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BGT Finals Today!

Hey all! I’ve been sick for the better part of this week, so naturally I used it as an excuse to stay in and watch the Britain’s Got Talent Semi-Finals. There were five shows and from each of those two acts moved on to the Finals: the act with the most audience votes, and either the second- or third-highest voted act as chosen by the judges (it’s the same thing as the judges’ save on AGT, and if there is a tie it goes to the audience vote). The judges also choose a Wildcard to perform in the Finals once the first live round is done; this year it’s a blood donation-themed choir.

One thing I was told about but didn’t get to really appreciate until I watched for myself was the wider variety of acts. Yes, most of the finalists this series are singing acts, but they covered so many different styles and genres I didn’t even care. And there were plenty of other types of performers as well, with several comedians, magicians, and dancers; way more than we’ve seen on AGT as of late.

The format is a little different than what I’ve grown accustomed to on AGT. BGT goes right from the audition round to the live Semi-Finals, with an offscreen deliberation in between to decide which acts that passed auditions will perform in the live shows. This can be a blessing for certain performers like the dance groups, balancing acts, and comedians; I often see complaints about these acts on AGT getting stale after awhile, but on BGT no act performs more than three times so the novelty generally doesn’t have time to wear off. Case in point: a balancing act made this years BGT Finals, while I can’t recall a time any of the ones on BGT have even passed the Vegas Week/Judge Cuts round.

However, there are some drawbacks: while both BGT and recent seasons of AGT have the same number of live episodes (six plus Results shows) BGT‘s all take place within a week. I suppose this method makes the show seem more like an event every year, but I like the “breathing room” we get between AGT‘s live shows that makes it easier to keep up with and allows anticipation to build for each one.

Here are some of the Finalists for Series 12 of Britain’s Got Talent! Remember: the stakes at hand are a slot in the Royal Variety Performance later this year!

June 3, 2018 I Written By

I'm obssessed with the entertainment industry, especially offbeat and nerdy things as well as those that involve live performance. The only thing I love more than geeking out over the things that entertain me is sharing in my excitement with others who share the same passions. America may have talent, but Canada has an up-and-coming blogger who is ready to take the internet by storm!

Britain’s Got Talent Series 12 Premiere Date Announced!

It’s only Tuesday, but lots of Got Talent-related news has already come out this week. So much, in fact, that I’m going to be throwing up TWO posts today to cover it all!

It’s FINALLY been announced that Britain’s Got Talent will return on Saturday, April 14. The new series (the term used for “season” in the UK) will feature fresh talent competing for a spot in the 2018 Royal Variety Performance, with duo Ant & Dec returning to host and Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, and David Williams back as judges.

Not much else is known at this time, but it’ll be fun to see what kind of acts pop up this season!

March 13, 2018 I Written By

I'm obssessed with the entertainment industry, especially offbeat and nerdy things as well as those that involve live performance. The only thing I love more than geeking out over the things that entertain me is sharing in my excitement with others who share the same passions. America may have talent, but Canada has an up-and-coming blogger who is ready to take the internet by storm!

AGT Season 13 Premiere Date and Which Past Contestant is Touring with Imagine Dragons?

Based on the pattern of previous seasons I’d already assumed this, but according to Deadline Season 13 of America’s Got Talent will premiere on Tuesday, May 29 at 8pm Eastern/Pacific. This means if they follow the format they’ve been using lately the live shows will start in August and the finale will be in September.

I also want to take this opportunity to send a big congratulations to Grace VanderWaal, who will be touring with Imagine Dragons this summer. (This was actually announced a couple weeks ago but I’m behind…again. I’m trying to fix that. :P) Tickets are on sale now and you can get them here!

March 6, 2018 I Written By

I'm obssessed with the entertainment industry, especially offbeat and nerdy things as well as those that involve live performance. The only thing I love more than geeking out over the things that entertain me is sharing in my excitement with others who share the same passions. America may have talent, but Canada has an up-and-coming blogger who is ready to take the internet by storm!

Be in the Audience for America’s Got Talent Season 13 Auditions!

Filming for AGT Season 13 is less than a week away! On-Camera Audiences has announced the first block of tickets for the season with dates ranging from March 6-23. I’m assuming this means the cross-country auditions with the producers are finished and all of these dates are for the first round we see on the show itself, that being the initial auditions in front of the judges.

All of the announced tapings will take place at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in California. Tickets are free of charge, but only those 10 years and older are invited to attend. Most of the dates from March 6-16 are already booked up, but a few of the weekdays within that time frame still have availability and there are waitlists for all “sold out” shows. Tickets for tapings March 18 and later still have yet to be released.

Let me know if you plan to attend an AGT taping this season and in the meantime I’ll be looking out for more updates. 😉

March 2, 2018 I Written By

I'm obssessed with the entertainment industry, especially offbeat and nerdy things as well as those that involve live performance. The only thing I love more than geeking out over the things that entertain me is sharing in my excitement with others who share the same passions. America may have talent, but Canada has an up-and-coming blogger who is ready to take the internet by storm!

Is the AGT Judges Panel Getting a Shake-Up for Season 13?

I said I was going to chill out on posting so much during the offseason, but AGT is gearing up for the start of Season 13 in just a few short months and has confirmed their host and judging roster!

I previously reported that Tyra Banks would be returning for her second season as host, as she shared on her Twitter account a few months back. However, for awhile there things seemed to be up in the air regarding the judging panel; as media outlets were reporting Mel B wanted a raise and was becoming increasingly difficult to work with. Just a few weeks ago rumor had it that the producers were looking to replace her with rap artist and actor Queen Latifah.

Well, things have finally become clear, as yesterday the AGT Twitter account posted what seems to be an announcement regarding the panel. So, is Mel B really leaving the show?

And there you have it. It looks like Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Simon Cowell, and yes, Mel B, will all be returning to judge Season 13, with Tyra Banks back as host. It’s nice to see Mel stick around, especially since she’s usually one of the stronger advocates for the variety acts, but I do wonder what Queen Latifah would have brought to the table….what do you think of this news?

February 22, 2018 I Written By

I'm obssessed with the entertainment industry, especially offbeat and nerdy things as well as those that involve live performance. The only thing I love more than geeking out over the things that entertain me is sharing in my excitement with others who share the same passions. America may have talent, but Canada has an up-and-coming blogger who is ready to take the internet by storm!

The Winter Olympics, The Shorty Awards, and American Idol – AGT Alumni Update

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE UPCOMING SEASON OF ABC’S AMERICAN IDOL.

I took the last month off because news was slow, but February has brought some interesting developments. There’s still not a lot of info on the upcoming season yet, but I’m working to compile the small amount of info we have so far into a separate update post. However, a few AGT alumni have been up to some really neat stuff lately.

First off, did anyone catch Just Jerk in the Olympic Opening Ceremonies yesterday? It’s great to see them showing their skills on the world stage! I don’t have the full video yet, but will post it here when I do and will leave you with this Instagram clip of the performance until then.

Another Season 12 dancer is experiencing exciting times right now: Merrick Hanna has been nominated for a Shorty Award! The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media, and Merrick has been nominated as a Dance Influencer. You can vote for him once per day until February 22 on the organzation’s website.

Finally, do you remember Season 9 Finalist Mara Justine? if you don’t, here’s a refresher:

According to IdolPad, Mara will be part of the upcoming ABC reboot of American Idol. So far they have revealed that she auditioned and advanced to the “Showcase” round, in which the top 50 contestants competed for a spot in the top 24. According to the site, Mara performed “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” by Etta James in this stage of the competition, but they do not yet have information on whether or not she advanced from that point. I know I complain about “generic” pop singers on AGT, but I’m always happy to see them take advantage of other opportunities that are geared more towards their style of performance and I was really excited when I found out Mara would be on AI, so I’ll definitely be rooting for her on the show!

Let me know what you think of all this and I’ll be back soon with more updates and rumors (mostly the latter :P) about America’s Got Talent Season 13!

February 10, 2018 I Written By

I'm obssessed with the entertainment industry, especially offbeat and nerdy things as well as those that involve live performance. The only thing I love more than geeking out over the things that entertain me is sharing in my excitement with others who share the same passions. America may have talent, but Canada has an up-and-coming blogger who is ready to take the internet by storm!

Win The Ultimate Grace VanderWaal Fan Experience

AGT Season 11 champ Grace VanderWaal is running a contest for her fans!

Grace VanderWaal is inviting 20 FANS and their +1 to join her for an intimate and private performance at an undisclosed location in the New York area on January 20th, 2018. The location will be revealed to 20 FANS lucky enough to be chosen, the day prior to the performance.

We will take submissions until December 30th at midnight EST and the winners will be contacted via email on January 1, 2018.

You can get more details and enter the contest here, and check out Grace’s TODAY Show performance below!

December 29, 2017 I Written By

I'm obssessed with the entertainment industry, especially offbeat and nerdy things as well as those that involve live performance. The only thing I love more than geeking out over the things that entertain me is sharing in my excitement with others who share the same passions. America may have talent, but Canada has an up-and-coming blogger who is ready to take the internet by storm!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM PURE AMERICA’S GOT TALENT!

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all of our readers! I know I just posted yesterday, but I found even more Christmas goodies from some of our favorite America’s Got Talent alum, so I put together a fun little playlist to celebrate the season! I also wanted to thank everyone for helping Pure AGT grow even more after our comeback last year. We have a lot more planned for 2018, including new ventures to make the site even more fun and interactive, previously-announced coverage of the upcoming season of Britain’s Got Talent, and of course all the buzz and news on AGT Season 13. Enjoy the holidays and I’ll see you in the new year!

December 24, 2017 I Written By

I'm obssessed with the entertainment industry, especially offbeat and nerdy things as well as those that involve live performance. The only thing I love more than geeking out over the things that entertain me is sharing in my excitement with others who share the same passions. America may have talent, but Canada has an up-and-coming blogger who is ready to take the internet by storm!

Alumni Update – Holiday Season Edition!

Christmas is nearly upon us, which of course means lots of special holiday shows both on stage and on our TV’s!

Darci Lynne Farmer is on a roll. She’s been adding performances to her 2018 tour and has made appearances at several other live events, most recently a weekend of shows in her own hometown of Oklahoma City. Whoever is managing this girl and helping her prepare her shows deserves some mad props; in this one there were a lot of fun Christmas-themed numbers (including an appearance from Santa Claus!). There are several clips available to watch on Darci’s YouTube Channel of all these events but my favorite is this bit from one of the Oklahoma shows in which a lucky audience member got invited up onstage to get serenaded!

The 2017 Royal Variety Performance was filmed last month, and premiered on British television earlier this week. For those who don’t know, the RVP is an annual show put on to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity and is usually attended by members of the British Royal Family (this year the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were in the audience). A slot in the show is the Grand Prize on Britain’s Got Talent (along with a nice chunk of change, of course) so naturally this year’s winner, pianist Tokio Myers, was part of the performance. His performances are works of art and a treat for both the ears and eyes. If you’re not familiar with his work you can check out his BGT performances and his YouTube Channel. Unfortunately, I am currently unable to find his RVP clip online (I was lucky enough that things worked out for me to watch it live via stream but I believe the show is set to air on American television on Christmas Eve and in Canada on New Year’s Day) but I’ll show you his BGT Finals performance because you definitely need to witness this man in action!

On the bright side, I was able to find a video of another act in the Royal Variety Performance (thanks to the company who made his suit :P). I feel like I’ve talked about Colin Cloud way too much on here lately but you’re hearing about him yet again because this year he became the first person to compete on Britain’s Got Talent without winning (he was eliminated prior to the live shows) and wind up in a Royal Variety Performance. I think he put together a clean, concise act and I noticed a bit of a change of pace compared to what we saw from him on America’s Got Talent. Without giving too much away, there is an element of vulnerability and doubt in this performance that I know a lot of AGT fans really wanted from Colin on the show, and it’s cool too see him mixing things up a bit in that regard.

I’ll be back with more Got Talent updates soon; hopefully with some BGT news and updates on some of the acts from older seasons (AKA back before I started following everyone who graced my television screen on social media :P). This very well might end up being my last post on this blog for 2017 so if it is I would like to wish all of our readers a happy holiday season (whatever you celebrate) and new year!

December 23, 2017 I Written By

I'm obssessed with the entertainment industry, especially offbeat and nerdy things as well as those that involve live performance. The only thing I love more than geeking out over the things that entertain me is sharing in my excitement with others who share the same passions. America may have talent, but Canada has an up-and-coming blogger who is ready to take the internet by storm!

See Photos and Clips from “A Gold Creek Christmas” Starring Some AGT Favorites

It was an AGT reunion in Washington this weekend with the performances of “A Gold Creek Christmas” featuring Season 12 alumni Evie Clair, Christian Guardino, Merrick Hanna, Kechi, Patrick & Ginger, and DaNell Daymon & Greater Works. The church posted some videos of the event on their Facebook page. (I wish it would let me embed them here!) (Photo credits)

Image may contain: 1 person, standing

December 17, 2017 I Written By

I'm obssessed with the entertainment industry, especially offbeat and nerdy things as well as those that involve live performance. The only thing I love more than geeking out over the things that entertain me is sharing in my excitement with others who share the same passions. America may have talent, but Canada has an up-and-coming blogger who is ready to take the internet by storm!