Welcome to Pure America’s Got Talent

Well, I have to say from a Nuttin’ But Stringz fan perspective, their participation on Dancing with the Stars was a little disappointing. They essentially were just background music for all the other dancers. Still a big step for Nuttin’ But Stringz to be on DWTS, but I would have liked to see more of their performance. I guess my consolation is that many of the dancers on it were from one of my other favorite shows, So You Think You Can Dance. The merging of the 3 main shows I blog about.

Anyway, in case you missed it, you can check out the video of Nuttin’ But Stringz below:

I was really excited last night when I was watching Dancing with the Stars to hear that America’s Got Talent alumnus Nuttin’ But Stringz will be performing as special guests. That’s awesome to see that Nuttin’ But Stringz is still alive and well. They really deserve their own show. I absolutely love what they do with a violin that you just don’t really see.

In case you can’t remember this group (is that possible?) or just want to relive Nuttin’ But Stringz time on America’s Got Talent, check out the following videos:

Nuttin’ But Stringz Original Audition


Read more…

It’s always interesting to see what happens with past contestants from America’s Got Talent. So, you can imagine my surprise when America’s Got Talent Alumnus Holly Hardin appeared on American Idol 2010. However, she not only was on the show, but was dressed as a guitar. Seriously. This isn’t a joke. I haven’t found a good quality video of her time on American Idol, but here’s a small portion of Holly Hardin dressed as a guitar on American Idol 2010:

In case, those of you don’t remember Holly Hardin from America’s Got Talent 2008, check out this video of Holly:

She was so much cuter on America’s Got Talent. However, her answers make her look like such a ditz. Which I guess is probably not too far from what she is. I think American Idol tried to make her look as bad as possible so that in future episodes she’ll look better. Either way, she’ll be super entertaining on American Idol. Simon is going to destroy her.

Eli Mattson will be answering questions direct from fans during a LiveCloud VIP Talk session Questions can be submitted in advance of the event. This is good news for many of the readers of this site since Eli Mattson was one of the favorite contestants from past America’s Got Talent seasons. I’ll be interested to hear more about what Eli’s been up to. If you attend the event, stop back here and tell us what you think.

I just received the official video of Neal E. Boyd singing his latest recording of “God Bless the U.S.A.” Check out the video of Neal below or download it on iTunes .

Also, here’s the full list of songs on his debut album called My American Dream.

My American Dream Album from Neal E. Boyd
God Bless the U.S.A.
God Bless the U.S.A. (Video)
Nessun Dorma
Somewhere
Mama
Amazing Grace
Ave Maria
Bring Him Home
Is Nothing Sacred
Anthem
Il Gladiatore
Sonny Boy

Previous Neal E. Boyd Recording
Turandot: Nessun Dorma

Looks like Neal E. Boyd is trying really hard to make his singing career happen after winning America’s Got Talent. I wish him the very best of luck and hope to see him in Las Vegas at some point soon.

I was pretty impressed with this Cellcom commercial featuring Eli Mattson. It’s interesting that they chose to use Eli for their commercial. I think they did a really good job with it. Check it out:

Also, check out my previous update post on Eli Mattson and enter to win free Eli Mattson swag. If people know what’s happening with other past contestants please let me know on my contact page.

I just wrote a post that updated everyone on Eli Mattson’s career since America’s Got Talent. From that I was able to get a few Eli Mattson’s to giveaway on my site. In fact, I’ll be giving away 2 packages to 2 people. Each package will include 1 Eli Mattson CD
, 1 Door County Magazine (includes an article on Eli) with writeup and photos.

Not a bad deal and it’s really easy to enter the contest. In fact, there are 4 ways you can enter to win free Eli Mattson stuff.

How to Enter
We’ll be running this contest until the America’s Got Talent Las Vegas week. Do all 4 things below and you’ll have your name entered into the drawing 4 times. The winner will be chosen at random and supervised by the most honest person I know (my wife). Here’s how you enter:
1. Leave a comment on this post (easy enough no?). Just make sure to use your real email or we’ll have no way to contact you when you win.
2. Send a tweet to all your friends about this website or this contest. Click Tweet This! to tweet a message about this contest. Make sure to include @tvblog in the tweet to enter.
3. Share a link to http://www.pureamericasgottalent.com on your Facebook, MySpace page or blog. Leave a comment with your myspace name, facebook page, or blog post so I can verify.
4. Join the Pure America’s Got Talent email list.

Any questions feel free to ask in the comments. Also, watch for future Terry Fator and Neal E. Boyd giveaways coming soon.

A little while back I posted a request to learn more about what’s happening with Eli Mattson after America’s Got Talent. I loved Eli last year and actually wish he would have won. For those that might have missed Eli Mattson on last year’s America’s Got Talent, here’s a nice recap video:

Turns out he’s been doing all sorts of things since being on America’s Got Talent. Here’s my attempt to review all of the various things that Eli Mattson has been doing and is planning to do. Hopefully I can do more regular updates. Plus, look forward to a nice Eli Mattson giveaway which I’ll be starting soon.

The most important thing that people have been looking for of course is buying Eli Mattson’s album. You can find it on Amazon.

This CD is a little bit older. Eli made a cd called “Monsters” back when he was 19 years old with funding provided by Peninsula Arts Association and Roger Kuhns. The cd he is currently selling is a compilation of his favorite songs off of that and three that he recorded several years ago. He is currently working on new songs and wishes to record this year. The songs are all original by Eli with two songs by Roger Kuhns. The are reflective of his view of the world after going through some pretty difficult times, very personal.

Also, Eli’s been doing a number of concerts and has a number of shows planned for the next couple months. Here’s a list of places you can find a live show of Eli Mattson:
Eli Mattson
7/3/2009 7:00 PM at Harraseeket Inn Freeport Maine w ww.harraseeketinn.com
162 N Main St, Freeport, Maine 04032
Cost: $30.00
Intimate concert setting, Eli and the grand piano. Tickets go on sale at halo12384@yahoo.com attn Charleen

UPDATE: Eli Mattson will be performing at Picture Perfect San Diego on July 18th.

Eli Mattson
8/1/2009 6:00 PM at Evergreen, Co Habitat For Humanity Benefit at The Grand Preserve, Evergreen, Colorado
Cost: $100/couple $50/single
Hard Hats and High Heels a benefit for Habitat for Humanity

Eli Mattson
8/14/2009 7:00 PM at Long Grove , Illinois, Long Grove, Illinois
Cost: tba
A concert in a performance barn!

Eli Mattson
9/17/2009 7:00 PM at Meyer Theater: presented by Cellcom, Green Bay, Wisconsin 54301
Cost: $25.00
The beautiful Meyer theater and incredible place to hear Eli and his band. For tickets go to http://www.ticketstaronline.com/default.asp?ticketstar+26&objld=536

Eli Mattson
9/25/2009 7:30 PM at Third Avenue Playhouse: Presented by Cellcom
Third Avenue, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin 54235
Cost: $25.00
Just Eli and The Grand

Beyond these concerts, Eli performed 2 shows with Terry Fator in Las Vegas (I wish I would have known so I could have gone and checked it out). Eli would be a nice addition to Terry’s show. Eli also performed in Madison, DC, Naperville (Chicago), Luxemburg, amongst other venues.

Eli was signed by Cellcom. “We’re thrilled to have Eli Mattson represent our brand and excited to begin working with him,” said Dan Fabry, vice president and chief operating officer for Cellcom. “His enormous talent will appeal to not only our younger audience, but anyone who appreciates the piano or Eli’s very distinctive singing style.”

Eli was also June on what’s being called the MySpace music calendar 2009. Probably a little late to buy the calendar, but fans might want it to be June 2009 forever. Eli was also featured in an article in “Door County Living” Magazine which will come out this summer.

Of course, could I really do an update post about Eli Mattson without a least one new video of Eli Mattson performing (sorry the recording and background noise isn’t very good):

Kaitlyn Maher really was one of the most astounding little girls to grace the stage of America’s Got Talent. Hard to believe a 4 year old could have done as well as she did considering all the pressure of the show. She did better than the much older girl who broke down during Britain’s Got Talent. The local Washington DC NBC affiliate did a nice little piece/interview of Kaitlyn Maher a year after America’s Got Talent. My favorite part is when they ask her when she was nervous. Seems like Kaitlyn is a very busy 4 (or is she 5 now?) year old girl. Check out the interview of Kaitlyn Maher:

I’ve been able to follow a lot of the past talent of America’s Got Talent. Neal E. Boyd is releasing a single and touring with Paul Potts (Britain’s Got Talent). Queen Emily is in Las Vegas doing Menopause the musical. Donald Braswell has been doing shows, releasing records and even did an appearance on PBS. A little bit surprising to me is that I haven’t heard anything about what’s happened to Eli Mattson. His performance of Walking in Memphis is one of my favorites ever on America’s Got Talent. I found this video from November 25, 2008 of him performing “Walking in Memphis” at the Meyer Theatre:

Does anyone else know what’s going on with Eli Mattson? I’d love to know if he’s releasing an album, if he has any concerts. What he’s doing with his talent.

Also, I think fans of Eli Mattson and Neal E. Boyd will also really enjoy this video of Eli and Neal performing “Candle in the Wind” on July 4, 2008. I have to admit, I think that Eli Mattson actually outperforms Neal on this one. Maybe it was just the song choice. However, I loved the whole thing and it was nice to see them together.