S12.E20: Live Results 4

[halopub]

20 hours ago, helenamonster said:

I hope Sara brings the third dog, Marvel, into her act for the finals.

I'd love to see her too. Someone assisting Sara posted a pic of Loki and Marvel at what appears to be an AGT rehearsal stage. I don't know if it'll happen though. Sara trained with Navy SEALs to rappel with Hero for the quarterfinals but the sequence didn't make it into the live show.

 

Per CelticBlackCat, edited to fix acronym. Thank you for the friendly correction.

Edited September 16, 2017 by halopub
Fixed acronym.

[CelticBlackCat]

Navy SEALs (Sea, Air, and Land) :)

[anthonyd46]

On 9/15/2017 at 1:39 PM, helenamonster said:

It's sort of amazing how acts that fly through in the quarters don't even make it into the Dunkin Save in the semis (Johnny, Billy&Emily, and Mike), though because of their Dunkin Save Status in the quarters, I'm not surprised about Yoli or Greater Works (disappointed about Greater Works though). Guess it all depends on which acts are matched up against each other.

No, I get where you're coming from. Cancer is huge and life-changing and an incredible burden for any family. So it has always struck me as kind of odd that this is the time they decided to schlep one of their kids out to LA every few weeks for a talent competition. At first I thought Evie was the only child and could kind of get it; you don't want their lives to be defined by their parents illness, but then when I saw that they seemed to have at least four kids, I was very confused. It just seems like so much extra work and stress to put on a family that is already going through something very stressful. It also feels like it must take a huge emotional toll on Evie. That's a huge swing between highs and lows for a teenage girl to go through. I commend her for not having had a complete breakdown. Though now that her father has passed I wonder if she will still appear in the final. It just seems like too much all at once.

I never understood that either. I guess semis have 2 less acts gong through than quarters, but if they had the fan base to  go through before as a non save act you would think that fan base would be enough to at least put them in the save.

I didn't understand it with Adam in survivor and I don't understand it here in both cases the parent was in the later stages of cancer and both leave their side to be in a reality show? Like you said I get it more if you are an only child, but I wouldn't leave my parent for a reality show and in both cases it was confirmed Adam and Evie were guaranteed a future spot on the show if they didnt want to participate because of the illness. Anyway they confirmed on her fathers blog that Evie will be there:

 

Evie Clair has made the decision to return and compete in the finals of America’s Got Talent after being given the option from Simon to come back next season.

We are happy to be back in LA with the remaining cast, crew and staff who have become like a second family to us this past year.

[Commando Cody]

On 9/6/2017 at 8:23 PM, suebee12 said:

Was it just me or did Evie Clair not look at all worried?

She looked like she knew she was going through. It made her look like a snob. Someone backstage must have "promised" her that she was going through. I would not want to witness the aftermath if she didn't. 

Mel B has changed the color of her hair so much lately. I would worry about it falling out. 

I have been saving a lot of time on these shows by not only fast forwarding through the commercials and the lengthy intros, but the sob stories as well. They have so many of them now. They keep rehashing them.

[anthonyd46]

One other thought on why maybe someone could advance through the quarterfinals and have a non save spot, but then not even make the save in the semis. This competition is different than some reality shows. In a show like survivor once you get far enough in the competition you compete against the same exact people each round the competition doesnt change. In this show there are (I'm not counting the auditions because theres no cap on how many go through) 4 Judge cuts, 4 quarters, 2 semis, and one final. That means its impossible for all the acts to be competing against each other. So one round someone like Mike Young might be a top act that doesn't need a save, but in the next round when he is now up against some of the same and some different acts his chances now change. If there was just say no voting until all the quarterfinalists had performed, etc then everyone would be on a level playing field and you probably don't see someone like Preacher Lawson making it through without a save. What makes this show so hard to advance in is one week you can face one group of acts and another a completely different one. Its almost like a sports matchup sometimes teams advance in the playoffs because they face a team they are matched up against better even if their record isnt better than them overall. I can think of plenty of times a team is better on paper and they lose. No difference here. 

 

I haven't watched American Idol in a while, but if its the same as when it used to be once they get to the Top 10 or so which would be roughly about the same time this show is at the semi final round I think the same people are performing each week and it just keeps widdling down till it hits the finals? Is the voice run the same way once its into the later rounds? Either way point is its not like one week an idol contestant in the top 10 is performing against one group of people then the next week a different group of people its the same core group minus one or two contestants versus AGT where maybe the acts in the semis are none of the ones you competed against in the quarters. I also think its hurts an act that if they perform in quarter final 1 it will be a month before they are seen again. 

Edited September 18, 2017 by anthonyd46

[silverspoons]

On 9/15/2017 at 11:39 AM, helenamonster said:

 

No, I get where you're coming from. Cancer is huge and life-changing and an incredible burden for any family. So it has always struck me as kind of odd that this is the time they decided to schlep one of their kids out to LA every few weeks for a talent competition. At first I thought Evie was the only child and could kind of get it; you don't want their lives to be defined by their parents illness, but then when I saw that they seemed to have at least four kids, I was very confused. It just seems like so much extra work and stress to put on a family that is already going through something very stressful. It also feels like it must take a huge emotional toll on Evie. That's a huge swing between highs and lows for a teenage girl to go through. I commend her for not having had a complete breakdown. Though now that her father has passed I wonder if she will still appear in the final. It just seems like too much all at once.

One thing you have to remember about Evie faith is she really 100% believes she is going to be reunited with her whole family including a healthy dad one day, she was sealed to her father in the temple for all eternity.  While her mother has posted Evie has had moments of sadness, her faith has repeatedly told her not to be sad, plus she has had her dad for 15 months telling her his dream was to see her on AGT, how can she quit? It must be a lot of pressure. Death of parent is very different in devout Mormon families. Evie's brother went to homecoming the night after his dad was buried, life goes on fast. My daughter who is Evie age and goes to a almost 100% Mormon school , has had 7 classmates lose a parent in the last year. I was shocked to see one come to play a sporting event the day her dad died, it wasn't even a championship game and she wasn't the star player, most don't even miss much if any school. 

I read through Evie's mom blog and one entry summed up what I feel goes on, a catholic neighbor said to Evie'something like you never feel the real burdens because the Mormon church takes care of you. There are meals every night, more free child care then she could use, people cleaning her home, money donated, so the mom can take Evie to California and not have a worry about her younger kids because they are so many people taking care of them. 

As for all these singers with back stories AGT searches them out. Evie was found because a former AGT semi finalist who was Mormon met her and they put a clip on YouTube and it was noticed by AGT. That clip mentioned her dad had just gotten sick. Remember AGT doesn't have auditions anymore, they are having judges sitting in 25 cities trying to find people. They are just acts that already have shows, people with back stories on social media and it seems now a trend of people coming from AGT Britain and sometimes other countries. I remember Darci on little big shots and Sara and hero on Ellen. I wish these shows would go back to itheir roots and have real auditions. Not just AGT, but project runway , and big brother, too much recruiting and not enough regular people that are hidden gems. 

[helenamonster]

7 hours ago, silverspoons said:

One thing you have to remember about Evie faith is she really 100% believes she is going to be reunited with her whole family including a healthy dad one day, she was sealed to her father in the temple for all eternity.  While her mother has posted Evie has had moments of sadness, her faith has repeatedly told her not to be sad, plus she has had her dad for 15 months telling her his dream was to see her on AGT, how can she quit? It must be a lot of pressure. Death of parent is very different in devout Mormon families. Evie's brother went to homecoming the night after his dad was buried, life goes on fast. My daughter who is Evie age and goes to a almost 100% Mormon school , has had 7 classmates lose a parent in the last year. I was shocked to see one come to play a sporting event the day her dad died, it wasn't even a championship game and she wasn't the star player, most don't even miss much if any school. 

I read through Evie's mom blog and one entry summed up what I feel goes on, a catholic neighbor said to Evie'something like you never feel the real burdens because the Mormon church takes care of you. There are meals every night, more free child care then she could use, people cleaning her home, money donated, so the mom can take Evie to California and not have a worry about her younger kids because they are so many people taking care of them. 

As for all these singers with back stories AGT searches them out. Evie was found because a former AGT semi finalist who was Mormon met her and they put a clip on YouTube and it was noticed by AGT. That clip mentioned her dad had just gotten sick. Remember AGT doesn't have auditions anymore, they are having judges sitting in 25 cities trying to find people. They are just acts that already have shows, people with back stories on social media and it seems now a trend of people coming from AGT Britain and sometimes other countries. I remember Darci on little big shots and Sara and hero on Ellen. I wish these shows would go back to itheir roots and have real auditions. Not just AGT, but project runway , and big brother, too much recruiting and not enough regular people that are hidden gems. 

This is a good point that I didn't completely think through. I knew that Evie and her family were very religious and did think that the people in my life who are true believers of any faith (especially any Christian faith) deal better with death and loss than those who do not. I don't know any Mormons personally and am not overly familiar with their belief system, so thank you for the insight. I was raised Catholic (and am now firmly agnostic) and even though Catholics believe you go to heaven when you die (as long as you get those last rites in), funerals are very heavy, bleak affairs in the Church, even if the person was very old and lived a full life.

As for the auditions, for this show at least, I'm okay with most of the acts being seasoned professionals because it makes for a better competition. It is cool to every once in a while have someone who is truly a diamond in the rough, but if it's limited to amateurs only, then you get live shows packed with Mirror Images. In general, I've come to accept that reality television is not what it was when it first started (something that anyone could audition for as a way to spend a few months and make a quick buck) but a stepping stone to a fully-realized career in the entertainment industry. I can't see the medium going backwards on that now that so many people have made millions through these kinds of shows.

[CelticBlackCat]

@helenamonster, Thank you for the insight of the Mormons and why Evie and family have conducted themselves this way.

[helenamonster]

19 hours ago, CelticBlackCat said:

@helenamonster, Thank you for the insight of the Mormons and why Evie and family have conducted themselves this way.

Wasn't me, that was @silverspoons, I was just quoting them. I agree that it was good insight.

[CelticBlackCat]

8 hours ago, helenamonster said:

Wasn't me, that was @silverspoons, I was just quoting them. I agree that it was good insight.

I get confused sometimes looking at the quotes boxes and regular text.  Thanks to silverspoons!

[JMarie99]

@Helenamonster, although this is off topic I feel compelled to correct some of your statements about the Catholic faith. You do not have to "get those last rites in" to go to heaven. You only need to die in a state of grace (whatever that means). Also I have been to many Catholic funerals that were quite uplifting and not at all "heavy and bleak." As a firmly agnostic former Catholic you may want to update your thinking. 

I too would like to thank @silverspoons for your explanation of Mormon beliefs. Evie certainly displayed a lot of strength through this ordeal and her beliefs most certainly played a part.