Welcome to Pure America’s Got Talent

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.

Hey all new blogger Melissa here happy to be joining the pureamericasgottalent.com family. Though I guess I picked a bad night to join since most of the acts were mediocre at best. I can’t believe we have to put up with some of these acts while Tallan Noble Latz, and Ciana Pelekai got away. And for those who don’t know, the list of wild card acts being brought back has been announced and neither of these acts are being brought back. Neither is Kari Callin, though I always thought she shouted too much in her audition. Anyway here are my thoughts on the carnage of tonight’s show:

Fab Five- Normally I’m not a fan of this kind of thing but this was my favorite act of the night. I loved how they had a whole theme to go along with the song choice and the sychronisity was excellent. I didn’t really like the slower/hip hop parts in the middle but overall they did a great job.

Charles DeWayne- Another act I didn’t like in the first auditions who came back and surprised me in a good way. I don’t think I heard an off-pitch note throughout and the piano playing was solid as well. I thought the judges were a bit too harsh on his song choice since I prefer the ballad side of him.

And then things started to go downhill….

Carol Loo (the dancer formerly known as Carol Lugo)- What in the world was that? I really was impressed with her first audition but that cage sequence in the beginning was just awkward and she didn’t get a chance to show off her moves. When she finally got out of it she did odd looking hip hop and was totally out-danced by the girls behind her, despite what David said.

Tony Hoard and Rory- Another act that disappointed me. I counted three dropped frisbees, though I think the last two (including the one that went offstage) was Tony’s fault. The bright lights and huge audience likely didn’t help. Rory looked downright terrified at the end, literally shaking in Tony’s arms as they got their critiques.

Eleisha Miller- I was furious when she got through over the much more talent Ciana, so I was determined not to like this act. But much to my chagrin I actually enjoyed it. The singing wasn’t great but still much improved (minus the last note) but the highlight was really the dancing. She still has an annoying cuteness to her but that was only evident in the interviews, not in the performance itself.

Paradizo Dance- Another act where I don’t understand why they were put in the top 40 (there were quite a few of those tonight). In the beginning Zoe looked beautiful and graceful while Dave kind of lumbered around awkwardly on stage. The lifts were impressive but once they started them there was not much more dancing. Sure a tiny girl lifting a huge man is impressive but not something one can really make a show out of.

The Texas Tenors- I may be in the minority, but I really enjoyed these guys. I liked them somewhat in their audition but was surprised they were brought back. This time their harmonies were better and I loved the song choice. The beginning where they each sang solo was a bit rough but once they sang together it was quite enjoyable.

SQ Entertainment- They had lots of energy and the dancing was decent, but for some reason I didn’t enjoy this performance that much. Maybe like David said it was because I couldn’t follow the story. They remind me a bit of Diversity from Britain’s Got Talent (aka the group who beat Susan Boyle) but not as good. It was kind of forgettable for me.

Peter Peterkin- Agreed with the judges when they said that the jokes weren’t that funny (though I did chuckle a little) but the singing and Ray Charles impression was quite good. I knew as soon as Peter put the glasses on that he was going to do Jamie Fox as Ray Charles (since Jamie played Ray in the biopic) but for those who didn’t know Jamie was the star of that movie I could see where it could be confusing.

Alizma- I really enjoyed their violin playing (not their singing) in their audition, though the whole “three sisters constantly interrupting each other” act got old REALLY fast. So of course they come out and almost completely ditch the violins and try to sing their way to the top 20. It was so bad I didn’t even recognize the song until the chorus. And that last note by the middle sibling almost made my ears bleed through the TV.

Beale Street Flippers- Like the judges, I found myself bored during this routine. They nailed all the flips and everything but there’s really no way to sustain a Vegas show with an act like that. However I know they are really popular so there is hope for them in the results show.

Voices of Glory- One of many acts I thought was overhyped by the judges in the auditions, especially because the superior Eriam Sisters (one of my favorite acts of the season) got comparatively less love from the judges in the same episode. I liked them better this time around, though I the low portion in the beginning sounded a bit off and the girl’s voice seemed to crack or something at the end. I think I enjoyed the act more because I liked the song than because I liked the singing but considering the weak crop tonight they were definitely in the top group of acts.

So who would be my choices to go through? If I had my way we would see The Fab Five, Charles DeWayne, Eleisha Miller, The Texas Tenors, and Voices of Glory in the next round. The Fab Five and Charles DeWayne were the top two tonight, while Eleisha and Voices of Glory surpassed my admittedly low expectations. The Texas Tenors were also memorable for me in a night where the other acts were either forgettable or downright awful.

But unfortunately I think audiences will have a different view. The Fab Five, Charles, and Voices of Glory should all be locks to make it to the next round. Peter, Alizma, Tony and Rory, and Carol Loo are likely out of it. That leaves five acts for two spots. I honestly have no idea who else is going to make it through so I’m going to go out on a bit of a limb with my prediction. I think both wild card acts- The Beale Street Flippers and SQ Entertainment- will round out last night’s top five. The Flippers have a lot of fans who flooded the blogs wondering why they didn’t make the top 40, and SQ Entertainment were decent in a night where most acts were not. From reading some other blogs most people hated the Texas Tenors, and I think Eleisha will suffer from backlash from bitter Ciana fans, so while I enjoyed them both I don’t think they will go through.

What are your thoughts on last night’s show? Who do you think will and should make the top 20? Post your comments below.

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.

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 meaning to post this for a long time. I’ve seen a billboard saying that Menopause the Musical in Las Vegas is starring Queen Emily from America’s Got Talent. It’s really nice to see her doing what she loves, sing!

My wife has wanted to go to Menopause the Musical for a while. So, I might just have to go and check her out. I’ll report back here if we do. If someone from the show wants to offer us some free tickets to see Queen Emily, that would be cool too.

In case you don’t know who Queen Emily is or don’t remember her, here’s a video of Queen Emily from last year’s AGT:

America’s Got Talent winner Neal E. Boyd has a track from his debut album up on People.com. It’s nice to finally see Neal Boyd getting close to releasing an album. I wonder if it was deliberately delayed until the start of America’s Got Talent 2009. Sounds like a smart plan to me.

My first take of Neal E. Boyd singing “God Bless the USA” is that it was a nice rendition. I have a feeling he’s going to be invited to somewhere nice to sing for fourth of July. I’m sure that many people will wonder why he chose that song, but fans of Neal E. Boyd are going to love it I think. I personally don’t like the orchestration very much, but Neal does a nice job singing it. In fact, I think I like him better on this single than I did on America’s Got Talent.

Also, for those wanting to have Neal E. Boyd’s version of Turandot: Nessun Dorma it’s available on iTunes. It was the best song he performed on America’s Got Talent.

I hope he makes it to Las Vegas at some point. I’d enjoy seeing him live.

A notice was posted to the official AGT audition website about the America’s Got Talent Season 5 auditions being over. I meant to post this when I first saw it, but I’ve been a little bit busy lately. However, I felt it only right to post it since I’d posted so much information about America’s Got Talent auditions.

The cool part is that the official America’s Got Talent audition website also has this posted:

Auditions for Season 4 of America’s Got Talent are now over. All the acts have been notified.

The show will premiere on JUNE 23 9/8C ON NBC.

Online pre-registration for season 5 (which will air in 2010) will start June 15, 2009. Check back for details.

I’m certain this will be bad news for those who auditioned for America’s Got Talent season 4 and never heard back from the show. However, it’s great news for those interested in participating in the America’s Got Talent season 5 auditions. Yes, that’s America’s Got Talent 2010. Seems like it’s a long ways away, but it will go faster than we think.

Anyway, best of luck to those that will be on America’s Got Talent season 4 on June 23, 2009 and even more luck to those who brave the crowds to audition for America’s Got Talent 2010.

I’m sure if you’ve been reading this blog, we’ve been excited about America’s Got Talent 2009 for quite a while. Luckily, the wait is almost over and we’ve at least had Britain’s Got Talent to entertain us in the mean time.

Well, we’re now down to less than a month until the premiere of AGT 4. America’s Got Talent season 4 will premiere on JUNE 23 9/8C ON NBC. Having followed so many of people who auditioned and seen the process from the start, I’m very excited to see America’s Got Talent 4. Check out this AGT 4 preview video to see what I mean:

One of my readers and a faithful Donald Braswell fan sent me some good information on Donald Braswell’s schedule. She told me that Donald will be appearing in Vegas on May 19, 20, 21 and 22, at 8:00pm as a guest artist on Terry Fator’s show at the Mirage (read about Terry Fator’s grand opening at the Mirage). That should be a pretty cool combination night.

I’m hoping that I can possibly get some tickets to she show so that I can give everyone a full update about Donald Braswell and Terry Fator. I may even see if they’ll be available for an interview or something. We’ll see what we can do. Either way, I’m excited to see them in Las Vegas.

Donald will also be performing at the “Symphony of the Hills” Concert in, Kerrville, TX. It will be on Jun 27, 2009 at. 7:30pm . (There may also be a 2:30 concert in the afternoon.)

Donald will be performing a Pops concert with the Symphony of the Hills (Kerrville’s 70 piece symphony orchestra) at the beautiful Cailloux Theater. Kerrville is about 60 miles north west of SA in a
lovely hill country setting. This is a benefit concert with proceeds going to scholarships for students at Schreiner University.

On May 29, Donald will also be performing in a televised show with other contestants from Americas Got Talent. The show will be airing from Los Angeles. I hope that Donald fans will send me a note when they get more details on this show.

Donald Braswell fans should also check out the Donald Braswell Fan Club Calendar and the Free Donald Braswell music on his MySpace page.

UPDATE: I got word that Donald’s performance in Las Vegas at the Mirage has been postponed. Let’s hope it gets rescheduled soon.

I figured it was about time to do an update on one of the fan favorites from America’s Got Talent: Donald Braswell.

Donald has been incredibly busy following what I’m told was a sold out concert at the Hilton in Las Vegas. Makes me really happy to see Donald as a success. I certainly took my fair share of shots at Donald during the show. What can I say? I thought he was a little disingenuous to say he hadn’t been on a professional stage before AGT. I think I also preferred Eli Mattson‘s style a little bit better. However, one thing I never argues was whether Donald Braswell had talent or not. He absolutely has talent and I’m glad that America’s embracing someone who actually entertains with talent.

Well, turns out America loves Donald more than I ever thought they would. Check out what the Las Vegas Sun said about Donald Braswell and PBS.

PBS is doing a special on Braswell. Camera crews have been following him around since his appearance on the TV show.

“They felt I was an artist who could take things to a different level, inspiring audiences as well as entertaining them,” he says.

Braswell says the special first will be seen March 15 in five East Coast states and Canada as a test.

“If that is successful I will perform at the Detroit Opera House with a full orchestra for the entire United States and Canada,” he says. “That’s an exciting pro

A PBS special is really cool. I have a feeling that Donald Braswell will be really successful on PBS. I hope someone posts it online so we can all enjoy Donald on PBS.

Also, Donald Braswell will be on the New Beginnings Tour. Only one tour date has been announced for Donald, but I’m sure that more will be posted on Ticketmaster as they announce new locations. Here’s the first stop of the New Beginnings Tour:

Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, Asheville, N.C: Mar 21st 8pm, address is 87 Haywood St. Prices are $23 for balcony seating and $33 for the floor seating. Tickets are available starting 10am Jan 20th on
www.ticketmaster.com and all the other shows for the New Beginnings tour will be updated as they are added.

I also want to thank all the fans at the Donald Braswell Fan club that have kept me informed about Donald. They are certainly true fans that any artist would be proud to have. Hopefully in the future they’ll share even more information about what’s happening with the Donald. I’m really hoping he returns to Las Vegas so I can see him this time.