America's Got Talent 7/12

[bruinfan]

This show is so lame, but I keep watching. The format is screwy. What's with passing all those people through, then not letting some of them perform? And the ones they did choose????? I liked the step group, but they didn't get a chance. And I liked the popping dude, but he didn't get a chance. But we have to watch the piano man singer and the harp????

The dog dude really f'd up. He kept saying you have to take the material in context with the rest of his act... so then he shouldn't have chosen that to show us. It was really bad.

I feel bad for the juggling dude. He was good, but they kept dogging him. They just have it out for jugglers... no respect.

LOVE the harmonica. That is some bad ass harmonica. It sounds fake, it's so good.

[hefe]

I feel bad for the juggling dude. He was good, but they kept dogging him. They just have it out for jugglers... no respect.

I did too. Vladic is amazing. I have seen him before.

Here's my rant on the "talent evaluation." Hasselhoff actually told Vladic that there was other superior talent on display in the competition. I am amazed at how unimpressed they all are about something that is incredibly difficult. He said you can go to Vegas and see jugglers. Well guess what, you can go there and see people doing all these things. They have singers and dancers too. Not only that, Vladic IS one of those jugglers you can see in Vegas.

Piers told the ventriloquist that he thinks he is a one-trick pony.

This gets to the bias at the heart of the evaluation. The judges, and probably the voters, value certain talent more than others. A singer comes out and belts out one song one week, and another song the next, and they don't get told they are doing the same act. They don't get dinged for doing the same "talent."

I defy any of the superior talent to come out and do what a good juggler can do. There's a lot of stuff that people to do that is difficult, it takes time to learn and do it well. But in the end, if it's not a valuable talent...a marketable talent, they're going to be told that the singer (or maybe a dancer) is better. No matter how hard it actually is to do one or the other thing.

*Disclaimer: I have a personal interest because my brother is one of the semi-finalists. He is not a singer, nor a dancer. I really don't expect him to win, or even get to the finals with his act. But I am afraid for the treatment he might get from the judges if they choose him as one of the 10 that gets to perform.

[firerose818]

Hefe, your brother has been one of my favorites, even if he had me gasping the whole time he did his act (which, I suppose, is part of the appeal.)

That said, I am really rooting for Taylor the Yodeling Girl. She is so adorable!

-Rose

[bruinfan]

and, why is David Hasselhoff even a judge? I know it's been brought up before, but still. His biggest talents are talking into his wrist watch and running on the beach.

who's your bro?

[Raj]

The harmonica guy's brother wasn't all that bad, even though he was basically told told to get lost by Piers. I just can't see the act without the two of them. Yes, the harmonica is awesome, but somehow I don't see that riding by itself.

I was almost certain that the yodeling girl would have gotten picked by the judges. They said she sounded better but I thought she sounded worse than the first time she performed on the show. Maybe she'll get picked by the TV audience, but she's not my favorite since I want the cloggers to go ahead.

The cloggers - Hmm. I agree with piers that the busted up jeans doesn't fit the image. They also look like a boy band. But I still like them and I think if they dress neater they will go far. Brandy's comment of "this is America" wtf? Is she saying that Americans wear busted up jeans?

I was expecting more from the guy with the dogs. He truly bombed out.

It's really obvious they don't like jugglers. Maybe the impression they get is that jugglers are essentially street acts, i.e. vagrants and really don't have a place in a high stakes talent contest. But if you ask me I like the jugglers. After all, this isn't American idol and singing isn't the only kind of talent that should go ahead.

The young whitney houston almost cried on stage. Hello.... welcome to the real world. Not everyone is going to praise you at every turn because you're a kid and some critics will be downright harsh and brutal! She was much better the first time around, and totally ruined the song by shouting. In fact there was even some clipping (distortion) in the parts of the song she sung and I don't think it was intentional. However, if she fixes what they told her to fix, she can go far in the competition.

The Cabaret guy was straining his voice and he didn't sound all that good. He was okay, but I was expecting more. He may also need a costume change.

The ventriliquist - I thought he was awesome. I agree with piers though that he needs some variety.

Hoopalicious - nice, but needs variety.

Who did I leave out?

The judges - David Hasselhoff. Sometimes he seems a bit empty in his judging. Obviously biased against nontraditional acts.

Brandy - more emptiness and a tendancy to swing towards more "urban" acts. I was shocked though when she grew a pair and actually gave some of the competitors an X. The previous rounds she was better, pressing other peoples' buzzer and all.

Piers - wants to be like Simon. Harsh critic, and real nitpicker. I like him.

My biggest complaint about the show -

It's prime time in 2006. Why the heck is this show still in standard definition???

[That Don Guy]

Who decided how the 61 acts would be "seeded" into the four semi-finals? I was surprised that the yodeler, the 14-year-old singer, and "harmonica kid" were in the same round, since that guaranteed that at least one of them could not reach the finals (unless NBC has a last-second change of heart and adds a "wild card" week).

I was really surprised that the singer wasn't considered to be in the top three in the judges' discussions. Maybe they figure that while most of the acts don't have a second chance if they lose, at least she can go on American Idol in a couple of years (although I assume Simon Cowell's company will put a recording and/or agency representation contract in front of her (well, her parents), and according to the release all contestants must sign, she has to accept, which would disqualify her from AI).

-- Don

[bruinfan]

I was really surprised that the singer wasn't considered to be in the top three in the judges' discussions. Maybe they figure that while most of the acts don't have a second chance if they lose, at least she can go on American Idol in a couple of years (although I assume Simon Cowell's company will put a recording and/or agency representation contract in front of her (well, her parents), and according to the release all contestants must sign, she has to accept, which would disqualify her from AI).

-- Don
maybe cuz she's not that good???

[firerose818]

Who did I leave out?


Harp Girl.

-Rose

[hefe]

My biggest complaint about the show -

It's prime time in 2006. Why the heck is this show still in standard definition???
Yeah...especially for Bootyli, er...Hoopalicious.

[splendid]

Yeah...especially for Bootyli, er...Hoopalicious.


yes, I have to admit, she was amazing!!! :D

[splendid]

Harp Girl.

-Rose
:down: :down: :down:

we fast-forwarded after seeing her the first time. :down:

[newsposter]

who's his brother????? so we can cheer


and they easily could have gotten all people in if they didnt talk talk talk talk talk so much and do the backstories etc..i felt like i was watching ABC and that invention show...geeez um..so unfair to not show everyone...boooo...and some..that we didnt see before...very glad we didnt...the dog guy was embarrassing....

2pts for reg standing up to the judges though

[firerose818]

I had all sorts of problems with my cable last night, and didn't see the results (that was last night, right?)

Who did America put through?

-Rose

[hefe]

who's his brother????? so we can cheer

I'm reserving the right not to say in case it doesn't go well. Then I can come here and listen to people rip him over it in anonymity. That will be fun. :rolleyes: ;)
OK, I'll give you some hints, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out...
a.) He is in L.A. right now, the show tapes tomorrow and it will be the one that airs this coming Wed.
b.) It's not a conventional act, no singing or dancing. He has a larger act, and this is just something that is part of it. It's not something that is really geared for this kind of contest, but what the heck, when you're a performer, you just want to try.
c.) I do not expect the judges to treat him particularly well, considering what they said to the juggler and the ventriloquist.

I won't even know if he gets to perform for the real show until it airs, as they are not allowed to say anything to anyone.

[hefe]

I had all sorts of problems with my cable last night, and didn't see the results (that was last night, right?)

Who did America put through?

-Rose
The Yodeling girl.


They also filled the time with 4 brief weird acts. One was a contortionist who put his body through tennis rackets and got into a small box. It was funny, I recognized him when I saw him...he's from Chicago, and I've seen him doing the act out on Navy Pier.

[firerose818]

Thanks Hefe!

-Rose

[That Don Guy]

Originally Posted by hefe
They also filled the time with 4 brief weird acts. One was a contortionist who put his body through tennis rackets and got into a small box. It was funny, I recognized him when I saw him...he's from Chicago, and I've seen him doing the act out on Navy Pier.
Why didn't they show parts of the five acts that didn't get to perform on Wednesday instead - especially if some of them weren't shown in full during the first round?

(And why do I have a feeling that there's a stage somewhere in Branson, MO with the yodeling girl's name on it?)

-- Don

[hefe]

Why didn't they show parts of the five acts that didn't get to perform on Wednesday instead - especially if some of them weren't shown in full during the first round?
Can't really answer that, except that they would have been filmed in an empty theater, so that would have been weird.

Maybe just trying to keep the variety instead of showing acts that aren't going to win anyway for a second time.

[TR7spyder]

Hefe, your brother has been one of my favorites, even if he had me gasping the whole time he did his act (which, I suppose, is part of the appeal.)

He is Leonid's brother? :eek:

:D

The guy who was kicking himself in the head was on Jay Leno (or one of those late night shows) not too long ago... Regis looked spupid (or should I say, more stupid than usual?) when he said: "Where else would you see something like this?".

The harmonica guy was very good, but I am not sure what kind of solo act can he have?

Vladic is good, but I wasn’t all that impressed with his last performance, it simply wasn’t all that exciting. So I didn’t think that he should have moved on.

[JLucPicard]

I was wondering.....

With the way the Miller kid plays the harmonica, wouldn't a natural fit for his lead singer be Taylor Hicks??? Let his brother play the drums.

I am grateful to NBC for not showing all the acts (which may have been a lot more like the dog act guy than "All That" or one of the other better ones) for the sole fact that we didn't have to see that old stripper guy anymore!!! Or the "Big Hasselhoff" drooling over him! I did think the "clunker acts" was nice filler - kind of like eating crackers at a wine tasting to clear your palate.

Correct me if I'm wrong. I thought the Wednesday night show was originally scheduled for one hour, then expanded to a 'special starting time' of 8:30 (7:30 Central)? How did it wind up being two hours?

Another correct me if I'm wrong. Whoever the winner of the million dollars is, isn't NBC or the producers of the show or somebody gonna have a piece of them in some manner for some period of time? I'm assuming that's the case, and if it is, I can certainly see why jugglers, ventriloquists, and (alas!) Hoop Girl are maybe not getting as much consideration as some of the more "mainstream" entertainment acts. If someone's looking to make a few bucks off the winner at the end of all this, they would either need to be more mainstream, or King Kong-like or something - something that people have never seen before and is so 'SOMETHING' that it will not be a pop-and-fizzle quickly type of thing.

I watch a lot of these acts that are unique like Snapping Guy (though I don't think he should have been brought back either - kind of set a bad tone for me right out of the gate) or 'Godzilla Theater' Guy and wonder to myself, "that's kinda cool for a three minute set, but no way I could sit through an hour of the same thing".

I think to award someone a million dollars, they have to be pretty darn good! Or in the case of this show, they have to be pretty darn better than a lot of the stiffs that showed up.

I did like Vladic, but I think his act is one that suffers a bit from having to squeeze into a short time frame. His talent is more appreciated, I would think, when you can see a variety of things he could work in a longer program.

[hefe]

Correct me if I'm wrong. I thought the Wednesday night show was originally scheduled for one hour, then expanded to a 'special starting time' of 8:30 (7:30 Central)? How did it wind up being two hours?

Maybe that was changed after they taped the show and the personal interviews and decided they could fit it better in that time? Just a guess.

They tape them on the weekend for air the following Wed. When did they change the schedule?

[atrac]

Hasselhoff said one thing that I had to agree with: "Harp girl" (Corina Brouder) is BEAUTIFUL. I could NOT take my eyes off of her. She has an amazing quality about her that just screams sweetness. Her look also made me think of the 70's..maybe it was her hair style?

At any rate, when I heard "don't hassle the hoff" my faith in anything he had to say dropped back down to nothing.

Looking forward to seeing Vladimir the hand balancer next week. I can't take my eyes off of him either!

[newsposter]

I won't even know if he gets to perform for the real show until it airs, as they are not allowed to say anything to anyone.

i always wondered about audiences for these shows....do they sign gag orders too?

[avant.garde]

I agree with atrac, I want to see Vladimir again, and I hope he passes the semi-finals.