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America’s Got Talent Season 12 Quarter-Finals Show 1: Act Lineup

We’re just days away from the start of the Season 12 live shows, and I have to admit I’m pretty relieved we’re past the messy and questionable Judge Cuts portion of the season. After last night’s “Road to the Finals” episode, the AGT twitter page released a preview of next week’s performers.

There’s been a bit of confusion as to who is actually on next week’s roster. Eleven acts have been confirmed by pretty much every source, and they are:

Angelica Hale (child singer who received Chris Hardwick’s Golden Buzzer)
Artyon & Paige (child dance duo who Simon red-buzzed during the audition round)
Billy & Emily England (roller-skating siblings who previously competed on Britain’s Got Talent)
Christian Guardino (teen singer who received Howie’s Golden Buzzer)
Darci Lynne Farmer (child ventriloquist who received Mel’s Golden Buzzer)
In the Stairwell (military a capella group)
Just Jerk (South Korean hip-hop dance crew)
Preacher Lawson (the only stand-up comedian to make it past Judge Cuts this season)
Puddles Pity Party (singing sad clown)
The Singing Trump (singing/dancing Donald Trump impersonator)
Yoli Mayor (singer)

There has also been some speculation that Kechi is also part of this episode’s lineup, as she appeared for a split second in one of the previews, but I think that was simply an editing error since there seems to be no evidence pointing to her being on. Seeing as we have singing acts taking up 18 of 36 spots in the live shows (which makes exactly half of the remaining acts singers unless we have a Wildcard singer, which I’m highly doubting) and there are already seven (over 1/3) of them confirmed for Tuesday’s show, I’m assuming they’re going to spread them out somewhat evenly over the three Quarter-Finals episodes which would mean no Kechi next week.

Speaking of spreading things out evenly, note that we have three out of nine Golden Buzzers up this week, and I assume that’s how it will be in each group this round. We also have three Wildcards that as of this posting have yet to be announced, and I’m guessing they might be spread out evenly as well, which would make one per Quarter-Finals episode. Last year they actually had an episode with one, another with two, and then one with zero, so I guess they’re not guaranteed to have them spread out evenly, but the empty spot for Tuesday’s show probably means we’re getting one this week. And the Wildcard hype this season is so strong I have a feeling they might give us one each week to keep the speculation and buzz going. Now, none of the remaining magic acts are performing next week, so I’m expecting a magician Wildcard to take up that last spot (I have to assume there will be at least one magic act as a Wildcard). Not sure who it will be, especially since after the results this week there are even more acts to add to the “potential Wildcard” list, but I still think Tom London has a good chance, as well as Henry Richardson, Jeki Yoo, and maybe even Will Tsai.

The Quarter-Finals are generally when we say goodbye to most of the “fodder” acts, so it’s usually pretty straightforward and easy to tell who will advance and who will be eliminated. Darci and Angelica are locks to sail through this round (they’re actually the current top two favorites to win the whole thing over on Goldderby) and Singing Trump and Artyon & Paige are very likely to be sent packing, with In the Stairwell most likely joining them. Preacher, Just Jerk, and Puddles will probably end up advancing, whether it be from Tuesday night votes, the Dunkin’ Save, or the Judges’ Choice.

Which means the last acts moving forward are probably going to be two of Christian, Yoli, Billy & Emily, and whatever magician ends up on this episode. On paper Christian may seem like a lock, with his inspiring backstory and Golden Buzzer under his belt, but a lot of people have already seemed to forget about him. It’s tough to call where he’ll end up on Wednesday but think he’ll probably be a Dunkin’ Save candidate unless they put him on at the end up the show and/or really play up the “almost going blind” thing in his package. I doubt either Billy & Emily or Yoli will be in the top five and if they’re in the Dunkin’ Save zone I think they might be on thin ice. I have a feeling unless the Wildcard magician bombs they’ll end up in DS territory at worst, since there is quite the crowd for magicians on this show and everyone loves a good redemption arc.

So I guess my preliminary predictions for next week’s “winners” are:

Angelica Hale
Christian Guardino
Darci Lynne Farmer
Just Jerk
Preacher Lawson
Puddles Pity Party
*Wildcard*

Let me know you’re thoughts and I’ll be back soon when I will FINALLY give my rundown on the current pre-live show format!

August 10, 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 Judges Cuts 3 and 4: Power Rankings

It’s funny: while these last two groups for Judge Cuts were noticeably stronger than the first and second, I found myself disagreeing with quite a few of the choices and I actually think most of the acts that made it through aren’t as likely to make it to the end (potential Wildcards notwithstanding). I really wish we could trade some of these acts for the rejected ones but today I’m going to get right to it and save the ranting about the results and overall format of the auditions and Judge Cuts rounds for a few days from now. Remember, this list starts with who I THINK will get the farthest in the competition and goes down from there; I’ll share my opinions on each act of course but the order they’re in is reflective of how I’m predicting the general audience will react to them, not necessarily how much I’ve personally enjoyed them.

1. Diavolo: I didn’t understand Laverne’s comment about not seeing how they’d fit into the Vegas scene, because truth be told out of every act this season I think this is probably the one that is best suited to carry a full Vegas show. There are several strong dance groups this season, but Diavolo is the one I’m thinking will provide the most variety and is the most likely to keep the audience on their toes. I fear a lot of the other dance groups (and non-dance acts, come to think of it) are going to grow stale pretty quickly if they can’t step it up, but I don’t have that worry with Diavolo, which is why I think they have a good shot at the Finals.

2. Merrick Hanna: Okay…so…awkward moment there with that Golden Buzzer prediction, huh? (Seriously though, why did Seal press it in such an odd fashion for a fairly basic pop singer?) Anyway, despite not getting the coveted GB, I think Merrick is probably going to do well in the competition. He’s built up quite the following in his short time on AGT so far, and he seems to be someone a lot of people in the anti-singer brigade have really latched onto. I definitely think he’ll get past the Quarter-Finals but my concern is that his act might start to feel tired after that. His dancing mainly seems to be robotic-style, and there are only so many ways that can be kept fresh after several performances. I think the trick here is going to be heartstring-pulling (in his dancing, not his pre-performance packages). If he can keep telling stories like he did back in his audition, he might have a decent shot at the Finals.

3. Preacher Lawson: Being the only comedian left this season, Preacher essentially has an entire sub-market of the AGT audience all to himself right now. He’s also another performer the fans itching to support something other than vocal talents seem to have really taken to, not to mention the general viewing audience. There was a little backlash towards his Judge Cuts routine for ablest material, but even some of those detractors seemed more mixed than totally negative (they seemed to like that the person with a disability in question got a happy ending). Of course, most comedy is going to be somewhat controversial (and really, the backlash for Preacher was NOTHING compared to that of the political jokes from Lori Mae last season) but if Preacher can continue t deliver routines that will entertain more people than not, I could see him making it far.

4. Kechi Okwuchi: I’m kind of torn as to whether or not Kechi will make it all the way to the end. She has a pleasant voice, but what most people remember about her is her backstory. Now it is a powerful one, but we have so many this season that they may not be enough to take a person far. Also, someone on Reddit today pointed out that while AGT has more than its fair share of tragic backstories, it’s generally the people with the most memorable personalities that go far. Now, I’m absolutely positive that we’re going to have at least a couple people with sad backstories make it to the Finale, but the people that do are probably going to have more than that to fall back on. As I said, Kechi’s voice is great, but there are stronger in the competition, and she hasn’t really gotten to show a lot of personality so far. If she can show her fun side, I think she has a shot at making it to the end.

5. DaNell Daymon & Greater Works: I was originally going to put this group a little lower on the list, but then I remembered what happened when another singing group that I barely paid attention to that had an emotional backstory competed last season: they made the Finals. Greater Works seemed to strike a chord with a lot of people, so I’m not making the mistake of sleeping on them like I did Linkin’ Bridge.

6. Celine Tam: Celine is an interesting case because she’s someone I could see going very, very far…in another season. I think this live show group not only has the most singing acts we’ve ever had, but the most child singing acts we’ve ever had, and I’m already seeing people closely comparing some of them. Celine’s “counterpart” in this regard seems to be fellow 9-year-old Judge Cuts Golden Buzzer recipient singer (of presumably Asian heritage, no less) Angelica Hale. And I think those comparisons are exactly what is going to be her downfall in the competition, because most of the comparisons I’ve seen between the two have been in Angelica’s favor; people seem to prefer her =”powerhouse”-style voice over Celine’s more childlike one (which actually bothers me because those people probably don’t realize that the way Angelica sings is probably damaging to her still-developing vocal chords as such a young singer, but unfortunately that’s an issue that’s also been in previous seasons that I doubt is going to go away any time soon). It also won’t help that Angelica’s Quarter-Final is before Celine’s, so I’m sure when she inevitably passes through her first live show with flying colors that Celine will have some hard expectations to match when her turn comes. I still think she’ll probably make it to the Semi-Finals, but I’m doubting her chances at getting the last week at this point.

7. Johnny Manuel: As I mentioned in my last point, the amount of singers this season is probably going to become a roadblock for a lot of the acts that fall under that category. I presume it’s going to be like last season when most of them made it through the first round of live shows pretty easily but then saw a mass exodus in the Semi-Finals, with many early favorites not even making it to Dunkin’ Save territory. I was talking to some other AGT fans on twitter last night about the Golden Buzzer singers alone, and many of those people couldn’t even remember them all. While Johnny obviously wasn’t one of them since we’d just seen him receive his from Seal, I barely remembered him from the auditions until they reminded us of his backstory (and even then I didn’t remember what song he performed the first time). It seems like his story of his failed music career is pretty controversial within the AGT fandom, with some finding his presence in the competition unfair because of it, but if he’s going to compete I’m glad it’s out in the open and not hidden from the audience (Brian Justin Crum, anyone?). At this point, I feel like he might become somewhat forgettable like some of the other singers have seemed to, but I think he’ll probably make it to the Semi-Finals and miiiiiight have a shot at squeezing into the Finale.

8. Billy & Emily England: These two seem to be pretty polarizing in several ways. Some dislike the fact they’ve already competed on a Got Talent show, but again, I appreciate that the show is being open about that instead of sweeping it under the rug (Laura Bretan, anyone?). However, most of the people who don’t like them seem to find their performances and general demeanor overly sexual (I don’t find them or the act I’m about to mention to be that way, but I find it weird that these two are getting tons of accusations of incest and Junior and Emily aren’t). If I had to guess, I’d say they’re probably gone next week but if they can squeeze into the Dunkin’ Save zone I think they miiiiiiiight have a shot at the Judges’ Save depending on who’s there with them.

9. In the Stairwell: I was pleasantly surprised to see these guys make the live shows, but I think they’re most likely goners next week unless maybe they really play up the military angle. (American audiences do love their veterans!) Either way, they’ve already made it farther than I thought they would, so I’m going to enjoy them for however long they last!

10. Mike Yung: Mike is one of the singers I think a lot of people have kind of forgotten about. I actually enjoy his voice more than most others this season, but there seems to be a trend of older singers being eliminated early in the live shows, and I have a feeling this might be the case with Mike. I guess he could POSSIBLY make the Semi-Finals, but I HIGHLY doubt he’s going all the way to the Finale.

11. Pompeyo Family Dogs: I love these dogs and this family so much, but it’s clear a lot of others feel differently. Many people were disappointed by some of last night’s results, and this act took a lot of the heat from that. I would love to see them at least make it to the Semi-Finals, but that seems kind of unlikely right now.

12. Brobots & Mandriods: I really like these guys, and if they were on a season with less dance acts I think they could make it somewhat far. However, they’re going to up against giants like Diavolo and Light Balance and I don’t think they’re going to be able to grab viewers in the same way those acts might. From the looks of it, it seems likely that they’ll be in the same Quarter-Final as one of those two groups and I fear that might spell the end for our Brobots and Mandroidz.

13. Oscar Hernandez: Okay, I LOVE this guy, and he was one of the acts I thought really stepped up his game in the Judge Cuts. However, he’s another performer that took a lot of heat for the decisions made in his JC episode, and it doesn’t look like a lot of people have him as their favorite right now. I’d love if he could somehow make it to the Semi-Finals, but yeah, I’m doubting that’s actually going to happen.

14. Artyon & Paige: I think these two are great and would love to see them stick together as a duo for a long, long time. However, I was quite confused when they announced they’d advanced over some of the other acts last night, and it seems a heck of a lot of others agreed with me. Judging by who else is in their live show next week (which I’ll be talking more about in the next few days) I’d be shocked if they even made it to Dunkin’ Save territory.

What do you think of this group of live show acts and their chances to do well?

August 9, 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 Judge Cuts Rounds 1 and 2: Power Rankings

We’re onto the Judge Cuts episodes of Season 12, which means a bit of a format change on this blog! For this round (and probably the rest of the season) I’ll be listing which acts I think are most to least likely to continue on past the next round in the weekly “Power Rankings”. Since this is Judge Cuts and there aren’t any Results Shows yet, I’m only going to include the acts that were sent through to the live shows, though in the near future I’ll be doing a post noting any acts I think could potentially end up being one of the Wildcards.

Another change I’m going to try to implement on this blog is to make a strong effort to focus on the talent and performances of the contestants instead of their backstories, since a lot of other articles I’ve seen lately have been doing the opposite. So right now, my plan is to only discuss backstories if they are relevant to the actual acts the competitors are performing.

And, of course, like last year, please keep in mind that the order the acts appear on this list reflects what I think the majority of the audience will think, not necessarily my own personal opinions.

With all that said…

1. Angelica Hale: Charming child? Check. Tragic backstory? Check. Powerful voice? Check. If you have any of these things going for you, you are likely going to get a lot of the focus this season, and since Angelica has all three down pat, I think it’s safe to say she’ll be sticking around for awhile. The fact that she got a Golden Buzzer also helps her case, as I’m sure we’ll be reminded of that moment whenever she performs in the live shows. Right now I’m predicting her to make it to the Finale, and she’s probably one of the top 5 most likely to take it home at this point.

2. Puddles Pity Party: Okay, so he’s not a cute kid, and his “tragic backstory” was more for comedic effect than to rise any real sympathy from people, but he has a great voice, and also already has a supportive following on YouTube. But I think the main thing Puddles has going for himself right now is that he seems to be the only real “oddball” we’ve seen so far this season. I’ve noticed a lot of the people that tend to go for the off-the-wall acts rallying their support behind him (and this crowd mostly consists of people who are generally opposed to singers competing on AGT) and he even seems to appeal to people who enjoy the more “standard” acts as well. I don’t think he’ll win, but I think he has a good shot at making it to the Finale. Puddles may be another drop in the sea of singers, but in a season that looks to be dominated by underage contestants with tragic backstories, I’ll take any variety I can get.

3. Colin Cloud: In my personal opinion (and I’ve seen many others echo this sentiment) the first two Judge Cuts episodes were relatively boring for AGT. However, this guy (along with Puddles and the very brief montage with clips of the other magicians) was the saving grace of the second night. I’ve seen people comment they know how some of the mentalist tricks are done, but as we saw last week, with magic, presentation is half the battle, and I think Colin has mastered that aspect more than any of the other magicians this season. For that reason, I see him going pretty far. I’m guessing he at least makes it past the first round of live shows, and he might even have a shot at the Finale if he can keep changing things up enough to keep the audience interested.

4. Yoli Mayor: Here’s where I start to get a little fuzzy in my predictions, because starting with Yoli most of the acts for the rest of this list kind of fall into the “meh” category for me, but I’m not entirely sure how others are going to feel about them. Yoli has an amazing voice going for her-though I think she was over-singing quite a bit in her latest performance-as well as a backstory a lot of people can relate to. I’m just not sure if either of those things will be enough to sustain her longevity in the competition all the way to the Finals, because her beautiful voice is one in a sea of many this season, and her story, while relateable, might get lost among some of the more gut-wrenching ones (ie. the ones involving some kind of illness). I think she’ll probably make it past the Quarterfinals but I’m feeling like she might be a Semifinals elimination unless she manages to really stand out from the crowd.

5. Evie Clair: Evie is similar to several other acts this season, Yoli included, but as a singer alone, she’s one of the less memorable ones in my opinion. On voice alone I don’t think she holds a candle to the likes of people like Angelica, Yoli, and Christian. Also, unlike two out of three of that group, she didn’t get a Golden Buzzer, which gives all the singers who did a leg up on her. What will probably make her stand out in others’ minds is her father’s illness, which is currently looking to be terminal. I hate to say it, but I think her standing in the competition might hinge on how her dad fares, and just how much focus in Evie’s segments is on her family’s journey in facing it.

6. Demian Aditya: So far, this has been the only “danger act” to advance to the live shows, and I think Demian might benefit in votes from the lack of competition. However, if he wants to make it to the end, he needs to start changing up his act, because I’ve seen a lot of comments on how similar his “role switcheroo” act in the Judge Cuts was to the trick he did back in his audition. Basically, I think his chances of sticking around will hinge on how many other danger acts end up in the live shows (which, judging by the mass exodus of most of the ones we’ve seen so far, isn’t looking to be a lot right now).

7. Just Jerk Dance Crew: This was my favorite act of the first Judge Cuts show and, like Demian, I think being one of the few acts of their kind this season is probably going to be a bit of an asset. The thing is, a lot of the dance crews tend to get cut early during the live shows, and we already have another one that got much more buzz and fanfare being Tyra’s Golden Buzzer, plus I’m pretty sure Diavolo is going to make it through next week and they’re a very innovative act. I don’t see JJ beating either of those two groups unless they pull out something AMAZING in the near future (or they play up their story a lot more, since right now they seem to be much more matter-of-fact when discussing their situation than most of the other contestants). Right now, they’re a solid act, but you need to be more than “solid” to win the AGT million.

8. Eric Jones: I found Eric’s performance last week good, but kind of forgettable. However, he’s one of only a few magicians in the live shows so far, and has a sad backstory that does somewhat tie into his craft so I think he could last another round. Not much else to say right now.

9. Chase Goehring: Okay, I’ll be honest, I found Chase completely forgettable both times we saw him (did they even air his full audition?) and the only reason he’s not lower on this list is because he got a Golden Buzzer. He wasn’t really bad or anything, but what worries me is that despite getting the GB, I barely heard any talk of him from fans once the show was over. All that fanfare leading to such a relatively small response is not a good sign, and at this point I’m questioning if he’ll even get through the first round of live shows.

10. Sara and Hero: I was thinking these two were going to get eliminated in JC after their first audition, since the judges clearly had mixed opinions on it, but I’m glad they turned it around and managed to make the cut because I don’t have much hope in most of the other animal acts this season except the family with the poodles. Speaking of the poodles, I think they could be Sara and Hero’s downfall going forward because while Sara changed up the act enough to keep it fresh for this round, there doesn’t seem to be anywhere to go from here, and I fear we may have already seen the best tricks Hero can do. With the poodles I just feel like there’s so much more they’re going to be able to do to impress voters, especially with their flashier set-up and all. Even if the poodles don’t make the live shows, I doubt Sara and Hero are getting anywhere near the Finale, but I think they maaaaaaay have a shot at the Semi-Finals depending on who else is in their first live show.

11. The Masqueraders: I was happy to see these guys get through, and was pleasantly surprised to see that quite a few others were rooting pretty hard for them! They definitely fill the country niche this season, but I worry they might get lost among acts with more fanfare surrounding them, especially since their style of singing is more “chilled out” while others have really been focusing on belting as many notes as possible. I think their story of getting another chance to live their dream could help them a bit, but again, there are quite a few more memorable backstories this season so the impact of their’s might not take them as far.

12. Singing Trump: I actually thought he stepped up his game quite a bit in the Judge Cuts, and I think I would have also sent him through. However, there is a big problem with getting political on this show. As we saw last season with teenage comedian Lori Mae, taking a clear political stance alienates half your audience right off the bat, but I think Singing Trump’s approach of not taking a stance may be even more harmful in the voting department; Trump supporters will see his act as a disrespectful way of making fun of him, while Trump opposers are just sick of seeing him everywhere, an probably watch AGT as an escape from his media dominance. I’m just not sure where his voters are going to come from, and for that reason I think he might be out pretty quickly. Right now, I think he at best has a chance of being one of the acts vying for a “save” in his Quarter-Finals results show and we’ll see how it goes from there.

13: Mirror Image: And now we’re getting into the acts I’m actually shocked made the cut…unlike most people, I actually enjoy the antics of these two (though I wish both them AND the Quiddlers had advanced) but even I’m well aware that if they were put into a stronger group for Judge Cuts they wouldn’t have made it through (but the general unevenness of the Judge Cuts round is a post for another day). I’m pretty sure they’re going to get buzzed by Simon again in the live shows, and I don’t think that will bode well for their votes. I did see a small amount of passionate support for them, so I guess depending on who else ends up in their Quarter-Finals show they might have a shot at being one of the acts up for Dunkin’ Save, but even if they are I honestly don’t see them advancing past the first round of live shows.

14: Junior and Emily: This is the one act so far I don’t think even has a decent shot at making it to the Dunkin’ Save zone. They’re great at what they do…they just don’t do much. I can appreciate the difficulty of their craft, but after the initial amazement there’s not much else to their performances. They have an inspirational backstory, but again, it’s one of the more forgettable ones, so I don’t think it’s going to do much for them. Unless these two really step up their game and add some variety to their performance, I don’t see them moving forward.

That’s it for now, but I’ll be back soon with some more thoughts on how the show is being produced this season and how I think it could be improved. Plus I’ll be doing some more Power Rankings next week (which looks infinitely better than either of the first two Judge Cuts episodes) and when Judge Cuts are over I might do a special edition for all of the Golden Buzzers!

July 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!

Pure America’s Got Talent Season 12 Auditions Week 5: Live Blog!

Time for another episode of AGT auditions! It looks like we’re starting off the night with some magic! And also a sad backstory, apparently. Henry Rich, our teen magician, used to watch the show with his father before he died and got into magic that way. His stage presence and execution of the trick were amazing, and I have a feeling we’ll be seeing him in the live shows!

Ooo, a husband a wife, but they’re competing against each other instead of with each other. Both are balancing acts, but Maxim’s focuses on the height while Maria’s in more about contortion. Both made it through, but how much do you want to bet they bring them out onstage together after their Judge Cuts auditions and send one through and the other home?

I love the 3 Masqueraders! They sounded pretty good together and I’m happy their dream lives on.

This dancing officer was funny but I agree with the judges’ decision to not send him forward. He can certainly move, but the performance wasn’t coherent enough to be taken seriously as an AGT act.

Hmmmm, weird package with more red buzzer acts and Simon vs. Mel B “drama”.

YAY A DOG ACT!

Sarah and Hero are so cute, even when they were “fighting”! I can’t believe they were about to get rejected, and I’m glad Simon convinced Howie to save them, but more on that at the end of this post.
EDIT: I’m actually gonna save my thoughts for another article I’ll be doing next week in place of the usual live blog since there won’t be a new episode next Tuesday.

Okay, so this next guy is a rapper, which is cool, but it sounds like he’s had quite the career in this business before. Now he did eventually get to a standstill point in his career, but his participation as a contestant on a show like this seems kind of unfair. I’ll have to look more into it.

Oh, he’s singing? I thought he said he had a rap career? Either way, he has a great voice, but again, as I say every week, I think singers like him would benefit more from competing on a singing-only competition show, where they have people who have more expertise helping them with their craft.

Now we’re getting into the more offbeat acts (well, actually most of this night has been pretty strange;in a good way!). I loved the comedy projector act, even though it was cheesy and hokey.

“The worst act we’ve had on this year?” Really, Simon? (Was this before or after the flashing old ladies we saw a couple weeks ago?)

Wow, this boy band (not sure what else to call it) is really good! I see potential to go far in this competition for sure!

The projection act was incredible; not much to say there except for that I’m SO HYPED to see what’s next from them!

This magician is certainly dedicated to the integrity of his craft! (And is it just me, or have we had more acts involving nudity than usual this season?)

Looks like we’re ending things off on a singer…again. And he’s….an opera singer! And a pretty darn good one at that! I didn’t see a Golden Buzzer in any previews for this week, so I figured he probably wouldn’t get it, but I’m glad he went through.

Speaking of the Golden Buzzer, there won’t be a new episode next week because of the 4th of July, so the sixth and final audition compilation episode will air on July 11th and presumably feature Heidi’s Golden Buzzer. As edited above, I’m planning to have a separate article up next week to share my thoughts on a trend I’ve been seeing this season, but until then, share your thoughts on tonight’s episode down below!

June 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!

Pure America’s Got Talent Season 12 Auditions Week 4: Live Blog

Back for another week of live-blogging! This one should be interesting because (spoilers) earlier today on twitter Tyra revealed this episode contains her Golden Buzzer moment and hinted that it might not be a singer. Very intrigued!

I liked the Gospel group, but they didn’t seem all that special to me. A little too riff-y for my tastes. 😛 Though I can see them putting on a good show if they get to the live rounds.

Surprised JJ the one-man emo rock-n-roll lip syncing band got through. I liked watching him but I highly doubt he’s gonna pass Judge Cuts.

Wow! Totally blown away but Light Balance. Much like singers, I usually prefer dance acts stick to shows of their own niche, but ones like this don’t really fit there, so I’m very happy to see them here! The choreography was so much fun and the light tricks made the performance AMAZING!

Hold up, a Golden Buzzer at 8:30? That’s the earliest I’ve ever seen it happen. Such a deserving group to get it though! And a big THANK YOU to Tyra for showing us that not just singers deserve special recognition for their work on this show!

Just found out Light Balance were Semi-Finalists over on Britain’s Got Talent…guess they’re one of those acts who’ve basically made a career of appearing on this franchise?

Aaaaaand here come some more singers. With original songs, it looks like.

The first guy was pretty good, but I felt bad for the second one. He’s very lucky to have such a supportive wife, though!

Really enjoyed the South Koren hip-hop crew, but I feel like it was something that would have fit on a dance-only show so I’m not quite as excited about them like I am for Light Balance.

Nice performance from mini-Celine Dion. Is it just me, or do we have a lot of kid singers this year? I know I said the same thing last year, but those were mostly teenagers. This crop seems a bit younger overall.

Over an hour into the episode and we FINALLY have an act that’s doesn’t involve singing or dancing!

Okay….well….I actually liked the concept of the pan act, but it seemed a little under-rehearsed, though that may have been part of the joke. I don’t think it needed to get through, but I thought it was nice for Mel B to give them another chance, like she pushed for her Dancing Pumpkin Man last week. 😛

The balancing group was good, even though we only got to see a few quick of them (gotta save time for those singer backstories). Hope to see a full act of theirs next round, but the fact that they got so little airtime tonight makes me worry for them. :/

Wow I can’t believe Robert DeNiro got rejected from America’s Got Talent.

Tom the “mathemagician” (my term, not his :P) had great stage presence and I loved his message. I’m very excited to see more from him!

The clowns have been sent in, meaning it’s time for a Simone torture montage!

I liked the pole-climbing clown, and kudos to him for changing Simon’s initial “no” into a “yes”! The Australian singer/pianist was great as well, though I’d prefer to see him on The Voice. I thought the last girl was just a decent singer, and it was clear that her story was the reason why she was put at the end of the episode. I think she could be really good in a few years, but right now I don’t think she’s as strong as some of the others we’ve seen.

And that’s another episode in the books! I believe next week is the last episode of auditions (featuring Heidi’s Golden Buzzer) and then a break on the 4th of July, followed by the Judge Cuts episodes! Speak your mind in the comments, and I’ll see you back here soon!

June 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!

Pure America’s Got Talent Season 12 Auditions Episode 3: Live Blog and Sofie Dossi Appears on Ellen

Hey everyone! Welcome to another live blog of America’s Got Talent!

I’m starting this post early because I wanted to share a video! I know a lot of you might have seen it by now, but AGT Season 11 Top 10 Finalist Sofie Dossi appeared on Ellen last week and showed off some of her contortionist skills! You can watch the clip below, and keep checking back for updates throughout tonight’s episode!

Wow I love Oscar! Great dancer and performer! Love how he really got into the performance. I don’t see him making it past Judge Cuts, unfortunately, but I kinda hope he does because imagine that performance with him in costume and an awesome set!

So according to the preview we’re getting MEMES as acts now???

These two are so funny! And I love the pole and hoop balancing act! Can’t believe she was afraid of heights! Glad they got through!

The random people finding the green room though. XD

A limbo dancer! That’s pretty unique for this show. Shemika and her mom are such a cute duo. I believe she was on Ellen’s show sometime in the last year or so; I’ll have to go check once the show is over!

Oh this clip was on YouTube! Kechi is a great singer, but like with most of the singers on this show, I think The Voice would be a better fit for her. I know the judges sometimes get caught up in the stories, but I appreciate Mel B and Simon giving her a legitimate critique (not that she wasn’t good, but I like when the judges give pointers to help the acts become that much better in the future).

Um, so did this woman come on just to flirt with Simon? I front of her husband, no less? I think her dream was to just get a kiss from Simon, so I guess she got her dream. Nice that her husband was such a good sport, and he even got a Heidi kiss!

Now we’re getting an entire MONTAGE of old ladies flirting with Simon??? XD

AWWWW YEAH IT’S MAGIC TIME!

It looks like we’ve got a cloning act with a screen! That’s different! Love the 2D/3D storyline combo here!

Oh, okay it’s twins. Pretty cool that they put this together! I hope they go far!

I love “In the Stairwell”! they remind me of the Warblers from Glee! (They were my equivalent of a boy band back in high school.) Now THIS is the kind of singing I enjoy on AGT; stuff that wouldn’t work on other reality talent shows!

So two nervous guys going one after the other…my guess is one gets through and the other doesn’t.

Aw, I feel bad for him, but I think it was good that Howie encouraged him to continue with comedy if it was his passion.

Oh wow another singing act I can get behind! Love the impressions and the variety of them! Great job!

Looks like we’re filling this week’s animal act quota with some poodles-both in the canine and skirt variety! Love the balancing and jump rope! If any of the animal acts we’ve seen so far make it to the Live Shows, my money’s on the “Pompeyo Family Dogs”! Though apparently there was a similar trick on a Got Talent at some point; I’ll have to go look that up!

Aaaaaand here’s the meme. It’s the “Dancing Pumpkin Man” from the internet (originally from the CW bumpers)! (Though I don’t actually know if this guy is THE “Dancing Pumpkin Man”. :P)

FUCK NO NOT ANOTHER GOLDEN BUZZER SINGER WHYWHYWHYWHYWHY HOWIE BETWEEN THIS AND YOU BUZZING THE A CAPELLA GUYS YOU ARE NO LONGER MY FAVORITE JUDGE CONGRATS MEL B YOU’RE MOVING ON UP IN THE RANKS!

And also THIS IS THE SECOND WEEK IN A ROW THAT IT’S GONE TO A SINGER WITH LOSS OF ONE OF THEIR SENSES. I MEAN REALLY? VARIETY WOULD BE NICE PLEASE!!!! ESPECIALLY ON WHAT YOU PEOPLE CALL A VARIETY SHOW!!!

Okay, to be honest I thought Christian was great, but this is just getting way too repetitive. It’s making the show boring and predictable. So I was happy he got through, but not as a Golden Buzzer.

Anyway, comment below who you liked and disliked tonight, and I’ll be back next week!

STOP????GIVING????ONLY????SINGERS????THE????GOLDEN????BUZZER

June 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!

Pure America’s Got Talent Season 12 Auditions Episode 2: Live Blog

It’s time for another fun night of AGT auditions, and I’m back to liveblog for you all! Reminder that I’ll be updating this post throughout the episode with my running commentary, so keep checking back every now and then!

Looks like we’re starting things out with an animal act! What an adorable dog! And apparently she can count too…or maybe not. Oh dear…

Took a little time to get started, but little Mia seems to have found her groove! I especially loved the flashcard trick! Congrats to them for getting through, but I do wonder where they’ll be able to go from here. So for it just seems like a cool party trick, albeit a pretty impressive one.

“Architectural movement”? Sounds pretty cool! I like their name, “Diablo”. I’m very excited to see this one!
EDIT: The group’s name is actually “Diavolo, not “Diablo”. Oops!

I’m in awe with what they’re able to do on a moving platform like that. Really hoping they make it to the live shows because I can only imagine what they could do with a full set and lighting arrangement!

Oh great, a singer with a guitar. Never seen THAT before. Pretty generic until the breakdown, which was actually pretty impressive. Somehow I have a feeling this guy wasn’t the only singer-songwriter to audition this season, after the Great Grace VanderWaal hype train of last summer.

Montage of dancing couples. They look pretty good, but the very fact that they got relegated to this montage tells me most of them won’t make the live shows.

Okay, so is this doll bit part of the act or does this guy have a REAL dance partner who’s going to come out on stage soon?

Oh it’s supposed to be a joke. Okay. Whatever. I’m kind of split here. I agree with Howie and Mel that it was humorous, but I wouldn’t put it through. It was funny once, but the novelty would have worn off quickly.

WTF SIMON ACTUALLY BUZZED A COUPLE OF DANCING KIDS??? I mean, I don’t want to see a bunch of run-of-the-mill dance acts on this show either, but they did pretty well and seemed to be having the time of their lives! Yay for the other judges sending them through, and also for making sure “Barbie Girl” stays in Simon’s head for the next week! HA!

Ooo, a hot science teacher? I’m here for it! And I LOVE the idea of a science-themed Vegas show! There are a lot of ways this could go; I’m excited to see what he does!

The opposite of helium? Hilarious results! And now an onstage explosion? Well, sort of. A foam-like substance will do just fine! Ah, THERE’S the onstage explosion! Wow, this is another act I really hope to see on a grander scale in the live shows. Just incredible. (And wait, he was on Big Brother? I’ll have to check out some clips of him on there.)

European roller skaters! Apparently they were also on Britain’s Got Talent, hmmmm. I’ll have to look into that. But this is certainly a pretty cool act! Definitely worthy of making it through, but I hope they add some variety to their movement in future performances, rather than just spinning around in one small area.

This Angelica girl needs to go on The Voice in a few years, because if she’s this good at age 9 I can’t imagine how amazing she’ll be by the time she’s old enough to audition over there!

Guessing these two brothers are going to do a “strongman” act or something? Oh, I guess it’s a….hammerhead act? I don’t get it. I think it’s supposed to be balancing?

“That’s what I like about this show: you’re not gonna see this anywhere else!” I agree with Simon’s sentiment, but I’m honestly not sure whether or not I’d send this one through.

Oh, it’s the Sherlock Holmes-esque act! This one was posted on YouTube a few days ago; I think the TV audience is going to like it! (On another note, I have to start posting these “sneak peek” auditions here on the blog!)

One more act to go and it’s a singer with a ukelele. Now, they haven’t previewed a Golden Buzzer for tonight but Simon was giving her a lot of praise…

Okay, most of you will probably disagree with this, but while I was amazed by her story and how she can still speak and sing so well despite losing her hearing (and that was such a great song too!)…I wouldn’t have given her the Golden Buzzer, and I’m really tired of it going to singers more often than not. (I also might have ukulele fatigue after last season. 😛 But hopefully I’ll be able to get over that because I know that attitude isn’t fair to Mandy.) Now I definitely would have sent her through to Judge Cuts (and probably the Live Shows from there) but it’s very annoying how singers on this show are treated like the be-all and end-all, while the more unique acts are often passed over from praise that high.

Anyway, I’m going to try to put up a few posts throughout the week about the acts we’ve seen so far. Let me know how you felt about tonight’s show in the comments, and I’ll see you soon!

June 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 AGT Season 12 Auditions Episode 1: Live Bog

Hey all! I’m back! I took some time off but will be covering the entirety of Season 12, and am looking forward to it! So far the format and judges have remained the same from last year, but now we have America’s Next Top Model‘s own Tyra Banks as our new host! I’m especially interested to see how she does.

I’ve decided to change up the format over here a bit. Looking over my posts from last season, I’m feeling like the audition ones were very awkward and disjointed, so this time I’m going to try liveblogging these episodes instead! So check back throughout the episode for updates!

I enjoyed the chicken act, but I feel like the novelty might wear off soon, and I definitely don’t see it advancing past the next round. I LOVED the comedian, though, and it would certainly be nice to see a contender from that world this year.

Oh great, a singer with an inspiring backstory. She seems like a nice girl, but I’d prefer the bulk of the vocalists stick to The Voice or the soon-to-be-revamped Idol. Okay, she’s pretty good…why are they stopping her? Glad they’re giving her another shot, and Tyra helping her “let her hair down” was cute. Aaaaand nailed it! No surprise. Based on this edit, I see her easily making the live shows.

Ooo, an escape artist! Haven’t seen one of those on the show in awhile! Nice to see Tyra playing along, but the judges don’t seem that into it. Four X’s…and a costume change? Okay, that part was actually pretty neat, and Simon and Mel retract their X’s into yes’s! Unfortunately, Howie and Heidi do not, meaning he’s out. Nice to see Tyra doing a good job with the “comforting” part of this show so far, both with this act and he montage of other rejects that is now following it.

A brother-sister Salsa duo! Much like with the singers, I’d prefer the dancers stick to the designated dance shows for the most part, especially now that we have two mainstream dance competition shows in So You Think You Can Dance and World of Dance (I also love Dancing With the Stars, but that’s an entirely different can of worms.)

These two are good, but again, I think this act would have been better suited for World of Dance. Then again, the routine we saw mostly consisted of spinning, so that might not have gone over as well over there. But of course they go through on here.

I wonder what this next guy is going to do? Oh, he’s our first magician of the season! Nice intro, with a very impressive trick to boot! (I’m with Mel B on my brain having to “catch up” in order to understand what was going on!) Unanimously through, and I bet he makes it to the live shows too!

Oh dear. A Trump impersonator? He’s pretty good, but I think I’m hoping he gets rejected. I don’t want to see politics mixed into this show, and when they did get brought up last season the response was naturally pretty divisive.

HE’S SINGING BRUNO MARS???? Okay, I might actually be on board with this now. He’s through, but I don’t see him making it to the live shows.

Next up is…a dance about a suicidal robot? Pretty neat, actually. This kid is actually a very good physical storyteller. I wonder if he sang the song as well? Either way, I’m glad he got through, since this was very creative and an example of a dance performance that probably wouldn’t suit SYTYCD or WOD.

And now we have a sad silent clown named Puddles. This guy is already reminding me of Tape Face from last season. Hmmm….

Oh, turns out he’s a singer! And a pretty good one at that! Glad he went in a different direction than I was expecting. Even Simon-who is known to be afraid of clowns-loves it, and he gets four yes’s!

Another escape act! Hopefully this goes over better than the one we saw earlier tonight. Apparently it has high stakes-like, life-threatening stakes. It’s one of those ones where it looks like he didn’t escape in time, but then turned into one of the people “saving” him from the danger. Great job from him, and of course he advances!

Okay, so it’s 9:52 pm, we’re talking about the “X” buzzers, and we’ve seen in the “coming up” clips that Mel hits her Golden Buzzer tonight. This must be the lucky girl. And she’s a ventriloquist! A SINGING one at that! Much like Merrick (the robot dancing boy) I’m okay with this kind of vocalist act on this show, because it’s one that doesn’t belong on your typical televised signing competition.

And there’s the Golden Buzzer! Well deserved! Great example of the type of act this show was made for. The only downside is it means we won’t be seeing this adorable duo again for awhile, since the Golden Buzzer sends an act straight to the Quarter-Finals in the live show round!

Thanks for dropping in here tonight, and if you’re sticking around for the World of Dance series premiere, head on over to our sister site Pure World of Dance to check out their liveblog!

May 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 AGT Season 11 FINALE – Power Rankings

This is gonna be short because I just got home from vacation (I watched last night’s episode from my hotel room in the middle of a thunderstorm). This week’s list will start with who I think is LEAST likely to win tonight and go from there. I won’t say much else besides the names right now, but I’ll be doing a season wrap-up post once we know the results so I’ll go into more detail on things there!

10th Place – Viktor Kee
9th Place – Sofie Dossi
8th Place – Sal Valentinetti
7th Place- Linkin’ Bridge
6th Place – Laura Bretan
5th Place – Tape Face
4th Place – The Clairvoyants
3rd Place – Jon Dorenbos
2nd Place- Brian Justin Crum

WINNER: Grace VanderWaal

Not sure this is EXACTLY how things will play out but I do think the Top 5/Bottom 5 will look like this in some order or another. My Final 2 could be flipped, but I honestly don’t see anyone other than Grace or Brian winning (though I GUESS there could be a small outside chance of it being Jon or The Clairvoyants).

But yeah, that’s it for now. Looking forward to the finale and rehashing it over here soon afterward!

September 14, 2016 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 11 Semi-Finals Week 2 – Power Rankings

Before last week’s performance show, I made predictions for how the rest of the season would play out based on what we’d seen up to that point. After the episode, I did the usual Power Rankings list based on the response I’d seen to the performances that night. Turned out I should have stuck to my first list, because the five acts that advanced were the exact five I initially said would before seeing the show.

What does this tell us? It gives me the notion that by this point, most people have already chosen their favorite acts and built up a sort of loyalty to them, so even if certain people give sub-par performances, it may not matter because of the amount of voters they already have on their side. I did factor that into last week’s Power Rankings a little, but it will hold a lot more weight in these ones.

Now that I’ve explained that, here is how I think the votes from tonight will stack up, from most to least.

1. Brian Justin Crum – I’m really sick of this guy’s “poor me I just need someone to give me a chance!” shtick, because he has already been successful in the entertainment industry. (And if you don’t believe me, search for his name in relation to Broadway, or look him up on IMDB.) But clearly the producers, judges, and viewers just can’t get enough of him, because he got to close his THIRD episode of the season tonight and got fawned over in his critique (I know pretty much everyone did tonight, but Brian clearly got the most praise). I thought the performance itself was good, but not as good as we’ve seen him in the past, but not many people seem to agree with me and I have no doubt we’ll be seeing him in the Finals next week.

2. The Clairvoyants – These two just keep getting better and better. The tricks themselves are great, but their stage presence and “aura” is what makes their act that much more fantastic. I was blown away by them tonight, and it seems like I’m not alone. I fully expect to see this act in the Finals as well.

3. Steven Brundage – I am so glad the judges brought Steven back because he is another performer that just keeps improving every time we see him. He came across as a seasoned pro tonight, and I’m sure we’l be seeing him for one more go next week. The question is, will it be via post-show votes, the Dunkin’ Save, or the Judges’ Save? I’m leaning towards the former, but I think it is possible he ends up on the bubble tomorrow night.

4. Calysta Bevier – To be honest, Calysta sort of faded away for me tonight. I’m all for scaling things back a bit, but she seemed sort of timid compared to the previous times we’ve seen her, which was pretty much what Mel B said to her tonight. Despite this, I think her story will be enough to get her to at least the Dunkin’ Save zone, and maybe even to the Top 3 of the night.

5. Jayna Brown – This was my personal favorite vocal performance this week, and Jayna seems to have built herself quite the fanbase. I don’t think it will be enough to get her in the safe zone, but I have a feeling we’ll be seeing her in tomorrow’s Dunkin’ Save.

6. Linkin’ Bridge – Between the sappy package and the song choice, this was one of the most tedious acts for me to get through tonight, but somehow I bet a lot of others adored it all. I think we might be seeing this group in the Dunkin’ Save tomorrow too.

7. Sofie Dossi – Sofie was very impressive tonight, and I liked that her performance was less “gimmicky” this time around; it was a refreshing change of pace for her. However, I fear that this choice may hurt her in the votes. She could have a shot at the Dunkin’ Save (and I hope she does) but I think we may have seen the last of Ms. Dossi (well, at least until Cirque du Soleil snaps her up for one of their shows).

8. The Passing Zone – I know this was an unpopular choice for the Wildcard, but I was very happy to see them again and thought they improved tremendously over their performance in the Quarter-Finals. There may have been a lot of set-up and not a lot of execution (though Simon’s reaction to said execution certainly made it all worth it) but they kept it entertaining enough throughout that I didn’t really mind that much. Will this be enough for them to stick around for one last week? Probably not, though I think there may be a sliiiiiiight possibility we see them on the bubble during the results show.

9. Kadie Lynn Roberson – It was wonderful to her Kadie sing by herself again (well, mostly, but this time the back-up singers were much less prominent). She really does have a wonderful voice, but I don’t think the song choice was one that helped her stand out. Kadie’s strength is the power her voice has, and, much like Calysta, she gave a relatively mundane and quiet performance tonight. That has it’s place, but maybe not in a high-stakes competition where everyone is trying to stand out. Again, small chance of being on the bubble, but I do think tomorrow will mark the end of the AGT road for Miss Kadie.

10. Kadan and Brooklyn Rockett – I continue to be impressed by this duo, and even though they nearly had a major blunder with the house at the end, I give them props for powering through the performance. Unfortunately, I think that and their less-than-ideal spot in the running order probably caused them to get a bit lost-in-the-shuffle. But even though I’m predicting an exit from them tomorrow night, I commend them on a great run this season.

11. Viktor Kee – Viktor is so uniquely enjoyable that I just can’t put my finger on it. Great stage presence and performance quality. However, I think his act was another that was most likely forgotten by a lot of people; again because of the running order and (very small) mistake.

I’ll be back next week after we see the FINAL performance show of the season! Until then, let me know who you think/hope will be saved tomorrow night!

September 6, 2016 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!