America's Got Talent: America’s Got Variety!
Recap and Predictions by Donna Emery
August 27, 2009
This week on America’s Got Talent, the last five acts to go into the semifinals were announced – and it’s already been an interesting year.
I never thought I’d miss Jerry Springer as host of this show, but, from the first week, I did. Nick Cannon seems overly effusive and way too charmed by the sound of his own voice. His face mugs as much as a coffee shop and I could do with lots less slang. I think almost anyone could do a better job and hope the producers change hosts, next year.
Our regular three judges are back in their usual seats and if I hear the Hoff say, “you are what this show is ABOUT!” one more time I may throw something at my television. There were many unusual acts during the audition weeks and it seemed like the judges – especially Piers Morgan – had gotten much less discriminating in their criteria for awarding tickets to Las Vegas.
This was further evidenced by their decision to send a third of the acts home before they even got a chance to perform in Las Vegas; it seemed pretty silly to ask so many people to trek all the way out there just to send them home. What was the point to get so many of those performers’ hopes up during the auditions only to stop them at the airport?
During the four weeks of quarter-final performances I enjoyed many of the performances, but wished I could have had the power to substitute some acts they’d sent home. It surely seems like the decks were stacked with non-singing acts this year because at least half the acts are not singers. I know the judges wanted to provide a variety of acts and they definitely did. But choosing substandard variety acts like Coney Island Chris and Pam Martin’s Top Dogs over good singers like ____ seems like a pretty dumb choice.
I began watching this season a little jaded; I was a major fan of Nuttin’ But Stringz and can’t understand why in the world Neil E. Boyd won last year’s contest. I don’t deny his talent; I just thought the sting players had a far more entertaining act. Even third-place Elijah would have been a better choice than the opera singer, in my opinion.
As for this year, I’m hoping the winner won’t disappoint me again. But, in a way, he or she already has. This year’s level of talent seemed somewhat substandard, to me. I don’t know if all the talented performers who considered auditioning were scared off by the possibility of losing to a lesser talent or being arbitrarily buzzed” by the judges. But I’m just not excited by any of the performers in this year’s semifinals. Maybe they’ll improve by the finale; I can only hope so.
I loved the first season winner, Bianca Ryan but she hasn’t made as big a splash as would be expected from the winner of this show. To be honest, I think the show reached its maximum potential with Terry Fator’s win. He was the real deal.
My personal preference in acts may be skewed toward less sensational act than the normal Las Vegas fare, so my choices for the scoreboard don’t reflect my own preferences. I like singers would good voices (like Barbara Padilla) and am easily bored by traditional dancers (like Erik and Rikki). But this show isn’t about my own choices; it’s about which act would make a good Vegas headliner.
So, in ranking the performers.....
Donna is a nurse and teacher, and a mother of 5. She lives in Pennsylvania and is admittedly addicted to many reality shows. You can reach her at mrsed4ever@yahoo.com.
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