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America’s Got Talent Pre-Season Hype Train: Golden Buzzers and Leaked Performances!

It’s a big week for the Got Talent franchise: BGT Semi-Finals have begun (I couldn’t get the stream up in time but I will watch the performances later today and get back to you on that front!) and tomorrow is the AGT Season 13 premiere!

Right now it’s looking like the format of the show will remain in line with the previous three seasons; the Live Shows don’t start until August, so it’s probably safe to assume the Judge Cuts episodes will start airing in July and we’ll be getting Auditions until then. Also, the Golden Buzzer is confirmed to be back, and we already have some hints on who we’ll be seeing get one:

Simon: Used his on the first day (though we may not see it the first episode, since auditions are aired out of order) for someone with a “great story”. That’s pretty typical for him.

Heidi: 15-year-old singer. Also typical. (Did she not learn her lesson from last season when her’s was the first of the GB’s to be eliminated?)

Howie: Is being more picky with his choice this time but gave no hints on what kind of act it would be.

Tyra: An international act (6000 miles away from California, to be specific) who Simon said was even better than his own choice. From the sounds of it, she chose a variety act, which earns her points with me since 8/9 of last season’s Golden Buzzer’s were used on singers.

Mel B: ??? (No hints here!)

AGT social media has also already treated us to a few “leaks” (but are they really leaks if the show itself is releasing them?) of acts we’ll be seeing this season!

Okay, I’m really excited about Flau’jae. We haven’t actually seen a lot of rap artists on AGT, at least not recently, so I love that she’s bringing in something fresh. She’s also pulling no punches right from the get-go. No doubt she’ll be controversial – we all know the politics-heavy acts have had some difficulty with the audience in the past, and the topic of gun violence is a heated debate in the United States right now – but I have a feeling this kind of serious, passionate performance is going to go over better than the comedy-based political acts we’ve seen in recent seasons. That’s not to say their won’t be detractors – I’m sure there’ll be plenty – but I have a feeling Flau’jae is going to be a top favorite for the people who do really connect with her and her message. If she doesn’t hold back and continues to go for really big and poignant topics like this, I think she’ll be around for awhile.

If you’ve been keeping up with this blog lately, you’ll know my content has kind of fallen by the wayside these past few months. One thing I was intending to do back when auditions and Judge Cuts were filming was a post with the Golden Buzzer hints and other AG-tea I had. I mention this now because one of those tidbits was the fact that this guy was auditioning for the show. I don’t think the acts are technically allowed to reveal they auditioned until shortly before their episode airs, but Shin Lim’s participation in this season has been a pretty open secret since late last year when he mentioned it in a YouTube interview, and I’ve also seen him mention it on Instagram a couple times. For those who don’t know, Shin Lim is quite a big deal in the magic community, performing all over the world including fooling Penn & Teller twice on Fool Us. He’s mentioned wanting to try out some new material on AGT, so if the allow him to show a variety of his talents and we don’t get any technical malfunctions, I think he has a really good chance at making it all the way to the Finals, something none of the magic acts from Season 12 managed to accomplish.

May 28, 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!

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!

“The Illusionists: Live From Broadway” Review

Image result for the illusionists live from broadway

I don’t normally review things on this blog other than Got Talent episodes, but this week I was fortunate enough to see a show that has a lot of tie-ins with the franchise. The Illusionists is a series of live shows who’s casts are each made up of several performers who specialize in various areas of magic. There are a few tours currently running and starting up in the future, including one travelling North America from January to June. For now there are two productions running during the month of December (one in Toronto, Ontario and the other in Wilmington, Delaware and Washington, DC) both of which feature performers who will become part of said North American tour as well as some other special guests.

The Illusionists portrays its performers as the Justice League or Avengers of magic. At the beginning and end of the show (as well as in promotional material) they all stand together onstage in a way that is very reminiscent of what you might see on your typical comic book movie poster. The superhero vibe is furthered by the fact that every performer in an Illusionists production is given a nickname that describes their “powers”. This year’s Toronto production features “The Trickster” (Jeff Hobson) “The Daredevil” (Jonathan Goodwin) “The Manipulator” (An Ha Lim) “The Unusualist” (Raymond Crowe) “The Eccentric” (Charlie Frye) “The Deductionist” (Colin Cloud) and “The Grand Illusionist” (Darcy Oake).

The cast of each Illusionists production is expertly crafted to ensure a variety of talents are represented. As the show’s emcee of sorts, Hobson got a good chunk of the stage time, much of which was used to interact (and mess around) with the audience. To be fair, his shtick did get a little cheesy at times – which I’m sure will be a delight for some people and maybe not to others – but the audience interaction added another dynamic to the act (at the performance I saw, this was most notable during a moment in which a young boy refused to give him any easy answers). An Ha Lim had the least amount of time on stage, but still made a strong impact with his award-winning card-conjuring magic. And as the only Canadian in the cast, Oake is a sort of homeland hero in the Toronto production, sharing the story of what sparked his passion for magic and amazing the audience with his signature dove trick (as seen on Britain’s Got Talent).

Fresh off his run in the most recent season of America’s Got Talent, Colin Cloud will inevitably be one of the bigger draws of this year’s tour. As someone who’s covered all of his performances on the program as well as other similar acts in the past, I’ve come to learn a lot about mentalism – his genre of choice – and that it can be controversial in more ways than one. However, as I said all summer, it’s not just the trick itself that makes a magic performance, but the presentation of it. Seeing Cloud command the stage live with his own personal brand of illusion, class, and wit was truly a treat to behold. (Being selected as one of the lucky participants in his second-act segment was just the icing on the cake. :P)

The Illusionists also goes beyond the typical conjuring, vanishing, and mind-reading typically seen in magic shows. Humorous vaudevillian segments from Charlie and Sherry Frye transports patrons back to a time where stage magic was simpler, but no less fun to watch. In addition to performing what was probably the most whimsical trick of all in the first act, Raymond Crowe’s signature shadow puppetry act (as seen on Australia’s Got Talent) was a clear crowd favorite. Doing Got Talent coverage has made me realize how difficult pleasing an audience with a danger act can be, but Daredevil Jonathan Goodwin somehow manages to have just the right stage presence to grab the audience while still maintaining a certain ominous vibe to keep the tension and suspense from start to finish during each of his segments. The audience is always acutely aware of the dangerous and painful aspects of his stunts, but it never quite gets to the point where it becomes unwatchable (except maybe for the most squeamish patrons).

Being a magic show, plenty of audience participation is inevitably incorporated into The Illusionists. (At the performance I saw, multiple illusionists unknowingly selected the same man to be involved in the show, which soon became a running joke.) If you’re not comfortable being pulled into the action, I highly suggest avoiding the front rows and any orchestra-level aisle seats when buying tickets for the show. On the flip side, without spoiling anything I am happy to report that audience members who aren’t sitting close to the stage will still have the opportunity to be part of the performance (without being unwillingly dragged onstage!).

The Illusionists will be presented across North America between December 2017 and June 2018. (For those wondering, the tour beyond the holiday season stops will feature Toronto cast members An Ha Lim, Colin Cloud, Jonathan Goodwin, and Jeff Hobson, as well as Wilmington/Washington performer Kevin James, aka “The Inventor”.)  Tickets for the full list of dates can be found on the show’s website.

December 15, 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!

The 10 Best Performances of America’s Got Talent Season 12

Before I start this, I wanted to give a quick shout-out to the Las Vegas Victims’ Fund GoFundMe campaign. Any massacre is horrific of course but especially with the connection AGT has with the city I thought it’d be good to share.

I’ve thought a lot about what to do with this blog during the off-season. I know I don’t want it to go completely dormant like last year, so I’m going to try to post at least twice per month. One post will be a roundup of any notable alumni updates and the other will vary a bit. For this month I recently grabbed a copy of Mandy Harvey’s book “Sensing the Rhythm” which was released last week, so I’ll get a review of that up once I’ve finished reading it!

For now, let’s get to the top 10 list! Note that I didn’t allow myself to include multiple performances from the same act so I wouldn’t run out of things to say. 😛

10. Preacher Lawson Proves Himself to be a “Driving” Force in the Competition (Auditions)

While I’ve made it clear I didn’t agree with some of the representation of certain act genres we had in the Season 12 live shows, I think Preacher Lawson was definitely the best comedian of all those we saw by miles, so if we could only have one make it through, I’m glad it was him. Most of his performances were on a similar level for me – all around solid, with a couple laugh-out-loud jokes and good personality to make the lesser material palatable. After re-watching each of them, I still think his best performance was his very first audition.

He started by easing into the jokes by answering each question from the judges with a hint of humor, which made a nice segue into the set itself. As the season went on, Preacher slowly began incorporating more and more of his “over-the-top” bits into his performances, culminating in one long joke in the Finals that lasted about 30 seconds (you know the one :P). But here, we don’t get it until late in the act, giving us time to warm up to his style of humor before taking it to the next level with the grandma impression.

This performance was so good that even though it was one of the very first acts shown in the season premiere, it stuck out in my mind through the following weeks of auditions, and by the time we got to Preacher’s next set in the third episode of the Judge Cuts round, I was on the edge of my seat in anticipation to see what he would bring us next.

9. Billy & Emily England Go for a Spin, Game of Thrones-style (Semi-Finals)

Like most danger performers who’ve gone on AGT, Billy & Emily England were certainly one of the more controversial acts of Season 12. Some people loved them, others feared them, and a few thought their act was more suited to a “redneck family reunion” than a primetime TV talent show (Facebook’s words, not mine).

I was concerned early on that the “wow” factor of the extreme roller-skating would wear off a little too quickly, but in a surprise result (at least to me) they avoided Quarter-Finals Dunkin’ Save territory and spun on straight to the Semis. By the time their second live show rolled around, not only had there been many a comment stating they needed to “step it up” but also many questioning their relationship as siblings. I don’t know if the concept for their Semi-Finals performance was an intentional nod to the speculation of incest, but either way, the Game of Thrones-esque set-up added an extra sense of intensity to the act.

Of course, the theme wasn’t the only thing that made this performance epic; Billy and Emily started out somewhat slow, but that helped them build tension and suspense as they kept adding to the danger with each passing trick. They even maintained strong showmanship whenever they had to pause the actual spinning to maintain their balance. It all culminated in one final daring move we hadn’t seen from them in any of their previous AGT showings; Billy tossing Emily off the platform, ending as the victor of the storyline.

8. Sara & Hero are “Walking on Sunshine” at the Beach (Semi-Finals)

Sara & Hero had kind of a rough start to the season, narrowly making it to the Judge Cuts round. But from there, they charmed the judges and viewers enough to make it all the way the 5th place without ever being on the Dunkin’ Save bubble! I really love Sara’s commitment to training dogs using positive reinforcement, and she managed to raise the bar with pretty much every AGT performance.

The Semi-Finals act is the one that I think worked the best. The beach theme was very well-suited to the “girl and her dogs” storyline and it had the biggest variety of tricks we hadn’t seen from them yet. The beginning with the CPR was arguably the best part since it was the only real “story” section of the performance, but the level of the tricks that followed made up for it. (The volleyball stuff was particularly impressive.) None of them went on for too long, and most of the transitions were smooth enough for Hero and Loki to keep up nicely. There were a couple of mistakes but none of the prevented the routine from progressing as it should (I really liked how Sara just kind of rolled with everything). I would have to say this was probably the most uplifting performance of the season, and it was no surprise for them to make the Finals as a result!

7. Colin Cloud Goes Undercover (Semi-Finals)

I feel like illusion-based acts are always at least a little controversial (“it’s not REAL magic”) but mentalism tends to stir up particularly heated debates. A lot of people are convinced there are plants in the audience or the judges are in on the trick (I highly doubt the latter is true, but I know of an instance or two when the host knew what was up). I know how quite a few of the tricks we’ve seen from this genre over the years are done, and there are a variety of different methods the performers have used. I know a lot of people like to make fun of Colin’s label as the “Real-Life Sherlock Holmes” but since the season ended a couple weeks ago I’ve looked up some videos of him online and the claims of forensic studies seem pretty legit and tied to a lot of his tricks. Granted, most of what he did beyond the Judge Cuts round incorporated less of that stuff, but it still helped me understand/appreciate some of his performances (ie. the Quarter-Finals one) more.

I actually almost selected Colin’s Judge Cuts act for his entry on the list, but I decided that while I did like the tricks in that one better, I think his Semi-Finals showing was stronger as an overall performance. Sometimes it’s not only what we’re seeing, but how it’s presented to us. While watching this on the night it aired I was disappointed at first; we’d seen a very similar illusion performed by Tom London earlier in the season, and that hadn’t boded well for his status in the competition. I was so confused. Why would a mentalist who’d shown he could perform all kinds of cool tricks chose to go down the route of doing one that didn’t even involve those skills? (Well, aside from the first bit with Howie’s phone unlock code.)

Just as I was about ready to give up on Colin, the flashback video started. While it didn’t change the essence of the trick, it added a whole new layer to the performance. The amount of effort put behind all those “clues” (especially in the burger place) was very impressive, and the thing with the board at the end was pretty funny (I’d been confused by the seemingly arbitrary “number of possibilities” since the video calling for tweet submissions was posted online a week prior). Suddenly, a disappointingly lackluster performance became one of my favorites of the entire season. Just goes to show that the delivery and presentation of an act can be equally as impactful as the material itself.

6. Merrick Hanna Dances to “I Built a Friend” (Auditions)

Real talk: the Season 12 premiere was probably one of the best AGT audition round episodes I’ve ever seen. Most of the really memorable auditions were shown in those two hours, and they made for a very strong start to the season. One of the acts in this episode that captivated me the most was Merrick Hanna.

I’d seen lots of animation dancing in the past, but rarely any that actually told a story. Merrick chose a great song to use; it wasn’t mainstream (so everyone would associate it with him) and was about a kind an his robot so the dancing really connected to the music well. His acting was also amazing and really sold the performance. In later rounds, we didn’t get this kind of rawness from Merrick (though he was still very good) but I’m glad we at least got to see it once on AGT.

5. Light Balance Stars a Party in the Dolby (Finals)

As the only Golden Buzzer act that didn’t involve singing, I think a lot of the dance and variety fans were really pulling for Light Balance to go far in the competition…and they did! They actually managed to beat all but two of the singing Golden Buzzers, not to mention every other act of the season!

We’ve seen several light-up dance crews over the years, but what I think made Light Balance special was their polished-ness and memorable characters, most noticeably the Abe Lincoln-esque fellow and the Wolfman. They frequently appeared in their performances and the Wolfman in particular gave way to some neat tricks (like the jail cell escape in this act).

The light-up dance acts can get old after awhile, but the trick is to incorporate different levels of movement, character, and tricks to them to keep things from getting stale. That’s exactly what Light Balance gave us this season, and it all culminated in this full-out dance party of a performance.

4. Diavolo Takes Us on a Journey Through Time and Space (Semi-Finals)

Diavolo is a great example of an act utilizing set pieces well without letting them take over the whole show. Their scenery is carefully selected to showcase what the dancers can do, and what I loved about this performance in particular was the variety of things they incorporated into it. They used several set pieces – each in a different way – and the transitions between each segment were seamless which made the whole act flow very naturally. I’m not entirely sure what the “story” of this performance was supposed to be, but I have a feeling it may have been purposefully vague in order to try to get the audience’s minds working to try to come up with their own unique interpretations.

I really don’t know what else to say about this. How does one even describe Diavolo? “Dance troupe” certainly doesn’t cover it, and neither does “acrobatics group”. I guess the best way to explain Diavolo in a nutshell would simply be “art”.

3. Bello Nock Conquerors the “Wheel of Death” (Quarter-Finals)

Bello Nock may be a seasoned professional at daredevil performances (let’s be real, a lot of the variety acts on AGT are) but that didn’t change the fear we all faced when he took a spin on the “Wheel of Death” for us in the Quarter-Finals.

When Sophie – who was at the live shows that week – first told me what Bello’s act was, I was kind of disappointed. It just didn’t seem very exciting. How could spinning on a giant wheel keep people entertained for three minutes? It just seemed like the awe factor would disappear very quickly. Luckily, Bello managed to create enough intrigue and suspense to keep us on our toes for the entire performance. He started by doing some fun tricks inside the wheel, then suddenly made things much more dramatic by climbing onto the outside of it and slowed things down, making it seem like he might fall off.

The tone change came at just the right time; as soon as the first segment was starting to wear out its welcome, a sudden shift in stakes brought the excitement back. Bello wasn’t just entertaining the audience anymore, but making them root for him. He built the tension at just the right pace and ended with a nail-biting but ultimately satisfying conclusion.

I really thought this performance played into the “fan-favorite Wildcard” storyline quite nicely, and was baffled it sent him packing. (I know some viewers have a disdain for danger acts, but remember, this was the same week that resulted in Billy & Emily making the top 5, so I’m still confused about Bello’s elimination.)

2. Mandy Harvey Semi-Finals: “Release Me” (Semi-Finals)

At first, Mandy’s AGT journey seemed oddly familiar…she came out with a ukulele at the end of the second episode, performed an original song, and received a Golden Buzzer. It felt like she was the second coming of Grace VanderWaal, only with a tragic backstory tacked on for good measure, which – fair or not – made me feel more weary than excited.

Her next showing in the Quarter-Finals was quite nice, but it was her Semi-Finals performance that really got me on board the Mandy train. Her first two songs were light, pretty, and overall pleasant, but in this performance, Mandy shed the sweetness (and the ukulele) and got raw. “Release Me” showed a much darker side of Mandy that we hadn’t yet seen, and there seemed to be so much weight behind every note she sang. Without the ukulele, her body language was much more expressive; the decision to sign the lyrics reminded us of her roadblock in life, but also was a way to use her body to express the sentiment behind the music, and her face was also much more expressive than we’d seen in her previous AGT showings.

Everything came together and made for a powerful performance that dramatically stood out from all the other solo singing acts in Season 12, and I really wish she’d saved this for the last week since her actual performance in the Finals felt like the wall that had been torn down in this one had been rebuilt to a degree.

1. Darci Lynne Farmer Helps Edna Doorknocker Serenade Simon (Semi-Finals)

Darci Lynne Farmer was one of the rare AGT acts that combined three very distinct talents, and I think her showing in the Semi-Finals was her best combination of her ventriloquism, comedy, and singing skills.

Right from when she opened the box, it was clear how dedicated Darci was to making Edna seem like a separate being from herself. The speaking voice was clearly distinct from her own, and when it came time for the song she not only had to nail the complexities of the vocal performance (which involved belting) but had to do it in the character’s voice, which she nailed.

Darci’s comedic chops were as strong as ever, not only in the delivery of the material (especially the hilarious meta AGT references) but also in her facial expressions, even when she was doing the ventriloquism. The best example of this was when she was walking over to Simon while singing. Her voice as Edna was passionate, but her own facial expression was clearly reluctant. It takes a lot of skill for someone to perform one way with their voice and the opposite way with their face, and she had it down pat.

I’ve seen a lot of criticism for Darci’s victory, most of it not actually having anything to do with her or the act itself, but for being “too obvious”. While I found it annoying that the champions of both Seasons 11 and 12 felt determined pretty early on and get wanting to be surprised, that’s more on the producers than the actual talent. I think Darci fully deserved her win, being one of those rare acts that can appeal to music fans and variety-lovers alike.

October 5, 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!

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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.

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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! 😉

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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.

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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 AGT Season 12 Live Show #5: Power Rankings

LAST SEMI-FINAL OF THE SEASON! I have to admit, even with how messy Season 12 has been, I’m actually pretty sad it’s almost over…but in the meantime, I’m going to try to get up a post on here every day from now until the Finale! I’m also considering covering Britain’s Got Talent on here next spring (I think?) as well as actually doing a write-up about the Christmas special if they do one this year. In addition to this, I want to include more stuff on here about AGT alumni and what they’re up to-there’s been a few I’ve heard a lot from since their time on the show-but I’m not sure how much interest there’d be for all that. None of this would be as frequent as what I’m doing now (until BGT starts).

But for now, I know you’re all here for the Power Rankings. This week is particularly hard to predict because there wasn’t one act that seemed to blow everyone out of the water, and very few really dropped the ball. Also, the show started an hour later than usual, and the late end time-especially we’re now into the school year and a lot of kids and parents are on stricter weeknight schedules-could have affected voting patterns. Also, based on last night alone there really doesn’t seem to be a frontrunner in this group, though I definitely think some will benefit from being one of the “stars” of their Quarter-Final.

1. Mandy Harvey: I think this is the first time all season I’ve put someone who performed in the middle of the show at the top of the Power Rankings, but she headlined her Quarter-Final and her spot in the running order this week was probably the best one she could have gotten; performing at the change of the hour meant she was likely the last act seen by people who tuned out at the usual time, but late enough in the show to still be well-remembered by the end for those sticking around the whole night. Her package might actually have been more of a selling point than the song itself, but it was still a very solid performance (loved the inclusion of sign language!) and just enough of a departure from her previous songs with the ukulele to be different without losing the essence that made people drawn to her in the first place.

2. Angelica Hale: Color me shocked that the judges actually criticized her a bit last night-I thought she was pretty much untouchable in that regard by this point-but this was still a nice way to end off the night. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens with Angelica since Celine also performed last night, and as I’ve mentioned are often compared very closely by fans of the show. I think Angelica still has a bit of an edge with her story and POSSIBLY the pimp spot (but again, we don’t know if that provided as much of a boost as it usually does). Either way, I don’t see her going home tonight because she’s definitely in the top 6 and there’s no way she’d lose a Dunkin’ Save unless Mandy was one of her opponents.

3. Light Balance: I suppose these guys are my best guess for the third automatic spot tonight, since pretty much everyone seems to like them (even if it’s debatable whether or not performing second last will actually help this week). Their main competition is Diavolo, and I doubt we’re getting both in the finals since it seems like voters-especially this late in the game-tend to be more emotionally attached to (and inclined to vote for) individual performers or pairs than larger groups. However, I still think one of the dance groups will make the Finale and I think LB has the clear edge because their appeal is more “universal” (more on that below).

4. In the Stairwell: This might be surprising since I just said groups tend to be disadvantaged on this show at this point (and I’ll probably do a write-up about that sometime between now and next week) but I think the main reason for this is because it’s much more difficult for the audience to connect to them in comparison to a solo performer. However, the constant reminders of ITS’s military service probably remedies this issue. While I could have done without the name-dropping of a national tragedy (I want them out tonight for that alone) the Armed Forces mean a lot to many people, especially in America. Even though I thought the performance itself was probably one of the weaker ones of the night, ITS filled a niche of the episode as the only singing group, and that + military background will probably be enough to get them into Dunkin’ Save territory. Keep in mind the order of this list is based on who I think got the most Tuesday night votes, so while I’m expecting to see them on the bubble, they’ll probably be the act to lose out since I get the feeling the majority of their voting base is not part of the online crowd.

5. Celine Tam: I was originally going to have Celine as an immediate elimination, but she seemed to take less heat from being on the same show as Angelica than I thought, and now I’m thinking there might even be room for both girls in next week’s Finale. Like Angelica, she got a pretty positive response from the judges, with only a few minor critiques. I have a feeling as long as Celine manages to stay above the abyss (AKA the bottom 5) she’ll probably get through to the Finals.

6. Colin Cloud: I’m gonna try not to get my hopes up, because he was in the Dunkin’ Save last round and had the historically worst running order spot a reality contestant can have last night, but…….HOLY S*** WAS THAT NOT THE BIGGEST STEP UP WE’VE SEEN THIS SEASON? Yes, as usual the trick was “exposed” 10 seconds after it aired, but the whole presentation of this was NEXT LEVEL. It started off slow, and once the “magic” part happened I thought it was just a re-hash of what Tom London did back in Judge Cuts, but the flashback footage put this performance over the top. I LOVED seeing the reactions to it, both from the judges and online. Colin stood out with this performance, especially as the sole non-singing/dancing act of the night, and I think it just might have been enough to get him into Dunkin’ Save territory again. Maybe. I mean, if Eric could go second last week and still end up there, so can Colin, right? Right? (Please!!!!!)

7. Kechi: After her whole segment I penciled her in for top 3, but then a funny thing happened. When I poked around the interwebs to get a feel of who people were liking (and not liking)…I barely saw Kechi’s name at all. And this is about someone who I believe has gotten the pimp spot for all three of her previous performances, and a decent one near the end last night. She might still wind up in the Dunkin’ Save or even top 3, but it seems she could possibly be a victim of the “Singer Massacre of the Semi-Finals” when a bunch of the singers who were madly hyped in the Quarters suddenly disappear the next round.

8. Diavolo: This was THE performance of the night for me, and cemented my belief that despite what Laverne Cox said back in Judge Cuts, this is the most “Vegas” act of the whole season. However, three things make me think they’re probably goners tonight. 1) Competition against Light Balance (which I already explained). 2) The West Coast airing of the episode suddenly cutting back to Pompeyo halfway through their performance (seriously, WTF? Not cool, technicians!). and 3) Their act just being kinda divisive overall. It was very abstract and circus-esque, which seemed to be strongly appealing for some viewers (myself included) and a total turn-off to others. I hate to say it, but I have a feeling they’re done tonight. 🙁

9. Merrick Hanna: I love Merrick, but last night’s performance seemed to emphasize gimmicks (the giant robot) and tricks (the “flying”) more than what we love him for best-awesome animation dancing. I have a feeling a lot of these additions were producer-driven, but that probably wouldn’t have swayed voters either way. Again, really sad to say it but I think we’re losing Merrick tonight as well. 🙁

10. Christian Guardino: I actually really love listening to Christian sing, and hope he has a long and successful career after this, but while he did have a package custom-designed to tug at the heartstrings, his song was pretty forgettable (remember what I said last week about having to have those “money notes” in order for the audience to remember you?). His running order also wasn’t that great, and I’ve hardly seen any buzz about him since the show, so I’d be very surprised to even see him in the Dunkin’ Save tonight.

11. Pompeyo Family Dogs: Semi-Final Wildcard acts are pretty much fodder no matter how you slice it, but even if they had been voted through last time I’d probably still rank them at the bottom this week…I love their creativity, but the dogs were pretty much unrecognizable and were off their game for at least half of the performance. Besides that, the tricks themselves were pretty much the same ones we’ve seen in their other acts. And to top it all off, they were coming off the heels of fan-favorite Sara & Hero’s amazing beach performance last week. I really hope the daughter doesn’t cry again when they get eliminated tonight. 🙁

September 13, 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!

HI HI! IT’S TY-TY! Pure AGT Season 12 Live Show #4: Power Rankings

Yay, I’m getting this up before the eleventh hour for once!

This first group of Semi-Finalists was clearly the weaker one on paper, but some of them really upped their game, and I think tonight turned out to be the best live show of the season yet since the first Quarter-Final. I’m noticing there seems to be a fine line that the acts have to toe at this point in the game; they have to keep upping their game with new elements to each successive performance, but by now they’ve all built a “brand” for themselves that the audience recognizes and by changing things up they risk alienating the fanbase they’ve built this far on the show. I think this is why we’ve often seen (and will likely continue to see) singing acts leave en masse during this round; most of them just don’t have the freedom to play around with their act like the variety performers do. With that in mind, let’s see how the votes seem to be falling this week……

1. Darci Lynne Farmer: With the only act of the season that caters to singing and variety fans alike, it’s no wonder Darci is the odds-on favorite to win the grand prize. Even though she seems to be relegated to the “comedy bit followed by a song” format, I like how she combined the two tonight, as opposed to her previous performance when the song started and the connection with the puppet character dropped a bit. Ventriloquism has actually proven to be the mos successful variety act on AGT, with two representatives in the winner circle from the genre. And in two weeks, we’ll get to see if Darci can be the third member of that exclusive club.

2. Sara & Hero: Remember when everyone was ripping the judges a new one for letting them advance through the Judge Cuts and now their Semi-Final performance has been getting the most love from viewers on social media (other than Darci of course)? Clearly they’re well liked if they were in the top 5 of their Quarter-Final episode; I guess I just underestimated how much support they’ve been getting. It’s certainly not undeserved-I think they’ve stepped up their game more than most others have at this point-I think I’m just surprised that one dog act was cut immediately without even getting a shot at the Dunkin’ Save and the other is likely going to sail into the Finale without ever being on the bubble.

3. Preacher Lawson: The shade was real tonight on AGT. Of  course, everyone is talking about Darci lampooning the parade of old ladies who flirted with Simon earlier this season, but I think Preacher took the cake for me with his “HI HI! IT’S TY-TY!” moment in his set (if you don’t know what that was referencing, click on any AGT YouTube channel video from this season and skip to the end until you get a Tyra bumper). Preacher’s style of comedy may not be for everyone, but like last round, being the only one of his genre is probably going to give him a boost. And his personality is just so infectious it’s hard not to root for him. If he doesn’t make top 3 tomorrow night, I think he’s probably a lock to get the Dunkin’ Save.

4. Mike Yung: His performance felt quite stagnant tonight, without a lot of range in expression or tone. It felt like a less powerful version of what the Masqueraders did two weeks ago, and we all know how that ended for them. However, Mike still seems to be a favorite of quite a few people, and he did get the pimp spot this week, which could indicate that he’s been getting a lot of audience support (though I do think that may actually have hurt him a bit, since he had to follow frontrunner Darci). In the end, I’m going to guess Dunkin’ Save territory for him tomorrow night.

5. Chase Goehring: I thought Chase would be close to a lock to advance to the Finals, but I think he might have fallen under the radar this week. Nothing about his segment was particularly memorable, which is arguably more dangerous than being outright bad. Luckily, I think he’s gained enough devoted followers to get enough votes to be in Dunkin’ Save territory.

6. Evie Clair: Evie definitely seemed less nervous this time around, and her confidence came through in her performance. I think being the only act left to incorporate a “live” piano might also help people remember her. Still, I think it’s her story carrying her through the most, and, while absolutely heartbreaking, I really don’t want it to be the main reason she makes the Finale.

7. Johnny Manuel: Johnny got some mixed reviews last night, and it seems like he could be one of the singer casualties of the week. He has his fans-as well as those who appreciated the choice to perform an original song-behind him. However, the judges were pretty hard on him, his running order spot was meh, and the hype surrounding him has died down considerably (I don’t even remember them mentioning him-or, come to think of it, anyone else but Darci-getting the Golden Buzzer tonight). I think at best he has a shot at sneaking into Dunkin’ Save territory.

8. Billy & Emily England: They were actually one of my favorite parts of the episode-I could tell they made a strong effort to show us some tricks we hadn’t seen before-but it seems many viewers have grown tired of the spinning in circles thing, even with the new stuff. Having been top 5 after their last performance they might make it into Dunkin’ Save territory, but I think their only hope of moving forward is the Judges’ Save, if they even get that chance.

9. Eric Jones: Eric without a doubt improved over his previous performance, but I think his “casual” delivery is really going to hurt him this time. The trick was great, but he faded into the woodwork because of his lack of stage presence compared to most of the other acts in this group.

10. Danell Daymon & Greater Works: I liked this performance, but I’m looking around Facebook and Twitter and it doesn’t seem like a lot of people agree with me….

11. Yoli Mayor: There seems to be a trend with singing performances on reality shows. Those who go for the high notes and belting get over-the-top praise, and those who go for something in the lower register are deemed lesser performers or are just plain forgotten about. I think the latter type of song is more suited to Yoli’s voice, but it’s not what the viewers for these kinds of shows tend to remember. She managed to hang on by a thread in the Quarter-Finals, but I don’t see her having that luck tonight.

September 6, 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 #3: Power Rankings

Last Quarter-Final of Season 12! I have a lot going on with work this week and yesterday’s episode wasn’t all that interesting, so I’m gonna keep this short and to the point. Here’s who I think got the most to least votes last night, starting with…

1. Kechi: I’ve taken to omitting her last name since that’s how she seems to be branding herself (awesome that what is presumably her legal first name also works as a badass stage name). She got the “pimp spot” (aka the final performance of the show) has an especially emotional/inspiring backstory, and gave one of the few performances of the evening that was solid all the way through, so yeah; she’s not going anywhere this week, and I reckon she’ll be in the Finale in September.

2. Chase Goehring: Chase was a Golden Buzzer, delivered a solid (if not especially awe-inspiring) performance last night in a good running order position, and seems to have gained quite the fanbase over the course of the season. He’s another person who shouldn’t have any problem getting through tonight, and I think he has a decent chance at making it to the Finals (how big of one will depend on who else is in his episode next round, particularly if he’s up against Season 12’s other singing-songwriting superstar, Mandy Harvey).

3. Diavolo: The winners of the night for me; this was one of maybe two acts this episode that didn’t feel boring, stale, or pointless. I was captivated all the way through! They also had a good performance spot which will probably help them out. I really hope if they are in the Semis they get put in the episode Light Balance is not in; I fear that voters may not put two dance groups from one episode through and I think both easily deserve to be in the Finale.

4. Danell Daymon & Greater Works: This was the other act that fully held my attention and made me feel excited. I’m sort of on the fence as to whether they’ll be safe on in Dunkin’ Save territory (they did perform first, after all) but much like America loves veterans (a lot, as we found out two weeks ago), I have a feeling they also love choirs. And I really can’t see them in the Bottom 4 when I look at some of the other performances this week.

5. Angelina Green: Or “Angelica” if you ask Simon (even the judges are getting confused between all the singing acts now!) I toyed between Angelina and the act I ended up putting at #6 as to who would be the last one I’d call safe, because while both seem to have quite a few fans, neither were at their best yesterday. But I’m putting Angelina here because she was a Golden Buzzer and the singers have tended to fare better with votes than the variety this season.

6. Colin Cloud: For the whole week leading up to last night, NBC had a promo for the new episode with the tagline “90 seconds to change your life”. Now, clearly some acts were going to go over that timeframe (and I’m pretty sure the “90 seconds” thing was a rule for Judge Cuts, not the live shows) but the fact that they promoted that aspect so heavily for this particular episode is especially hilarious in hindsight after an EIGHT MINUTE ACT from Colin. Like, wow. Even some of the other contestants-who are usually very supportive of their competition-were commenting on the unfairness of that. And I think that might be what lands Colin in the Dunkin’ Save tonight, because it seems a lot of people on Facebook and Twitter were checking their watches during his segment. The idea was interesting, but perhaps a bit too complicated in execution for the AGT stage. I have a feeling we’re going to be seeing him in the Semi-Finals, though, so hopefully he has a better trick up his sleeve for next time.

7. Mike Yung: I think Mike gave a solid-if somewhat shouty-performance last night. However, he is an older singer, and they haven’t usually done very well on AGT. I think he was lucky to perform in the episode he did, because considering how many weak/unmemorable performances there were last night, I think he might have a chance to continue on from here.

8. Sara & Hero: I thought their performance was cute, and I liked the surprise addition of a second dog at the end! I feel like with her story and lesser competition, Sara and her canine companions will probably get more support than the Pompeyo crew did, just not sure how much or if it will be enough to keep them around for another go at it.

9. Oskar & Gaspar: I thought the technology was cool, but I didn’t see much of a response from people. Acts with videomapping have mostly gotten lukewarm responses on this show, and most of those involved movements from the “human canvases”, so I can’t imagine one with people standing still would do better.

10. Final Draft: When I have to Google an episode that aired less than 24 hours ago to remember they even performed, that might be a bad sign. I think the underwhelmingness of it all might have boiled down to song choice.

11. Junior & Emily: They performed in the second place “death slot”, but they did up their game a little to include a bit more than just spinning in their routine. Unfortunately, I don’t think it was enough to make them stand out in enough people’s minds and garner the support they needed to stay in the game.

12. Oscar Hernandez: I actually love him, but his running order slot coupled with the fact that Mel B just HAD to point out the forgotten choreography-even in a compliment-is probably not going to bode well for him.

August 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!

Pure America’s Got Talent Season 12 Live Show #2: Power Rankings

So, last night was….a time. As Mel B put it, the show was a rollercoaster. With multiple malfunctions, buzzers, and jokes that were meant to ease the tension but ended up making things even more awkward, the actual performances seemed to be a sideshow to all the malfunctions behind the scenes and antics at the judges’ table. I thought there was no sinking lower than “Judge Cuts #2”, but last night’s s***show might have given it a run for its money as a contender for “Worst Episode of Season 12”. And since, as I said, the response to the acts seems to have taken a backseat to the buzz about all the drama, and the relatively little commentary I have seen on the performances has been pretty negative. Still, seven acts will be going through to the next round tomorrow, so I guess I’ll take a stab at trying to figure out who they might be, starting with…

1. Mandy Harvey: I was expecting a lot more hype about Mandy from people tonight, but unfortunately I think her thunder was stolen by all the craziness that had already happened throughout the night, so by the time it was her turn to perform, I think the audience was just kind of drained and not really excited for anything anymore. Regardless, even if she didn’t exactly bring the house down, she still managed to end the show on a pleasant note and received one of the few overall positive reactions of the evening so I don’t think the sideshow will bring her down. Mandy is the only act I’m 100% sure is automatically advancing tomorrow night, and to be honest I think she’s probably the only one in this Quarter-Final group with a real shot at the grand prize.

2. Johnny Manuel: Okay, so I wouldn’t put MONEY on Johnny getting this much support, but since the general reaction to everyone from here down has been lukewarm to extremely negative I have to go with what I’ve got, and from what I’ve seen, Johnny was one of the only acts to overall please the Facebook crowd (aka the toughest critics but most likely the closest way to see what the general audience at home thinks). I do wonder if having a history in professional entertainment will hurt him in votes, since I think that might have been Bello’s downfall last week, but I’m leaning towards it not being that big of a dealbreaker for voters in comparison to certain aspects of some of the other acts in this episode.

3. Evie Clair: If Evie is not one of the five acts automatically advancing tonight I’m sure she’ll be in the Dunkin’ Save group. Regardless of the method of her safety, I doubt she’s going anywhere this week, moreso because of her story than her performance. Yes, the situation with her father is heartbreaking and I wish him and the family all the best, but her singing was clearly off in some places (though I did like the candle setup and her shaking things up a bit by bringing the piano in). A lot of people seem to recognize this, but I think all the malfunctions in the surrounding acts may have made her look better to the audience by comparison. As for myself, I really wouldn’t mind losing her at this stage, but I doubt that’s happening.

4. Light Balance: I was so sad that these guys didn’t get to perform for the crowd last night, but was so happy we still got to see their act! They definitely won the night for me, especially with that amazing transition to the Wolfman! I think LB got an overall positive reaction based on the act itself, but I’ve seen quite a few people upset over the performance technically not being “live”. I would brush that off, but last week seemed to prove that some viewers have strange motivations for voting (or more accurately, NOT voting) for an act. Since they weren’t forgettable or a trainwreck I’d say they’re probably going to get through, just not not sure whether it’ll be automatically or from the middle zone.

5. Merrick Hanna: Again, not sure whether Merrick is actually going to end up in top five, but I’m confident he’ll at least have a chance at going through tonight. Some have commented that his robot dancing is getting repetitive, and that the production of the act overshadowed his performance this round (I wish they’d put a light on him….LOL). But I think being a child act may be an asset here; many viewers seem to find him cute and charming, and I think he’s gained quite a few fans during his time on the show. But if he does end up in Dunkin’ Save I think he has a pretty good shot at getting it, since he’s one of the internet’s favorite acts of the week.

6. Celine Tam: Buzz about Celine was pretty mum last night, especially considering she’s a Golden Buzzer act and a child singer. I think her running order spot, Mel B’s comment about the song choice, and the continuous comparisons between she and Angelica might put her in a bad spot this week. She seems to have a lot of fans, but it looks like most of the following she’s gained has come from places other than America, which is cool….except AGT voting is banned outside of America. (There are ways of doing it, but I doubt they’re widely known.) I’m going to say she ends up in Dunkin’ Save territory tonight and I’m not sure what happens from there.

7. Pompeyo Family Dogs: After a string of controversial performances, seeing these adorable poodles (I think?) come out and strut their stuff was probably a nice palate cleanser for the audience, and I think that helped them escape some of the criticism they would have faced otherwise (remember: after their Judge Cuts episode people were not happy about them making it to the live shows). I also think their running order spot of second last might help them the way it did Billy & Emily last week.  However, I kind of doubt they’ll move on even if they make the Dunkin’ Save, since it seems like the audience feels more connected to several other acts that performed last night.

8. Eric Jones: I have no idea how the average at-home viewer reacted to Eric’s performance last night. The trick was cool but something we’ve seen a lot of, and instead of being a “showman” he was very casual about it all. I personally found this somewhat refreshing, but I fear it may have made him forgettable to viewers. The internet seems determined to “expose” acts (aka show how they’re done) and a lot of people immediately jumped on Eric for his somewhat sloppy delivery of his trick this week, but it’s hard to tell whether or not the casual viewer would have noticed the little giveaways. The main thing Eric has going for him is that he’s not only the only traditional magician of the week, but of all the live shows (yes, I’m pretty sure we’re getting Tom back as a Wildcard next week, but the general audience doesn’t know that) so he might squeeze through tonight by being an outlier in a sea of musical acts.

9. The Masqueraders: And speaking of acts that people are determined to “expose”……the main storyline of this trio is that they’re finally hitting the big time and living out their dreams after half a century of getting rejected by record companies. However, as some have found, they seem to have recorded and released at least a few songs to moderate success about 50 years ago. I know the show is allowed to tamper with the backstories as much as they want, but if this is true, things just got reaaaaaally awkward. However, I think the vast majority of the AGT audience is unaware of this and are basing their votes solely on what the show airs of the acts. I was actually very impressed with these guys last night. It was clear they were very grateful to be performing together and just overall having a blast. I think they have an okay shot at getting into Dunkin’ Save territory-and maybe even cracking top five-but I have a feeling they’re probably done tonight.

10. Brobots & Mandroidz: I actually enjoyed these guys quite a bit, but the majority of people seemed to either forget they even performed  or view them as the Wal-Mart version of Just Jerk. Like Celine, I think their chances got diminished by performing after an act they’ve been closely compared to (especially since both B&M and Celine have generally been regarded as the “lesser” act when matched up against their respective counterparts). Performing alongside Golden Buzzer Light Balance and viral hit Merrick Hanna probably didn’t help either, and same with their running order. Unfortunately, I just don’t see these guys moving on tonight.

11. Mirror Image: Much like the Masqueraders, Colton and Trent seemed to be having the time of their lives up their on the Dolby stage. For me, this performance wasn’t as “so bad it’s good” as their Judge Cuts one, but I still , and I couldn’t help but be happy for them (and I thought it was sweet of Heidi to hold Simon’s hand away from the buzzer…..only for him to buzz after the performance was finished). I know Reddit and 4chan have a campaign going to get the to the Finale as revenge for Simon putting down other variety acts, but their collective power likely doesn’t hold a candle to that of the average viewing audience, and the vast majority of that crowd seems to despise this act.

12. Demian Aditya: As repetitive as Demian’s act has become, I felt so bad that he was unable to finish his performance last night. His act more than any of the others was overshadowed by all the drama with the judges, and like Light Balance, many viewers are actually blaming him for the technical difficulties. I guess he might pick up a couple sympathy votes, but if he did, I haven’t seen very many. However, I do think after all the craziness with his segment last night he might end up being the Semi-Finals Wildcard.

August 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!