S13.E01: Auditions 1

[LadyMustang65]

I hope I didn't miss something, but I couldn't find a thread for last night's show.  If there is one already, please delete this.  Thank you.

Anyway, welcome back AGT!  Last night's episode was pretty good, we thought.  The acro group that was Tyra's golden buzzer pick was a surprise for us.  As soon as we saw the large number of people come on stage, we immediately dismissed them.  Big groups like that generally don't work out that well.  But we thought they were amazing.  Really loved them.

Creepy magic girl was creepy, but that turned out to be a pretty good act.  But I swear we've seen her before.  Did she try out in a previous season?  That whole not speaking, head twitching, hair in the face thing just seemed so familiar.

The comic was okay.  Some of what she did was pretty funny; some of it fell a bit flat.  Don't mind that she made it through though.

Loved the card magic guy who used Tyra.  That was very interesting, and he had a good stage presence.

We were not terribly impressed by the singers they showed.  For us they were good but not great.  I don't see any of them being in the final group.

Did not see the point of the guy who wanted to be a judge.  Can't believe they wasted time on that.  

The guys who did the water act - this was the big divider in our household.  I have to admit that I laughed myself silly during that whole act.  Seriously - I was laughing so hard I was crying.  My husband, on the other hand, was Simon.  He thought it was completely idiotic and pointless.  I don't know what it was that ticked me so much about them, but it appears there were a lot of folks like me in the audience, along with Heidi, Mel B and Howie.  It'll be interesting to me to see how I react the next time - whether it will still be as funny or whether it was so funny because it was so unexpected.

I feel like I'm forgetting some of the acts.  I can only think of those 8, but we must have seen more than that in 2 hours, right?  

Last thought - when Nick left and Tyra came on, we were not fans of Tyra.  But she has totally won us over by now.  Every once in a while she hits a flat note (but so did Nick from time to time), but most of the time she seems like she's having fun, and she's a good sport about joining in.  Loved that she joined in with the water guys.  We're fans now,

[Mr. Sparkle]

Creepy magic girl apparently won Asia's Got Talent, and has been on Asian tv before. She even has her own wiki page. I thought she was pretty good. The dancers from the Philippines were also on Asia's Got Talent.  

Like Simon, I think most of the card/magic acts are a little boring and one-note. Too much "is this the card you signed??? How did it get there?" It's done a few times every season. 

I started thinking the water guys were incredibly stupid, but I found myself smiling at its goofiness. I can't imagine where they will go next, but I admit I liked it. 

The sob-story sibling band did nothing for me. 

I'm pretty indifferent on Tyra. She gets the job done. 

[Sylviad]

I was  just glad  to see the show back. I appreciate a bit of nonsense during  these dark times. The  creepy  magic  girl gave  me chills, good act. The water  guys  made me laugh, don't know if they'll be as  effective next time but this time they were SO  funny.

[Mr. Sparkle]

Also, I just read Creepy Girl is 25!! 

[illini1959]

Thanks for creating the thread, I didn't see one, either.

Sibling band - I guess I'm getting old. I could barely understand a word they sang and, as sad/touching as the story was, I didn't think the guy could sing that well. Sad story doesn't equal talent.

Card guy and comic have potential if they continue to improve.

I usually don't care for animal acts, but those cats were pretty good :) 

Agree on the guy who wanted to be a judge....what's up with that? Wasted time.

I don't see the point of including acts that have already won something else - dancers/creepy girl. Kinda like Pif the Magic Dragon a year or two ago - he was already pretty well known. Oh well.

[atlantaloves]

The card magician, Shin Lim, is one of the best close up magicians in the world, so I was thrilled to see him, loved the CATS, the lady comedian and also the creepy magician chick. But I am all in for the Shin Lim, wait till you see what he can do next folks! 

[saber5055]

The cats boggled my mind, who knew cats could be trained for such a variety of tricks. I liked them better than any of the dog acts, they were amazing and hilarious. The card magician was fabulous, I loved him. So nice to know he's one of the best in the world. Yes, we've seen those tricks before (sort of) but for the life of me I can't figure it out so it must be magic. Plus he's cute.

I also like the lady comedian, she made me LOL. I was "meh" on the creepy magician chick. I liked the dance crew from Philippines. I sort of drifted off during the other dance crew, although the stiff-legged girl who got lifted sideways was pretty impressive.

I HATED the water boys. Hated them so much, I turned away and wouldn't watch them. Nasty and gross and not funny. I guess I'm the only one who was repelled by them.

I have no problem with winners from other countries coming here to compete. I'd rather see them than that guy who wanted to be a judge or the hand squishing "music" guy. That's what we'd be watching every week if those other acts weren't allowed. Then the show would be called America's Got No Talent.

[CrashTextDummie]

Yay, AGT is back. I can already tell that they are doubling down on sob stories and joke acts. Seeing as Britain's Got Talent is also currently airing, it's striking how much more focus this show puts on theatrics rather than actual talent.

Having said that, the trained cats and the water fountain guys were entertaining and the golden buzzer act was above average for that kind of thing.

Shin Lim is undoubtedly the best magician that has ever graced this show when looked at from a perspective of technical mastery. It's gonna be interesting to see if the audience can actually recognize that. I have a feeling probably not.

[hnygrl]

Wasn't Creepy The Ring Girl on Britain's Got Talent as well? That chick has done the "Got Talent" Circuit for sure.

HATE HATE HATE HER!!!! GO AWAY NOW...Bye....oh and take your doll with you.

Lady comedian made me guffaw more than once. She was GOOD. As was the Card Trick Guy. I can usually spot the sleight of hand (I'm watching  his hands, not the cards) but a few times I was like "wait what?" I didn't see the changes. That's a real pro.

Singing family with the deceased mom didn't do it for me. Sorry kids, but....yawn...people are gonna vote for them/keep them because...dead mom...show respect. They just weren't "million dollar worthy" to me. I always try to imagine them having a residency in Vegas and I can't see it.

The huge group of dancers were spoiled for me. They kept showing them in all the previews in between acts with glitter falling so I knew. And when they said there was gonna be a golden buzzer I automatically knew it'd be the last act of the night. Always is.

Best thing about Tyra? She's so damn TALL that when she hugs a contestant? SHE HUGS the contestant. Big ole big boobed bear hugs...just exactly what you need when you've just did something that brave. Sorry folks but the water guys were stupid. They'll never make it to the next round.

Hate the sob stories and always turn away till they're over.

Can't remember for sure (somebody help me out here) But the act that made Mel B cry, made me cry too. 

TRAINED CATS??!?!? WHAT??!?!? That. Was. COOL.  When the first cat just....sat there...every cat owner said smugly to themselves "of course...you can't train a cat." Then she/he started doing tricks, we were all like "wait what?" That was amazing. 

Glad it's back. I love this show.

[atlantaloves]

WOW, I'm all in for Shin Lim for the Win, the magician....Been a fan for many years, he has actually fooled Penn and Teller. Generally in his act he never EVER speaks, which works perfectly for him because he plays all over the world and that really works in the world of magic because there is no language barrier. Plus, he is a doll! Can not wait to see what he comes up with next, and am avoiding the internet so I can be surprised.  Yeah, I love love this show too. Even when it is bad it is like the old Ed Sullivan show, wait a minute and we will have an act that you will like. 

Edited May 31, 2018 by atlantaloves
spelling

[DarkRaichu]

I liked the water guys until they started to spit at / to each others' mouths.  At that point the act got gross :P  I would not want to get spit on by strangers, even if the starnger is Tyra Banks :P

 

17 minutes ago, hnygrl said:

Best thing about Tyra? She's so damn TALL that when she hugs a contestant? SHE HUGS the contestant. Big ole big boobed bear hugs...just exactly what you need when you've just did something that brave.

On the other hand, I'd take that hug anytime :D :D :D

 

Creepy girl was meh.

Card trick guy was excellent.  I thought turning a deck of cards to a stack of transparent card sleeves was a great trick

Edited May 30, 2018 by DarkRaichu

[LadyMustang65]

2 hours ago, illini1959 said:

I usually don't care for animal acts, but those cats were pretty good :) 

OMG!   How could I have forgotten the cats?  They were awesome!!  Please don't anybody tell my 2 cats that I forgot about that act.  < lol >  We thought the cats were absolutely amazing.  Some of the tricks they did are not natural behaviors for cats.  I would go see those cats perform live.  :)

[Ohwell]

I liked the comedienne, the cats and the water spitting guys.  

I appreciate the skill of the card trick guy, but I'm usually bored by magicians. 

Creepy girl can just go away.  Stat!

[theartandsound]

The teen rapper, she was amazing. That track was powerful. Hope she goes far.

[illini1959]

3 hours ago, CrashTextDummie said:

Yay, AGT is back. I can already tell that they are doubling down on sob stories and joke acts. Seeing as Britain's Got Talent is also currently airing, it's striking how much more focus this show puts on theatrics rather than actual talent.

Same can be said for British vs American baking shows. 

[Wings]

Loved the cats!   I can almost hear Simon saying, we are seeing the same tricks every time, do you have anything new to show us?   I hope not, animal acts are my favorite.  Olate Dogs is a tough act to follow though. 

I am not fond of magicians in general and I find card tricks boring.  I am never surprised because they set up surprises!  That is the point. 

Loved the water spitting as a one act wonder.  

I have seen creepy girl before and I am shocked the judges haven’t.  I suspect Simon may have though.  I LOVED his well timed buzzer. 

Every year we get dance and acrobatic troops that don’t make the finale but fill up the programming.   For me they are good FF fodder. 

The comic needs some coaching but she was pretty good.  Jokes about women’s sagging breasts have been overly done, come on.

I wish they had more comics.  There are so many out there working clubs that I would love to see here.  The unknown who have not had exposure and working for peanuts.  

The sob story trio, get the hook.  If you want to preform original songs, make sure the audience can hear the lyrics.  

[Singingflutist]

4 hours ago, atlantaloves said:

WOW, I'm all in for Shin Lim for the Win, the magician....Been a fan for many years, he has actually fooled Penn and Teller. Generally in his act he never EVER speaks, which works perfectly for him because he plays all over the world and that really works in the world of magic because there are no language barrier. Plus, he is a doll! Can not wait to see what he comes up with next, and am avoiding the internet so I can be surprised.  Yeah, I love love this show too. Even when it is bad it is like the old Ed Sullivan show, wait a minute and we will have an act that you will like. 

He fooled Penn and Teller twice.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

I happened to be in Asia during the last season of Asia's Got Talent, so it was nice to see The Sacred Riana (aka Creepy Horror Movie magician/illusionist girl). And the Filipino guys, Junior New System again. The Sacred Riana reminds me a little of Tape Face, she is uber committed to her character, and she's got skillz (maybe even more than what she showed in her audition).

The cats were cool. The family band was quite good too, kudos on their original song. But as Simon said, the deck always seemed to be stacked against Band acts so even if they are chosen for the Top 40 (or whatever it happens to be this season) I won't get my hopes up too high for them. Wasn't really a fan of the comic though.

After one episode, I'd say Shin Lim FTW, but the bar is always set much higher for magic acts over singers and it's still very early days...and I'm sure we have tons of singer's who've overcome incredible obstacles (or are like 12 years old) left to meet.

[silverspoons]

I really want to see a Magician win and Shin was good, but I think I would like a magician that does more then card trick, especially on such a big stage. 

I was surprised at the group that got the golden buzzer. At least it wasn't a child singer.

It seems like many of the contestants come from other shows or viral videos, does AGT still do auditions around the country or just fly people to CA that they want to audition? 

[LibertarianSlut]

2 hours ago, theartandsound said:

The teen rapper, she was amazing. That track was powerful. Hope she goes far.

I am honestly asking, what was "amazing" about her? And what was "powerful" about the track?? I couldn't even hear it, other than some offshoot of "put down that gun," which was repetitive, but not the least bit catchy. It is just cliched beyond words for a minor to spout off naively against violence and excpect to get accolades for it, yet here we are. I just...don't get it. I care about her back story zero. The back story can inspire the art, but the art needs to stand alone.

Her rapping was also disappointing from a technical standpoint. She didn't have cool rhymes or use language uniquely or ironically. I was very bored. There was nothing interesting or innovative about her. All I have to do is flip on Drop the Mic and I am entertained and--even though the participants on DTM are amateurs with regard to rap skill--they are hilarious and...talented to a degree.

I would much rather watch people spit water in each others' mouths. It's more artistic and much more original. At least the water lunatics were thinking, "how can we push the envelope?" as opposed to to falling back on something that was supposed to pull at our heart strings, but fell flat. You can be a sympathetic figure and use that pain as a vehicle to create something powerful, but this...was not that. This was middle school talent show fodder.

[ketchuplover]

I'm hoping Sacred Riana aka creepy girl doesn't use a Ouija board like she did on Asia's Got Talent.  That's nothing to play with imo.  

[saber5055]

3 hours ago, N. Bluth said:

I would much rather watch people spit water in each others' mouths. It's more artistic and much more original.

Just a big fat NO to this. So nasty I couldn't even look at it. Although it would be funny if every one of them came down with strep. THAT would get my vote.

[helenamonster]

The cats where ahhhmayyyyzing! I think people assume cats are dumber than dogs because they generally don't do tricks, but it is so true that they totally understand what you want them to do, they just refuse to do it. These cats must be getting treats out the butt.

Loved Shin Lim as well. I'm a sucker for magicians so I hope he goes far.

Call me crazy, but I liked the spitting guys. I don't know if I agree they should have passed to the next round (this seems like the kind of thing that's only funny once) but I enjoyed them. They mentioned the act first came about for their senior year talent show, I can absolutely see that killing in a high school auditorium.

I too feel like I've seen The Sacred Riana before, even though I don't watch any of the other Got Talent shows. In fact at one point she seemed so familiar I wondered if I'd gone to high school with her (it's hard to see exactly what she looks like with her hair in her face). Sometimes magicians with a shtick annoy me on this show (that guy with his imaginary friend from a few years back) but I liked hers. I agree with the person who said she reminded them of Tape Face--one hundred percent committed to her stage persona.

The girl in the family band needs to not make that face when she sings.

[lb60]

<waves to saber5055>

Nice to see you over here.  I am also no fan of the water spitters.  

I enjoyed the cats, and I am no fan of cats, but that was pretty impressive.

Shin Lim was really good.  Creepy girl was good, but her shtick will probably get old very quickly.

I thought the sob story band was actually good, and I usually think most of the band acts suck.

Also liked the last dance group.

I thought the comic was bad.  I never understand Howie falling all over himself with most of the comics.

Mel B. is still useless.  I can't wait until she decides to throw water on Simon.  <eye roll>  

[bluepiano]

Glad this show is back. It's my favorite guilty TV pleasure. (Used to be The Voice, but the last couple of seasons have bored me to tears.)

I thought Shin Lim was amazing, but discovering through this forum that he's actually a well-known international performer takes away some of the pleasure. I guess that's why AGT consistently covers up the professional backgrounds of some of the acts, so we will feel like we are part of discovering these talented unknowns. But I don't enjoy being deceived. That pre-performance clip that showed him sweating bullets because Simon doesn't like card tricks was all a con. Darn, fooled again.

Knowing that the dance group from the Filipino dance are TV veterans also takes away a bit of the rags to riches story. Although one of them said "we saved our money to come to America" (highly doubtful) I got an inkling that there was more to this than meets the eye.

What made the water fountain act funny was the element of surprise, because we all thought it was going to be the umpteenth bunch of geeky looking young guys in tuxedos singing opera we've seen on AGT. They did a great job of setting that up.  I laughed and was entertained, but without the element of surprise I can't imagine they will make it past another week.

Same feeling about the sibling singing group and young girl rapper. One shot wonders because of the sob stories. Though the band might go a bit further because of the family angle. But musically I thought they were boring, and like others have said, the lyrics were total vocal mush.

I thought that the final dance act that got the Golden Buzzer was vastly overrated. The little girls who got tossed around and did somersaults in the air were doing things that lots of young girl gymnasts can do. None of the choreography impressed me. Maybe I just don't like massive dance groups. Also, got a bit of a weird cultish vibe from the Brazilian dude. Beginning with the fire ritual.

Lady comic was pretty funny and I will be glad to hear more, but she was NOT the funniest comic ever on this show. That part of the judges' schtick I can do without. Every one is "the best we've ever seen."  And of course, every season is "the greatest ever."

The creepy girl bored me, and if we view her as a magic act, that was a big ho-hum.

No child singers so far. Hallelujah.  But I know that's too good to last.

And yes, Tyra is really, really tall. But man, they give her some weird outfits and hairdos. At one point in the show she looked like a cross between Elvira and Lilly Munster.

Edited May 31, 2018 by bluepiano

[Vermicious Knid]

Huh. I completely missed there was a Golden Buzzer. Maybe because I was watching on my DVR after coming back from seeing Deadpool 2. Mostly I just wondered why they were dressed like extras from The Road Warrior. I loved the cats! When it started and the cat was just sitting there I figured it would be another animal act crashing and burning but they proved us wrong. A cat doing the parallel bars is a supreme bit of weirdness I won't forget soon.

Creepy magician girl was just doing The Ring. Meh. The spitting group I had to fast forward. Even knowing Shin is world famous I'm still impressed. He showed us card tricks we haven't seen a million times. And made a point of having his sleeves rolled up. I...can't remember a single joke the older woman told.

The guy in the Filipino group who did the flip and hit the ground on 4" heels. Ow, ow, ow.

[Wings]

Sacred Riana aka, creepy girl, won Asia’s Got Talent.  

[Johnny Dollar]

For the first episode, there seems to be way too many professional acts for my taste. If these performers are just going to make the circuit among the Got Talent Universe, then don’t make it seem like they’ve been struggling their whole lives for their big break. 

[Happy Belly]

Creepy girl had me out of my seat last night as I yelled for all to hear that I’ve seen her before..shes a magic act. Thanks to you guys, I find out she won Asia’s Got Talent. Problem is, I dont watch, nor have ever watched, Asia’s Got Talent. I swear she was on AGT last season.  However, I’m proud of myself for knowing who Shin Lim is. I saw him on Penn and Teller and adored him there. Good luck to him as well as the amazing Golden Buzzer group. Ive never seen anything like them before.

[DarkRaichu]

10 hours ago, helenamonster said:

I too feel like I've seen The Sacred Riana before, even though I don't watch any of the other Got Talent shows. In fact at one point she seemed so familiar I wondered if I'd gone to high school with her (it's hard to see exactly what she looks like with her hair in her face).

Perhaps she looks familiar because she was imitating the spirit/ghost from The Ring movie (well most of 90s ghost movies from Asia, really).  Pale make-up + half of her face was covered with black straight hair.

[marketdoctor]

Shin Lim was brilliant, and to quote Penn and Teller in another context, "this is what years of practice looks like."  The card in the frozen deck was really cool, and the way he changed the backs of the decks of cards was awesome.

The Sacred Riana had a great trick, but did a trick that was partly from Penn & Teller's "How to Play in Traffic", they did it with a Polaroid, but there are digital variations.

In both cases, I understand why they'd do AGT--the lump sum is enough to get attention, and the exposure might be worth more bookings.  (The challenge of the Sacred Riana is that I'm not sure where I'd book her; Shin Lim could be an easy fit for Vegas and for high-end corporate gigs.  Maybe even billionaire's kids' parties--anywhere wher they appreciate great magic and give him lots and lots of money.)

The main thing about the trained cats act that did it for me was that they were trained CATS.  Some cats are more open to training, but they're cats.

Welcome back, AGT and forum!

[saber5055]

1 hour ago, marketdoctor said:

The Sacred Riana had a great trick, but did a trick that was partly from Penn & Teller's "How to Play in Traffic", they did it with a Polaroid, but there are digital variations.

This didn't dawn on me until later, and maybe it was filmed on a different day, but when the wannabe judge drank from Howie's cup, it was dark orange/red. In the "photo" Sacred Riana took of Mel with "Bob" behind her, there was a bright yellow cup in the foreground. Were cups all yellow that day? I don't care enough to rewatch.

I forgot that Rapper Girl was on this show, and I guess most people here forgot too. Heh. She was okay, won't mind seeing her again. Even if I sorta drifted off during her backstory and rap.

When the tall guy came out in the spandex costume, I thought for a minute it was the second coming of Poppycock. That would have been okay with me.

<waves back at Ib60!> Hi!

[ketchuplover]

Golden Buzzards have been on France and Austria too

[hawk09]

Mel B. shouldn't yell so much....please keep the volume down, Mel, we know you want to display your enthusiasm, but muzzle it!

Why don't the judges wear the same outfits all season, then we wouldn't have to wonder if some of it was taped or live.  Tyra, Mel B, and Heidi change outfits after every commercial, and we're not supposed to notice that?.

As previous posters have commented, it seems as if there are too many "professional" contestants" on the show which spoils the whole idea of AGT.

[LadyMustang65]

2 hours ago, hawk09 said:

Why don't the judges wear the same outfits all season, then we wouldn't have to wonder if some of it was taped or live.  Tyra, Mel B, and Heidi change outfits after every commercial, and we're not supposed to notice that?.

 

Is that what they're doing?  I always assumed the auditions ran for several days in each city, and they just culled all the auditions from different days down into the segment and that was why the outfits changed, since you will sometimes see them in one outfit/hairstyle, then in a different outfit/hairstyle, and then back in the first outfit/hairstyle.  

[saber5055]

I didn't pay attention to judge outfits this episode, but I noticed Tyra's look/hair/outfit changed radically. I thought the judges wore the same thing during auditions (as do The Voice judges), then wear whatever for the live performances. Just so we can tell the auditions happened at the same time (*cough*).

I'm not much of a clothes person, it's just that Tyra makes such dramatic changes between performers. She changes more per episode than Cher!

[Ohwell]

I do think that Tyra looks best wearing slacks.

[SnarkyTart]

15 hours ago, bluepiano said:

No child singers so far. Hallelujah. 

Now you've gone and cursed us, @bluepiano.  We'll be getting a child singing Hallelujah now, I just know it.  :-)

[Diana Berry]

10 hours ago, saber5055 said:

This didn't dawn on me until later, and maybe it was filmed on a different day, but when the wannabe judge drank from Howie's cup, it was dark orange/red. In the "photo" Sacred Riana took of Mel with "Bob" behind her, there was a bright yellow cup in the foreground. Were cups all yellow that day? I don't care enough to rewatch.

I forgot that Rapper Girl was on this show, and I guess most people here forgot too. Heh. She was okay, won't mind seeing her again. Even if I sorta drifted off during her backstory and rap.

When the tall guy came out in the spandex costume, I thought for a minute it was the second coming of Poppycock. That would have been okay with me.

<waves back at Ib60!> Hi!

You can go on you tube and put in 'sacred riana ' and you can watch the trick again without watching the show.  The dunkin cups are orange the picture of bob and Mel  the cup is orange but there was a flash so the color looks distorted.

 

glad I'm not the only one, could not understand the lyrics at all of the vocal group.

[helenamonster]

Yeah, the audition rounds are all from a few days of taping in Los Angeles. They used to (or made it seem like they used to) schlep the judges from city to city and have each audition episode themed around that city, but a few seasons back they ditched that. Now, as far as I can tell, the auditions that take place all over the country are just for producers, and then the ones that make that cut are brought out to LA for the taped auditions that we see here. Then they cut the LA auditions all together, not really caring if Heidi, Mel, and Tyra completely change looks between commercial breaks. At this point I suppose it really doesn't matter.

[saber5055]

16 hours ago, helenamonster said:

Then they cut the LA auditions all together, not really caring if Heidi, Mel, and Tyra completely change looks between commercial breaks. At this point I suppose it really doesn't matter.

I watched part of the rerun last night (WTH NBC, rerunning AGT and WoD two nights after they aired originally?) and everyone had on different outfits throughout the show. So yeah, TPTB obviously don't care.

[DarkRaichu]

2 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I watched part of the rerun last night (WTH NBC, rerunning AGT and WoD two nights after they aired originally?) and everyone had on different outfits throughout the show. So yeah, TPTB obviously don't care.

They have not cared about the judges & hosts outfits during auditions for serveral seasons. I think they tried to keep Nick Cannon's outfits somewhat consistent between auditions originally but then they just did not care after a while.

[marketdoctor]

Quote

They have not cared about the judges & hosts outfits during auditions for serveral seasons.

The amazing part is that Penn and Teller's Fool Us showed it was possible.  The hosts might dislike it, but having one outfit lets you focus on the talent.

[CelticBlackCat]

The constant outfit and hairstyle changes is jarring, and to me it looks like they just want to show off their new costumes and hair do's.  I think it all takes away from the acts.

I was really amazed at the cats!  Those kitties were so docile when being handled and their tricks were awesome.

I liked Shin Lim's magic cards tricks and haven't seen him before because I don't watch the magic shows.  He's very talented and has a very appealing stage presence!

I kind of was intrigued by Creepy Girl/Sacred Riana.  I want to see her again.

I thought the comedienne from Oceanside, CA was pretty funny.

The Golden Buzzer dancers were pretty good but it seemed to me there were acts like that before in different costumes and a different motley crew of members lead by one leader.  Hmm.

Not a fan of the water boys.  It grossed me out and I didn't think it was funny.

The sob stories make me cringe.  Our mom died.  My father was 20 when he was shot dead.  Show your talent, not the sob stories.  Neither of those acts was that good as noted above by some others.  I couldn't understand a word of the sibling singers and I agree with the sister making faces.  The rapper was OK talent-wise but is she going to keep rapping about her father being killed by a gun or come up with another SJW message?

[suebee12]

I mentioned the cat act to my son(who hates shows like this!) and he looked at me and said, "I've been to a cat circus!" Huh, I thought. He and his family have lived in Russia several times while he was a student on a Fullbright Fellowship and when he was teaching. I knew that there were always cats everywhere in their photos....cats live on the streets , are loved and are friendly. Cats are just part of the Russian culture. Google "cat circus" and see all of the cat acts. Since I am a cat person, I really enjoy these more than doggie acts!

[surveyandprotect1]

Big fan of Sacred Riana!

I had never heard of her before this episode.

She got my attention (and from reading the other posts, everyone else’s attention) because I’m such a fan of The Ring movie franchise. I have never seen a magician characterize Sadako (Samara) from the film.

I pulled up her past performances - and there’s a lot - on YouTube. She even has her own Wikipedia page and a manager.

Now most of her performances were done in her native Indonesian language so I can only watch (not understand the words) but her Asia’s Got Talent performances were done in English. If you haven’t watched those on YouTube I’d highly suggest it - especially her 2nd performance I’ll name “friend in a box.”

What I find especially interesting about her is she always stays in the Sadako character and exhibits the same character traits on every single performance (similar to Penn and Teller or Piff or Tape Face). She won Asia’s Got Talent last year (only $100k USD, no Vegas show) and didn’t break character once - not even a smile! There is a lot of talent required just to manage that task.

When I’m reading the comments on her people seem to think she is actually a Sadako in real life (impressive acting skills).

Marie Antoinette Riana Graharani (her actual name) has only ever done one interview out of character. It’s available on YouTube with English subtitles. She was interviewed by Deddy Corbuzier on his talk show “Black & White” (Indonesian) Deddy is an Indonesian Mentalist who hosted “The Next Mentalist” (also Indonesian) which she was a runner up contestant. He claimed on her interview that he helped create her persona character after knowing her love for magic for many years.

If you do watch the interview you can clearly tell that she is not a creepy Sadako character in real life but a normal 25 year old Indonesian magician who I think has a great shot a winning another Got Talent franchise.

[Ohwell]

Frankly, I don't care what her backstory is, and I don't care if she "acting."  I still think she's creepy.  I truly hope she doesn't win America's Got Talent.

[surveyandprotect1]

6 hours ago, Ohwell said:

Frankly, I don't care what her backstory is, and I don't care if she "acting."  I still think she's creepy.  I truly hope she doesn't win America's Got Talent.

That’s the whole point of the character - Sadako = creepy ghost that rarely talks in a vibrating voice and possess supernatural powers. Her Indonesian-English accent actually makes her vocals better for the character.

 

and in case anyone else is a fan - the head twitching, left hand twitching, vibrating voice, and expressionless face are all part of the act.

[Ohwell]

22 minutes ago, surveyandprotect1 said:

That’s the whole point of the character - Sadako = creepy ghost that rarely talks in a vibrating voice and possess supernatural powers. Her Indonesian-English accent actually makes her vocals better for the character.

 

and in case anyone else is a fan - the head twitching, left hand twitching, vibrating voice, and expressionless face are all part of the act.

I don't think you understand what I said.  You might be a fan of hers, and that's fine, but as far as I'm concerned, I don't care about her and I don't like her.  

We can agree to disagree, so I think it's best that we move along.

Edited June 3, 2018 by Ohwell

[filmfan2480]

Is it me?  Or has Mel B had some serioussss botox done?  Every time she laughs or smiles her cheeks gets crinkled in half from top to bottom like its not even Mel B we are looking at.  Why would she do that?  She's a very pretty woman.  Ugh.

I'm in awe of the cats.  Cats do whatever the hell they want to do at all times.  Trained cats?  CRAZY.

Loved Shin Lim.

Loved the female comedian.

Loved both dance groups we saw.

Actually wound up laughing my butt off at the water guys and, I thought they were horrible in their opening seconds.

Creepy Sacred Riana ... I didn't care.

As for the golden buzzer moment ... it is so overproduced and manufactured and so wrung out for ultimate melodrama and tears streaming down faces (of both the act and the viewers at home) ... all it does it turn me off completely.

All that said, glad the show is back.  I can usually find 15-30 minutes of solid entertainment within the 2 hours.

Edited June 4, 2018 by filmfan2480