Welcome to Pure America’s Got Talent

The premiere of America’s Got Talent 2010 is tonight and so to wet your apetite for the premiere, check out these videos of Howie Mandel, Piers Morgan, and Nick Cannon answering fan questions. Some interesting insights for the show and just gets me excited for the show tonight.

Fan Questions with Howie Mandel

Fan Questions with Piers Morgan

Fan Questions with Nick Cannon

According to the NBCChicago.com, there are free tickets available for reservations at the following link.

Chicago has four opportunities to see a live taping of “America’s Got Talent” at the Chicago Theatre April 27-28, and the tickets won’t cost you a thing.

Host Nick Cannon and judges Sharon Osbourne, Piers Morgan and Howie Mandel will all be on hand for the show tapings, along with an array of singers, dancers, comedians, and performers of all age and style.

Simply go to the link, select a date and fill out your info… Hope to see you there!

Time to run down some random thoughts from tonight’s episode of America’s Got Talent.

Overall Impression
I was a little disappointed. I think that the producers are trying a little to hard to produce the show instead of making the talent and stories the show. Things like the strobe light buzzers that just annoy. Leave those out. They also focused on far too many crappy acts. They should know better and start us off with a killer act that makes the rest of the show not as important and locks us in.

Favorite Act of the Night – The Eriam Sisters
By far my favorite act of the night was the Eriam Sisters. That trio of sisters gave me the chills. I’m sure I wasn’t just cold, because I live in Las Vegas. No doubt the youngest sister has the most talent, but Piers was right that they can all sing. I can’t wait to see how America’s Got Talent with some makeup, costumes and production will make some incredible talent even better. I loved that they could sing, but that they could own the stage as well. Turns out I actually liked the Eriam Sisters a few weeks ago too. Very nice and made watching the show worthwhile for me.

Since they were my favorite, here’s a video of the Eriam Sisters trio who sang “I Want You Back” by the Jackson 5 on America’s Got Talent Premiere

Voices of Glory
Couldn’t have been a better back story. Felt a little bit fabricated by Piers, but I’ll forgive them for that. I previously dubbed Voices of Glory the most overhyped act of America’s Got Talent 2009. It’s not their fault, but I still think that’s true. They were good, but not great in my book. Actually, I should clarify that the little sister could be great. She’s better than the 2 brothers. It was touching to watch and we need more children like them in the world.

David Johnson – Hasselhoff Song
I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard during America’s Got Talent. It was incredibly funny. I’m so glad that Piers put him through. I’m just not sure what type of follow up act he could perform in Las Vegas. I have a feeling we won’t see any performance by him during the Las Vegas shows.

FootworkKINGz
I hadn’t ever seen Footworking before, but it was fun to watch. I’d love to see something like this live. It doesn’t make for the best television in my book though. I’d rather just watch dancing.

Black Fire Percussion (drum line)
This was cool. About time one of these drum lines comes on. This is another that is better in person where you can really feel the beat. I’m surprised Nick Cannon didn’t pull out some line about his role on that wonderful movie Drumline.

Delusional Talent
Can these people really think they were talented? That impressionist must have been delusional. Had he never listened to himself before? Maybe he’s right that it takes good hearing to do impressions and he doesn’t have good hearing.

Nick Cannon as Host
Sadly, the talent was so poor on tonight’s episode, that Nick Cannon was actually the most talented person on tonight’s show. He got the most laughs and I like his unconventional way of interacting with the guests and judges. Nice switch NBC.

Here’s a quick little video that gives you an idea of what Nick Cannon does backstage on America’s Got Talent:

Seems like it would be a pretty fun job. Although, it’s probably under appreciated how difficult it is to be funny and interesting in only a few seconds. That’s kind of what he’s required to do on America’s Got Talent.

I love checking out the previews for America’s Got Talent. The only issue I have with it sometimes is that it then ruins the show a little bit. I think it’s kind of good when I don’t know the background story of everyone. Plus, they sometimes show too much of a preview of that person that you already know what to expect. America’s Got Talent isn’t as bad as The Bachelor with this, but sometimes it’s close.

Now, check out these three videos showing what we have to look forward to on the premiere of America’s Got Talent 2009 this Tuesday!!

Read more…

Tomorrow is the last day for the live auditions. Houston will be wrapping things up tomorrow (see the official AGT website for details). However, all is not lost if you are someone who wants to still get in on America’s Got Talent 2009. Check out the following video they just put out from Nick Cannon talking about America’s Got Talent’s partnership with MySpace.

Here’s the link to America’s Got Talent on Myspace. I like this option since the internet is universal and so everyone can enter regardless of where they live.

I also got the following email from America’s Got Talent that talks about their online video submission entry form (DISCLAIMER: This is a fan site and does not officially represent America’s Got Talent, Fremantle Media or NBC). The following email is just what I received in my inbox from the show. Take it for what it’s worth. It is cool to note that the email says they’ll watch every video submission. Nice to see that in writing.

DISCLAIMER: If you have auditioned in person, submitted a DVD or uploaded a video from September 2008 until now, please disregard this email. This will be the last communication you receive by email for the America’s Got Talent 2009 season.

Hello From America’s Got Talent!

Season 4 auditions will be coming to a close soon – But we’re not done yet!

Auditions will be held in Houston May 9th and 10th. There’s still time to come strut your stuff and be a part of the best season yet of America’s Got Talent.

We’ve enjoyed seeing talented acts from across the nation perform at our auditions, but we haven’t seen YOU!

We regret that you weren’t able to make it to your in-person audition, and we wanted to let you know that we would love to see your talent on video!

The video submission deadline has been extended to May 15th, which means you still have a chance to be our next million-dollar winner!

We watch every submission, and if yours is selected, we could be flying you to audition for David, Sharon and Pierce on the show!

Video submissions should be 2-3 minutes in length with any music performed being a “cover version,” of a popular, published song. You can upload your video at www.NBC.com/AGT by signing up for, or logging into, mynbc.

To send in your video, download and fill out the contestant paperwork at www.NBC.com/AGT and send it to us with your DVD, DV or VHS audition to:

America’s Got Talent, Season 4
727 W. Magnolia Blvd., #808
Burbank, CA 91505

Auditions will be over soon. Don’t wait! Any act, any age, America’s Got Talent wants to see your talent today!

Thanks for your continued interest in America’s Got Talent and don’t forget to log on to www.AGTAuditions.com for event info, the latest news, and fun clips. Send in your video today or upload it directly at www.NBC.com/AGT!

Good Luck!

America’s Got Talent

For those wondering why I got an email saying “We’ve enjoyed seeing talented acts from across the nation perform at our auditions, but we haven’t seen YOU!” Well, let’s just say I considered going to the auditions with a laptop computer, dressed up like a nerd and blogging about the experience. Only problem is that I don’t think they’d let me take my laptop into the audition. Maybe next year I should try.

The dates for the Americas’ Got Talent Seattle and Houston auditions have been posted to the official AGT audition website. They are as follows:
America’s Got Talent Seattle Auditions
April 25th – 26th
America’s Got Talent Houston Auditions
May 12th – 13th
Watch the official links I posted above for the location information. Just make sure you go and pre-register now so that they’ll send you a time for the audition and give you all the forms you’ll need to audition.

More exciting is that the new host of America’s Got Talent will be at the America’s Got Talent Chicago auditions. You might remember that we posted about Nick Cannon replacing Jerry Springer as America’s Got Talent host. If anyone is in Chicago and happens to snap a picture of them with Nick Cannon, I’d love to post it. Although, I’m pretty sure they won’t let you have your camera near Nick. Oh well.

Here’s the full press release I got about the America’s Got Talent Chicago Audition and Nick Cannon being at the audition.

‘AMERICA’S GOT TALENT’ IS COMING TO CHICAGO WITH NEW HOST NICK CANNON!

NBC, FREMANTLEMEDIA NORTH AMERICA AND SYCO TELEVISION RETURN TO THE WINDY CITY FOR THE FOURTH TIME IN FOUR YEARS IN SEARCH OF TALENT FOR SEASON FOUR OF THE HIT TALENT COMPETITION SERIES
(BURBANK, Calif. – February 2009) – “America’s Got Talent,” NBC’s hit series from “American Idol” producers FremantleMedia North America and Simon Cowell’s SYCO Television, is returning to Chicago, Illinois, with new host Nick Cannon as part of their nationwide search for the hottest and most unique performers from across the country to appear and compete in Season Four of the hit talent competition series.

Producers – who are hopeful their latest trip to the windy city (the fourth in four years) will yield the kind of talent that provided Season 3 with winner Neal Boyd and runner-up Eli Matson — will be looking for talent of all kinds (musicians, contortionists, comedians, impressionist, jugglers, dance crews, animal acts. magicians and singers and everything in between), from all walks of life and surrounding areas to strut and perform on-stage in the hopes of winning America’s hearts and the million-dollar prize.

An insurance salesman/opera singer, Neal E. Boyd’s life changed forever last August when he was crowned the third season champion. Not only did he win the $1,000,000 grand prize, but he also received the opportunity to perform on the Las Vegas strip, headlining a show at the MGM.

Season two winner, Terry Fator, a ventriloquist from Dallas, Texas, achieved his lifelong dream when he was crowned the second season champion. After winning “America’s Got Talent,” Fator went on to sign a five-year $100 hundred million-dollar deal to headline at The Mirage in Las Vegas. Beginning February 2009, he will perform 48 weeks a year, 5 nights a week in The Terry Fator Theatre (currently the Danny Gans Theatre).

Open to any talent of any age, “America’s Got Talent” offers a unique chance for anyone to perform on a nationwide variety show. Contestants are encouraged to pre-register at http://www.nbc.com/AGT and go to http://www.AGTauditions.com for auditioning tips.  By pre-registering, contestants will be kept up-to-date with the most current information.

The open call date and time in Chicago, Illinois, is as follows.
Date: Sunday, March 1 and Monday, March 2
Time: Auditions begin at 8 a.m.
Location: McCormick Place – SOUTH BUILDING 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive Chicago, IL 60616 Atlanta, GA 30303

*Contestant parking in Lot A PLEASE NOTE: This competition is subject to applicable rules, which are subject to modification at any time at the producer’s discretion.

“America’s Got Talent” (averaging a 3.4 rating, 9 share in adults 18-49 and 12.7 million viewers overall last summer) has scored as the #1 summer series in total viewers for each of the last two years and was up in the summer of 2008 versus the prior year by 11 percent in total viewers (12.7 million vs. 11.4 million). It’s a hit with all audience segments, ranking in the top 10 last summer in virtually all meaningful categories, including kids 2-11, teens 12-17, adults 18-34, adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and adults 50-plus.

# # # MEDIA CONTACT: Melissa Armstrong (818) 777-2846 melissa.armstrong@nbcuni Manfred Westphal (818) 748-1148 manfred.westphal@fremantlemedia.com

Just hitting the wire is the announcement by NBC executives that Jerry Springer will not be hosting this summer’s season of America’s Got Talent. One release stated “The TV star said in a statement that he’s leaving the talent contest – which airs on NBC in the US – because of other commitments, including his syndicated talk show and a stage role.”

Replacing Jerry Springer will be musician, comedian, actor and producer Nick Cannon in what network chief Ben Silverman called the first of “multiple projects we are looking to do with Nick at NBC.”

I must admit that I really liked Nick Cannon on “Nick Cannon Presents Wild’n Out” and thought he did a good job with it. The good part about Nick Cannon is that I don’t think we’ll have to deal with much fake energy about someone who doesn’t have talent. Nick’s not going to tell someone they were good if they weren’t. That would ruin his image. He might end up saying nothing, but hopefully he’ll come up with some good questions and let them dig their own grave on the show.

Jerry Springer did an acceptable job even though a bunch of his stuff was so over the top it kind of got annoying. Nick Cannon should be able to avoid those annoyances and will be so much better than Regis Philbin was on the first season.

I also hope we get to see Nick Cannon do a little freestyle dancing backstage with some performers. Something like that would be a great little addition to either warm a performer up or to do a celebration dance with someone who just performed.

Looking forward to it Nick. Don’t let us down!

Sharon Osbourne, Piers Morgan and David Hasslehoff are reportedly remaining as celebrity judges.