I’m all country’d out (likely due to all the ado about the opera and country acts), so it’s hard for me to really get enthusiastic about really any of the acts in this category at the moment. I think Jimmy did pretty well – definitely better than Marty did in his quarterfinal, but like Mel I wasn’t really wowed by his song choice. I don’t think it was one that really fit the twang of his voice well. But America just seems to go crazy for their country boys, so I’m fully expecting that he’s going to make it through tonight. Will be interesting to see he & Marty go head to head – I still think Jimmy is the more talented of the two, but I think Marty might be the more popular.
2.) Cami Bradley – My favorite act of the night, and the only one that I think really delivered and exceeded expectations. Love, love, LOVED the arrangement of “Believe” and the conviction with which she sang it – what really impresses me about her voice is that she has an incredible amount of control when she’s singing softly. Incredibly hard to do (often moreso than singing really loudly), and she handled it beautifully. I have to laugh when I think of how much I underestimated how she’d do in Vegas and then she was really the only female vocalist that didn’t somehow bungle her performance. I think she flies under the radar because she’s so shy – but then she pulls out performances like this and just blindside people. I may not be wild about how many singers are making it through to the semifinals, but I can get behind Cami – she’s the real deal.
3.) Timber Brown – Admittedly, I kind of went “Uh-oh, what’s this?” when I saw him come out with that suspended planet-shaped thingie instead of his usual pole. But I think the gamble worked out in his favor – he was pulling some pretty impressive, high-speed tricks on that thing. And I think it was Timber’s performance that really woke the show up – he had 4 rather ho-hum acts before him, and I was almost to the point of changing the channel when he came bursting onto the stage. Glad he was able to salvage the show!
4.) Aerial Ice – I had really high hopes for Aerial Ice, based on their initial performance – but I think their larger set this time around may have been a bit detrimental to their performance, as they seemed to get lost in it. Their stunts are amazing, no doubt – but I feel like the large set made them lose some cohesiveness, as it felt more like 3 separate couples doing stunts on their own, as opposed to a unified act. Regardless, I still think that what they do is unique enough that they’ll advance to the semifinals.
5.) TIE: David Ferman & Taylor Williamson – Two guys that I really like, but also two guys who seemed to struggle last night…and the funny thing is, they seem to have the opposite problem: David has the content, but not the delivery…Taylor has the delivery, but not the content. God love David, he seems like a really good kid with a lot of crazy, cool ideas in his head…and some cojones grandes to carry off these crazy stunts he dreams up. But his delivery is just so…bland. He comes off as robotic and stiff, and seems to rush his delivery – and the trick itself was over so quickly that it was hard to appreciate the difficulty of what he was doing. If I were him, I’d get on YouTube and watch videos of Landon Swank from two seasons ago – kid had this butter-smooth delivery that really brought his tricks to life. Taylor, on the other hand, delivers his jokes with such endearing awkwardness that you find yourself laughing and smiling along with him…even if the joke isn’t particularly funny. And that was his major struggle last night – his material was only mildly funny, and not nearly as strong as we’ve seen from him previously. I think one of these guys will end up joining Aerial Ice in the judges’ choice – I just can’t decide which one.
7.) 3Penny Chorus & Orchestra – Repeat after me: song choice is EVERYTHING. And they unfortunately seemed to choose the wrong one – I thought that silly Taylor Swift song just came across as juvenile and annoying. Truth be told, I wasn’t wild about “Call Me Maybe”, but their delivery of it was novel enough that I enjoyed it. I didn’t get the same vibe this time around – I just found myself saying “this is silly”. I also don’t think they benefitted much from going first, especially since the first half of the show was overall much weaker than the 2nd half – I think they might get lost in the shuffle of the weak first hour acts and not get as many votes as they probably should.
8.) Chloe Channell – Sweet, adorable girl, no doubt – but I just think she’s got a lot of maturing to do in her singing before she really becomes a force to be reckoned with. I also think she’s picked the wrong songs two times in a row now – neither her song in Vegas nor her song last night seemed to serve her well. I also think she just lacks a bit of stage presence…she doesn’t seem to know how to emote with her face, and just seems to pace back and forth as she’s singing. Very bright future ahead of her – but I just think it may have been too early for her to make the leap to a show like AGT.
9.) The Robotix – I feel a bit bad for this group – they came into the competition at a bit of a disadvantage, since we didn’t get to see them perform in the audition round or Vegas…so right off the bat, they had to impress the viewers, since they came in with little to no fanbase. Then they tried to tackle a song that was wayyyy too big for them – and I agree with Howard: the drummer was the raddest, most interesting member of the group to watch, and the rest of the group was just kind of there. Like Chloe, I think they may have just attempted AGT when they weren’t quite ready.
10.) SensEtion – A slight improvement from their initial audition, but all in all, they’re still just another “dancing in the dark” act looking to ride the coattails of Fighting Gravity, Team iLuminate, Lightwire Theater, etc. I still don’t think they’re doing enough dancing in their performances – and the graphics they’re using seem a bit rudimentary and generic…like some kid playing around with Windows Movie Maker. Just not enough to cut it, at this point.
11.) Champions Forever – I thought this act was a bit cheesy the first time we saw them…and I found them even cheesier this time. It got repetitive really quickly, even if what they were doing was actually quite difficult; there’s only so many times I can watch a group on unicycles ride around in circles onstage. Not much more to add – just not enough content at this point in the competition.
12.) Tummy Talk – Oy…the great Tummy Talk debate. People seem to really hate this act, which is why I have them at the bottom – I don’t see any way they could possibly make it through tonight. But I actually don’t mind this act too much…is it borderline icky? Sure, but so are a lot of the danger acts we’ve seen. I actually thought they were pretty creative with their drumming last night, and you can tell these guys do have somewhat of a percussion background. Let’s put it this way: I’d take them over Aaralyn & Izzy any day.
So what did you guys think of last night’s performances? And who do you want to see in the semifinals?
my top 4:
1.jimmy rose
2.Cami Bradley
3.timber brown
4.aerial ice
EDITED BY COURTNEY: Brendan, that’s crass. Either clean up the language or I’ll clean it up for you…AGAIN.
Howie nailed it when he said that Jimmy wasn’t spectacular, but if Marty Brown indicates how America votes on country singers, Jimmy will get through. I’m honestly wishing that they did 48 this year, because they chose too many acts from Vegas, and quite a few have been boring or just plain awful. I could probably count 12 acts that could’ve been trimmed and nobody would miss them.
Jimmy, Cami, Timber, and Aerial Ice, couldn’t agree more. I thought Aerial Ice was best last night, but as a figure skating fanatic, Im biased. Jimmy has been the only country singer I can really get behind. I expected Cami to be good, but not amazing, and she was pretty amazing. Timber is easily the best acrobatic act we have this season. What I wanted to know, was how he could walk in a straight line after spin the the metal sphere so much. Thats talent right there. The other stunts were great too, but not being dizzy impressed me most
I’m pretty much with you Courtney, the first third of the night had me bored, but thankfully from Timber Brown, things started to get much stronger.
Jimmy Rose- I thought he was great. I’m not really a big fan of country, but I do enjoy listening to him and I liked the emotion he sang with. The best song for him?? Probably not, at least for now, but overall, I think he deserves to move on (even if I’m sick of country singing at this point lol), as I’m hoping he will cancel out Marty.
Cami Bradley- This was also my favorite act of the night. I wasn’t sure what to expect from her since she didn’t wow me in her first audition, and her Vegas audition was better. But she blew me AWAY last night. Her voice is absolutely stunning, she did a fantastic rendition of “Believe,” and she really can hold your attention even in the slower paced moments. Repeating what Howard said, that’s the first time I’ve actually “heard” that song. I’ve heard i countless times, but this time the lyrics actually reached me and touched me. Cami’s fantastic, and really could be a dark horse IMO. Beautiful lady, beautiful voice, one of my favorites for sure.
Timber Brown- Loved this guy as well. This kicked things up a few notches after 4 acts that were rather “meh.” It was full of energy, exciting, clean, and interesting. I hope he continues to do well! Let’s not even mention how dizzy I would’ve gotten in that mini Saturn. LOL
Aerial Ice- I think they did a beautiful job. It was nice to watch, it was executed cleanly, the tricks and stunts were fabulous. However, I do agree with Courtney, the large stage seemed to swallow them up a bit. It made it hard for 6 people to be in true unity. There were moments where it felt like they were 3 different couples as opposed to one group. Nonetheless, I really like them and I hope they adapt to the stage.
David Ferman- I pretty much agree with you on this one, Courtney. I REALLY like David and I think he’s great at what he does, he just has to learn how to truly put on a show. Make it have a beginning, middle, and end. Suspense, then a huge climax. That’s what he’s missing. He’s got major creativity and talent, just needs showmanship.
Taylor Williamson- I just love this guy 😀 Makes me smile. I found several of his jokes very funny and his comedy was clever IMO. But I do agree that it’s mostly his character that makes him great. If I heard…I dunno…Kevin Hart tell those jokes, I probably wouldn’t be laughing as much. Taylor does need to work on his material a little bit, but I really like him and I think he’s funny 🙂
3Penny- I kinda liked them…but eh…
Chloe- Sweet girl, good voice, but needs more experience. By the way, what was with all of the mirroballs?? Girl this ain’t DWTS 😛 Just kidding…maybe…
Robotix- I think they have great potential, but they did tackle too big of a song. I especially don’t feel like the singer is ready to tackle songs like that quite yet. They’re all talented, but they all need more experience. The drummer is awesome, and I did enjoy the oldest guy who was on the guitar, but even both of them could use a little bit more time. I think if they stay with this and keep practicing, they could be a really great band. But like Courtney said, they took on this a bit too early.
SensEtion- I was more impressed with the technology than the dancing (as there was not much of it), and I had already seen a lot of what they did technology-wise. They cleaned things up a bit, but I still think they need a few more years of experience.
Champions Forever- I actually found their first audition more entertaining than this one. It started strong, fun, and cute, but then kinda got repetitive and went nowhere. Talented family, fun to watch, but just not great enough I’m sad to say.
Tummy Talk- I was pretty impressed with their percussion skills, but honestly, I don’t find any appeal with slapping the crap out of the big guy at all. Creative? Yes. But honestly, I just don’t think slapping around a guy as impressive as actually playing the instruments. Although, I would take them over Aaralyn & Izzy too LOL
My personal top 4 are Cami, Timber, Jimmy, & Aerial Ice. I really like Taylor W and David too, and I suppose I wouldn’t be too upset if ONE of them made it…as long as it’s not over Cami LOL. The rest?? Sorry, I just couldn’t get behind any of the others making it.
I loved 3 Penny Chorus and Orchestra-brilliant, clever arrangement, beautiful musicianship and voices. Loved the humor. I agree that Timber is the best acrobatic act on AGT season 8. Jimmy Rose was okay-expect he will be voted through. I enjoyed Chloe Channell.
My top 4:
1. Three Penny Chorus and Orchestra.
2. Timber Brown
3. Aerial Ice
4. Chloe Channell
@Matt B – Based on what we’ve seen in previous seasons, America tends to be a bit “vanilla” when voting on AGT – they can see dozens of spectacular, unique, not-something-you-see-everyday acts…and in the end, they end up voting for the generic, garden-variety vocalist you could see on American Idol, The Voice, or The X-Factor. It blows my mind (and frustrates the hell out of me) sometimes, but I guess when it comes down to it, music is something that is universally relatable: everyone listens to music, you don’t have to have a college degree to really appreciate it, and its accessible. I think America sometimes has a hard time fully appreciating some of the more unique acts because they don’t really have a point of reference for it – they can listen to Marty Brown and think “Oh I like him, he reminds me of Garth Brooks”, but then they see something like Mitsi Dancing School and kinda go “Huh? What is this?” It’s uncertainty aversion – they’d rather stick with something they are familiar with that may be subpar, than go out on a limb and vote for something unfamiliar that could be spectacular. Just like ice cream – we’ve got a million and one interesting, exciting flavors out there…but vanilla consistently wins the top spot. Sigh.
@Will – “Believe” is a bit of a funny song – I think it gets written off far too often as a “gay club anthem”, but the minute you slow it down, you realize the song is actually incredibly well-written and meaningful. I think the first time I really “heard” it was when Adam Lambert performed it in Hollywood week of Idol season 8; Ella Henderson also did a beautiful version for X-Factor UK last year. I still love hearing slowed-down, gut-wrenching versions of it, though…which is why I enjoyed Cami’s so much. 🙂
Well I guess I am pretty well in agreement with you Courtney – some of the acts certainly do not rate being on a stage like Radio City Music Hall but then some of the acts also may look a lot different and more exciting if you are part of the audience. I find that Aerial Ice did not really look that great but I think it was the way the television cameras picked them up some of the shots were too far away and we lost the true talent of the performance. USA tends to go for the good old boys singing as some of our past winners proved to be and heh where are they now??? Never hear of them except Terry Fader – sometimes being the winner is not as good as being the loser – look at American Idol and where some of the runnerups are as opposed to the winners.
As far as wild card I too have not heard if they are doing it as 5 live shows x 4 going through equals twenty semifinalists.
Totally agree they almost lost me in the first hour. Then Cami performed and knocked my socks off! 🙂
Haven’t thought much of the comedians, but Taylor Williamson did make me chuckle a few times.
To round out my top 4, I also liked Aerial Ice and Jimmy Rose.
A quick comment about song choices: from what I heard the producers only give to singers a list of songs to choose from, so sometimes it’s not really singers’ fault for choosing the wrong one.
@Courtney very sorry 4 my language. i did not mean to offend anyone.