America's Got Talent Blog: "Your Dream is Your Dream And It's My Nightmare"
Hey everyone it's the second episode of America's Got Talent! Last week only had a few standout performances so let's see if this week's auditioners can step it up.
After a short recap of last week (with of course a mention of how many people watched the show's premiere), we start with this week's auditions. We pick up with LA auditions. And there's another shot of a ticket with Terry Fator's name on it. Okay we get it, he's a star, now can we move on to this season please?
The audience gives the judges a standing ovation as they are introduced to the crowd. The judges talk about the high standards this competition are setting.
First up is Victoria, a part-time nanny wearing an odd fairy costume. Apparently she is a "singing fairy". She should get X'd just for that costume alone! Flowers on her head and large wings make her look like one of those deluded contestants on AI. And she sings about fairies too! Of course. She starts singing and it doesn't sound too bad but Piers immediately X's her. The audience goes nuts with boos. The judges try to shush the audience but Victoria sings two more notes and they start booing again. Her voice isn't amazing but it's not horrible. The Hoff finally has enough and X's her, but Sharon lets her finish. Piers tells her she's weird (I think the costume kind of gave that away) He then tells her that "Your dream is your dream but it's my nightmare!" Ouch! Needless to say she doesn't get through to Vegas.
Then we get a string of bad auditions. To the tune of "Beat It". Hilarious! A young singer compares himself to Pavarotti but sounds horrible (and way too high for a guy). Also we get some instrumentalists, including a guy who plays his head. A guy does a weird dance and plays trombone while his mom of all people plays piano.
Next we meet a young man named Eli. He traveled over 2000 miles to get to the auditions. He was in the previews and he sounded really good!! He describes his life of endless travel and playing at hotels for enough money to live on with "You Raise Me Up" playing in the background. Another great song!! (Just added it to the iPod by the way). Anyway he comes out for his audition. He sings and plays "Walking in Memphis" and sounds really good. He sings the song a bit low for my taste but he has an Elvis-like quality to his voice with a bit of country as well. And he's really good on the keyboard as well. Again not really my style but he does have a great voice. The audience is quiet, which I guess it's good because it means they are not booing. And now they stand up and cheer! The judges are shocked in a good way at his voice. I think this guy could be this year's Cas Haley, and I like his style better than I like Cas's. The judges don't stand like they did for Neal, but Piers tells him he has talent. Sharon can't believe he hasn't been signed to a record deal. The Hoff says he reminded him of Billy Joel with the way he told a story with the song. They unanimously send him through. And now the Hoff gives him a standing ovation!! Backstage Piers says he could be a finalist, and I agree.
After the break we meet Cassie, a bartender from a small town. She has blue hair and claims to have a unique talent. She wants to make her parents proud. Aw! Her stage name is Miss Pussykatt, and she does a grinding act. Okay.... when I heard this I thought she meant grinding as in sexual dancing. But no, she means a dancing act while shooting sparks off her body at the same time. It's not really that impressive if you ask me but the audience seems entertained. She almost eats the sparks as well. The crowd loved it, and so did the Hoff, who called it entertaining. Piers liked it too! Sharon is intrigued. She gets thru to Vegas but I hope she won't last too long. I'm just really not that impressed. All she did was dance around and grind sparks against her body. Not that I could do that but I just didn't really like it.
Next we meet two survivors of Hurricane Katrina. I'm rooting for them already and I don't even know their act yet. Surely the judges won't eliminate Katrina survivors. They say their performance helped people forget about Katrina. I'm guessing they are dancers based on their outfits. One of them says his uncle, who was in a wheelchair, was in his house with his family when the hurricane came. He sacrificed himself for himself for his kids, and he inspired the two auditioners. Now the audience and the Hoff stand up and cheer. I think that's a bit much- they haven't even auditioned yet! Anyway they are street performers named Lil Countrie and Page 1ne. They do some great breakdancing with flips. Then one guy spins the other on his head! That must make them dizzy! Of course the crowd is going wild for them. And now one of them rolls on his head likes it's a wheel. Wow! I'm not a big dancing fan (years of recitals from my cousins have kind of taught me to tune out dances) but these guys certainly have skills on the dance floor. The judges all clap as well. The Hoff calls them the best tumblers he's ever seen. Sharon calls them "brillant" and Piers says they are a great inspiration to New Orleans, but that he must judge them honestly. Of course then he says they were brilliant and are on of the early favorites. I liked them but I wouldn't call them one of my favorites, mainly because I'm just not a big dancing fan. Ooh O-Town song in the background! I haven't heard this song in years! Now I have to go put that on my iPod too!
So now we are off to the next city. Now they are back to NYC again! What were there two audition dates in this city? First up is a guy with a suspiciously large suitcase. He's an extreme percussionist, whatever that means. We learn he's a limo driver and his act is called "Drumtazia". It's loud and smoky, and that's about it. The audience turns on him immediately, and so do the judges. The vote is a unanimous no.
Side note: can we skip the segment after every commercial where the contestants say how great it would be to win the money and/or a Vegas show? It's getting repetitive and annoying.
Anyway back to the show. We meet a family boy band Next II None. They look cute, that's for sure. They play up the crowd upon walking on stage. OMG they are singing NSYNC!! The singing is just okay but the dancing is really good and in sync (haha). The crowd, especially the young girls, goes wild. Sharon says they don't have a lead singer but they don't need one. Piers loves the image and the act as a whole. David says they are "pretty darn good" and says they are raw but have good attitude. They get thru to Vegas but I have a feeling their youth and inexperience may hurt them in this contest.
Backstage we meet The Russian Bar Trio. The Russian Bar is a long pole where the girl jumps on it and the guys hold it. It sounds dangerous. I acutally wasn't expecting to be impressed with them but I was. They flip her into the air like the bar is a jump rope, and each time she lands safely on the bar. My only concern is what they will do for an encore if they get to Vegas. This act is good but might get a bit old if they just do the same thing in Vegas. Now the girl does flips in the air as well. This is amazing! The crowd is impressed and Jerry says it's the most exciting act he's seen since he started doing the show. The judges love it as well and they are sent through the Vegas! I hope they step it up in Vegas because they were really impressive.
After the halftime recap we get a pointless but still funny segment on the judges. The Hoff talks about his Knight Rider days and Piers brags about winning Celebrity Apprentice (again!). Meanwhile the audience starts chanting loudly for Sharon, so they seem to love her the best.
And it's a perfect segway, as we meet an Ozzy Osborne impersonator. This should be interesting, to say the least. He claims that meeting Sharon is his dream. He does look like Ozzy, but does he impersonate him well. Best moment of the night is Sharon's face when the guy walks out on stage! Priceless! She does seem honored when he says he's a fan of her family. He is funny (in a bad way) and sounds offkey. Sharon of all people is the first to X him. She probably can't take him destroying her husband's image any more. David is soon to follow. Piers refuses to X him but David and Sharon force him to. Entertaining, but not talent, in my view. Sharon says she's seen a lot of Ozzy impersonators and he is not a good one. Piers thought he sounded just like Ozzy, but he's obviously just taking a stab at Ozzy rather than actually complimenting The Ozzman. He also says the act is better looking than the real Ozzy, which leads to Sharon beating Piers with what looks like a rolled up paper. Piers tells him yes, but the others thankfully say no. Oh no he says he wants to try out again next year!
Next is the Taubl family, a family of musicians. These groups usually get through to Vegas, and Piers usually tells them to drop the young kids. The kids in this group don't look that young so maybe he'll spare this family the choice of fame versus family. Indeed the youngest of the group is 12,and usually its the 10-and-under crowd that Piers says to drop.The mother tells the judges they are good enough to win, and one boy shrugs as if to say "I don't think we're that good". Hopefully the judges didn't see that! They sound pretty but are buzzed by Piers immediately. It is a bit boring. Then they start singing and it's better. They are not amazing but they do good harmonies. The young kids do sound a bit off-key. The crowd loves them. David didn't like them at first and then said they got better. Piers notes the dad didn't do anything. David votes them through, and Piers admits he buzzed them too early and sends them through to Vegas. Again I thought they were good, not great.
After another break we meet a group of guys named the DC Cowboys Dance Company. They have sexual masculine movement in their boots, according to them! The women in the crowd swoon as they walk onstage. They say their act is "Brokeback Meets Broadway" Ha! Hey they're not bad! Plus they are dancing to the song Drew and Cheryl did for their freestyle on DWTS years back! Ah good memories. Anyway the crowd loves it and so do the judges. They unanimously get through to Vegas.
Now it's off to the next city- Chicago. Weren't they here before too? I guess they are showing the auditions in chronological order, not city-by-city, which is a bit confusing but oh well.
First up is Kevin Taylor, the world's fastest brick-breaker. That's something to be proud of I guess. He emphasizes the danger in his act before he goes onstage. He will attempt to break 400 bricks that are on fire. Don't try this at home folks! He gets thru the first batch using his hand. His arm is on fire!! No big deal he just pats it a few times and it goes out. For a finale he cuts thru two more big piles. It was good but for some reason I was expecting him to use his face to break the bricks, which would be more impressive. Still his act was impressive, although I wonder what he'll do for an encore in Vegas. All three judges are amazed as well, but Sharon fears he'll get hurt and thus votes no to Vegas. David says yes, so it's down to Piers. Piers wonders like me what he will do to improve his act in Vegas. Kevin says he wants to drop a brick on himself and break it before it hits him. Piers is satisfied and sends him through to Vegas.
Next up is a realtor named Chellena. She is a singer who gets great support from her husband. I have a feeling she's going to be really good. She then tells her sob story of having cervical cancer and fearing she might die. Of course she overcame the cancer and has been in remission for a year. Great story, will her voice back it up? Yes she sounds good! A real gospel voice. Anyone know if this is what Michael Johns sang in his AI audition because it kind of sounds like the same song but I'm not sure. Anyway she's good but gospel's not really my thing. She gets a standing ovation from the crowd. David is impressed but Piers says it's good, not great. He says some of the other singers that are through to Vegas are better and I think I might have to agree. Sharon loves her heart though. David votes yes, but Piers isn't sure she can win. Piers likes her spirit and sends her through. And Celine Dion plays in the background!! I love the music on this show!!
After the break we meet Johnny O., a magician. Yeah we haven't seen any magicians all season but I've liked the ones they've had in the past! He turns a flame into a tennis ball. Okay but nothing out of the ordinary. Then he drops the tennis ball and is immediately X'd by Piers. He hates it when magicians/jugglers drop things in their acts. Then he tries repeatedly to balance another ball on his nose (how is that magic, exactly?) and fails miserably. Piers hits the buzzers for Sharon and David. I am sadly disappointed with this magician. I really thought he'd be good. Piers tries to kick him off stage, but David and Sharon object. But still he is rejected.
More magic!! One guy takes a bird and makes it smaller, then rips its head off and revives it! Ew! Impressive but I think I've seen that before. Indeed he's rejected as well. Another guy spits cards out of his mouth, knocks over a stand, and has his bird fly away. Another no. A third tries to self-levitate, then falls flat on the floor. Funny, but bad. Another magician also knocks stuff over. Will they ever find a good magician? A fifth dude is actually pretty good. He lights his pants on fire and then has fire coming from a certain area of his body. I thought that was cool but the judges didn't.
Will the Pendragons husband and wife duo end the streak? Well they certainly have a great story (it seems like nearly everyone does on this show). The husband almost died when an arrow went thru his heart. Ouch! He is back to prove that he's alive and well. He shows his scar and it's really gross and blue. I've never seen a blue scar before. First the husband is tied in a bad and locked in a box. Then she magically turns into her husband! And inside the box.... his wife! That was pretty cool! Yeah for good magicians (finally!). Piers likes that he's suffered for his art and applauds him for it. They are through to Vegas!!!
After the break we get another look at the Ozzie impersonator! It's a segway to a bunch of other tribute acts that audition. There actually was an impersonator show on ABC last summer that was pretty good, but got canceled, so now all the people came to this show instead I guess. We have a Rod Stewart, Cydni Lauper, George Bush (that guy might have been on the ABC show!), Elton John, and Dionne Warwick (a guy!!!). I actually though George, Rod, and Dionne sounded okay but the judges hated all of htem.
Now we have a dramatic introduction to... Elvis!! Actually the two who were finalists on the ABC impersonator show were Elvis impersonators, and they were both really good. I don't think this was one of those two but he's cute!! His name is Joseph Hall and I don't know what Elvis sounded like but this guy sounds really good! His dancing is good too! The crowd loves it! Piers says most Elvis impersonators are fat and old, but he was really good. Sharon wants to keep staring at him. Then she says she has shoes older than him (he's 23) but she wants to try him on. Okay... that was sounded a bit wrong. David loves it as well and he's straight through to Vegas.
So now the auditions are over for tonight. Next time we have more auditions. Nooooo not another cute kid singer!!! One of those is too many!!! The dancers look impressive though! See you all next week! Post your comments on tonight's show below.
I Love this show....so much more than A.Idol. My favorite last night was Eli. He reminded me of Billy Joel when he was young. He was a phenomenal keyboardist and had a uniqueness to his voice. I hope he goes a long way!
You asked for it - here you go, from week 1. I still think it's wrong to put her through even though she is so cute it hurts your teeth to watch this:
4 yr. old Kaitlyn Maher - America's Got Talent Season 3!!!
Hey CinderAngelkc! Yeah Eli was my favorite last night too along with the dancers from New Orleans, the magicians, and the acrobats. I hope Eli goes a long way too, especially since I like him better than Neal from last week. I don't think Kaitlyn should have gotten through either and I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought so.
