S09.E18: Semifinals: Week 1 Performances

[UsernameGoesHere]

 

The first 12 acts of the top 24 perform, including 3 of the 4 judges' wildcard picks.

[peggy06]

I missed most of the show and will have to catch the recap. I just had to come here to rant about Howie.

 

So, Paul Ieti had a shaky performance. He seemed very nervous, and his voice was quavery in places. I have no problem with telling him so. What I do have a problem with, what I find classless and rude, is to taunt him with another contestant's performance. "Mara did better than you, nyah nyah nyah!" I swear that's how it came across. What a jerk move.

 

Then, when Mike Super performed. It was a better trick than last time (could hardly have been worse), but not extraordinary. And the guy's whole self-important demeanor still bugs me. But Howie was ostentatiously all over it, leaping to his feet at the end, and actually preening himself that HIS wild card pick was so awesome. I just cannot stand him any more. Ugh, ugh, ugh.

 

Of the few acts I did see, the best was the hand balancer. He did have a couple of flubs, but overall it was very good, and he kept it interesting the whole time.  Emily West undoubtedly has a very good voice; I dislike the song and genre she chose tonight, so it didn't do it for me. She could win this thing, though.

[helenamonster]

Flight Crew Jump Rope: Yeah, they were better last time. What a shame, too, because I was so looking forward to them getting a second chance.

 

Mara Justine: For the love of God, stop trying to make this girl happen. She's not going to happen. I see the person who dressed her last time is still being employed by this show. If she wasn't going to perform a figure skating routine while singing, there was no reason for her to be in that dress. She's twelve, not eight. Also, it's really hard to buy the judges being so enamored with her when Howie called her "Carla."

 

Bad Boys of Ballet: This is a group of really good dancers, but there's really nothing edgy enough about them to warrant the name "Bad Boys."

 

Paul Ieti: I want to fall asleep just looking at this guy. Lol at "I'm just walking around the city smiling" and they cut to a clip of him walking around the city with a straight face.

 

Mike Super: Much better than his last performance. So glad he ditched Desmond.

 

Andrey Moraru: Still awesome. I'm guessing the little twitches he did with his feet were harder than any of the other moves. I could watch him all day.

 

Miguel Dakota: I agree with Howard in that he doesn't really have any connection to the song. As I was watching his performance I thought he looked dead behind the eyes.

 

Sons of Serendip: Solid performance.

 

David and Leeman: Like Mike Super, soooo much better than last time. I think they have really great charisma and presentation skills.

 

Dan Naturman: Was that really 90 seconds? It felt like 30. Eh, not his best, and I'm not German (by nationality, anyway, but my great-grandparents were), but what was so offensive about his German joke? If anything, he was complimenting them and dissing Americans.

 

Aerial Animation: Also not their best. It was too much animation, not enough aerial.

 

Emily West: She is the exception to my anti-singer rule. I would not be at all mad if she won. And given the lackluster talent pool this year, I'm kind of rooting for her. I actually think she works better on this show as opposed to the other singing shows because of her "look." Other singing shows seem to want to mold every singer that comes through into something generic that can easily be marketed to younger people. But this show allows her to maintain her look and style and those things are part of what make her so great.

Edited August 27, 2014 by helenamonster

[BMGepinniw]

So, Paul Ieti had a shaky performance. He seemed very nervous, and his voice was quavery in places. I have no problem with telling him so. What I do have a problem with, what I find classless and rude, is to taunt him with another contestant's performance. "Mara did better than you, nyah nyah nyah!" I swear that's how it came across. What a jerk move.stand him any more. Ugh, ugh, ugh.

 

I too, was disgusted with Howie's comments to Paul.  My mother was yelling at the TV, telling Howie how rude he was, and she's usually a lot less vocal than I am with talking back to the TV.  Then Nick, who I know was just reading from the teleprompter, starts his schpeil telling the ladies about the good looking singer coming up.  Paul had a look on his face as if to say "Et tu, Nick?". 

 

And on the subject of Mara, I didn't like her singing tonight.  It sounded rather forced to me, and I felt quite sorry for her when she was trying to keep herself together when the judges were raving about her performance.  And did you know she's only 12?! (bazinga). 

 

I'll have to watch at least part of the recap tomorrow as well.  I fell asleep and missed Sons of Serendip, who are one of my favorites.  I really want them to go through.  I hope they at least are able to put out an album or two or three.... 

 

I was having American Idol flashbacks when the "gimmick" from the Bad Boys of Ballet was back talking Howard.  That used to be the kiss of death when contestants would mouth off to Simon. 

 

Looking forward to seeing Scooby again tomorrow!! 

Edited August 27, 2014 by BMGepinniw

[Zuleikha]

Andrey Moraru was gorgeous. I liked that he did the handbalancing completely on the ground instead of on the blocks. It emphasized that he was doing different moves. He's the first hand balancer I've seen who's really brought out the dance aspect to it, and I loved the way he mixed in the contortion. I really hope he's an exception to the general rule of circus artists not being appreciated by the general audience.

 

I feel bad about this because they're local, but I thought Aerial Animation blew it with a strategically poor choice of routine. The animations were lovelier and more vibrant, but the circus aspect was boring. Also, Abigail's wheeldown was mediocre. It's a hard move, and I give her props for the smoothness of her rotation as well as the way she stacked moves, but the frog legs were a bad choice, IMHO. I wasn't impressed with her hip key-foot hook either in the general context of the routine. She lacked wow moments in this one, and if she'd been gutsy and set that up to do it as a drop, it could have been a wow moment. But as it was, it was slow and safe. 

 

However, on the YouTube video at least, the camera didn't follow her down so there was a long-feeling stretch when she and Andy were out of view. I don't know if they were doing more at that moment or if they were just prepping for the rise. But as it was, what I saw had them just not doing enough moves either on the ground or with her on the tissu. 

 

I thought both magicians were good, but I feel decently confident that David and Leeman's trick was prop based. I have no freaking clue how Mike Super did what he did, although I'm sure some dedicated Googling will tell me. I was very meh on Mike Super's return as a wild card, but I think he brought it and deserves to go onto the next round. It was a well executed trick.

[Koutzybuddy]

Idc what anyone thinks but I'm sick of so many singers on this show! Miguel will probably make through just cuz all his fan girls. Emily has her stupid story about losing her record label. Who gives a shit just give it up. Paul has all his army buddies voting for him. Like c'mon this show is wasting so much talent by letting singers allowed in it.

Anyway the best acts of the night were definitely

Sons of serendip, mike super, David and leeman, and Andrey. Dan wasn't as funny as he could've been. And aerial animation was never good, always snooze worthy from the beginning.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I rewatched Super's trick verrrrrry closely when Howard chose the triangle from the pouch.  The jidges stated that no two symbols were alike and passed them on to Howard.  I could easily see that Howard and Heidi did indeed have 10 different symbols and that Heidi happened to have the triangle in her group of five cards.  I could not make out the cards for Mel nor Howie.

 

So, Howard goes to pick the card and out comes the triangle.  But, guess what?  There was at least one more triangle remaining in the pouch.  It was clear as day.  This was not possible IF, the only cards in that pouch were those that Howard placed there, right?   Obviously the pouch had a separate compartment filled with triangles only and that is where Howard's hand went.  Didja notice the assistant make a quick move on the pouch after Howard deposited the cards?  That, to me, is when he closed off that compartment and added the triangle cards in another which was then opened to Howard's hand.   All the rest of the "magic" shown was pretty standard and pedestrian, in my opinion.

 

Paul the singer was no worse than he was in the quarterfinals when he was given a collective tongue-bath by the jidges.  Great guy.  Not great singer.  Buh bye.  None of the other singers were worth a spit, tonight, either.  Easily among the worst collection in a semi-finals in AGT histoire.

 

As cheesy as it was, David and Leeman's patter was really good.  The nail trick wasn't all that amazing, but it was at least something.  I also liked the silk and animation act.   Really good concept tonight and near-flawless in execution.  These are the two I most want to see go through.  If a singer must advance, I guess Emily, the pimp spot, was the least mediocre.

 

Given how badly Ameriker has voted recently, I am not looking forward to the results show.

[ketchuplover]

Jacob Karr /Jakob Carr who was runner-up on season 6 of So You Think You Can Dance? is one of the "bad boys" of ballet. He lost to a krumper.

 

Nail trick wasn't amazing?  Looked dangerous to me.  They got lucky imo. I cant believe no one hasn't been impaled yet.  At least I haven't heard about it.

 

Standing O for Mara? Seriously? 

Edited August 27, 2014 by ketchuplover

[gaPeach]

Enough with the singers already!  Mara is NOT that good.  She is only 12 and yes she has a good voice for her age but she has some work to do before she is "amazing".  The dress she has on was awful.  I am tired of the singers on this show.  There are 19 other shows on TV for singers I tune into AGT to see other types of acts.

 

And dancers do the same thing each time?  So do the singers!  The dance and other types of acts have to come up with a new and exciting routine or they get called out of being boring.  I think the singers are boring and FF through their songs about half way through.

 

I am so over Howie and Howard.

[peggy06]

So, Howard goes to pick the card and out comes the triangle.  But, guess what?  There was at least one more triangle remaining in the pouch.  It was clear as day.  This was not possible IF, the only cards in that pouch were those that Howard placed there, right?   Obviously the pouch had a separate compartment filled with triangles only and that is where Howard's hand went.  Didja notice the assistant make a quick move on the pouch after Howard deposited the cards?  That, to me, is when he closed off that compartment and added the triangle cards in another which was then opened to Howard's hand.   All the rest of the "magic" shown was pretty standard and pedestrian, in my opinion.

It stuck out like a sore thumb that the bag disappeared behind/under the table at one point. I agree that's how it must have been done. The rest was better executed, but is still a pretty standard trick (disappearing/reappearing).

 

Nail trick wasn't amazing?  Looked dangerous to me.  They got lucky imo. I cant believe no one hasn't been impaled yet.  At least I haven't heard about it.

I missed David and Leeman. Did they do a trick with a spike on a wood block in a paper bag? Because someone did that on Penn and Teller: Fool Us last week. They didn't fool P&T, and Penn called them out for doing a trick that can and has caused injury.

[marketdoctor]

 

For the love of God, stop trying to make this girl happen.

 

Or at least, let her HAVE A CHILDHOOD--I'm not a woman, but I've heard being 12 has enough going on without adding this to it.

 

 

I missed David and Leeman. Did they do a trick with a spike on a wood block in a paper bag? Because someone did that on Penn and Teller: Fool Us last week.

 

It was almost exactly the same trick as on Penn & Teller.  They did buzz themselves to start the trick, which was a nice, bold move, and they used five bags instead of four.  The camera cut away as one of them was about to reach into the bag, so if you hadn't seen "Fool Us" or you were in the audience you couldn't have been able to see how the trick was done.  The control booth did them a huge favor over Mike Super, where as Lonesome Rhodes already noted, the camera just about showed how the card part of the trick was done.  (Mike could try to spin it that of course you saw more than one triangle, because each judge had the same five symbols.)  Some tricks live or die by the assisant, and using a mesh bag was probably an attempt to make it less obvious there was a force.  He would have gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been for that meddling camera work.  I have to respect Mike Super for not making that the entire trick; the disappearing/reappearing was standard, but the card trick aspect was a good twist.

 

Also, as Penn and Teller noted, please do NOT EVER TRY THE NAIL TRICK.  People who thought they knew what they were doing have been hurt.  It's not as dangerous as the magic bullet trick, but it's bad enough.  (If you must do it, try to find a comic/non-permanent injury way to do it; that way you'll be original and not inspire stupid people to hurt themselves.)

Edited August 27, 2014 by marketdoctor

[kechara]

I didn't care that much for the spike trick itself, but the patter was amusing and that's where I think these guys have an edge.  Unlike the other magician, these guys have an appealing personality.

I wasn't blown away by much last night.  I think all the footage of that little girl crying her eyes out, points out why they shouldn't have kids on these things.

I enjoyed the Serandip guys - agree that the name sucks - and the Ballet group, but again, I've seen and heard their like before. Same with the balancing guy although he's great. I have been to Cirque  de Soleil and they're all over that.

Singer in red was fine.  Silks girl was also fine.

There are so many venues pm tv for singers though that I just don't feel that invested.

[UncleChuck]

I haven't seen Penn and Teller's explanation, but the nail-in-the-bag illusion seems simple enough when you consider how elaborate magic props can be.  I am just going to give my guess as to how it can be done.

The spike is real, it is a metal spike and it is very sharp and could be dangerous.  But...if I were doing the illusion I would simply have 5 spikes (one for each bag) and each one would be folded down on a hinged spring to lie flat (and harmless) until opened up.  I noticed that after each bag was crushed they just moved it out of the way, never showing that the bag was actually empty.

So when a letter bag is chosen, you just smash down on top of the folded (harmless) spike and then get it out of sight.  When the final bag is revealed WITH the spike, as you pick up the bag, trip a button or latch and the spike flips up into position for the reveal.

Now if you really want to fool me, after each bag is smooshed, reveal an empty bag.

[marketdoctor]

 

Now if you really want to fool me, after each bag is smooshed, reveal an empty bag.

 

There is a way to do this trick with one sharp nail, and a block of wood in each bag that is not spring-loaded (the "Fool Us" guy only used one nail.).  Spring-loaded props MIGHT be how people get injured, though.    And it was a good presentation of the trick; they were risking that Heidi hadn't seen the trick before (likely, but not certain.)

 

Also, what was the deal with putting all four wild cards on the same night?  It gives an edge to this week's group over next week's.  Maybe the idea was you increase the odds of a wild card getting into the finals, which isn't fair to the group next week.  It makes the wild card more relevant, but they don't NEED to be "relevant", they need to be GOOD.  They were a good fit for the week, but I don't know if they'd last had they been split two and two.

Edited August 27, 2014 by marketdoctor

[Panopticon]

After mediocre earlier rounds, I thought this was a decent semi-final with almost all of the acts doing a nice job and an even level of competition.

 

I'm just overwhelmed and bored by the number of singers, talented though they may be. It can't be said enough that television is full of singing competitions. If I wanted to watch singers compete, I would watch those. AGT ought to be different.

 

But since the singers WERE there, I had no patience for the judges' attitudes. There was no reason to sneer "a twelve year old did better than you" or "he might beat you because he's better looking even though he sucks." I'm all for contructive criticism (and wish there was more), but I never enjoy smug taunting.

 

Flight Crew Jump Rope: It was so unlucky for them that the camera happened to  be focused right on the mistake. With the constant cuts to judges/audience, blinding special effects, and focus zooming in and out, the home viewers could easily have missed that entirely... but we didn't. I pretty much always enjoy trick jump rope, though, and this is no exception.

 

Mara Justine: Sigh. More singing. (After my rant about kiddie song choices last week, though, I will compliment her handlers for choosing something age appropriate this time around.)

 

Bad Boys of Ballet: They were competent, but nothing about them stands out to me as opposed to any other dance group.

 

Paul Ieti: Sigh. More singing.

 

Mike Super: He made the most of his second chance and gave a good performance. I knew I'd enjoy him more if he ditched Desmond, but I didn't realize how much more.

 

Andrey Moraru: Excellent. The way he combines contortion and dance with balancing/strength gives him an edge.

 

Miguel Dakota: Sigh. More singing.

 

Sons of Serendip: You know what I love about this group? Their promo packages. No sob stories, and they're so likeable. "She said 'who wants to learn the harp for free?' and I just heard 'free.'"

 

David and Leeman: They should not have made it this far after "pick any word as long as it's the word we tell you to pick" fiasco. That's far worse than one stumble by a jump roper. But since they are here, they picked it up and did a great job. Their character/chatter works well.

 

Dan Naturman: He was fine. I felt bad for him when Heidi basically declared his (mild, to my ear) performance the most offensive thing ever. But she was okay with the middle schooler telling sex jokes about his mom?

 

Aerial Animation: Also good, but not her best.

 

Emily West: Sigh. More singing.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

It stuck out like a sore thumb that the bag disappeared behind/under the table at one point. I agree that's how it must have been done. The rest was better executed, but is still a pretty standard trick (disappearing/reappearing).

Using the mesh bag was a mistake because you could tell that the non-triangles were in a separate compartment; they didn't move when Howard was rummaging around. The fact that Mike did the disappearing from stage/reappearing elsewhere meant that he had a second way of doing the trick; he had the opportunity to see on one of the monitors what had been picked and pull the right appliances from his pockets before he called attention to himself at his new location. That was probably insurance against his assistant screwing up.

[marketdoctor]

 

The fact that Mike did the disappearing from stage/reappearing elsewhere meant that he had a second way of doing the trick...

 

I'd missed this, but you're right.  I actually like him *more* for that level of preparation/professionalism.

 

[PepperMonkey]

Thank god we have this forum; I had decided I had a benign brain tumour that was pressing on the area of my brain responsible for hearing after Mara Justine got her prolonged standing O and tongue bath from the judges. I just don't hear what they're hearing and I don't get why they keep praising her to that extent if she's not that good. Even though she's only 12, they're not doing her any favours by not giving her any valid critiques.

Leeman and other guy continue to disappoint me. I thought their first act was awesome and they've been a letdown ever since.

Never thought Dan Naturman was funny. I don't think Heidi was offended by his Germanic jokes at all; I think she didn't think they were funny, and although I don't usually agree with her where comics are concerned, this time I did.

My two biggest disappointments were Flight Crew Jump Rope and Aerial Animation. I really wanted someone to pick the jumpers as wild card; Heidi did; and it appeared to be mistake after mistake. I still think they're awesome, but last night's performance was NOT and I'm pretty sure they won't go through, however, it was such a lacklustre night, you never know. Aerial Animation was almost BAD. I had loved her previous performances and was really looking forward to her being in the finals, but yeah, no, she won't.

I'm violently opposed to singers on this show and have made that clear in previous posts. Having said that, I thought Emily West was stunning last night. I know someone up above mentioned they didn't like her song, but I love anything Queen does, even the soundtrack from the original Highlander movie (the entire soundtrack is beautiful, by the way). That song accompanied one of the most beautiful scenes in that movie and I've always loved it. So even though she's a singer, I'm rooting for her. Especially if she can keep Mara Justine and Kelli Glover from winning this whole shebang.

Oh, and I love the Sons of Serendip. It's singing, but so much more. I don't know how invested America will be, but I'm hoping they go through to the finals.

Edited to add: shout out to peggy06 re Howie. I think he's an idjit and has only gotten worse each and every season since he joined up. He does and says the stupidest things (imho) and couldn't even get Mara's name right last night. Did he keep calling her Kara or Clara? Whatever, he's a nitwit. It's time for all new judges except for MelB. Heidi needs to spend more time fine tuning Project Runway and Howie and Howard just need to go away.

Edited August 27, 2014 by PepperMonkey

[UsernameGoesHere]

Mara must sound a lot different at RCMH. I just... I can't. My jaw dropped when the judges stood up for her. It'll be a travesty if she goes through. I cringed every time Howie called her "Cara."

 

Paul Ieti is very consistent... consistent in that I haven't liked a single one of his performances to date. This might've been the worst though. And did you guys know he's a soldier? We've only had like 4 video packages about it now. I think he's gone tonight.

 

I don't get David and Leeman. I didn't like their first audition with Howie reading the cards, thought they completely bombed in the quarterfinals and was confused as to how they made it through, and I was falling asleep during that nonsense last night. Why are the magicians on this show always allowed to take forever with their acts? A quick look at the AGT youtube channel shows that almost every performance last night was approximately 1 minute and 45 seconds, except for the 2 magic acts. D&L dragged on for over 4 minutes. Collins Key always did this last year too. Why is this allowed? I don't get it. Anyway, I thought this trick was so boring. The only thing these guys have going for them is their comedy (but zzzz at the 500 jokes about getting off). The actual magic just dragged and dragged and I couldn't wait for it to be over. Yawn. I did crack up at Heidi screaming out "DOUCHEBAG" in the middle of it. These guys are easily the worst of the magicians on the show. If they make it through... ugh.

 

Out of the 2 magic acts I did prefer Mike Super, even though I wasn't looking forward to seeing him again. How lucky that he had a camera crew with him when he got the call from Howie saying he was a wildcard. ;)

 

I love love love Andrey. My favorite from the night and all of my votes went to him. I really hope he makes it through. I love how this time he showed off some flexibility too. That last trick didn't quite pan out, but oh well. He's still really amazing. I want to see him and Christian go head to head in the top 12 in an epic handbalancing battle.

 

Dan Naturman's routine felt crazy short, but looking at youtube tells me it was just as long as everyone else's performances. Weird. I thought Heidi was so over the top in her reaction to him. I liked him, didn't love it, but I think he has an advantage being the only comedian performing last night. I'm not sure what jokes Howie thinks we'll be quoting, but okay.

 

Aerial Animation... sigh. I didn't like her first audition, but I loved them in the quarterfinals and they won me over. Last night was a disappointment. I feel like we didn't see enough aerial tricks (and yeah, there was a bizarre part where they were off camera for a bit). I disagree with whatever judge basically said she needs to ditch the guy though - I like him and think he adds something to the act. I think this is it for them.

 

The other act I don't get... Miguel. I just don't think he's that great of a singer. Besides him looking like that guy from One Direction, what's so great about him? He's this year's Collins Key in that he'll skate through right to the finals because teen girls everywhere are wetting their panties over him (except Miguel isn't an arrogant, annoying swaggy twit like Collins was). Can I actually talk about that for a minute? Ignoring his actual act, I really like Miguel. He seems like a genuinely sweet and humble guy. Very endearing. I think I'm only a year or two older than him, and he's the kind of guy I would want to bring home to meet my mom. And yeah, I know I'm the only 23-year-old straight female watching this show and enjoying Miguel because of his personality.

 

And can I be honest? I don't have the slightest idea who Ariana Grande is.

 

Paul Ieti: I want to fall asleep just looking at this guy. Lol at "I'm just walking around the city smiling" and they cut to a clip of him walking around the city with a straight face.

 

This cracked me up so hard when I saw it last night. What the heck, editors? Were there no clips of him smiling? Too funny.

[peggy06]

I'm violently opposed to singers on this show and have made that clear in previous posts. Having said that, I thought Emily West was stunning last night. I know someone up above mentioned they didn't like her song, but I love anything Queen does, even the soundtrack from the original Highlander movie (the entire soundtrack is beautiful, by the way). That song accompanied one of the most beautiful scenes in that movie and I've always loved it. So even though she's a singer, I'm rooting for her.

QUEEN? That was a Queen song? Boy do I feel dumb. The way she sang it, I thought it was a Broadway song I had just never heard. Maybe I was influenced by her dress and general styling. I'll have to look up the original; something tells me I will like it better.

Edited August 27, 2014 by peggy06

[helenamonster]

Also, what was the deal with putting all four wild cards on the same night?  It gives an edge to this week's group over next week's.  Maybe the idea was you increase the odds of a wild card getting into the finals, which isn't fair to the group next week.  It makes the wild card more relevant, but they don't NEED to be "relevant", they need to be GOOD.  They were a good fit for the week, but I don't know if they'd last had they been split two and two.

 

There was one wild card act that didn't go tonight: Howard's pick, the comedienne Wendy Liebman. But I agree that they should have split them up two and two.

 

And can I be honest? I don't have the slightest idea who Ariana Grande is.

 

She's not exactly up-and-coming, since she's been at this for at least two years, but she's a young pop singer (I think she looks younger than she actually is; she looks 15 but she's probably like 21 or something). Her current hits are "Problem" with Iggy Azalea and "Bang Bang" with Jessie J and Nicki Minaj. She was also on a couple of Nickelodeon shows. She's not really my thing but she's alright. A lot of people are hailing her as the next Mariah Carey because she can sing into the whistle register.

 

Yeah, while I liked the patter between David and Leeman last night, they could have left out the "getting off" jokes. Like ewwww we don't know you like that.

 

I figured the key to Mike Super's trick was in the bag that his assistant so obviously mishandled, but the bag was a see-through mesh so I wasn't quite sure. I'll have to go back and watch again.

[PepperMonkey]

 

Queen - Who Wants to Live Forever? Highlander version, written by Brian May.

R.I.P., Freddie Mercury; there will never be another you.

Edited August 27, 2014 by PepperMonkey

[daughtersofanarchy]

Totally agree about Howie being a rude, childish ass.  I would love to see him kicked to the curb.

 

The one thing I loved about Miguel's performance was when he ripped that hideous hat off.  Howard was right that he wasn't invested in the song at all.  When your are a singer you have to be an actor as well, you have to channel and project whichever emotions are implied in the song, otherwise what the hell do you think you're up there for?  Make some lame sounds come out of your mouth and have everyone hand you money?  But of course he will go through anyway.

 

Agree that the soldier singer was really no different than he has been all along.  I like the guy and I think he has a nice tone to his voice, but at the least he needs lessons and a lot of practice.

 

Mara was as awful as ever.

 

Emily was wonderful, strong and emotional.

 

I like SOS so much, they make such pretty music.

 

Magicians - both acts - I haven't liked either of them since the auditions.  Can't help it, they seem about twenty years behind the times in magic.  Can't see them doing anything beyond county fairs and birthday parties.

 

I agree with those who like the aerialist but were disappointed with last night's performance.  The part where they were completely off camera for a few seconds was not good.  Was that her intention, or was that lousy camera work?  I still want her to go through, but I think this put a big dent in her chances of winning.

 

Hand balancer was as beautiful and amazing as always.  Hope he makes it.

 

Jump ropers - I like them but think they blew it.  Ballet, likewise.

 

Comedian - I like him but don't think he has the right stuff to win the competition.  Thought Heidi was bonkers in her criticism.

 

All in all, pleh.  I feel like I'm crawling across the desert looking for water.

[SmallTownMom]

Im watching the recap and I'm sorry to hate on a kid, but I hope Mara Justine goes home tonight!

 

Her performance was awful, she has zero charisma and when she was making her head go from side to side, she looked like she was having a seizure.

 

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know she's only 12, but she is not good enough to be here.

 

And because it can't be said often enough, Howie was an ass last night.

[beagletime]

This has gone from being one of my favorite shows, to a show I watch while doing the dishes.  I'm also beginning to think there is something seriously wrong with my ears.  Mara is just not that good.

 

The judging is really confusing to me.  Jump rope act is told they are being repetitive.  Yet Mara yells into the microphone yet again.  I didn't hear any nuance or emotion in her singing.  Like I said, maybe it's my ears.

 

 

Magicians - both acts - I haven't liked either of them since the auditions.  Can't help it, they seem about twenty years behind the times in magic.  Can't see them doing anything beyond county fairs and birthday parties.

Completely agree.  You can go to any magic shop and buy those illusions.  They are competent amateurs, not Vegas quality.  The tricks they do are so obvious.

 

The aerialist should be upset with the camera person.  For a 90 second act she was completely off camera for too long.  Why not introduce her mystery partner? We've seen him twice and he seems to be a part of the performance.

 

I also laughed at Paul "walking around the city smiling".  Cut to Paul walking with a straight face.  Unexpected funny moment.

 

Really like Sons of Serendip.  Good looking men, very good at their music, mature and no sob story!!  Thank you! 

 

Bad Boys of Ballet.  Young lady please don't be so defensive.  Howard could have called you the centerpiece, the hook or the gimmick. The point is the "boys" are a backup group to your dancing.  The "boys" are good enough, but I saw a lot of sloppy technique, and nothing very special or different.  

 

Sometimes the judges mention a contestant being able to carry a whole Vegas show.  We know they are part of a variety show. The judging is all over the place.  At this point the show just needs to be an old school variety show like Ed Sullivan hosted.  Between the bad singers and trying to convince us that professionals are struggling show biz hopefuls it's getting silly. 

 

Lastly, I never want to hear an act say that they deserve to win or be there because of how hard they worked.  I would expect you to have worked hard to present your best act.  That should be a given.  Also, I don't want to hear anyone talk about being away from their kids. It's show business.  You are going to be working evenings and weekends and touring.  Work a 9 to 5 office job if you want evenings and weekends off. 

[4leafclover]

When the camera was off the aerialist for so long, I thought for sure she must be attempting a mediocre magic act!

[peggy06]

At this point the show just needs to be an old school variety show like Ed Sullivan hosted.  Between the bad singers and trying to convince us that professionals are struggling show biz hopefuls it's getting silly.

I used to refer to this as the semi-pro Ed Sullivan Show. You are right, it'd be better if they just did the show without the judging factor. When people come on who've been on Fallon, Letterman, and Kimmel, who've made records that charted, it's silly to present them as these great unknown talents.

[bluepiano]

Bad Boys of Ballet should be called Chippendale Boys of Ballet. The bare torsos and pec massaging had nothing to do with dance. I guess the strategy was to go for cougar and tween girl votes. Also, air guitar strumming and hip hop hand signs do not make one "bad."

 

Heidi's comments about their performance showed once again showed how little the judges know about the arts. Dancers have been combining ballet and modern dance with rock music and "attitude" for years. When she said that this was something we've never seen before, I was thinking "speak for yourself."

 

The judges also know nothing about singing, because as weak as Paul Ieti's performance may have been, he is still technically a much better singer that Mara Justine. Even grading her on a curve because of her age.

[Judge Milianaire]

What was the story with David and Leeman's "controversial" act?

My theory: D&L basically did the same trick as the one shown on Penn & Teller, only the AGT execution was significantly wanting. In the classic way this trick is done, the audience first sees the empty bags, the magicians place a spike in one bag, and then the bags are randomly shuffled before the magician begins slamming his hand on the closed bags. So...D&L began the trick about halfway in. It was done in its completion on Penn & Teller. The way the trick can be safely done is by removing the spike from the bag before anyone begins slamming on the bags, and spike is returned--both times through sleight of hand--when the contents of the final bag are revealed at the end.

Also, I don't recall anyone calling anyone out on performing a trick that can cause injury. As explained above, this trick can be completely safe to perform. After the trick was preformed flawlessly on Penn & Teller, Penn (Teller doesn't speak) was trying to figure out how the trick was done by process of elimination, so he started by saying that legitimately dangerous magic was immoral, thus he did not believe the trick was performed in a dangerous nature, as he didn't believe the magician was immoral, nor did he believe the show would support such "magic." Penn was complimenting the magician for making it look dangerous when it wasn't; he didn't call the magician out. The judges on AGT are so ignorant about magic (see Howie choosing Desmond's father as his wild card), that I doubt they would have paused to consider the morality or immorality of any of the magic performed. Nor do they consider the morality of forcing the audience at Radio City to be subjected to another Mara performance, but I digress...

Heidi: Offended by, or just not a fan of Dan Naturman?

The thing about it, was that Heidi's first words to Naturman were,"I think you managed to offend everyone here." So she very directly expressed that she was offended. It was only after she didn't enjoy audience support that Heidi did a totally defensive 180 and declared that she wasn't offended, she just didn't think it was funny. Nice try Heidi.

Also Heidi, try to remember the contestant's name before showering him with effusive praise, including the promise that people will remember his name (see Miguel Dakota).

[theatremouse]

Indeed, contrary to Penn and Teller, and I loved when they pointed out the immorality of the potential danger of such a trick, this show specifically seems to value danger. I don't just mean with the magicians, and I don't think it's that they value perceived danger where there is none. This show regularly praises acts for doing genuine dangerous tricks, and criticizes when not dangerous enough (if it's the sort of act that does anything somewhat dangerous). Really interesting juxtaposition. Also one reason I'm growing evermore tired with this show. For all its hemming and hawing, and its title, it oh so rarely seems concerned with the present of talent.

Edited August 29, 2014 by theatremouse

[peggy06]

I must have misunderstood Penn when he was talking about the nail-in-bag trick. I thought he was opposed to the trick per se, because of the potential to cause harm if amateurs try to imitate it. He referred to the many Youtube versions of the trick gone wrong. I even thought he purposely stated exactly how he thought the trick had been done (usually they let the magician know, but not the audience) because of his stated belief about "immoral" magic. Guess I didn't catch, or misheard, his initial remarks.

[Miss Scarlet]

Mara Justine: For the love of God, stop trying to make this girl happen. She's not going to happen. I see the person who dressed her last time is still being employed by this show. If she wasn't going to perform a figure skating routine while singing, there was no reason for her to be in that dress. She's twelve, not eight. Also, it's really hard to buy the judges being so enamored with her when Howie called her "Carla."

 

Miguel Dakota: I agree with Howard in that he doesn't really have any connection to the song. As I was watching his performance I thought he looked dead behind the eyes.

 

I found it interesting that they criticized Paul's lower register, but didn't say anything about Mara Justine's lower register. I thought her lower notes sounded horrible and that song was a poor choice for her because they were so many low notes in it.

 

I'm in the demographic that's supposed to find Miguel appealing, but...I just don't. I think he's good enough, but not great. I agree with Howard that there was something missing from his performance. The judges kept saying that he's charismatic, but I think to them being charismatic is just being good-looking. They talk as though the two are the same thing. I don't find him especially charismatic and when I think about it, I think that's what's missing from his performance/why his performances are boring. Also, the boy-band dance moves and "dramatic" hat throwing are too affected and lame. I do think he is a genuinely nice guy, but also wonder how much of it is exaggerated to pander to the audience. It was sweet when he wished his grandparents a happy anniversary, but I'm sure he also knew that all the fan girls would go nuts over him doing something sweet like that. It's kind of sad when contestants are so heavily propped up/almost win because of these fan girls who vote like crazy.

 

Mike Super is the older version of Collins Key in both tricks and also kind of looks like him.

 

I liked the ariel animation act the first two times we saw it, but this one was boring and definitely relied more on the backdrop than on the aerial part. I feel like some of these acts or dance/animation acts, like Blue Journey, are too similar to Kenichi. 

 

Lol about the dancer who told off Howard. I agreed with his comments, but it was funny that someone spoke back to him for once.

[Miss Scarlet]

Totally agree about Howie being a rude, childish ass.  I would love to see him kicked to the curb.

 

The one thing I loved about Miguel's performance was when he ripped that hideous hat off.  Howard was right that he wasn't invested in the song at all.  When your are a singer you have to be an actor as well, you have to channel and project whichever emotions are implied in the song, otherwise what the hell do you think you're up there for?  Make some lame sounds come out of your mouth and have everyone hand you money?  But of course he will go through anyway.

 

Agree that the soldier singer was really no different than he has been all along.  I like the guy and I think he has a nice tone to his voice, but at the least he needs lessons and a lot of practice.

 

Magicians - both acts - I haven't liked either of them since the auditions.  Can't help it, they seem about twenty years behind the times in magic.  Can't see them doing anything beyond county fairs and birthday parties.

 

Comedian - I like him but don't think he has the right stuff to win the competition.  Thought Heidi was bonkers in her criticism.

All in all, pleh.  I feel like I'm crawling across the desert looking for water.

 

Howie was a jerk last night. Not only did not need to say that Mara Justine (who he did keep calling Kara) was better than Paul, he was also pretty rude in his feedback to the jump rope crew. Giving them criticism is fine, but he pointed to one of the performance and said "you, young lady, fell". That was so tactless. Just say there were a few mistakes and leave it at that. No need for this kind of finger pointing. I'm sure she felt bad enough already.

 

Totally agree about the magicians. I found them boring.

 

Liked Emily, but would like someone other than a singer to win. I agreed with Howard when he said she knows she's a star and there's a vibe about that that I don't like.

 

I think it's either Miguel's or Emily's to win. Maybe he does just expect to go up there and no matter what he does, have people have him recording contracts and money. I think he's also being propped up because apparently after his audition Simon Cowell said that he was going to be a big star. I'm sure Simon thinks he can make a lot of money off of Miguel.

 

I didn't get Heidi's offense at the comedian either. I'm very sensitive to sexist/racist/prejudicial humour and that...wasn't it. It's interesting how other posters have pointed out that she backed down from it being "offensive" and instead said it just wasn't funny when the other judges criticized her. Anyway, I didn't find Dan Nauterman that funny. His jokes are very obvious and pedestrian. He wasn't horrible, but not really great either.

 

I agree with feeling meh about the season. I'm just not that into it. Nothing has really captivated me yet.

Edited August 29, 2014 by wudpixie

[helenamonster]

I'm in the demographic that Miguel is supposed to appeal to as well (20-year-old straight female) and I agree that he's definitely missing something. He's very cute, seems nice, and, imo, has a great voice, but there's no there, there. He's dead behind the eyes when he sings and looks like he just wants to get this whole thing over with so he can get started on the recording contract that I'm sure he's been guaranteed whether or not he wins.

 

 

Mike Super is the older version of Collins Key in both tricks and also kind of looks like him.

 

Lol about the dancer who told off Howard. I agreed with his comments, but it was funny that someone spoke back to him for once.

 

Ah, you're right! Now I won't be able to unsee it! I just had a horrible thought of him making it to the finals, and if it's structured like it was last year (when it gets down to the top 6, they each do two performances, one of them being with a random celebrity), the show bringing Collins back to do a performance with him.

 

As for the dancer, I've noticed, as a dancer myself, that being defensive tends to be a dancer trait. Idk what it is that causes this, but my dance friends and I used to bitch for hours at sleepovers about times when we were (rightfully) called out for doing something wrong and making all sorts of excuses for it. I've noticed myself becoming less defensive as time has gone on (it's been over two years since I've taken a dance class), it's very strange. When she started talking back to Howard, I got flashbacks of those days, it was weird.

[Miss Scarlet]

 

Bad Boys of Ballet should be called Chippendale Boys of Ballet. The bare torsos and pec massaging had nothing to do with dance. I guess the strategy was to go for cougar and tween girl votes. Also, air guitar strumming and hip hop hand signs do not make one "bad."

I agree, but I think they decided to do this based on Howie's comments last week where he said they weren't "bad" enough or something like that, which didn't make sense. I think they wanted to show that they listened to his feedback.

 

I loved when Howie is picking a letter and he goes "I'm from Canada" and then picks A. Umm Howie? Doesn't it make more sense to pick C?

 

 

I'm in the demographic that Miguel is supposed to appeal to as well (20-year-old straight female) and I agree that he's definitely missing something. He's very cute, seems nice, and, imo, has a great voice, but there's no there, there. He's dead behind the eyes when he sings and looks like he just wants to get this whole thing over with so he can get started on the recording contract that I'm sure he's been guaranteed whether or not he wins.

Why do people think good-looking = charismatic? For me, charisma is way more about personality. So I think that's what he's lacking. I totally agree that everyone is also acting like he has this (or another recording deal) in the bag doesn't help. As for him being cute, I don't know. I didn't see it during his first audition until after everyone else starting saying it and then I was like hmmm, I guess so. Lol the shallow part of my post ends here. 

 

 

Ah, you're right! Now I won't be able to unsee it! I just had a horrible thought of him making it to the finals, and if it's structured like it was last year (when it gets down to the top 6, they each do two performances, one of them being with a random celebrity), the show bringing Collins back to do a performance with him.

Not only does he look like him and do similar types of tricks, but he also talks like him! Maybe I'm misremembering what Collins sounds like, but I think their voices are similar. Freaky!! Maybe Desmond is actually Collins?

 

Also, why are there so many singers on this show? Why do they decide to audition for instead of The Voice or Idol or any other singing competition? A lot of them are too old for Idol I guess, but is the other reason because they think this show is easier for them to win? That they really wouldn't be able to compete with the better singers on these other shows? I feel like most contestants probably wouldn't have that kind of self-awareness to think that other singers are so much better than they are.

Edited August 29, 2014 by wudpixie

[LoneHaranguer]

 

Howie was a jerk last night. Not only did not need to say that Mara Justine (who he did keep calling Kara) was better than Paul, he was also pretty rude in his feedback to the jump rope crew. Giving them criticism is fine, but he pointed to one of the performance and said "you, young lady, fell". That was so tactless.

IIRC, that stumble came right after getting flipped by one of the other performers, so it may not have even been her fault.

[UsernameGoesHere]

Not only does he look like him and do similar types of tricks, but he also talks like him! Maybe I'm misremembering what Collins sounds like, but I think their voices are similar. Freaky!! Maybe Desmond is actually Collins?

 

LOL.

 

With all these Mike/Collins comparisons, now I'm afraid that during his next performance Mike will get up on stage and start talking about swag and sticking his tongue out.

[Shermie]

I think it's either Miguel's or Emily's to win.

 

Don't forget Scooby! Unless he and his human screw up royally next week, I think they might go to the end.

 

I loved when Howie is picking a letter and he goes "I'm from Canada" and then picks A. Umm Howie? Doesn't it make more sense to pick C?

 

Actually, Howie was making a joke, as in A = eh? Which all Canadians say, eh?

 

Maybe Desmond is actually Collins?

 

Snerk. The S on the end of Collins as always bugged me, which is apropos of nothing, but it just does. It's not his fault; it's his parents' kre8tivity, I guess. I always read his name as Collin's key, and thought, what about his key?

[helenamonster]

Also, why are there so many singers on this show? Why do they decide to audition for instead of The Voice or Idol or any other singing competition? A lot of them are too old for Idol I guess, but is the other reason because they think this show is easier for them to win? That they really wouldn't be able to compete with the better singers on these other shows? I feel like most contestants probably wouldn't have that kind of self-awareness to think that other singers are so much better than they are.

 

I'm wondering if a lot of them that are in the eligible age group have tried out for the other singing shows and just haven't made it far enough. I haven't watched Idol since, like, 2007, so none of them would look familiar to me, but it's possible. Kelli Glover has not only auditioned for AGT before, but someone in another episode thread mentioned that she'd auditioned for Idol years back as well.

[beagletime]

 

Howie was a jerk last night. Not only did not need to say that Mara Justine (who he did keep calling Kara) was better than Paul, he was also pretty rude in his feedback to the jump rope crew. Giving them criticism is fine, but he pointed to one of the performance and said "you, young lady, fell". That was so tactless. Just say there were a few mistakes and leave it at that. No need for this kind of finger pointing. I'm sure she felt bad enough already.

Part of being a good performer is handling mistakes. Actors forget lines, acrobats fall, singers miss cues.  It happens even to top professionals in their fields.  I don't think there is any reason to point it out.  She handled the fall really well.  She kept smiling and the act went on.  Or if they do point it out do it a little more tactfully. Howie just seemed mean.  

 

And it just has to be said: Howie is not funny!

[backformore]

Kelly glover was in American idol, season 1. She didn't make top 10, I think she was among the first eliminated in the top 25.

There are three singing competition shows, A I, rising star, the voice. On A G T, I fast forward through the singer's because I just don't care.