America's Got Talent 2011

[Caffienated_Caramel]

Ok who saw last week's AGT? That one female opera singer? Beautiful. And the Silhouettes? Loved them too . 'Those Funny Little people' eeeehhh not bad...I liked how they stayed in character though.

At the beginning of the Minnesota ep, when Nick announces Piers is stuck in a blizzard. Howie jumped for joy and the Halajua music came on. That made me

[Redbeard]

SQUEEE!!

All new season of America's Got Talent and it definitely started off well. I'm still squirming around at the thought of the guy juggling the tasers.

And incredibly disappointed by the sword fighters. I was expecting SCA level fighting and got...blah.

Anybody else watch?

It was an incredible WTF moment for me. I've seen Crossed Swords live and they are almost always smooth, well rehearsed and very dynamic. The only thing I can think of is that they weren't used to such a large stage and were too spread out.

As far as the kids? I'ma not gonna go on about them, I think that teaching kids to speak with a speech impediment for cuteness factors needs to be a punishable offense..

[Kheldarson]

Kids aren't taught the speech impediments...they happen. Most grow out of it, others have to be taught out of it ( ).

And Farhook, what are you talking about? Daniel's piano skills were fine. And they're not going to give you all the critiquing right now anyway. Next round we'll see more of it. This is just the selection process. First impressions if you will.

[Jester]

I had never seen America's Got Talent, and just started watching it this season.

Fuck. King. Hill. Air. E. Us.

Seriously, been dying over here. And I don't always agree with the judges, in both directions, but it's still amusing.

Col-E-Flower

Mad genius! LOVE that guy!

I was gonna see if it was available OnDemand but somehow I doubt it.

It's On Demand down here, which is the only way I'd have seen it, as I was surfing through the On Demand offerings and decided to give it a whirl. Glad I did. More fun than I expected.

Then I watched The Voice that came on after just cuz I didn't bother changing it. Not impressed.

Also been watching that one On Demand. Can't say I LOVE it, but I do like it alike. And how can any heterosexual male look at Christina Aguilera in those outfits she wears and not go "Tlkisd jheirlotjh sjlsd!"?

I like the show but I wish there was more tension sometimes. Like in the judging. Piers said to one guy "not everyone gets 3 yesses but you just did." But everyone gets 3 yesses. There's no 2-1 splits, no mean criticisms even when they're good.

Have we been watching the same show? I've seen several 2-1 splits, and the occasional tension between Howie and Piers often seems genuine. "You are the most annoying man I know!" No, none of them are Simon Cowell, though Piers occasionally has some less than nice things to say, but then, NO ONE is Simon Cowell.

I think that teaching kids to speak with a speech impediment for cuteness factors needs to be a punishable offense..

I agree, but I don't believe that that was a taught or rehearsed impediment. Children of that age often have trouble with their R's. I speak not just as an observer of people, but from personal experience; at that age, I too had an issue pronouncing R's.

[BookstoreEscapee]

It's On Demand down here, which is the only way I'd have seen it, as I was surfing through the On Demand offerings and decided to give it a whirl. Glad I did. More fun than I expected.

Ah, it is there. I guess they just didn't have it up yet when I looked the first time. That makes me happy

Also been watching that one On Demand. Can't say I LOVE it, but I do like it alike. And how can any heterosexual male look at Christina Aguilera in those outfits she wears and not go "Tlkisd jheirlotjh sjlsd!"?

The Voice is growing on me. I just downloaded a couple of Dia Frampton's songs from iTunes. Too bad I left my iPod at work (at least I hope I did ) so I can't sync it. Just updated all my podcasts and was hoping to change up my running playlist for tomorrow. Oh well. [Please oh please let it be on my desk!!!]

[Redbeard]

Kids aren't taught the speech impediments...they happen. Most grow out of it, others have to be taught out of it ( ).

You misunderstand, I'm talking about the parents who teach their kids to talk like Elmer Fudd for competitions like this because it's cutesy. It takes YEARS to break them of that and makes me angry becuase of the issues it causes in school (Issues I'm guessing you have firsthand expeience with.)

[BookstoreEscapee]

The Voice is growing on me.

I could really do without the "Social Media Room" though...

[RapidPad0]

I ended up sitting thru the whole thing... the taser guy made me put a death grip on my chair. I seriously thought he was going to fuck up and end up being rushed to the hospital.

The guy who fell off the stage (awkward dancing guy) was kind of surprising and... weird. O.o

My fav though was the Illuminates or whatever at the end. Really good show though. Kinda makes me wish I had cable.

[tropicsgoddess]

My favorites were the Fighting Gravity group. The glow in the dark acts they do is just freakin' awesome! The guy that RAWKED out his piano to Sweet Home Alabama was amazing! I also like the male pole dancer...hey he could teach me some tricks (that I can use for SO's pleasure).

[Kheldarson]

I LOVED the polefessional. Especially since he came after the street performer. Kabe and I were expecting something entirely different than what he presented. Which was awesome.

[Jester]

Okay, I just watched Monday's Hollywood episode (On Demand, I'm usually behind the times on these things), and I have a few comments.

First the negative.

Squonk Opera. Huh? I just flat out didn't get this act AT ALL.

Due Aero. They fell flat, and it showed, to the judges and the audience. But at least I understood the damn act. Unlike, say, Squonk Opera.

Now, the positive. Four acts stood out to me.

Despite Piers' insistence to the contrary, Those Funny Little People are FUCKING HILARIOUS! I LOVE these guys, and apparently I'm not alone in this, based upon the audience reaction. I think it takes real talent to operate those outfits and make them come alive, not to mention choreographing the dance steps....and let's not forget singing from inside there, AND letting the personalities come out. These people are GENIUSES! And they make me honestly laugh.

Snap Boogie. What can you say? This guy kicks it. I thought Monday's performance was a slight letdown from his other showings, but that's only when I compare him to himself. No one else comes close. Yeah, Miami All Stars are an amazingly precise dance troupe, but Snap Boogie has a wow factor that just, as one of the judges said, electrifies. I see street performers all the time, and this is one that, in the street or on the stage, would absolutely get my money.

Spandou Russian Bar. These guys scared the HELL out of me. Even when they were showing the REPLAYS, when I KNEW she had come out unscathed, I was cringing. And when I saw the nails, I was thinking, "but why not add fire, too?" And when the did, I about jumped out of my skin....and then cringed more when they started adding all those flips and twists. This woman is clearly deranged, in the most entertaining way possible.

And finally, I will admit here without reservation or embarrassment that Anna Graceman makes me cry. You want wow factor? I give you an 11 year old girl with a better, bigger voice than the vast majority of the American Idol contestants, and even better than a lot of the ones that get the golden ticket. AGT should stand for Anna Graceman's Terrific! Seriously, have you HEARD this girl sing?

Okay, now to watch the Tuesday show!

[Jester]

Okay, first of all, clearly I did not watch Monday's show, as AGT airs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. But hopefully y'all understood what I meant, even if I didn't.

Well, just finished watching the WEDNESDAY results show, and while it might seem to some as if I watched that before I posted my earlier comments, that simply is not true. I just thought that certain acts were clearly better than others, and lit up the stage that much more.

I have to admit, I was sad to see Those Funny Little People go. To a small degree it was because, just like Howie, I loved watching Piers get annoyed by them, but to a larger degree because I honestly think they are HILARIOUS!

But 3 out of 4 picks right? Not too shabby. And Miami All Stars was a good choice. I think America definitely got it right, for the most part.

I may just DVR next week's shows, rather than wait for them On Demand, so I can post my Tuesday comments before the Wednesday results show airs.

[Jester]

Well, two weeks ago I did a hell of a job predicting the acts that would make it through. Sadly, because I was watching it On Demand after the fact, you had only my word that I had not seen the results show. Last week, I again watched it On Demand after the fact, and, honestly, last week was not the week to really talk about. Not that impressive as a whole.

This week, I switched a few things around, and DVR'd the show so I could watch it before the results show aired. Which I have now done.

Of the 12 acts, there are four that would get my vote, and I think 3 of them will. There's a 5th act that I liked but didn't love, but think that America will put through to the next round.

The act I think that is going through is Professor Splash. The dude's insane, and has promised FIRE. Not just fire, mind you, but jumping THROUGH fire to lane in....MORE fire! I'd be shocked if this dude didn't get votes coming out his you know what.

My four favorite acts were:

Seth Grabel (the magician): While I, as a magician, have some theories to how he did what he did, that doesn't make me any less impressed with what I saw, and I think America will agree.

Poplyfe: Even with the lead singer obviously suffering with some voice issues, this is a kickin' band. Sadly, I think that they may not make it through, though they are deserving.

Landau Eugene Murphy Jr.: I honestly think this guy could win it all. He didn't even have his best showing, and he blew it off the stage. It's beyond the novelty of a brother with dreads singing Sinatra--Landau is just flat out GOOD.

Lys Agnes: Howie said it best--she makes opera sexy. I have no interest in opera, I have never been to opera, the idea of opera bores me. And I won't lie...my initial attraction to this young lady is because I (along with, I'm sure, most heterosexual men who aren't blind) could look at Lys all day, with or without volume. But when she opens her mouth, and that voice pours out....well, I want to see more, and I mean that in the best (i.e. least perverted) possible way.

There are a couple other acts I want to comment on.

Captain and Maybelle: I think there's a chance that the gross out factor may lift these two into the next round. I like their act, but I don't think they were one of the top four I saw.

Mauricio Herrera: If America votes for this guy, it will be the final nail in the coffin of Western Civilization as we know it. The guy who was dropping yo-yo's is looking at this dude going "Really? Really?" Captain and Maybelle are a train wreck in the best possible way. Mauricio is a train wreck in the worst possible way.

See you tomorrow!

[Kheldarson]

Personally, I preferred Landon over Seth for magicians. Landon just had a degree of sophistication that Seth doesn't seem to have for me.

Landau was awesome! He could win it all, or Silhouettes. Either one of them would be good choices. But Landau's got a career waiting for him now either way.

My picks for tonight's show are Landau, Poplyfe, Lys Agnes, and then Professor Splash or the Summerwind Skippers for fourth. I'm sorry, I loved how technical and how awesome the jump roping looked.

[Kheldarson]

I called it! Although I got the judges' choice pairing wrong.

Moving on is Landau, Poplyfe, Lys Agnes, and Professor Splash.


Not sure if I liked the "new" format of announcing winners. And definitely didn't like the Smurf interruptions. That was annoying.

Oh, and much love to the two performances by Stevie Nicks and Fighting Gravity's show. It was awesome seeing how much smoother they are now that they have a full crew behind them to help them plan.