bluepiano

Respectfully disagree. Since we sitting at home don't actually get to eat the food, who cares how good it tastes? Television is a communications medium. If you can't communicate, you shouldn't be on TV. I'm not advocating having someone who is only a good talker. But presumably in this great vast country of ours, it shouldn't be that hard to find someone (or 10 finalists) who can cook, are knowledgeable about food, and have a good TV personality and presentations skills. I see a lot of contestants on Chopped who seem to have all those qualifications, and wonder why we don't see more of them showing up on FNS. Maybe it's because the professional chefs who compete on Chopped consider this show beneath them. (With very occasional exceptions, like Christian this year).

What a train wreck of an episode on this train wreck of a season. Manny seems like a nice guy and I'm sure he's a good cook, but it's been painful watching him all season, especially with Bobby and Giada laughing in his face as he mumbles and rambles on incoherently, as he did this episode. Yes, painful to watch. No way he should allegedly be competing to be a TV host. Adam shot himself in the foot by cooking a dish made by Giada, She Who Should Never Be Questioned When It Comes to Italian Food. You know that she would be super hard on anyone who made her dish. But though I really like him, I can't feel bad about his being eliminated. He got what he deserved for opting to return to this stupid show. But what a joke that based on one less than successful dish Adam is gone, and we still have Manny and Amy. How is Amy still here? She has been a disaster in pretty much every challenge. In the "judging challenge" she showed how little she knows about food. She sounded so in over her head. I think she's basically just a house wife who can cook and went on FNS because she's bored. (Not a put-down of housewives. Most don't think they're deserving of being on TV). Funny how she talked about having wine and cheese as her typical mid-week dinner, but when she cooked the ahi poke Bobby said that her family was lucky. Did she even say anything about cooking that for her family? Christian said he's been on Chopped and a guest judge on Beat Bobby Flay "many times." I guess he knows his stuff, but he's not impressed me. He's way too dependent on little cutesy pet phrases and working the Italian stereotype. I've yet to feel like he's connecting with the audience. It was a battle of Giada's ego against Harrison's self-entitlement. Apparently he really does think he's "all that" and expected to breeze through this competition. His sense of self-entitlement was so strong that he couldn't even realize when it was time to back down. You never win on this show when you directly challenge a judge. Especially Giada, who has zero sense of humor about herself. Early in the season some people on this forum thought Giada would have a "thing" for Harrison. But it never happened, the way it had for Dom or Luca. Guess you have to be Italian, or at least Italian-American, to get the Giada crush bump.

Yes, true, he has the experience. But I can remember even in his first go-round on FNS he was already pretty polished. I believe he might've previously done some local television in Philadelphia. Aside from that, some people are just naturally comfortable on camera. What's always amazed me about this show is how many contestants are so uncomfortable on camera, Do the producers not put potential contestants through some kind of "screen test?" I know they love the idea of someone who's initially awkward and camera shy growing in confidence over the course of the season. But so many of these people are obviously never going to be TV host material. As for why Adam is back, my theory is so that they can use him to build up the eventual winner. It'll be, "wow, he/she is so good that they beat the old pro Adam Gertler". Or if he's not in the final, it'll be, "the competition was so tough this year Adam couldn't make it into the final." That's a theory, anyway. Because I can't imagine that he's going to win. That would really make the whole season seem like a farce. (more than this show is already). Maybe Adam was promised some more FN appearances after this season of FNS. Or else he just really, really loves seeing himself on TV.

If I look back at my junior high school years (a long time ago) there's no doubt I was bullied by today's standards. But I suspect almost everyone can say the same. You get past it and move on. (Unless it's one of those rare, true cases where a kid is bullied so horribly they commit suicide. That's truly deplorable, but we're clearly not talking about that here.) What struck me about jump rope girl is here's this pretty, talented girl in phenomenal physical shape, someone a lot of people might envy, and she needs to make a grab for sympathy. I guess she's seen this show enough to know that the sob stories work. The "I'm from a small town" thing is just another form of a manipulation that's probably encouraged by the producers. Because if you're from a small town and can actually sing or play a musical instrument it makes you that much more of a special unicorn, and makes the fact of you're being "discovered" on AGT that much more of a feel-good Cinderella story. (As opposed to people from NY or LA or Chicago who presumably have a fabulous career in show biz just handed to them.) Did the doctor and his mother made anyone else think of "Ira and his mother," the puppet act from a few seasons ago? Except Ira and his mother were (intentionally) funny. This was just weird and awkward and uncomfortable. It did cross my mind that the whole thing was on a put-on, sort of a performance art piece on the theme of overbearing, overly emotionally invested mothers. But sadly, I guess it was for real. Nope. Just a hug. I'm sure he'd have preferred the Golden Buzzer.

Maybe Simon's finally getting tired of her for real, and hence an entire montage on the theme of how clueless she is. As a previous poster said, after the amazingly freakishly awesome contortionist and the fun jump rope girl it was all downhill. (Though I rolled my eyes when the jump roper said she'd been bullied. That's become this show's default sob story. Since she gave no reason why she would've been bullied by her coach and teammates it seemed gratuitous and out of left field). My wife, who's a very casual watcher of AGT, asked me if this is still the same season as the one with the trained cats. It does seem like that was eons ago. Probably because so few of the acts have made any impression. Yes, thank God for my DVR, which enables me to speed through a two hour show in about 35-40 minutes. We've had fewer acts than ever with real talent and a lot more acts voted through because of a sob story. Or simply because they're either really young or really old. The singer who ended the show was basically coffee house open mike level, but once he said he was transgender I knew he'd get four yesses and the judges would gush about how great he was. (Shouldn't being accepted for who you are mean that you don't get discriminated against, but you also don't get any special treatment? Just saying.) The violinist with neuropathy was good, and that is a really sad story, but I don't think he was amazing. He was on the level of a good street busker. (I would bet he does a lot of that). The other thing that stands out about this season is all the phony audience reaction shots. The yelling woman, who just happened to be miked, was so annoying. And funny how, while the cute shy guy was singing, there just happened to be clusters in the audience of nothing but young women, all sighing and looking smitten. And then there's all the simultaneous mass audience responses, so obviously coached. Please, stop already with the arms crossed "keep away" signal. So overdone.

I think you're exactly right. When this show began, most contestants were serious food professionals, and the judges talked a lot about having to prove your food authority. Then we started getting the "food bloggers," which basically means you like to eat and have an internet connection. And lots of "caterers." I realize that caterer can be a legitimate food profession, but there are also folks like a cousin of mine who a few times a year cooks for a dinner party given by friends. She calls herself a caterer and has the business cards to prove it. I suspect that many of the "caterers" on this show are in that category. (Like Amy, who for the most part only talks about cooking for her family) Now we have out first-ever "food novelist." (I still don't know what that means). In the first episode I thought she had some promise, but since then her air of entitlement has surfaced and I've found her increasingly annoying. Her vocal fry grates on me too. Katie's southern accent doesn't bother me (I've heard worse on this show) but there are folks who have real issues with articulating and being understood. Which begs the question of what exactly is the selection process. Shouldn't being able to communicate be the basic requirement for a television host? I was shocked they won. I think they're trying hard to make Harrison happen. He's also self-entitled (as was Rebekkah, a lot of that this season), and I don't think he's all that good looking either. I guess Adam rubs some people the wrong way, but he's still head and shoulder above anyone else as a TV host/presenter, And despite a misstep this week, his food had generally been very good. (Not that FNS is supposed to be a cooking competition show. Each season there's usually one accomplished chef who gets booted because they have zero presentation skills).

Yup, I'd gladly take the 25k a year too. But aside from the money, some winning acts have gone on to very successful careers - especially the ventriloquists and magicians. Singers are a dime a dozen, but there are a limited number of successful variety acts out there, and winning AGT does seem to mean something. Another argument for having an age minimum of this show is that when a 13 year girl wins (Grace Van der Waal) she's years away from being able to launch a meaningful career. And so many kids do focus on showbiz at such a young age are has-beens at 20. (Or go through life with some serious emotional issues).

And apparently even missed a couple of lines within a verse she did sing. But what bugged me more is that she just was an okay singer, nothing special,. This show keeps wanting us to think that a 14 or 15 year old singing is the most amazing, unbelievable thing ever, when there are millions of kids out there singing in schools, churches, local theater groups etc. Especially since American Idol filled every parent whose kids can carry a tune with dream of fame and riches. Grace Van der Waal kind of drove me nuts with her quavering voice, but at least she was writing original tunes. A 15 year old covering an Aretha song we've heard covered countless times before? Ho hum. And as been pointed out, this is the second young girl singer to get a Golden Buzzer doing a song that was completely age inappropriate What's next, a 12 year old singing "I Feel the Earth Move Under my Feet?" I laughed at the "telekinesis" act, and how he played it straight to the end. ("This is not comedy.") Interested to see what else he has, and if he has the potential to be this year's Tapeface. Laying in a box with a helmet on does not seem to me to be a "talent." The real talent was whoever designed the explosive. I liked the husband and wife acrobats. Everything in the show was forgettable, except maybe the "traditional Japanese table cloth" act. (Silly, but at least it wasn't a singer). The 71 year old woman dancer was definitely in great shape, but the dancing wasn't that special. The kid choir got through only a feel-good story. And no way they wanted to see 70 little kids start crying. And the opera singer who had to "learn" Simon's song in an hour was the fakiest fake yet in a season that feels more staged and scripted than ever. You get the feeling that the producers know the level of talent is weaker so they have to amp up the "drama" to keep people entertained.

Yeah, anger is not a good look for a potential "FN Star." Samone's comments about Katie during the first challenge were way over the top. She had it in for her from the start. Don't want to ignite any controversy, but we've seen it before on this show, where a "large" woman is overly hostile towards a thin woman. I know that's a stereotype, but in this case it seems to apply. Samone clearly was going to be history after this episode. It always amazes me that FN gives us contestants who have a hostile personality and don't even seem happy to be on the show. I didn't like Bobby and Giada laughing at Manny's difficulties with articulating during the podcast challenge. You would think that the minimum requirement for being on TV would be speaking clearly. If he can't do that he should never have been given a spot on this show. Agree with you about Amy. There's a "mean girl" edge too her. At the same time, she tries to sell herself as "little Susie Homemaker." I remember when my son was little and I would have to accompany him to school social events. There was usually at least one sarcastic mom who you suspected might've been spiking her punch with vodka. That's the vibe I get from Amy. Sorry to play the role of English language usage policeman, but Amy said that she was concerned she'd lost her "inertia" from winning the comeback show. She should've said "momentum," as "inertia" means exactly the opposite of what she meant. Then there was Samone saying that her heart "literally jumped out of my chest." Boy, I'm glad that I must've turned away from the TV while that was happening, because there's no way I wanted to see that. I imagine there was a lot of blood.

I think you're right on the money with your karaoke comment. Very much like what you'd hear at your local karaoke bar, with the only real difference being her age. But when are these shows going to stop pretending that someone 13 or 14 singing is so amazing. There are kids that age who have already years of serious vocal study and are technically proficient singers who can do opera, Broadway etc. I've gotten cynical enough from years of watching this show that during the whole "she's a shy little flower" introduction my bells were going off, so totally unsurprised by what happened next. Dear God I hope you're not right about her being the chosen winner. Not after Grace van de Waal, and all the little girls who win The Voice and Idol. At least Darcy Lynn was different and really talented. But if I saw Courtney at a middle school talent show I would grit my teeth and pray for it to be over quickly. Aside from the shouty vocals, her awkward gyrations made me think of Olive Oyl dancing in the old Popeye cartoons. It was all really bizarre.

But the producers think that a huge part of the appeal of these shows is that the audience gets to feel that they are helping to discover new talent. And that all the Rocky/Flashdance/Fame stuff about "making dreams come true" supplies drama and human interest that wouldn't be there if the audience knew they were watching seasoned performers. Putting whether that's true or not aside, it's amusing that the producers keep lying to us even though they've gotten caught time and again. In this era of internet search, it's much harder to pull the wool over people's eyes. But I guess they figure there are enough people out there who buy into the fakery, or don't read forums like this one.

To start with, I hate that Howie compared her to Janis Joplin. Every white girl who sings blues or soul on these competition shows gets compared to Janis Joplin, who was a special talent, and virtually none of these girls is anything like her. "If there's a rock'n'roll heaven," as the song titles goes, Janis is probably spitting out her Southern Comfort every time she hears that comparison. Then, as someone previously pointed out, there's the fact of a young girl doing a song that's completely age inappropriate. I guess after all the teen and pre-teen singers we've seen we're all getting used to that, and it doesn't raise an eyebrow. But for the record, I will point out that this was a 13 year old girl singing a song that it is very definitely about sex. "I can give you what you want, but you gotta come home with me." "Sweet little thing let me light your candle." etc. You hear a lot of people express concern these days about the sexualization of children. Then they go nuts for an act like this. Agree with you about Sophie and her mom. Clearly every line she said in her interview was fed to her by her mother, and possibly others. (Would not surprise me in the least to learn she has a professional coach.) I will admit that a 5 year old memorizing those lines, as well as all the lyrics to "My Way," and being able to deliver them in front of a huge crowd, is impressive. Though I'm not sure if I would call that "talent." The best thing that could happen to her as a human being is if her "career" fizzles. And soon. But clearly Mom has other ideas. ( I got a "single Mom" vibe, but who knows? There might be a Dad they're hiding because it makes a better story without him). The Tourette's comic made me think about the stuttering comic of a couple of seasons ago, who did nothing but tell jokes about stuttering. I suspect it will be the same with this guy. Although the stuttering comic drove me nuts by giggling hysterically at his own jokes. The Tourette's guy didn't do that, and he seemed genuinely likeable. I'm sure he's not had an easy life, so I'm glad he's got a nice wife and kid.

I think that Adam is much more personable and polished than Matthew, but agree that it's ridiculous for him to be on FN Star, which is supposed to be an audition, when he's been on this show before, and been all over FN and Cooking Channel for several years. It's weird that there are some people that the FN brass can't seem to get over - Adam, Matthew, Danushka, She Who's Name Shall Not Be Mentioned, now Amy Pottinger. Maybe they need to put all of them on one show together and be done with it. I hope to God that your theory about Amy is not accurate. She's kind of becoming the bad girl version of Melissa d'Arabian. But as I remember someone saying in her last appearance, the "bad mom" think is kind of marketable, I find her speaking voice to be extremely unpleasant to listen to, which I'm sure is coloring my opinion of her. If you are going to be on television, you should be reasonably pleasant to listen to. IMO anyway, but that probably reveals me as old dinosaur. I'm with you about Tony Bourdain. His self-promotion could be grating, and I never felt like I needed to hear the stories of his "bad boy" rock'n'roll chef days. But he brought something unique to food television, and his worldwide travels and attempts to convey an understanding of indigenous cuisines and cultures could be fascinating. He was a natural and gifted story teller. I also like that while he travelled the world he would also do shows about Detroit, Philadelphia, Arkansas, Maine etc. There is no one else out there who does anything even remotely close to what he's done, and I will miss him.

Definitely. I thought his "surprise" at winning was 100% an acting job. And I say that as someone who likes him. Or at least would prefer to watch him over anyone else who has come through Food Network Star.

Did Heidi not realize that "Hans" wasn't German? She kept trying to speak to him in German when he clearly didn't understand a word. Sometimes she isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. Especially as his "accent" was about as authentic as Sasha Baron Cohen doing Bruno. I'd rather see a goofy act like Hans than a 13 year old singer who I'm supposed to believe is really incredible. Golden Buzzer??? I was cringing through the whole thing. Hate to say, but coming on after the guy with Tourette's, it seemed like she was the one suffering from some kind of nervous disorder. And thanks to those who pointed out her TV background. It's more of the same old BS from this show, trying to make us believe that everyone is a nervous first-time performer. The "escape" aspect of the guy with the scorpions was totally contrived and unconvincing. I felt bad for the scorpions. We've seen way better virtual reality acts on this show, in which the "main character" was interacting with his environment, instead of just running, running, running. Ho hum. Does every act get the same amount of time? Maybe it's how they edit the show. But some acts (especially comics) are over so quickly, while this virtual reality act seemed to last forever. I enjoy quick change acts, but I remember the one that was on a couple of seasons ago as having been more stylish and entertaining. (The clothes were really cool, and they said that the woman designed all of them herself). Anyone notice that there were a bunch of acrobats and danger acts that were montaged? I presume that some of them were pretty good and being saved to liven up future episodes. Almost every act this season has either gotten four "yesses" or four "nos." I only recall one case where the vote was two to one and we had the "suspense" of whether they'd get put through. It seems like every act that isn't a terrible, Gong Show type act gets four yesses. (Including the 5 year old singing "My Way." Which was actually slightly amusing, but I have no desire to ever hear her sing again.)

How did Tyler and Valerie not call her out for thinking a matzoh ball is a meat ball?

Thanks for posting. I knew Katie Dixon looked familiar. I believe she made it to the final three or four. Now I'm starting to vaguely remember Manny on MC, and his talking about cooking in the firehouse. But he didn't get to exhibit all that "personality." Given that so many of these people have been on TV before, it's surprising how ill at ease they seem on camera. Rabbit empanadas? Dear God no. Whenever one of the "mom" contestants on FN says "this is a dish I cook all the time for my five year old" I immediately think, why would I want to eat it?

Manny is like Jernard Wells 2.0. Hate to say this, but why is pretty much every black contestant on this show an over-the-top caricature? Giada and (especially) Bobby encouraged Jernard to act like a buffoon to the point where it was embarrassing to watch, and I really hope they don't do the same with Manny, if he stays around for a while. Samone is also really working the clichés. The Italian guy from the Bronx is also giving us full on Goodfellas. But then again, this show has always been about people playing stereotypes. (Anyone remember The Stereotypes bowling team on The Simpsons). This is the show that years ago browbeat a woman of Mexican heritage (second generation), who had trained as a chef in France, into cooking tacos. "Wait, you're Mexican-American and you cook French food? We're confused. We demand that you live up to our narrow definition of ethnic identity.") For Palak to have gone on "Beat Bobby Flay" she must be a professional chef with some major credentials. How come no mention of that? Katie was super lucky that having her dish chosen by the random diner made her safe. You ask a dude to pick one of two dishes, of course he's going to pick the one cooked by the pretty blonde. Duh. That was a pretty idiotic challenge. Amy Pottinger annoys the heck out of me. She can be kind of funny in a biting way, which I like, but I can't handle the whiney vocal fry. Or telling us that every dish is one she makes for her kids and/or husband. Though of course the judges love that "personal story" junk. Adam was so far superior to the other contestants on Comeback Kitchen that I'm sure he only went on the show with a promise that he'd win. I agree that his once having had a show on FN, even a short-lived one, should disqualify him from Next Food Network Star. It would be a bit of comedown for him to lose again, but the guy must really love being on TV.

Absolutely. I almost gagged when he said that he got into the industry to prove that appearance had nothing to do with talent. How noble of him. Saint Simon. Really laughable, since he made his first fortune as part of a wave in the music business in which appearance became everything. Can't sing? No problem. We have auto-tune, And we can have you dance around on stage to a pre-recorded track. How many overweight kids with acne were in Simon's boy bands?

Agree, that the Golden Buzzer was for the back story, which is something I really don't like about this show. Way too many acts that go far on factors other than "talent." Though I am still counting my blessings that we haven't seen a little kid singer get the Golden Buzzer. In fact, no kid singers at all, but the little girl doing the animal impressions was pretty much the same thing. Her "impressions" were not very good, and even if they had been, that's grade school talent show level, not national TV or Vegas. So pretty much, if you're a cute little girl who giggles you can do anything and still get 4 yeses. The old dancing couple also got by on "cuteness," though personally, they made me cringe. So far we've seen quite a few acts get through who should've been one shot acts for the novelty value. Old twerking couple, little girl doing animal noises, "human fountain," belly noise guys. Even the ones that were slightly amusing I don't need to see again. I feel like AGT is turning into The Gong Show, with goofy acts that people do for their 15 minutes of TV fame, and not because they have real talent. Also this season, a lot of dance groups that have have felt to me like the same old same old, but the judges go nuts for them. They do bring energy to the show, I guess. The "blind" swordsman had a good build-up but then it kind of fizzled. I expected him to do a samurai swordsman thing with the pineapple on Howie's head and rapidly cut it into multiple slices. That would've been cool. One cut near the top of the pineapple? Eh. The Japanese guy was over praised for the same kind of light show we've seen before, and I'm still not really sure what he did with the disk/string thing as you couldn't see it. By far the best act of the night for me was the acrobat brothers. The speed with which the one brother was doing flips in the air was amazing. So was his landing on his brother's feet, especially as they wore what looked like slippery soled dress shows, and not sneakers or anything with traction. Very impressive. Yes, Mel B. with a blonde wig does look like Nicki Minaj. The constant hair and wardrobe changes within each show are really distracting. Why is she even still on AGT, because to me she contributes even less than Tyra Banks. But a new drinking game could be every time she says "belly laugh." She has said it three or four times each show so far.

I fast forwarded through everything just to see who won. Patting myself on the back as I called Brynn winning early in the season. My theory was that In the absence of any real strong contestant, the cute little girl is going to win. America (at least the pop music buying segment) seems to have an obsession with young girl singers. That "original" song she did, which consisted of three words repeated endlessly over a dance track, pretty much encapsulates everything that sadly pop music has become - boring, soulless, mass produced product. The blinds are now probably the only part of this show I enjoy. And some of the battle round pairings have a "can't look away from a train wreck" kind of entertainment value. Next season I'm probably out after the battle rounds. The longer into the season this show gets, the duller it gets. Once they get into the solo performances, the over-the-top production (band way too loud, hundreds of back up singers and dancers) overshadows the singers. Also, did not enjoy Jennifer Hudson as a coach, because of her need to make everything about herself. Are the contestants really getting less talented each season? That's how it feels to me.

Glad this show is back. It's my favorite guilty TV pleasure. (Used to be The Voice, but the last couple of seasons have bored me to tears.) I thought Shin Lim was amazing, but discovering through this forum that he's actually a well-known international performer takes away some of the pleasure. I guess that's why AGT consistently covers up the professional backgrounds of some of the acts, so we will feel like we are part of discovering these talented unknowns. But I don't enjoy being deceived. That pre-performance clip that showed him sweating bullets because Simon doesn't like card tricks was all a con. Darn, fooled again. Knowing that the dance group from the Filipino dance are TV veterans also takes away a bit of the rags to riches story. Although one of them said "we saved our money to come to America" (highly doubtful) I got an inkling that there was more to this than meets the eye. What made the water fountain act funny was the element of surprise, because we all thought it was going to be the umpteenth bunch of geeky looking young guys in tuxedos singing opera we've seen on AGT. They did a great job of setting that up. I laughed and was entertained, but without the element of surprise I can't imagine they will make it past another week. Same feeling about the sibling singing group and young girl rapper. One shot wonders because of the sob stories. Though the band might go a bit further because of the family angle. But musically I thought they were boring, and like others have said, the lyrics were total vocal mush. I thought that the final dance act that got the Golden Buzzer was vastly overrated. The little girls who got tossed around and did somersaults in the air were doing things that lots of young girl gymnasts can do. None of the choreography impressed me. Maybe I just don't like massive dance groups. Also, got a bit of a weird cultish vibe from the Brazilian dude. Beginning with the fire ritual. Lady comic was pretty funny and I will be glad to hear more, but she was NOT the funniest comic ever on this show. That part of the judges' schtick I can do without. Every one is "the best we've ever seen." And of course, every season is "the greatest ever." The creepy girl bored me, and if we view her as a magic act, that was a big ho-hum. No child singers so far. Hallelujah. But I know that's too good to last. And yes, Tyra is really, really tall. But man, they give her some weird outfits and hairdos. At one point in the show she looked like a cross between Elvira and Lilly Munster.

When The Voice" started it really was about the voice,, and was different from American Idol in that they didn't have the overpowering band, army of back-up singers, and big production numbers. But after the first seasons the producers seemed to decide that America wasn't really all that interested in just hearing people sing, and started going in for the same kind of musical overkill as America Idol. The Voice evolved into being pretty much the same AI, with the band and back-up singers frequently overshadowing the contestant. I confess I haven't watched the reboot of AI, but it's surprising to hear you say you can hear the singers better on AI. That doesn't say much for The Voice.

But the country singers just want to stay country singers, and that's one of the reasons they do so well. Arguably it's because the country singers have limited musical range or interests, but it's a smart strategy. The large viewership of country music fans is not going to be put off by hearing one of their favorites venture into rock or pop. They get what they expect, week after week, no surprises. Personally, I find it boring, but I'm not in that demographic. Probably my favorite Voice contestant of all time was Adam Wakefield, who would fall into the general category of country, but branched out into soul, blues, and jazz. Similar to "The Genius," Ray Charles, who was obviously a big influence on him. (Ray Charles once had the Billboard #1 country album). But the contestants who can do multiple genres and do them all well are exceedingly rare. From a technical singing standpoint, Pryor Baird can't hold a candle to either of those guys. But music is subjective, and taste is largely determined by what genre people grew up listening to. I have friends who are conservatory trained classical or jazz musicians who think that all popular music is crap, because by their standards everyone who plays rock or county or pop is minimally talented.

Another night of overwrought emoting that was hard for me to watch. I think that Britton is my favorite because most nights he is the only one that does not sing as if he's convulsed with pain. Though I have to admit that last night he was not very good. All the running around had him out of breath half way through the song. Someone needs to tell him that the vocals should come first, and not everyone is James Brown or Mick Jagger, with the ability to dance while singing and never sound winded. I'm in the camp that don't get the appeal of Pryor Baird. Everything about him feels generic to me. Singers in the country rock genre tend to do well on this show, but I wouldn't even put him in the same league as Craig Wayne Boyd. Every Kaleb Lee performance is exactly like the one before, but I guess you can say that about everyone this year. Everyone is staying "in their lane," and when that happens, you don't have the opportunity for a memorable, break-out performance, like Chloe's "Landslide" last year. Either the small number of posts to this forum this year, relative to past seasons, indicates that viewership is done or that people are just not emotionally engaged by any of the performers. I'm starting to get a vibe that Brynn Cartelli is going to win this whole thing. Since no is one standing out by virtue of overwhelming talent or originality, America will likely get behind the pretty 15 year old who seems like a genuinely nice kid and has an impressive voice for someone so young. I've always thought that The Voice should have a minimum age of 18, since the original concept was that it was a show for experienced singers who had never gotten the break they deserved. But I guess they've gotten away from that. The line between this show and American Idol has definitely gotten blurred over the years.