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Eurovision, Kickstarter, and American Idol: AGT Alumni Update

WARNING: The following post contains spoilers for the current season of American Idol. (As in, results that have yet to air on television.)

I’m waaaay late on this post and for that I apologize. We’ve gotten a lot of new info on the upcoming installments of AGT and BGT (including a cast change) and I’m setting up another article for all those new developments which I’ll get up on here ASAP. But for now, some big things have been happening with AGT alumni so today I’m going to get those updates out of the way. (Alumni Updates in general are going to be taking a backseat going forward as we get closer to the return of the shows themselves).

I know I complain about the gaggle of “karaoke” singers on America’s Got Talent and tend to root for almost anyone else to win, but when the season ends and everyone moves forward in their careers, I genuinely wish all of them the best, and I’ve been so happy to see how well several of them have been doing lately. Season 12’s Mike Yung is crowdfunding an album through Kickstarter. He just met his goal, but you can still donate if you would like any of the rewards, which you can learn more about here.

Johnny Manuel, also from Season 12, has some exciting news: he is part of a group called Equinox who will be representing Bulgaria in this year’s Eurovision competition! Check out their song below.

Season 12 runner-up Angelica Hale was on Little Big Shots this week. She was interviewed by Steve Harvey and of course sang a song as well! (Fellow finalist – and season champion – Darci Lynne Farmer will appear on the Kids Choice Awards broadcast this weekend.)

And speaking of television appearances by alumni…the final and arguably biggest development to share is that Season 9 contestant Mara Justine‘s audition for American Idol recently aired (again, I know I’m way late on this).

As spoiled a while back, Mara moved on the the next round, and thanks to IdolPad we now know that she is one of the Top 14 contestants, which I believe means we will be seeing her in the live shows later this spring!

March 23, 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 Holiday Season has Begun! – AGT Alumni Update

We’re at that point in the America’s Got Talent offseason where we’re past the excitement and hype of the previous season, but are still waiting for buzz on the upcoming competition. Auditions for the upcoming season are going on, but there hasn’t been much news to come out of them yet. I have heard about a couple of possible recruits, but I’m waiting until a few more names get thrown out there before a do a whole post on them.

Britain’s Got Talent is in a similar “lull” phase right now, but I’m sure news on that show will pick up soon since it’s return is closer than that of AGT. In the meantime, we still have the Royal Variety Performance (that actually almost got cancelled but thankfully the show went on) to look forward to. The show was filmed last week and will be televised in December/January depending on the country (as per tradition, it’ll air here in Canada at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s, but I’ll make sure to watch and review the show on here well beforehand while it’s still relevant. :P).

I was really hoping to see another AGT Christmas special this year, but there are still plenty of opportunities to see franchise favorites grace our television screens this holiday season!

Angelica Hale performed in last week’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, singing “Girl on Fire” on the Sprout float. Check it out!

You can see reigning champ Darci Lynne Farmer in the A Very Pentatonix Chrismas special airing tonight (November 27) on NBC at 10/9c. Here’s a little preview of what’s in store:

|Finally, Season 5’s Lindsey Stirling‘s Warmer in the Winter tour is still going on for the next few weeks, but if you aren’t able to catch a show in person, tomorrow night’s performance (November 28) will be streamed live on Twitter at 10/9c. I’d also like to congratulate Lindsey on a fantastic run on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars. The season ended last week and she finished as Runner-Up. On the last night they showed clips of the contestant’s highs and lows in life, and Lindsey’s featured the infamous AGT clip of Piers and Sharon telling her she’d never make it as a violinist.  I’ve included that video below as well as a compilation of the dances she performed on the show (she may have even bust out the violin at some point!). 😛

November 27, 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!

A Vegas Venue, a Seattle Church, and the Royal Variety Performance – AGT Alumni Update

We may be trucking through the off-season, but there’s been lots of news in AGT Land so far this month!

First and foremost, America’s Got Talent Live in Las Vegas was a huge success! There were some great throwbacks to the summer show as well as some new material from Darci Lynne Farmer, Angelica Hale, Preacher Lawson, and Light Balance, including a few collaborative performances! (Photo credit to Angelica Hale on Instagram.)

Her run is Vegas may be over (for now!) but Darci Lynne isn’t slowing down – she recently announced a series of shows in her hometown of Oklahoma City. Darci Lynne: Homecoming will be onstage at The Criterion on December 16-17 2017, and tickets are selling fast!

Seattle-area AGT fans have an upcoming treat of their own. Gold Creek Community Church’s annual Gold Creek Christmas show has a special twist this year: several Season 12 contestants will be performing, including singers Evie Clair, Kechi, and Christian Guardino, dancer Merrick Hanna, and dog act Patrick & Ginger! There are three performances scheduled over December 15-16, and tickets can be purchased here.

In other Season 12 alumni news, last week Colin Cloud announced his involvement in this year’s Royal Variety Performance. If you’re unfamiliar with the tradition check out the link, but the show is an annual tradition in Britain and is known for featuring a, well, variety of different performers from comedians to sideshow acts to West End stage show casts. (So basically everything we hope to see in the AGT live shows instead of an abundance of karaoke-style pop singers.) And just to give you an idea how prestigious the RVP is, a performance slot is the grand prize for AGT‘s own sister program Britain’s Got Talent. This year’s winner and representative is musician Tokio Myers, and in addition to all of the BGT champs some other alumni from AGT have participated in previous year’s performances.

The 2017 RVP is set to tape later this month and will be televised in Britain and other Commonwealth nations in December and January, but those living in America and other countries will more than likely be able to catch clips of the performances when they are inevitably uploaded to YouTube. And since I’m expanding this blog to cover BGT in the spring (and need some filler content between now and then :P) I’m planning to review the show here on Pure AGT next month! (Photo credit to Colin Cloud on Instagram.)

Finally, I’ve mostly refrained from posting about this since one of our sister sites pretty much has it covered, but AGT Season 5 alumnus Lindsey Stirling not only recently released a brand new Chirstmas album entitled Warmer in the Winter, she was officially announced as a Dancing With the Stars finalist earlier this week! The two-night Finale airs on ABC Monday November 20 at 8/7c and Tuesday November 21 at I believe 9/8c. (And I believe Lindsey also has a new music video coming out on her YouTube channel very soon!) You can check out one of her dances from this past episode below, and I’ll see you again soon with more AGT updates.

November 16, 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!

AGT Alumni Updates and Should You Read Mandy Harvey’s “Sensing the Rhythm”?

Big week for AGT alumni! This coming Friday, November 3, Season 11 Champion Grace VanderWaal‘s debut album, Just the Beginning, will be released, as well as her new accessory line with Charming Charlie. (Photo from Just Jared Jr.)

Amercia’s Got Talent: Live!” featuring Season 12 fan favorites Darci Lynne Farmer, Angelica Hale, Light Balance, and Preacher Lawson is happening in Las Vegas this weekend. The two initially planned performances sold out so quickly they added two or three more, and then those went fast as well, so they should get a good turnout. Unfortunately, I won’t be attending (though I did get to see Season 11’s Tape Face do his thing up here in Canada this past Saturday) but I’ll be sure to update with a roundup of social media, pictures, and any other fun stuff from the event next week! (Photo from Darci’s Twitter).

Lastly, I’ve been meaning to cover Mandy Harvey’s book Sensing the Rhythm, which was released about a month ago and is currently available in bookstores and online.

Sensing the Rhythm mostly covers Mandy’s life from around the time she lost her hearing to the present as of when the book was being written (a little less than a year ago from when I’m posting this in October 2017) though there are a few stories from her high school days and before peppered in. The book has an easy-to-follow, feel-good format with each chapter starting with an anecdote from Mandy’s life, followed by the lesson(s) she learned from the experience and advice to readers who may be facing similar challenges and does a great job at translating these takeaways to other situations people may be dealing with.  So while the stories mostly focus on her hearing loss and music career, the book overall is about overcoming adversity, and that’s a challenge virtually everyone in the world faces at one point or another.

Since the book was finished before her season of AGT began, there isn’t any juicy behind-the-scenes dirt on her experience competing on the show. However, we do get some interesting and insightful background information on her family and love life (SPOILERS: she’s married, so sorry to crush the dreams of all the people who ship her with certain other AGT contestants :P). These sections of the book are the most personal and raw of all; I was surprised she even opted to discuss some of the things she did, though I think they probably helped paint a more authentic picture of Mandy as a person, and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed Mandy on AGT or are just curious to know more about how she was able to continue composing and performing music after losing her hearing.

That’s about it for now. I’ll be back next week with some AGT Vegas show coverage, so see you then! 😀

October 30, 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!

AGT Season 12 Contestant Updates (including Darci Lynne’s Ellen appearance!)

Looks like Darci has been doing the press rounds this week. She has appeared on a few shows since her win on Wednesday, including yesterday’s episode of Ellen! Check it out below.

As longtime readers will know, I love that America’s Got Talent welcomes all kinds of performers and gives many of them a career boost. I’m a big fan of the TV dance world and the people who cover those shows are always encouraging fans to support the dancers in their other projects and live performances. Likewise, I’d like to start doing this for some of our AGT alumni on here. They’ve shared their talents with us, so I’m only too glad to support/promote them when I am able! Yesterday I shared some info about the upcoming AGT Planet Hollywood show in Las Vegas featuring Season 12 finalists Darci Lynne Farmer, Angelica Hale, Light Balance, and Preacher Lawson, but I’ve been looking to see where else some of the contestants will be performing next as well. Here’s what I’ve found so far:

I know we have a lot of Pure AGT readers who became fans of acrobatic dance group Diavolo over the summer, and I have some good new for you guys: they’re going on tour! They’ll be heading to nearly 20 US cities between now and March 2018. This is the 25th anniversary celebration for the dance company, so this show is sure to be an extra special one!

Image result for diavolo dance

Preacher Lawson may be part of the AGT Vegas show in November, but that’s far from the only place he’ll be performing this fall. He has a list of show dates on his website, which currently lists shows for Oklahoma, Alberta, Alabama, Washington, Arkansas, and New York before the end of the year.

Image result for preacher lawson

I know a lot of AGT fans were disappointed in the lack of magic acts this season, so I wanted to tell you guys a bit about a show called The Illusionists. Some of you may have heard of the show or even seen a performance before, but for those who are unaware it is the world’s biggest touring magic show, and has several versions going on at once around the globe. Each production has a handful of various performers – mostly magicians – each with a different skillset in the art of illusion and title to match it – ex. “The Grand Illusionist” or “The Daredevil” – making for a show featuring a wide variety of magic.

Several alums from various Got Talent programs have appeared in this show, like how last year saw Season 11 runners-up The Clairvoyants pop in for a stint in the Broadway production. Another AGT contestant who is no stranger to this show is Season 12 Semi-Finalist Colin Cloud (aka “The Deductionist”) who has toured with the show to several continents over the past couple of years and is set to appear in quite a few of the 2017-18 North American stops (and I believe South Africa as well). I was very disappointed to miss this show when it came to Toronto last year (which might have turned out to be a good thing for Pure AGT, since I’m pretty sure if I had seen Mr. Deductionist before he was on AGT this would have become a Colin Cloud stan blog for the season. :P) but I am delighted that it’s coming back this holiday season and if I am able to go I might just review it for you guys! 😉

Image result for the illusionists 2017

Finally, Season 12 fourth-place finisher Mandy Harvey has quite a bit of music available for purchase, as well as some upcoming tour dates across the US. Most of them are set for Winter-Spring 2018, but she does have a couple shows in California and Indiana this October.

Mandy has also written a book that can be pre-ordered here. It’s her autobiography which focuses on coming to terms with her loss of hearing while figuring out how to realize her musician dreams. I’m really excited to read about her journey when the book is released in just a few days on September 26.

Image result for mandy harvey sensing the rhythm

That’s all for now, but if I see any more noteworthy updates from AGT alumni I’ll be sure to inform you guys! And don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about the top Season 12 performances countdown, I just really felt like it deserved its own post, so that’ll be coming up very soon! 🙂

September 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!

America’s Got Talent Season 12 Champion Crowned, Vegas Show Line-Up Announced, and an Interesting Observation…

A huge CONGRATULATIONS to the newly-crowned America’s Got Talent Season 12 champion, Darci Lynne Farmer! Check out the Access Hollywood interviews from last night and this morning below! (Love how Terry Fator pops in to congratulate Darci!)

Darci will be headlining this year’s AGT Live! On Stage show in Las Vegas this November 3-4. The pre-sale for tickets is happening now with the code TALENT. Darci will be joined in the show by Season 12 runner-up Angelica Hale, third place finisher Light Balance, and top 10 finalist Preacher Lawson.

Can’t make it to Vegas? Tomorrow I’ll be doing a roundup of other upcoming performances from some of the Season 12 contestants, in addition to a countdown of what I thought were the very best performances of the season. But for now, something has come to my attention I think might make for some interesting discussion. Right after the Season 11 finale last year, Sophie (who you may remember from the livestream we did together last week) posted the following theory on Reddit:

Now, ventriloquism – let alone singing ventriloquism – is not the most common talent. Yes, it’s the second-most common winner category on AGT, but we haven’t had nearly as many ventriloquists on the show as, say, singers or magicians. I think the rarity of it might be the reason people tend to latch onto the ventriloquist acts on AGT, since it’s one of those skills we don’t see many other places in mainstream entertainment. Still, Sophie correctly predicting such a niche act winning Season 12 (before auditions for the season even started) makes me wonder if this “10 year cycle” theory may prove to be true. Let’s look at the winners from Seasons 3-10 to see what might be in store for the next eight years! (And yes, at this rate I do think the show has a good chance of sticking around for that long. Ratings were UP this season; that almost never happens in television these days!)

Season 3: Neal E. Boyd (Pop Opera Singer)
Season 4: Kevin Skinner (Country Singer)
Season 5: Michael Grimm (Singer-Guitarist)
Season 6: Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. (Jazz Singer)
Season 7: Olate Dogs (Dog Act)
Season 8: Kenichi Ebina (Dancing Mime)
Season 9: Mat Franco (Magician)
Season 10: Paul Zerdin (Ventriloquist)

If the pattern continues, it looks like we’re in for a few more years of singers winning, which I’ve kind of been expecting anyway, since so many people are itching to sing for Simon and possibly get signed by SYCO. I think as long as he’s on the judging panel, there will continue to be a lot of singing acts who audition for AGT. At least it’s looking like they’ll come from different genres for the most part. 😛

After that we’d have a dog/animal act win, which would also make sense; Sara & Hero were one of the biggest underdog acts (hehe) going into the live shows this season and they made it all the way to 5th place. And then we’d have a really unique and “out there” winner, followed by another magic act (I seriously can’t believe we’ve only had one win the show so far) and then a fourth ventriloquist champ (I guess by that time the cries of “ventriloquists always win!” will have died down).

Of course, this is all speculation, but it’s kind of an eerie coincidence Season 12 played out just like Sophie said it would! What sort of acts do you think we’ll be getting on AGT in the coming years, and which types do you think the audience might get behind to win?

September 21, 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!

Pure America’s Got Talent Season 12 Live Show #6 ( THE FINALS!!!): Power Rankings

For this special Finale edition of the Power Rankings, I’m going to go backwards, beginning with the act I think is LEAST likely to win, and going up (down?) from there.

10. Sara & Hero: Going into last night’s show I knew there was no way they’d win, but they had an outside shot at cracking top 5 as long as they continued their upward trajectory. Alas, that didn’t happen, as there were a lot of mistakes and recycled tricks (that jumping bit at the end was amazing though, and I did like the inclusion of Loki and Marvel). All in all, this performance was pretty basic compared to what we’ve seen them do in previous live shows. And personal preference, but with the name “The Super Collies”, I was kind of disappointed we never got a superhero-themed act from them.

9. Kechi: This was one of the segments that followed my “advice” (only not really because I wrote it long after they’d had everything prepared for the segment) and involved family of the people lost in the plane crash. The way the package was set up felt very strange, as if Kechi was the “Chosen One” to fulfill some sort of prophecy. I wish we could have just seen her as a human being who went through something instead of some spiritual entity. As for her song, I barely remember it, but considering there seems to be a clear top 4 and uncertainty about the other acts she – and everyone else above her – could very well wind up in 5th place.

8. Chase Goehring: More than most of the other Finalists, I think Chase truly put in the effort to give the audience what they were looking for and showed his growth as an artist last night. He finally sang about something other than how he’s a “nice guy” and girls should go out with him, and while the lyrics were still pretty generic I got the sense they were at least genuine. He also took the rapping to a whole new level! It seems pretty unlikely he’ll make the top 5 with his running order spot and having been on the bubble last round, but it’s nice to see someone improve their craft over the season.

7. Diavolo: If I had my choice of who would get that last spot in the top 5, it would definitely be Diavolo. This – like all their performances – was a true masterpiece. I like how they mixed some familiar and new elements to create a  tribute of sorts to their time on the AGT. If anyone from Season 12 deserves a Vegas show, it’s certainly them. However, this show isn’t really about finding a “Vegas” act anymore, and while I’m seeing more support for them than I did last week, I’m still not sure it’s going to be enough to get them to the top 5.

6. Evie Clair: I really have to hand it to AGT – they may be messy at times, but when it comes to handling serous issues like the one they were handed last night, they come through. (I was shocked they didn’t directly mention her father’s passing until the judge comments, but I think that was probably the best way to handle things so she could perform at her best. The package was tasteful, thankfully, and the performance…well, it was still bland, but it was better than most of her other AGT performances. I know I said I was concerned she’d have an outside chance of winning tonight but those fears have been washed away, though I do think the sympathy voters still have a chance of helping her squeeze into the top 5.

5. Preacher Lawson: Preacher’s final performance was polarizing, and he knew it. It’s been a running joke on his social media that he knows he’s going to lose to Darci and has accepted it, so I think he just decided to pick one of his personal favorite routines and go all out with the zaniness for this last episode. Leading up to last night’s Finals, I was seriously thinking he’d be in the top 5, but now I’m kind of up in the air about it. Like I’ve been saying, it seems the top 4 are so far ahead of everyone else in support that trying to guess who the last spot in the top 5 is going to is a bit of a crapshoot. In the end, I put Preacher here because I think he has the most passionate supporters out of the likely bottom 6.

4. Mandy Harvey: I was thinking Angelica would be the Brian Justin Crum of the seaon and place lower than generally anticipated, but I fear Mandy may end up in this position since last night was pretty underwhelming compared to her amazing Semi-Finals showing. This one just felt like a re-tread of her Quarter-Finals performance, both content-wise and aesthetically. I think if she had done this one last week and “Release Me” for the Finale she might have been one of the last two standing, but this performance may have knocked her down a few pegs, especially being sandwiched between two of the most impressive acts of the night.

3. Light Balance: This was probably the only act that gave us their best performance of the season last night, and I think peaking at the right time is going to help them. Getting the Finale week pimp spot – which I was sure was going to Darci with a small outside chance of Evie/Mandy – leads me to believe they’re getting a lot of audience support; before last night I was thinking they’d get 5th place at best and now I’m anticipating a top 3 finish for them. And while I know a lot of people who read this blog want Light Balance to win, keep in mind that a group act whose Golden Buzzer moment got glossed over and whose Quarter-Finals performance almost didn’t happen placing this high is a huge accomplishment.

2. Angelica Hale: Her performance of “Symphony” was a step up from last week, but still not nearly as strong as “Clarity” from the first live show. But I know a lot of people LOVED it and she’s been a frontrunner all season so I still think she’s likely to be one of the top finishers tonight. I think all the seasons with 10-act Finales had the show-opener finish in the top 5 without winning, and I’d be surprised if Angelica didn’t continue that tradition, but I’m not entirely sure where she’ll end up. The runner-up spot seems to be the most logical place to put her, since she’s probably the most likely to win if Darci doesn’t take it, but as I said before, I’ve started getting some Brian Justin Crum vibes from her in the recent weeks, so she could finish a little lower.

1. Darci Lynne Farmer: After last season I thought there was no way we would have a front-runner as obvious as Grace VanderWaal ever again, but here we are at the end of the very next season and Darci’s victory is arguably somehow even more inevitable. I think that might be because she’s the “perfect storm” of an act most viewers can agree on; she’s a young performer with a great voice which gives The Voice viewers something to tide them over until the new season starts up, but her act also incorporates puppetry and strong elements of comedy to appeal to the variety-loving crowd who still tune in to AGT to see Vegas-style acts do their thing. She also got a Golden Buzzer, which was obviously a major factor in her hype and popularity. Darci may not have one of those emotional backstories AGT has become notorious for, but when you think about it, even though many people with those stories have gotten far in the competition, the majority of the winners don’t have one. At the end of the day, talent (usually) tops all else, and I’m sure this will be proven once again when Darci is announced as the Season 12 champion tonight.

September 20, 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!

How to Win America’s Got Talent Season 12

So I may have stolen this idea from dwtsfun on tumblr….. 😛 Even though there are a few clear frontrunners in this group of Finalists, we have seen some upsets on this show before, so even some of the biggest long-shots might still have the ability to pull it out. (Probably not, but it’s technically possible. :P) So this post is going to be the advice I would give to each of the 10 acts we have left in order to give them the best possible chance at winning.

Darci Lynne Farmer: Darci has been the odds-on favorite to win all season, but that means she has even more pressure than the others to deliver. In order to stay ahead of the pack, she’ll have to do something to really put herself over the top. So far, she’s proven she can do a variety of voices, as well as sing and do comedy while switching “characters” on a dime. For this last performance, I think she should add another element to things like she has each time. I would think either two puppets (or maybe a two-headed puppet if that’s physically impossible…LOL) or something extremely impressive for a ventriloquist to do. I know she can sing opera and yodel with her mouth closed, so probably one of those. But whatever it is, it’ll have to be EPICLY impressive.

Mandy Harvey: Like Darci, she has followed an upward path throughout the season, with each performance being more polished than the one before, and each song feeling distinct enough to feel like something new while still fitting in with her “brand”. Last week she even signed the lyrics. I think in order to win, Mandy will have to do something even more powerful than that. I’m thinking something dedicated to the Deaf community, but not sure what that could be (and as a member of that circle, she’d probably have a better idea than I would!).

Light Balance: Being a group will probably give them somewhat of a disadvantage, but they made it this far without ever being in danger, so maybe they have more dedicated fans than I thought! In order to have a shot at the title, they’ll need to go bigger. Adding more characters/lights to really fill the stage or telling an epic story would definitely help their final act be a step up from their previous ones. My favorite thing they’ve done all season is still that transition into the Wolfman segment in the Quarter-Finals, so if they can pull out more tricks like that tonight I think they’ll really wow the viewers.

Chase Goehring: In comparison to Mandy, who’s songs are memorable and distinct from one other, most of Chase’s pieces so far have sounded the same to me. The only one that’s stood out was “Acapella”, which I think was the very first one he did. That song had a lot of rapping in it, and I know that’s something the audience has been waiting for more of from him, so let’s hope we get more of it tonight! Apparently, he’s written a brand new song specifically for tonight’s show, so hopefully he’s listened to the feedback from the judges and his fans and pulls out something special that stands out as his best performance of the season.

Sara & Hero: Definitely the most improved act of the season BY FAR and I have no doubt they’re going to be at their very best tonight. They’ve become an unexpected crowd favorite, so if they add in new tricks like they have been and do another fun storyline I’m sure people will love this last performance. My one note for them would be to polish things up a little more; there were a few times last week when tricks went wrong (though they recovered exceptionally well) and I’m not sure that’s going to go over so well on a night with such prestige as the Finals.

Evie Clair: I’m going to preface this one by saying I don’t want her to actually do this,  but this post is about how to win the show and unfortunately I think this is the only way she’ll have a shot. She needs to play up her father’s death as much as possible. Talk about him in the package, shed some tears, dedicate the song to him the whole shebang. Like I’ve said before, I truly hope this isn’t exploited by the show and that she can use this an a method of catharsis and a source of positivity in her life, but to be honest I think it’s the only scenario that might lead to her pulling out the win.

Kechi: My “advice” to her would be the same as Evie: crank the backstory up to an 11. Dedicate the song to the lives lost in the plane crash, involve their families in some way if you can, you know the drill. That’s pretty much the only way she’ll have a shot at winning.

Angelica Hale: Again, I hate this “advice” because it’s really not healthy for her, but this is about how to win, not how to please Julia the Pure AGT blogger. Angelica’s best path to victory would involve choosing a powerhouse “diva” anthem with as much belting as possible (I warned you this wouldn’t be healthy for a 10-year-old). It’d preferably be a big emotional number, since she has to compete with the mother of all inspirational backstories. (And who’s would that be? That’s up to you, reader. :P)

Diavolo: I’m really not sure what advice I’d give to them, since their performance last week was one of the best things I’ve seen all season and they still ended up in the Judges’ Save. I suppose I’d suggest doing another big, multi-layered spectacle, but this time have the theme be emotionally resonant or just easier for the audience to understand. I really don’t like how the acts have to play down to the lowest common denominator sometimes (and I do think the reason some really good acts have gone home or been in danger was because the general audience just “didn’t get it” which is a real shame).

Preacher Lawson: This last one is just going to be something I personally want to see from him, because I doubt he can win. (Though to be honest, I doubt most of these acts have a real shot at this point.) What I really want to see Preacher do is get up there and roast AGT. Maybe not to the level you’d see on, say, Reddit, but I think it’d be really fun for him to tease the judges like he did Tyra last week, or make fun of the abundance of singing acts. 😛

What do YOU think the acts need to do in order to win Season 12 of America’s Got Talent?

September 19, 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!

Who Should Win AGT Season 12? Who WILL? Weigh In!

I made a couple of polls for you guys! Who do you think deserves to win this season? And regardless of “should’s” who do you think will be the winner? (I couldn’t fix the size of the second poll, so apologies there!)


September 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!

Pre-Show Predictions for the AGT Season 12 Final Placements

I’ve been mulling over this pretty much since the second Wednesday’s results show ended, but today something clicked in my mind and I now feel confident enough to set my pre-show predictions.

Bottom 5 (6th-10th Place) in alphabetical order: Chase Goehring, Diavolo, Evie Clair*, Kechi, Sara & Hero
Four of these acts were on the bubble in the Semi-Finals, which usually points to a lower finish in the Finals. And I have a bad feeling Sara & Hero are suddenly going to face backlash for being “undeserving” of the Finals seeing as their act is less precise and polished than most of the others, even though everyone was in love with them two weeks ago. 🙁

5th Place: Light Balance
They’re one of the most popular acts of the season, but I don’t think they have quite as much momentum as the four above them since they haven’t really changed their performances up much (given how much backlash similar acts have gotten in the past, I’m surprised they’ve remained unscathed this long). They’re also a group, which has proven to be a bit of a detriment in recent seasons.
* If they play up Evie’s father’s death and put her at or close to the end of the show, I see her possibly taking this spot and Light Balance being bumped down to Bottom 5.

4th Place: Angelica Hale
Angelica’s journey reminds me of that of Brian Justin Crum last year; a singer re-imagining various songs and having strong momentum throughout the season only to lose a bit of steam towards the end. Angelica took a bit of a step back in the Semi-Finals while Mandy and Darci continued to up the bar, and since I don’t see three female singers making the top 3, it seems like Angelica might be the one bumped back a bit.

3rd Place: Preacher Lawson
It seems Preacher may have more support than I was thinking he did; apparently he’s the go-to act for people who don’t want a singer of any kind to support. I guess this makes sense, since comedians on AGT have often placed very high without winning.

2nd Place: Mandy Harvey
Mandy has upped her game every single week this season. While some thought she was fading into the background, she showed everyone she was still in it when she gave a dark, powerful performance in the Semi-Finals. I think with three female cover singers (and that’s not even including Darci) in the Finals, Mandy’s original music will stand out in contrast and in the end will probably result in a nice high placement for her.

1st Place: Darci Lynne Farmer
While I don’t think this is a done deal like many seem to (remember, everyone thought Grace would steamroll the competition and then the top 3 ended up being less than 1% apart from each other) Darci is the clear frontrunner at the moment, and what I think will keep her there is her ability to build on her act and change it up. I’ve been watching a lot of her clips on YouTube lately and she can do so many things with her voice that we still haven’t seen on AGT, so there are several avenues she could go down – opera, yodelling, etc. – to up the ante even further than she already has been and keep herself ahead of the rest of the pack in this last week.

September 16, 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!