S11.E01: AGT Auditions Week 1 (Season Premiere)

[Drogo]

Discuss the Season 11 Premiere here.

[Wouldofshouldof]

My God, it's a kinder, gentler Simon.  I'm not quite sure what to make of him.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Ok, Tape Face was kind of peak AGT for me. Two minutes of just awesome weirdness.

I was pretty sure Lincoln Bridge was a misdirect from the beginning, although I was debating between them being classical singers or being a rock band. When they ended up a little R&B Pentatonix-ish...it was a nice surprise even if they sounded a little rough in spots.

The 13 year old opera girl sounded horrid. What was she doing to poor Figuro?

Dancing dogs, mentalists, and whatever you classify Hara or Hana seem pretty par for the course by now...

[HowdyTV]

I agree, Tape Face was the top for this evening. Lincoln Bridge needs those ear piece things as they couldn't hear themselves/each other and got off pitch as a result, but they may be better with time.

All I can think about with young operatic singers like the 13 yo is whether they are trained or just ruining their voice. She obviously can sing. 

[friendperidot]

When Charlie and Rose started, I thought it was a commercial for the Maya and Martin Show that was coming on next. Still not sure it wasn't

[Diana Berry]

Wake me up after auditions.

 

bring back Piers.

[callmebetty]

I had tears of laughter watching all the reaction shots of the judges during the guy with the hook in his nose to his mouth.  But if someone could give me a screen shot of that one audience member during it, I would be eternally grateful.  Omg that persons reaction was priceless. I'm still laughing. 

[Wings]

It is just starting for me in MT.  I am posting because even though I follow this thread it is not showing up in my notifications.  ARG.  Thought if I posted it would happen.  

[The Hound Lives]

The 13 year old opera singer was pretty decent but I wasn't floored. Was I the only one who thought her reactions where phony? She was all timid and meek with her "My Mom helps me by singing with me" and "There are so many talented people..." just felt fake. It reminded me of Taylor Swift, early in her career, who would be all "aww shucks" when people applauded. And the non-existent tears. I just felt like it was a put on. Maybe she is that precious but I'm not buying it.. 

[Maverick]

I about turned it off when the first act was a kid.  A kid comedian.  Who everybody just fawned over.  But after that, it was a pretty good show.  There weren't any drawn out backstories, no hateful judging moments, no major train wrecks and the whole thing was just basically fun....until we got tot the opera singer.  And we're back to the AGT of olde.  A kid who's just so super awesome, the emotional backstory/interview, the 'OMG y'all can you believe that voice' moment, the golden buzzer, the tears.  Just stop.   I loved the judges joking around.  And who was the 4th judge...cause that sure as the hell wasn't Simon Cowell.  On AI he barely cracked a smile and acted like he wanted to be anywhere else and here he's clearly having a good time and just bursts out laughing.  The only time 'old' Simon came out was during the singing acts.  

 Apparently they've dispensed with the city by city auditions since this episode was spliced together from at least 4 different sessions.

[Juneau Gal]

God bless Tape Face. I really, really needed a laugh today and he had me ugly laugh crying. Had no idea what he was going to do, but when those oven mitts with eyes started singing Endless Love.....I died! He benefited from the element of surprise so I am interested if he will be as successful the next time we see him. 

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Of course they start out with excellent variety acts to rope us in.  The first singing act?  A group with a hero edit.  Yet, if Simon is to be believed, it's gonna be a singing contest, just the way he wants it.  

Pigeon Guy act was beautiful, but how many of these CGI-enhanced acts will we get?  He did almost nothing onstage the entire time, until his disappearance.  I don't want CGI to be rewarded anymore.  I want to see a human performance winning.

If Amalie dumps the dude and lets anyone else, randomly, choose objects from the audience?  Give her the million.  I do not like that guy at all.  He acts like he's the act!  

So many pimp edits.  Ugh.  I know.  Standard AGT.  I'll deal.  

LOVED seeing brutally honest Simon come out!  Best moments of the evening.  By far.  I hated that they were incorporated in the pony haired opera girl's edit, attempting to create draaaaaama. 

The Benny Hill ending was actually fun.    

I love the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and surrounding spaces.  So much awesome has happened there.  The move away from NYC is a very good thing.  

[marketdoctor]

I liked it a lot.  They edited out more of the bad acts than the good ones, and used some of the bad ones for a montage of no instead of a montage of talent.  That's a great way to get the point that there were many bad acts, without making the audience suffer along.

I fast-forwarded through the back stories for the most part, though Tape Face's pre-interview was fun.  I'm not sure what you follow that up with.

I had a strong suspicion as to how the mentalists did it, but they did it really well whether I have it or not.

[LadyMustang65]

TapeFaceGuy had me laughing so hard I cried.  I had no idea what to expect, and those eyes were just too much.  For me best act of the evening.  I loved the magician.  That was so beautiful.  I loved the magic incorporated into the act, but I hope he does a bit more of that next time and a little less of the CGI.  But it was really beautiful the way it was done.  Kid comedian annoyed.  Seriously, they put through the guy who hung things from his nose?  We could not watch that at all.  My kids made me hit pause while he was on and then wait a few minutes so we could fast forward through it.  Just no.  Not entertaining.  Not a "talent."  Just gross.  The clairvoyants were good, but I'd honestly forgotten them by this morning until I saw others mention them.  Not generally a good thing.  I love animals, so I was okay with Carrie being put through to another round.  If I have to see that horrible Rose and the nose guy again, then give me an adorable pooch to counter.  I don't really know singing. I thought the opera girl was very good.  Gave me goosebumps.  But my son's girlfriend, who does know music, wasn't in the room at the time to say whether she was actually as good as I thought.  It's not unusual for me to like a singer and look over and see Mac with a WTF look on her face.  :)

I was pleasantly surprised by Simon Cowell.  If this guy hangs around, it'll be a fun season.  And I adore Heidi.  She is such a good sport about things - not at all what I expect from a supermodel.  She seems like a genuinely nice person, and she is just gorgeous.  I don't always agree with her take on acts, but I enjoy her.  And Nick is another one I give major props to.  He's up for anything and makes a great host for this show.  For me, we're off to a great start.  :)

[Wings]

51 minutes ago, marketdoctor said:

I liked it a lot.  They edited out more of the bad acts than the good ones, and used some of the bad ones for a montage of no instead of a montage of talent.  That's a great way to get the point that there were many bad acts, without making the audience suffer along.

I fast-forwarded through the back stories for the most part, though Tape Face's pre-interview was fun.  I'm not sure what you follow that up with.

I had a strong suspicion as to how the mentalists did it, but they did it really well whether I have it or not.

How do you think they did it? 

[TaraS1]

42 minutes ago, LadyMustang65 said:

If I have to see that horrible Rose and the nose guy again, then give me an adorable pooch to counter.

I won't even tell you how my early morning brain translated that sentence.  (Okay, I will - I thought it said a punch to the cooter.  What is wrong with me?? lol)

And I agree a thousand percent about Heidi, I absolutely love her.  I've always adored her on Project Runway, and I love getting to see this other side of her on AGT.  I was never a Howard Stern fan, and Simon was the best part of Idol for me, so I really enjoyed this new panel.  They worked great together last night.

[Edgehopper]

22 minutes ago, wings707 said:

How do you think they did it? 

Richard Feynmann described seeing an act like that as a kid where a mentalist on stage named things an assistant pulled from the audience, and it was done by an elaborate code--the assistant's choice of seemingly innocuous words told the mentalist what the item was.

Now, the insane level of detail here, with the number and date guessing and the smoothness of the whole thing took it to another level, but that's how I've heard this type of trick done.

[Wings]

24 minutes ago, Edgehopper said:

Richard Feynmann described seeing an act like that as a kid where a mentalist on stage named things an assistant pulled from the audience, and it was done by an elaborate code--the assistant's choice of seemingly innocuous words told the mentalist what the item was.

Now, the insane level of detail here, with the number and date guessing and the smoothness of the whole thing took it to another level, but that's how I've heard this type of trick done.

I just watched again.  The man says almost nothing or nothing at all.  No code is being given.  I am fascinated by this.  I want to know how this is done.  When he took a cell phone she got Iphone and ATT as the provider plus the color.  That is nuts, the provider? 

[Wings]

Love having Simon back but Heidi was the voice of reason and nixed that crazy couple, he sang, she "danced."   Simon created this show and within the format clearly he wants some totally stupid acts to go through.  I was expecting him to be more harsh.  Piers would have Xed that act. 

I love animal acts but Heidi was correct in voting no on the dancing dog.  Olate Dogs has set the bar very high for dogs. 

It felt like weasels ripped my flesh when the young opera singer jarred me to consciousness.  I was drifting off to sleep when she burst into my reverie.  The potential is there but she needs some serious coaching.  A standing ovation, hmmm, must have sounded better in person.  Am I alone in this? 

Edited June 1, 2016 by wings707

[Laurie4H]

Am I the only one who thinks this show is completely staged? Fake and scripted.  Nobody else noticed the fake audience reaction shots?  Especially the ones where they have a mic on and you can here them commenting.  

[sigmaforce86]

1 hour ago, wings707 said:

It felt like weasels ripped my flesh when the young opera singer jarred me to consciousness.  I was drifting off to sleep when she burst into my reverie.  The potential is there but she needs some serious coaching.  A standing ovation, hmmm, must have sounded better in person.  Am I alone in this? 

Not alone - I didn't think she was horrible but I think the audience and judges over reacted to her.  She's good for her age but she's shaky and at some spots pushed too hard (she's going to rough up her voice if she's not taught control).  I don't hate her but I don't see her winning at all.

For those who think Simon is too soft - check Britains Got Talent on you tube; he's pretty much the same way on there.  Maybe because the acts have variety or maybe because each person doesn't strut in thinking they're the next singing sensation of the world but even though he'll still criticize a really crappy act (or anyone with attitude) he's generally more laid back than his idol judging.

Edited June 1, 2016 by sigmaforce86

[Wings]

34 minutes ago, Laurie4H said:

Am I the only one who thinks this show is completely staged? Fake and scripted.  Nobody else noticed the fake audience reaction shots?  Especially the ones where they have a mic on and you can here them commenting.  

All shows do this; audience reaction is part of the show.  They have people who stand out of camera range who cue the audience to wave arms in the air, stand, make certain sounds or faces.  There is a warm up before the show starts where the audience is educated on their part.  

[sharifa70]

I thought the opera girl was over-hyped. She has potential, sure, but she is definitely in need of coaching: her breathing was off and she didn't have enough support to sustain long notes - she cut some of them off too soon. Just her posture when she was speaking told me she hasn't had the formal training she's going to need if she ever hopes to make a living out of singing. She needs to back off and start a little smaller, build up that potentially wonderful voice, then tackle those big arias. 

[marketdoctor]

Quote

How do you think they did it? 

Although they could have used coded words, in some cases I didn't notice the partner saying anything before she started guessing.  I'll spoiler-tag it, just in case.

Spoiler

There's a class of devices called a "thumper", where one person sends a code to another person as a message.  Vibrating cel phones or pagers are a simple method; more advanced thumpers would let them use a Morse-style code to send a message.  There might be a code within a code, so (for instance) two buzzes+the other guy speaking in French=iPhone.  It'd be simplest just to use a thumper, though, and have another code as a backup plan.

Note that I could be completely wrong; that's merely how I'd do it for maximum effect if I were better at mentalism.

Edited June 1, 2016 by marketdoctor
to clarify that I'm guessing, not using ESP to know how they did it.

[barbedwire]

Glad I was not the only one who thought first kid out of the gate was just so ugh.  After 2 jokes I turned the channel.

I did like Opera girl and bird man.  And I too loved taped mouth comedian.  So funny!  Didn't see that coming.

[Wings]

25 minutes ago, marketdoctor said:

Although they could have used coded words, in some cases I didn't notice the partner saying anything before she started guessing.  I'll spoiler-tag it, just in case.

  Hide contents

There's a class of devices called a "thumper", where one person sends a code to another person as a message.  Vibrating cel phones or pagers are a simple method; more advanced thumpers would let them use a Morse-style code to send a message.  There might be a code within a code, so (for instance) two buzzes+the other guy speaking in French=iPhone.  It'd be simplest just to use a thumper, though, and have another code as a backup plan.

Note that I could be completely wrong; that's merely how I'd do it for maximum effect if I were better at mentalism.

She was wearing a mic so the vibrating would have been heard.  I watched carefully and there was no time to even receive a code.  He picked up the cell and she was on it immediately same with Heidi's lipstick.  Heidi was in ear shot to have heard anything.  

Googling mentalist tricks produced nothing.  I didn't stick with it very long but somewhere on the internet the method has to exist! 

Edited June 1, 2016 by wings707

[Lady Iris]

How I love Simon back on my teevee!. I've missed him terribly. His reaction and feeding into the bereavement couple made that audition gold, I couldn't stop laughing. I was shocked they got through but I will be quite interested to see what train wreck they come up with next.

[Laurie4H]

And nobody thinks that maybe the judges and audience member who gave them her phone where all in on it?  Also I think the opera girl was lipsyncing.

[BeatrixK]

God help me -- Tape Face was one of the funniest acts I've seen for ages.  I can't wait to see what he comes up with next. 

I love a kinder, gentler, yet still snarky Simon.  Fatherhood seems to have softened his edges just enough.

[tominboston]

3 hours ago, Laurie4H said:

Am I the only one who thinks this show is completely staged? Fake and scripted. 

I enjoy AGT for the variety acts, but I have my doubts too. I wouldn't be at all shocked to learn that the yes vote acts are all selected in advance by the producers and that much of the judges' banter is scripted. And the audience is definitely choreographed.

Opera Girl was utterly unlistenable, but I loved Tape Face, the gangsta-looking Doo-w** quartet, and also the shtick at the end where the "danger act" guy flopped into a puddle of shaving cream or whatever... he did a great sendup of that genre.

[marketdoctor]

Quote

She was wearing a mic so the vibrating would have been heard.

Not if it was in her shoes, on the chair she was sitting on, or on her back.  If you Google the term I mentioned you could see how they're used, though the specifics are an interesting question.  (The other way they could do it is a trick blindfold, which would have only worked if the way they tested it was different from the way it was used.)   I liked the act not because it was real, but because it was very subtle as to how they did it.  (I suspect one effect, because two is more complicated.)

The shaving cream act at the end was exactly what every danger act needs to avoid looking like (that and YouTube to see what can go wrong).

[Wings]

2 minutes ago, marketdoctor said:

Not if it was in her shoes, on the chair she was sitting on, or on her back.  If you Google the term I mentioned you could see how they're used, though the specifics are an interesting question.  (The other way they could do it is a trick blindfold, which would have only worked if the way they tested it was different from the way it was used.)   I liked the act not because it was real, but because it was very subtle as to how they did it.  (I suspect one effect, because two is more complicated.)

The shaving cream act at the end was exactly what every danger act needs to avoid looking like (that and YouTube to see what can go wrong).

There was no time for her to get a message and respond, she leaped to answer immediately.  That, right there, is a clue for those who are familiar with this type of magic. I am not.  Even if she could see through the blindfold she would not have been able to see the expiration date on the eye drops or ATT as the provider for the cell phone. 

[Wings]

I am watching again.  Why is she sitting on a swing?  There is no need for that a chair would work. So a message may be coming through to her via small electric charges in her bra from the rope on the swing.  She appears to have small breasts and a substantial padded bodice.  

The guy says to the audience, hold something up for me.  So hands to up with different objects.  He walks straight to the cell phone.  Left breast pings with code for that, right breast gets the color code.  Buttocks get the ATT ping.  But who is sending these messages?  He does not appear to be him.  The behind the scene guy is sending the electric charges in my scenario.  

[SnarkyTart]

Okay, that was pretty fun.  I reallly couldn't stand Howard Stern on this show, so just the fact that he's gone is a huge bonus. 

I enjoyed seeing Simon again.  I don't know what his thing is with loving the gross acts (nose hook guy) and the stupid acts (bereavement couple), but he's always been that way.  I do like watching his reactions to those kinds of acts, because it's like watching a 12-year-old boy; I could definitely do without those acts myself.

I'll try to deal with the rumors that Simon is making this season all about the singers.  I'd rather not, but as long as it isn't a bunch of Blake Shelton-type rejects from The Voice that we'll never be able to get rid of (cuz 'Murica loves them), maybe it won't be unwatchable.  Maybe.

None of these acts tonight knocked my socks off.  I liked TapeFace guy, but really wondered where else he can go with this.  We'll see.  I enjoyed the bird magician CGI guy; it was simply lovely to watch.  But I'm not sure where else he goes with this either.  Opera girl sucked.  Badly.  The OTT praise just made it worse.

I have no idea how the mentalists do what they do.  There used to be a guy on TWOP, an amateur magician, that always knew exactly how these things were done.  He'd post detailed explanations with spoiler tags, and sometimes come up with youtube videos for further illustration.  I wish he'd show up here for this seaon of AGT, because it really added a lot to the enjoyment of the magician's acts, at least for me. 

Between Simon and Heidi, it almost seems as though Howie and Mel B aren't actually needed.  Simon and Heidi could pull off being the entire judges' panel and do it beautifully.  The show would benefit (imo) from the two of them having more time to talk too. 

Oh hai, Nick Cannon.  He's always been my favorite of all the talent show hosts.  He's smart, hysterical, up for anything, and just seems so "real" to me.  Plus, his socks!

Edited June 1, 2016 by SnarkyTart

[Wings]

I like Nick, too, but not his antics in the wings.  That is forced and not funny, for me, and it detracts from not adds to the show.  I like him as host. 

They use a sophisticated thumper, it seems.   Technology can be tiny.  The guy has to be sending the messages.  I think there is a simple code for objects and he makes sure he does not take anything that doesn't have a code.  Eye drops are likely to be in the pocket of a middle aged man.  Dry eye is common.  

Lipstick in a woman's purse who is well groomed and wearing make up is a slam dunk as is a cell phone.  Numbers are easy, too.  I think I am on it. They are very good!  I am satisfied with my theory.  I have spent way too much time on google today. 

[Ohwell]

This show is so rigged, but even realizing that, I was put off by the ginned-up looks of fear on the jidges faces when the NWA lookalikes walked on to the stage.  I know they were in on it, but still.  I was totally expecting them to come out singing opera though.  They were ok, but I hope they step up their game.

[Babalooie]

OK, I guess that I have an overly-simplistic explanation for The Clairvoyants  I know that traditional magicians do this.  Maybe it's as simple as the fact that the judges/plants in the audience are in on it.  Much of the show seemed scripted, including the little comedian's responses to the judges after his act.  I have a feeling that Howie already knew TapeFace.  Call me Clairvoyant.  ;)

Edited June 2, 2016 by Babalooie
Grammar is important.

[marketdoctor]

Quote

Maybe it's as simple as the fact that the judges/plants in the audience are in on it.

That's possible; it's also possible it's a combination of techniques, so if you figure out one part of the trick, they can point to another time when that's not possible as to how it was done.

Funny how the audience's tolerance for something fake differs according to the act.  With a magician, you know it's an illusion--that's the point.  With lip-syncing, no matter how well it's done, it's not as appreciated (to be fair, it's often done badly.)

[gingerandcloves]

I know I'm a grumpy old cynic, but I just can't with child prodigies (or "prodigies"). Comedian kid can go home any time. Opera girl was OK, but "This is a dream come true...I've been waiting for this for so long!" Really? And you're how old?  LOL

I like Tape Face, he was really funny. Mentalists were entertaining. CGI bird man's act was nice to look at but, it was all pretty much animation. Lincoln Bridge was decent. I skipped the nose hook guy, and didn't care for anyone else.

Welcome back to my screen, Heidi and Nick! And while I have not missed Simon, I don't hate having him back. I was kind of surprised he gave yeses to some of those acts, I hope he toughens up later on.

[phoenix780]

Opera girl did the same shtick on Romanias Got Talent. Not the same scale as the US, obviously, but it was so similar to the clip I saw before- down to the music of triumph after she finished, if I remember correctly - I was put off. Loved her the first time I saw her do this routine on YouTube. This time... Fake, imho. And since it's the same brand I feel like they just copied and pasted,which is lame. 

Oh, and she is trained. There was some clip of her with her voice coach on a Chicago area news show. Or maybe a national one, like a Sunday morning program.

Point is, she's hip to this game. Though, again, this is a different scale so maybe I'm being too harsh.  

[Kromm]

On 5/31/2016 at 9:28 PM, Wouldofshouldof said:

My God, it's a kinder, gentler Simon.  I'm not quite sure what to make of him.

Most people haven't seen him on BGT. He's been doing this illusion of Kinder, Gentler there for years. Alternating with being mean. He just pulls the mean card when it suits the narrative.

[helenamonster]

I agree that I thoroughly enjoyed Simon. I didn't agree with a lot of his decisions (he sure likes the dumbest acts, doesn't he?) but watching him watch those dumb acts almost makes it worth it.

I liked the CGI screen guy because he incorporated magic as part of the act. He had a lot of different skills going on in one act and I appreciate that. I'm also not sick of the screen stuff either, which I guess is an unpopular opinion, but whatevs.

Idk about the opera girl. On the one hand, we as a society should have moved past the "OMG SMOL CHILD SINGS OPERA????" stage once Jackie Evancho made her debut. I find the fawning over opera so weird on this show. I think a lot of people consider it very high brow...it's a very particular taste of art/entertainment, and there's this perception that to enjoy it is to be sophisticated and intellectual. I think because of this people who aren't experienced with opera have a hard time telling what's good and what's bad. I don't have an ear for opera at all, but I still felt like this girl was just kind of yelling. She seemed very sweet but I'm just really, really over kid singers.

Speaking of kids, hated the kid comedian. Ugh, he told two jokes and neither one was original. He sounds like his parents have just been plopping him in front of DVDs of hacky '90s stand-up specials.

Tape Face was amazing. I was so prepared to hate him and then he ended up being my favorite of the night.

I covered my face for the whole hook thing. I cannot watch that kind of stuff.

I wouldn't mind more "gong show" type acts early on in the season. Sometimes it's nice to just have outrageously stupid things to laugh at. Cuz some of the worst acts get super elaborate and it's just mindboggling in the best and dumbest way.

[Kromm]

Opera Girl was clearly a setup. Do you think it's a coincidence she was dressed down in that heart shirt? Nope. It was to foster the image of her being a totally "real" amateur--a "real girl". 

I know I've seen Tape Face somewhere before. Possibly like Opera Girl he's a setup who's already been on another Got Talent, who Simon & Co. recruited (Simon always acts like he's never heard of these people). But it's a great act. Mime can be SO lame, he stands out for doing an irreverent version of it.

The Clairvoyants don't do it for me. They break their own conceit (and illusion) halfway through by having her start to "know" things her partner isn't even holding. Really it boils down to simply knowing she's being signaled and us having to figure out how. Or not. Simply knowing it's happening is enough.

The Kid Comedian was dreadful. Despite what he says, I think we all know someone else mostly wrote those jokes. And shame on them for writing BAD ones!

The gross hook act is always the kind of act where I understand why it's on this show, but don't particularly want to see advance.

Japanese CGI Magic Guy wasn't for me either. For me magic should be about slight of hand, not optical masking. Leave that kind of screen sync thing for dance acts.

10 hours ago, SnarkyTart said:

Oh hai, Nick Cannon.  He's always been my favorite of all the talent show hosts.  He's smart, hysterical, up for anything, and just seems so "real" to me.  Plus, his socks!

Nick and Cat Deeley are the two where I always appreciate them, even if the show itself isn't always worthy. There's a balance to being a positive personality leading a show without being cloying, and both of them have it.

[Sentient Meat]

I found more to enjoy in this one episode, than the entire latest seasons of American Idol and The Voice... well except for the AI finale, that was actually pretty good.  It's not that the acts are better in quality... it's just that they find more interesting characters... and because of the variety of acts I never know from show to show exactly what's going to happen.  The last episodes of the Voice were excruciating... contestant and judge kissing each other's ass for five minutes... bland interpretation of a song... more ass kissing from the judges... ten minutes of commercials... rinse/repeat for two hours.  I had to make sure to start watching at least an hour after it started because I needed to fast forward through almost everything but the songs.

I don't think that this show was all that great in retrospect... but it was so much better than what I've been suffering through that it really did seem good.

[ketchuplover]

The only way to prove the clairvoyants are real is to have a one on one session with them where you definitely know you haven't met them before.

[Wings]

As for the clairvoyant, they don't have plants in the audience.  That is old school before the advancement of technology.  I love to try and figure out how they do it, I am never wowed by their acts, I just want to know the gimmick.  

Contestants do travel to different venues for this show; that is not a set up.  Regurgitator guy did another country before winning here. 

The judges do not know anything about the acts before they see them perform.  This is done purposely to get a genuine reaction. On the British version Simon had no idea who Susan Boyle was, his reaction to her was not an act; he was floored. 

3 hours ago, Kromm said:

Opera Girl was clearly a setup. Do you think it's a coincidence she was dressed down in that heart shirt? Nope. It was to foster the image of her being a totally "real" amateur--a "real girl". 

Set up by her PR rep, not the show. Those who want her to win are behind her appearance and demeanor. 

7 hours ago, helenamonster said:

I think a lot of people consider it very high brow...it's a very particular taste of art/entertainment, and there's this perception that to enjoy it is to be sophisticated and intellectual. I think because of this people who aren't experienced with opera have a hard time telling what's good and what's bad. I don't have an ear for opera at all, but I still felt like this girl was just kind of yelling. She seemed very sweet but I'm just really, really over kid singers.

I agree.  Ever read the plots to these famous opera's?  Some read like a chick flick.  They are very basic tropes  and would never get a good review if they were a standard musical. 

 

10 hours ago, phoenix780 said:

Oh, and she is trained. There was some clip of her with her voice coach on a Chicago area news show. Or maybe a national one, like a Sunday morning program.

Well she needs a better coach.  

[helenamonster]

I mean, it's pretty obvious The Clairvoyants have some kind of trick...I don't think anyone believes they're actually psychic. For those kinds of acts (and all magic acts, really), it's based more on the skill and ability to hide how the trick is done than to convince people that they're really wizards or whatever.

[DrLar]

Have the Clairvoyant girl not sit in the swing, maybe there's something there to signal her, they didn't also pat her down to find devices on her (would be creepy if they were in her LOL) of course they have a spotter or two with big lenses. The AT&T "guess" not that amazing, most phones have their carrier logo on them.

[Wings]

36 minutes ago, DrLar said:

Have the Clairvoyant girl not sit in the swing, maybe there's something there to signal her, they didn't also pat her down to find devices on her (would be creepy if they were in her LOL) of course they have a spotter or two with big lenses. The AT&T "guess" not that amazing, most phones have their carrier logo on them.

They didn't pat down her breasts and that was a formidable padded bra.  Pretty sure that is where the device is and the swing ropes have something to do with the communication.  

I am not ruling out a small camera on him and a display in her mask either. 

[Jenkins]

40 minutes ago, wings707 said:

 

I am not ruling out a small camera on him and a display in her mask either. 

This was my first thought actually. I mean, we have Google Glass, which they could easily fit the screen in her blindfold and:

"For the wearer, this personalized display acts as a much bigger screen, one that's equivalent to a 25-inch HDTV sitting eight feet away."

Not sure how well that would work behind a blindfold, but the fact is the technology is there to put a screen right in front of someones eye that gives the illusion of a MUCH bigger screen.