America's Got Talent

OK, first I want to say that I don't usually watch reality shows, I find them boring and annoying. But for some reason, I find AGT truly compelling.

Maybe it's the irreverent atmosphere of the show (no stuck-up judges here, except ones pretending to be stuck-up); maybe its the variety- it's not always just songs or dances. And it cannot be denied that they have found some incredibly talented people.

Which is not to say, it doesn't have flaws. For one thing, EVERY year they allow some truly awful, untalented performers not just to enter, but in some cases, to move well into the contest! I know- bile fascination, but it irks me that it is allowed here; I wonder if some of them even realize that they have no hope of winning and are just being strung along.

Also, why is it that during the auditions, we don't get to see every try out act? I know, time is precious on TV, but in that case, don't tease us with glimpses of artists that we don't get to fully see (last night, there was that group of clog dancers, and the children's chorus, I don't think we even heard their names.)

But there were also amazing things too: the guy whose love song to his wife almost made the audience cry; the amazing shadow theater group; the 10-year old girl with the adult singing and piano playing skills; and dammit, I hate to admit it but even that dumb B-OO-T-Y song is still stuck in my head!

Overall, despite the annoyances of every year, the show looks like it'll be as fun as always.

edited 5th Jun '13 10:35:36 AM by Sijo

I used to watch it, until I got dumped. I had no interest in watching it on my own.

But I have two thoughts: First, I found it amusing that for a long time, America's Got Talent had no American judges. It had two Brits and a Canuck. Now they've got American judges, but for several seasons, they didn't.

Second, they should show all the acts online. If I go to the America's Got Talent website, I should be able to see every act, or at least every act that went through. There is absolutely no reason not to do that. It's stupid not to. It would get people going to the site, and those people would be exposed to ads, which would make the sponsors and the show more money. They are squandering a chance to make more money, and that's stupid.

I don't particularly care about the judges because in here (and most other reality talent shows) it's the public who votes, and let's face it, do the masses really know how to judge talent? Or do they just vote for whomever they like most (or feel sorry the most?) At least the judges in AGT are FUNNY, which is more than I can say on several other shows.

Good point on the ad revenue thing, though.

Season 2 and 5 are the two best seasons in my opinion. The last one was awesome for the sole fact that four non-singers were the final four.

So far this season seems average to me- few acts acts are outrageously good, but few acts are outrageously bad, either. If anything, they seem to have allowed a LOT more people to go to Las Vegas this year. They're going to have to eliminate a lot of acts soon.

Also, I hated the way they edited the episodes. What was wrong with having each one based on a particular city?

Anyway, my favorite act up to now is probably Red Panda, her juggling skills were UNBELIEVABLE.

I'm still watching this show, and it's going... alright. I still love it, if only because it celebrates the variety of the entire entertainment industry. Is there anyone else out there?

I still watch the show, and I think this year is one of the best ever, I'm really enjoying most acts! Too bad about the Piano kid, though, I really wanted to see him make it to the finals.

I really love that Quintavius kid. He's got an awesome name and a better voice than all of Motown's child stars.

Are they not doing a Wild Card episode for this season? That's sad.

Yeah, I was hoping they could bring back some of the best eliminated acts, like the kid genius. Also, two of the judges never used the "golden buzzer" I was hoping they could still do so later.

Yesterday's episode was boring. The only standouts to me were Mara Justine and Aerial Animation. And even then, the latter is starting to lose its novelty value.

At least Mara has learned some restraint when it comes to her belting. If only Christina Aguilera could learn the same...

Miguel Dakota is in the top six?

Good God! Not even AGT can resist the virus that is the WGWAG (yes, he's Latino, but he's still in that vein).

The What? (I'm assuming it's a racial thing?)

But yeah, I'm surprised too. There were better performers. I guess he just had too many (female) fans.

White Guy With Acoustic Guitar.

Anyway, he ended up in 6th place. Surprisingly Mat Franco, the magician, won the grand prize!

Awesome! That's three years in a row a non-singer won!

I waited until today to see the Final Results (on Hulu) because I wanted to dedicate the evening to it without being distracted by other stuff.

I really enjoyed it, and I agree that this has been the best AGT in years; the silly contestants were quickly eliminated and there were a lot of great acts, though some slipped due to nerves or overconfidence. I would have liked to see Blue Journey make it to the Final Six, though.

I also would have liked to see Quintavious win; I honestly think he had the most sheer talent of all the contestants. But I am glad Franco won; having a magician win is a great thing too.

So the question now is: what to watch until next year?

I think it's a good time to revive this, yes? It's a new season, a new hostess, and everything seems to be going well so far.

Indeed! And we are off to a great start already!

edited 31st May '17 12:43:01 PM by Sijo

According to the comments, the song is Summertime by George Gershwin.

I preferred Puddles though. That was a very unexpected delight.

Overall the first episode was a delight! There were far less boring or lame acts than usual (and I swear, some of those are only allowed in to make the rest look good.)

I'm still trying to figure out the chicken act. That HAS to be a trick!

And the third week continues to be amazing... HOLY CR*P did those old ladies really show their, uh, underparts to the public?? I hope not! Also very clever of the producers having the unfunny comedian come before the funny singer. One thing: while I liked the golden buzzer, its becoming too predictable for every episode to end with one, you can have it happen earlier you know.

I think the only golden buzzer who deserved it this season was the deaf woman.