S18.E22: Finale

[Mr. Sparkle]

Tuesday, September 26th. 

The top 11 acts perform one last time for their chance to win $1 million and be named the most talented act in America.

No discussion of results in this thread, please. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

They can F off with this 9 o'clock start. I'm not missing sleep to see Putri or Lavender sing something I can watch on DVR tomorrow. 

[ams1001]

Not thrilled with the time, either. Dancing With the Stars started at 8, so it was watch half of that or half of this or save one for tomorrow. So I watched the Voice auditions and I'm watching this because I've made it this far I'm gonna see it to the end. I'm off this week so I've got all day to watch on demand. (Reba sang on here last week; Howie did a little bit on The Voice tonight.)

Adrian and Hurricane aren't gonna win, but I still find them cute and fun. Sorry for his other doggie.

Youth Choir...still meh and over the whole Nightbirde tribute thing.

I like Avantgardey but I'm not sure what was so "different" about this one...

Does Lavender only wear shades of purple? "You couldn't hear a pin drop"? Um, not quite. If the audience is so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

Chibi Unity...these giant groups always start to feel the same after a few performances. Howie looks about as impressed as I am at this point.

92nd Airborne...they sang, I assume. I got distracted.

Magician Anna...I don't know why I'm bugged by her jackets that are as long as her shorts. But I am. Wow, it's actually September 26, 2023 at 10:10! But I wasn't really following the rest of the trick.

It's "halftime"? 🤨 7 of 11 have performed and it's like 10:15. Where did you learn your fractions?

Ahren Belisle..."it's not working...it's not working" Shut up Howie. I love the dog. I wonder what he's sniffing. I enjoyed most of the jokes; I know the pacing isn't his fault so I'm trying not to hold it against him. 

Putri Ariani...if it's down to a blind singer...she's the better singer.

Head balancing brothers...Okay, that first move was pretty cool. Still not an act I'd pay to see.

Murmuration has my vote. Or would, if I voted. Which I don't.

 

[BuckeyeLou]

31 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Not thrilled with the time, either. Dancing With the Stars started at 8, so it was watch half of that or half of this or save one for tomorrow. So I watched the Voice auditions and I'm watching this because I've made it this far I'm gonna see it to the end. I'm off this week so I've got all day to watch on demand. (Reba sang on here last week; Howie did a little bit on The Voice tonight.)

Adrian and Hurricane aren't gonna win, but I still find them cute and fun. Sorry for his other doggie.

Youth Choir...still meh and over the whole Nightbirde tribute thing.

I like Avantgardey but I'm not sure what was so "different" about this one...

Does Lavender only wear shades of purple? "You couldn't hear a pin drop"? Um, not quite. If the audience is so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

Chibi Unity...these giant groups always start to feel the same after a few performances. Howie looks about as impressed as I am at this point.

92nd Airborne...they sang, I assume. I got distracted.

Magician Anna...I don't know why I'm bugged by her jackets that are as long as her shorts. But I am. Wow, it's actually September 26, 2023 at 10:10! But I wasn't really following the rest of the trick.

It's "halftime"? 🤨 7 of 11 have performed and it's like 10:15. Where did you learn your fractions?

Ahren Belisle..."it's not working...it's not working" Shut up Howie. I love the dog. I wonder what he's sniffing. I enjoyed most of the jokes; I know the pacing isn't his fault so I'm trying not to hold it against him. 

Putri Ariani...if it's down to a blind singer...she's the better singer.

Head balancing brothers...Okay, that first move was pretty cool. Still not an act I'd pay to see.

Murmuration has my vote. Or would, if I voted. Which I don't.

 

Murmmeration got my 10 votes.  I liked the head balancing brothers and I did laugh out loud at some of Ahren's jokes, the young magic girl seemed nervous..

[Mr. Sparkle]

As I sat down at 9 last night to watch this, it seemed like such a chore. So I didn't watch it! I'll try to watch it later, skipping the tedious intro packages. 

I did catch Putri's song. She's a good enough singer, but that wrongly imprisoned guy from a few seasons back did it with more emotion. 

I don't think I'll watch the 3-hour marathon of moderately famous acts tonight, but I'll be sure to snark on the winner. 

Interesting that no one even bothered to update the wikipedia page, which is usually fairly accurate. 

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Placement of performance on the rundown is not quite as important as it is on a typical show as voting is available from minute one.  Still, it would be the shock of shocks if Murmuration has not taken this by a wide  margin.  They are certainly worthy.

So, too, were several other acts - more than I can remember in an AGT Finale.  

Loved the dog.  The two physically impaired singers each sang great.  The muscle guys brought it.  The magician's tricks were fantastic and her delivery was much improved.  Friggin' Sophia did her best once again to mess with her, though.  Grrrr.  But, my vote would have gone for Osaka's own, Avantgardey.  They have got to be a professional troupe.  It seems they are.  They are also delightful and talented in their movements.  I would actually pay to watch the "Vegas" show just to see them.

Murmuration was not perfect, but they did enough.  Aside from the occasional mistimed movement by a given individual (very few) I did not like the uneven rows they sat in.  When they did a stunt, or move, that involved an climax at an end, it just looked messy when only half of the rows had a performer on the end.  The empty seats stood out.   

So, too, did the comedian for being sub-par in this line-up.  He really stuck out as the weakest link in the show.  What is the point of a LIVE act if it's, "Just push play."? 

While there was absolutely a lot to praise highly, Simon made a foolish spectacle of himself by insisting that at least 4 of the acts were gonna, and shoulda, won.  The thing about hype is it fails utterly when events actually prove out to be great.  If that is happening, stop hyping.  If one does not, one cheapens the event and performers.

Given what a mess so much of this season was, AGT got a Finale it did not deserve.  Fine by me.

My guess is that muscle guys will be second and one of the individual singers, third.

[ams1001]

2 hours ago, Superclam said:

I don't think I'll watch the 3-hour marathon of moderately famous acts tonight, but I'll be sure to snark on the winner. 

Why do we need a "countdown" to the finale before the finale? And why do they need two hours to tell us who won out of 11 acts?

Out of curiosity, I counted and only three are actually "America's" - Lavender is from Massachusetts, Anna lives in New Jersey (though she's originally from the Philippines), and the 82nd Airborne Division Chorus (obviously).

Adrian - Italy
Youth Choir - South Africa
Avantgardey - Japan
Chibi Unity - Japan
Ahren Belisle - Ontario, Canada
Putri Ariani - Indonesia
Ramadhani Bros - Tanzania
Murmuration - France

(I don't actually care, but when I make the mistake of looking at facebook I see a lot of "why are there so many people from other countries? it's called America's Got Talent!" comments so I was wondering.)

Edited September 27, 2023 by ams1001

[rr2911]

Finally, tonight is the AGT finale and you know what?  I'm not that excited at all.  How can I be excited when Putri or Lavender are probably going to win?  Not because they were the best acts yesterday, but because of obvious reasons.  I'll probably watch Survivor and The Amazing Race and then AGT and ff all the crap and get to the nitty gritty.

I'm rating them from worst to best...

. Ahren Ariani - I think it's great that he is up there doing what he loves, but the performance is too slow and I am aware it's due to his disabilities. but I gotta call 'em like I see 'em!

. Adrian Dog - I thought it was silly and corny.  The dog might be cute but I would not spend money to see them!

. 82nd AB - There was a touring performance ensemble made up of active duty members of the Air Force called Tops In Blue that used to perform in my city every spring.  They danced, sang and played instruments.  They were great and the 82nd AB reminds me of them.  They would be a success if they followed Air Force brethren.

. Youth Choir - There vocals are so clean and smooth.  They sound great and would be a good addition to any show as a guest performer not the headliner.

. Chibi Unity - I liked their previous performances better.  I found myself wondering away as they performed.  They were good but they started to resemble a JADT (Just Another Dance Troupe)

. Putri - This young girl does have a good voice but she is a little shouty at times.  She will probably win this thing.

. Ramadliani Bros. - They were good and maybe when they add something else that doesn't require standing on each others heads, they will be a headliner act.

. Lavender - I think she is the better of the to remaining singers but at this point in the competition they have to wow me and Lavender or Putri don't do the trick.  Oh by the way, Lavender will probably be the runner-up.

. Anna DeGuzman - I think she's gorgeous and a great magician.  I was pissed that Sophia didn't shuffle her cards and ended up with the Q of Spades.  Was she trying to sabotage Anna's magic trick?  I wouldn't be disappointed if Anna won this thing!

. Mumuration - They were great once again.  They are certainly one of the acts that can win first place.

. Avantgardey - SPECTACULAR!!  They were awsome!  The best of the night!  I think they should win AGT hands down!  Sure they are a dance group but they are unique from the other dance groups.

 

 

[Crashcourse]

I'm sorry, but those Avantgarde dancers creep me out.

[Mr. Sparkle]

Alright, so I crammed it in before the results, which I still won't watch until tomorrow and I can fast forward. 

• Adrian Stoica and Hurricane - I'm not a big fan of dog acts, but this was their best performance. Very clever and creative. 
• Mzansi Youth Choir - nice kids, but not a great performance. 
• Avantgardey - love these quirky girls. They won't win, but I hope this develops into a career for them. 
• Lavender Darcangelo - I'm going to Hell, but a slightly above-average singer at best. 
• Chibi Unity - this did nothing for me. We've seen dance groups before, and they are one of them. 
• 82nd Airborne Chorus - I thought they improved greatly last week, but completely fell flat this week. That one woman can barely sing. 
• Anna DeGuzman - cool trick. If she ups her showmanship, she'll be a big star. 
• Ahren Belisle - I like his act and persona, but it went on way too long. It was awkward after a while. 
• Putri Ariani - I watched it again, and I think she's very good. Has a shot at winning. 
• Ramadhani Brothers - they are certainly very good at what they do! 
• Murmuration - pretty good. It seems like it was their's to lose, and they didn't mess it up. 

Has a chance - Murmuration, Putri, maybe Chibi despite my protests. Everyone else is a longshot. 

[ams1001]

8 minutes ago, Superclam said:

which I still won't watch until tomorrow and I can fast forward. 

I don't have a DVR but I've decided I don't need to see the 'pregame' show. Will watch Celeb Jeopardy instead. Hopefully the celebs are reasonably serious and don't drive me crazy.