S09.E15: Quarterfinals: Week 3 Results

[maraleia]

 

Five more acts advance to the semifinals.

[mtlchick]

It warms my cold, cold heart that the audience was chanting for Scooby. Then I felt guilty for a few seconds that Adrian got bounced and he was bowing his head like he was going to prison.  

[MizStaken]

So who stayed and who went? They didn't keep the girl singer did they? America does love a sob story

[helenamonster]

Not too upset by any of the results. Paul Ieti is kinda wtf cuz he just seems so blah, but maybe I'm in the minority of not finding him interesting.

 

I laughed way too hard at Heidi falling out of the chair. Was not expecting that. Her thing with Taylor was equal parts funny and strange.

[Rapunzel]

I'm on the West Coast so I haven't seen the results show yet but I read who went through on one of the sites. I was so worried that the judges were going to put that precocious, piano playing, arrogant brat through especially as they picked Mara Justine and Baila Conmigo, who blatantly flaunts the kids, to go through. The judges always seem to lean towards the children regardless of how untalented they are or how many mistakes they make in their performances.

 

Adrian was awful last night and I read where they are trying to blame his bad notes on his glasses falling off and hitting the keyboard. Um, that happened in the first couple seconds - how do you explain the rest of the performance?? His playing is subpar and I thought that this was his worst one yet. It wasn't even a very difficult piece. I don't know if they're doing the Wild Card thing again this year but some seem to be speculating that if they are he will likely be brought back by the kid-loving judges.

 

Glad to hear that Sons of Serendip went through as they were the best of the night. Also glad that Acro Army made it though their performance last night was a little "meh." Same with Blue Journey.

 

So what do you think the chances are that the judges put the One Voice Kiddie Choir through next week?

Edited August 14, 2014 by Rapunzel

[TiredMe]

No the girl singer was out and was little piano boy. The dancers, Scooby, the gymnastics group and the military guy singer made it through. I'm forgetting the fifth.

[Ohwell]

I'm glad piano boy didn't make it through.  Understandably, the kid was disappointed, but I just love Nick for the way he handled the boy's departure and tried to make him feel better.  I wuv Nick.

[kechara]

big phew.  I think after the Rachael Crow meltdown on X factor they tend to put kids through unneccessarily

[mortonsalt]

 

No the girl singer was out and was little piano boy. The dancers, Scooby, the gymnastics group and the military guy singer made it through. I'm forgetting the fifth.

The other gymanstics group Blue Journey. 

[peggy06]

America got it right, and so, thank goodness, did the judges. I think the right act went through in every group. Was sorry for Adrian, because he is only 9 even if he is precocious. But he was never going to win this, so it might as well happen now as later. Nick was so nice to call for a big round of applause for him. I criticized the kid, but that doesn't mean I have a heart of stone. Not wanting to see kids disappointed on national TV is one of the reasons I wish the show would have a cutoff age of 18. If people really, really want to watch kid acts compete, somebody create a kid competition show. That way at least it's a level playing field.

 

Really glad we don't have to hear any more about Desmond.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Ameriker is really missing the mark this year.  Bhangra brought an energy and fusion and stagecraft never before seen.   Serendip?  Nothing new with much less degree of difficulty.  Paul the singer?  Really?  Horrible judgement.

 

At least Adrian got chopped and Wendy didn't make the top 5.  How did the magician/voodoo artist get that high?  Ugh.

 

Lucky for Kenichi that he didn't use that routine in the competition last year.  zzzzzzzzz

 

I thought the Heidi/Taylor vignette was outstanding.  Heidi can be so attractive in her personality when she allows herself to let go of pretense.  Kudos to the producer of that piece, and to Heidi.

[Diana Berry]

Nick was all kinds of awesome for comforting piano kid.

[BeatrixK]

Adrian - as difficult as it was to watch the kid get his disappointment handed to him on national TV - I can see how, at 9 when he's in...what...10th grade...he's probably very accustomed to being #1. curve wrecker, top of the class, etc., and not 'winning' probably isn't something his 9 years on the planet haven't introduced him to yet.

 

The Heidi/Taylor thing cracked me up harder than it should have...*snort*

[Indy]

I thought the Heidi/Taylor skit was really funny.  Especially the part where he mentioned that they had friends in similar nonsensical relationships, and the camera cut to a picture of Nick & Mariah.  I also laughed out loud when Heidi fell out of her chair.

 

I was happy with last night's results.  Four of my favorites went through.  And I'll be honest, so long as Scooby and Christian got through, I was going to be happy.  I really didn't have a fifth favorite and figured that spot would go to either of the mediocre singers with good sob stories.  Turns out that military vet with one leg trumps girl with anxiety/depression. 

[bluepiano]

Adrian was awful last night and I read where they are trying to blame his bad notes on his glasses falling off and hitting the keyboard. Um, that happened in the first couple seconds - how do you explain the rest of the performance??

 

I watched his performance again, and I really think the issue is he was coached to be very showy and dramatic, so he did things like raising his hands up above his shoulder so they could come crashing down on the keyboard, which is terrible piano technique and bound to lead to bum chords. Unless maybe you've been doing that sort of thing for way longer than this kid has been alive. It's the kind of schtick Liberace made a career of, and what made him an entertainer and not a serious concert pianist. (He started out on the concert pianist route and then decided to go for the money and fame).

 

Maybe it was the right decision in term of getting votes and audience applause. The judges certainly fell for it, even if Mozart was turning over in his grave at hearing his beautiful, sensitive piece played like it was "The Star and Stripes Forever." The opening of Adrian's bio piece was a shot of an award in a piano competition, so I assume he does not play like that all the time, or he would not be winning any kind of competition, even at the beginning level. Maybe now that he's had his 15 minutes of fame he will return to playing piano the right way, and his normal life. (Or as normal as life can be for a 9 year old going into the 10th grade).

 

PS - Not surprising that his mother is a Russian emigrant, as that is a culture that is steeped in pushing kids to achieve big things at a very young age.

Edited August 14, 2014 by bluepiano

[mtlchick]

 

I thought the Heidi/Taylor skit was really funny.  Especially the part where he mentioned that they had friends in similar nonsensical relationships, and the camera cut to a picture of Nick & Mariah.

I snorted a bit too loudly at that.  It's funny because it's accurate.

[helenamonster]

Adrian - as difficult as it was to watch the kid get his disappointment handed to him on national TV - I can see how, at 9 when he's in...what...10th grade...he's probably very accustomed to being #1. curve wrecker, top of the class, etc., and not 'winning' probably isn't something his 9 years on the planet haven't introduced him to yet.

 

I was thinking the same thing. Losing is part of life and it's something that kids should learn early.

 

Also, I totally call BS on his intro package, where all the kids in his class were so "amused" by his genius. Even the nicest 8th/9th grader would hate constantly being shown up by a 9-year-old.

 

Turns out that military vet with one leg trumps girl with anxiety/depression. 

 

Paul Ieti wasn't the guy with one leg. That was Saul (Sal?) SomethingOrOther. I don't think he made it to the live rounds. I don't remember seeing him in the line-up for next week.

[kechara]

Amazing the number of parents who can't deal with their kids having any kind of setback. I recall a number of parents getting really up in arms when their kids weren't chosen for a school talent show.  But the acts they put together were so half-assed that they should have been embarrassed.

[Shermie]

I just love Nick for the way he handled the boy's departure and tried to make him feel better.

 

Yeah, Nick is a real gem in these circumstances. The boy seemed heartbroken and Nick is so quick to see that a child is not reacting well to elimination and steps in to make him feel better. I bet Nick is an awesome father.

 

Maybe now that he's had his 15 minutes of fame he will return to playing piano the right way

 

Eh, I don't think there's a "right way" to play the piano, as long as you're playing. The arts of all kinds need encouragement. I think the kid got flustered after his glasses fell off and after missing a few notes, he just got more flustered. (I've seen it happen to piano players in my church, who are under a lot less pressure) I think he can play, and play well, but it just didn't work out for him. 

 

I was happy that all but the singer guy made it through. I would have preferred the multi-cultural dancers in that spot. Glad Wendy Leibman didn't get through, sheesh.

Loved the Taylor-Heidi skit, too funny.

[daughtersofanarchy]

The three acts I most wanted to go through did make it, so yay for that.

 

My dh gave out a loud laugh when they showed that pic of Nick and Mariah during the skit.  Great idea there.  Wonder who wrote that skit.  Taylor???

[theatremouse]

I think we (as a culture) have a sort of odd but too common reaction to anyone presented as a child prodigy which is: oh they must be completely brilliant at everything. When really to be considered a prodigy, you're really being compared to your peer group. So a 9 year old in 10th grade is certainly brilliant. For a 9 year old. But it doesn't mean he'll necessarily stay on that trajectory and continue to be leaps and bounds ahead of his peers. By the time he's 20 he might just be a very smart 20 year old. There's no way to tell at this point, but expectations are rough when you're a prodigy and billed as such. Not only might you always expect to be the best at everything but even if you don't others may assume you should be. When really, all the label means is he's way smarter than almost all 9 year olds, not adults. But when you go on a national television show competition and you're competing with adults, well then, you need to be better than the adults (or interesting enough to convince the people voting at home to like you better anyway).

 

I agree he was going for schtick not precision in his recent performance, and it suffered, but even without the mistakes and the glasses bit (which I originally thought was intentional because he was flailing so absurdly), it still wasn't very good. When he started with the chopsticks bullshit I thought he'd transition into something ridiculously complicated and awesome. That's the only way to get away with that gimmick. What did he transition to? The most cliche obvious piece he could've chosen. I mean, I doubt he chose it. I'm sure there was some sort of parental/producer intervention in the staging of his act, at very least suggestions, so I don't blame it all on him, but between the execution and just what he planned to do, not impressed. No matter how old he is.

Edited August 14, 2014 by theatremouse

[PepperMonkey]

So I f i n a l l y watched the highlights of the overlong performance show and the results show on Hulu. Ugh. I love the guy and his chihuahua, but he's not the awesomest thing I've ever seen. The jooges acting like this is best season ever just roll me up.

Was glad the panic stricken singer didn't get through and the little boy, but I was uber sad to see how he looked like he was about to cry. He's only 9 - may be in 10th grade, but is certainly not at that maturity level.

I'm finding as the season progresses I don't care who moves forward and who doesn't, really. THE JUMP ROPE GROUP WUZ ROBBED.

If they send any more singers or precious, yet middling, kid acts through, I probably won't bother to watch until the final finale.

Does anyone know or has it been confirmed that there is going to be a wild card or judges pick show? Cause the jump rope group wuz robbed!!! and I'm hoping someone picks them.

Edited August 16, 2014 by PepperMonkey

[helenamonster]

Yes, the judges will announce their wild card picks during this coming week's result show. My predictions? Howard and Mel will probably choose one of the bigger group acts like Cornell Bhangra, Flight Crew Jump Rope, or Hart Dance Team. Heidi will pick one of the kiddie acts, probs Adrian Ramoff. And Howie will pick someone dumb like Darik Santos or *shudder* Juan Carlos.

[marketdoctor]

 

The jooges acting like this is best season ever just roll me up.

 

I think it's the best season this year. 

 

I want to see the jump rope group or Cornell Bhangra come back and beat the odds.  (Prediction:  they won't beat the odds.)

[Wings]

They choose one act to return but they have to agree on it.  Howie will want to bring back the the Desmond guy but he cannot win that argument.  I am not fond of the jump ropers or other large groups.  I watch this show with half attention until the finals, they I watch without playing solitare or texting for longer periods of time. 

[helenamonster]

I thought for wild cards each judge got to pick one without discussing it with the other three?

[LoneHaranguer]

 

I thought the Heidi/Taylor skit was really funny.

I liked that somebody got a clue about what lederhosen are. I don't know what they look like myself, but since leder = leather, it was pretty obvious that what Taylor pulled out the first time he did that joke was wrong.

[Wings]

I thought for wild cards each judge got to pick one without discussing it with the other three?

 

Only one can come back.  I am not sure how they can agree or what they do, now that I think more about this.

[helenamonster]

I'm pretty sure four are coming back, one for each judge. That's how they did it last year. And NBC is promoting it as wild card picks, plural.

[PepperMonkey]

marketdoctor, I stand corrected: I guess this is the best season of this year.

helenamonster! Of course you are correct in your assumption that Howie will choose something stupid. Or he may choose panic attack girl cause he thinks she's the greatest American hero ever, which is totally legitimate since he's Canadian! (No offense to my Canadian friends out there. It's not your fault Howie Mandell was born in your country).

And don't even get me started on his claim that one of this year's contestants on AGT could begin to fill the void left by the death of Robin Williams. Holy crap, we need new judges. Mel B can stay though.

Edited August 18, 2014 by PepperMonkey

[A Boston Gal]

A little cheering for the "hometown team" by the Boston Globe: http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/names/2014/08/18/boston-sons-serendip-compete-america-got-talent/AQl0FVGnPyxwiwGVzanhMN/story.html