S13.E04: Auditions 4

[Commando Cody]

The auditions continue.

[ams1001]

Well, "kid who wants a dog" has to be the saddest sob story I ever heard on this show. ?

He was good but the random woman screaming in the audience halfway through was a tad bit much.

I hope Simon really gets him a dog. But adopt, don't buy it.

-----

Is the "stop them in the middle and make them sing something else" gonna be a regular thing now? At least Tyra didn't come out and "fix" his outfit this time.

Edited June 20, 2018 by ams1001

[Diana Berry]

Funny that young singer Jeffrey totally bypassed the question about performing in front of a large audience.  Then did a you tube search and again another one they has made all the rounds in the kid talent shows( the voice, etc.) .

Actually liked one of the least polished acts -older lady dancer can't wait for them to do  some disco.

[Commando Cody]

70 person Children's Choir: I don't know if the sound was just bad, but I wasn't hearing any harmonies at all. It just seemed like some little kids were singing back up for some older kids. It wasn't very impressive.

Quinn and Misha:  For 71 years old, Misha looks amazing. As far as the dancing in general, it wasn't that great. Quinn wasn't very good. The gimmick with them is that she's 71 and can dance like that. However, if they were being judged in their prime, I don't know that they would move on to the next round.

Leoz? Telekineses:I liked him. I thought he was funny. It was good to see him go on to the next round.

Jeffrey Li: 13 year old singer. Quite a voice on that kid. He had really good control. 

Glow Stick Guy: It seems like there should have been more to it from the main character. Like dancing or acrobatics or choreographed fighting. I just didn't get much from it.

Daniel Emmet: I think he was doing fine with the song he came out with. I enjoyed listening to him. I really liked this guy. 

Wesby:  Naked guy with teacups. About what you would expect. 

Trapeze Artists:  One has bad vision. 

Annalyse Nock:  I figured she was fine because her dad wasn't running out after the explosion. I don't know how far you can get on this show with an exploding box

Another Child Singer: 15 year old girl. For someone who came to America not understanding the language, I'm surprised that she has no accent at all. She has a big voice. Still not one of my favorite auditions. I don't think I liked the arrangement of the song. What's the count now, does anyone know? Three out of four golden buzzers are singers?

[Wings]

You have to buy rescue dogs.  The fee is around $250 to $300. It supports the facility.  Simon is all about rescue dogs.  Notice he said they will go together to choose one.

I would have liked to have seen the dog act.  Nothing much tonigjt. 

Edited June 20, 2018 by Wings

[Prairie Fire]

I'm not usually a fan of sob stories, which part of the trapeze artists' backstory was (the part about being on the road a lot and it being hard on their infant child).

But if that was true, Simon's "this is what this show is about, helping people like you" comment annoyed the hell out of me, since it sounded more like "the show's wealthy judges and producers would like to throw you a few crumbs and have you fight for them for our amusement, in your case by doing a stunt that's dangerous for someone with vision problems."

[ams1001]

50 minutes ago, Commando Cody said:

Another Child Singer: 15 year old girl.

With another "adult" song. You make me feel like a natural woman? Really? You're 15.

[friendperidot]

Quote

With another "adult" song. You make me feel like a natural woman? Really? You're 15.

I thought she had a great voice, but I thought the song was too adult for her, yep, in the ancient days when I was 15, sure thought I was grown, but I knew I wasn't any kind of woman. Heck I was only a couple of years from playing with dolls...oh, that doesn't mean anything, I still play with dolls. Or, I went back to playing with them about 20 years ago.

I liked the trapeze artists, they kept me watching the screen, they will probably find a place in Vegas.

I liked Bella Nock when he was on, I do hope his daughter can showcase some other talents than blowing herself up in a box. She's from a circus family, surely she can do a lot more.

[Vermicious Knid]

The show is fudging on people's backgrounds again. Shocking, I know. Daniel Emmet may originally be from Rochester, but he's living and performing in Las Vegas. The Kats Bureau, the entertainment column of the LV Review Journal, extols his talent and thinks he should win it all.

I'm okay with Jeffrey because unlike most of the child singers he was actually on key and had great breath control. Golden buzzer wasn't terrible. I wish they would keep it for acts that were truly great and not mostly singers but she's not as annoying as the other choices. Actually she and Jeffrey would probably sound great on a duet.

I'm not 71 and I don't look half as good as Quin.

[anthonyd46]

Did they cut half of the Golden Buzzer song for time or did she really miss that many words?????

[Verse 1]
Looking out on the morning rain
I used to feel so uninspired
And when I knew I had to face another day
Lord, it made me feel so tired
Before the day I met you
Life was so unkind
You're the key to my piece of mind

[Chorus]
Because you make me feel
You make me feel
You make me feel
Like a natural woman

[Verse 2]
When my soul was in the lost and found
You came along to claim it
I didn't know just what was wrong with me
Till your kiss helped me name it
Now I'm no longer doubtful
Of what I'm living for
And if I make you happy
I don't need to do more

 

[Verse 3]
Oh baby, what you done to me
What you have done to me
Made me feel so good inside
Good inside
And I just want to be close to you
Want to be
You make me feel so alive

[Chorus] [x3]

 

Everything I bolded she didn't sing. So we give a golden buzzer to someone who skips an entire verse?????

Edited June 20, 2018 by anthonyd46

[Ellee]

Jeffrey Li has been singing that song for years and in fact sang it once as a duet with Celine Tam.  He still has a good voice and is talented.  The dog business though ... another ‘I’m Simon Cowell ... I’ll get you a dog ... look how great I am’ moment.   I could be wrong but I think the show could use a few more of them.  A little sarcasm here early Wednesday morning. 

I will repeat something I posted earlier this season. 

Last season was the first time I watched AGT and if this would have been my first I would never have watched again.  The comment is not necessarily about the talent but moreso the whole production of the show. 

Please please please tell me what I’m not seeing?

[Mr. Sparkle]

5 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

Daniel Emmet may originally be from Rochester, but he's living and performing in Las Vegas. 

Oh, so he actually knew other songs and that whole drama was made up? Shocking. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

18 minutes ago, Ellee said:

Last season was the first time I watched AGT and if this would have been my first I would never have watched again.  The comment is not necessarily about the talent but moreso the whole production of the show. 

Please please please tell me what I’m not seeing?

I don't know what you're asking for. The show is a pleasant diversion at best. As you've seen here, everything is completely contrived to make you feel for the contestants to get you to come back and watch next week. Less talented acts with good back stories will go further. They try to make you think the acts are plucked from the farm, when in fact most of the acts are seasoned talent who have competed on other shows like this. It is likely the judges reactions and interactions are scripted. This seemed less obvious in earlier seasons. I watch it like I eat candy - ok at the time, but ultimately not nutritious. And for me, once a week because I'm watching my weight.  

Edited June 20, 2018 by Superclam

[Babalooie]

5 hours ago, anthonyd46 said:

So we give a golden buzzer to someone who skips an entire verse?????

The acts are on a time limit -  90 seconds, I think.  Lyrics are quite often abridged. They have to make room for all those commercials, you know.

[galaxychaser]

How boring golden buzzer for a singer. Yawn. I rather the trapeze couple got it.  I don’t buy his sob story on having poor eyesight. 

[Ellee]

2 hours ago, Superclam said:

snip

I watch it like I eat candy - ok at the time, but ultimately not nutritious. And for me, once a week because I'm watching my weight.  

:D :D :D

I think this is what I needed!  

[anthonyd46]

4 hours ago, Babalooie said:

The acts are on a time limit -  90 seconds, I think.  Lyrics are quite often abridged. They have to make room for all those commercials, you know.

I can overlook skipping a verse for time, but she didnt even get the first 4 lines of the song correct.

The Golden Buzzer has become such a joke anyway. When it was originally introduced the point was to save an act that wouldn't otherwise get enough votes to make it through, however, the next season it turned into this coronation thing and it definitely skews the voting. Since since Season 10 (the year it became a coronation) there has been no less than four golden buzzers in the finals. Also a Golden Buzzer has won everytime under the new rules (Paul, Grace, Darcy)

Here is the original Golden Buzzer for any of you that have never seen it:

Edited June 20, 2018 by anthonyd46

[LadyMustang65]

70 person Children's Choir: We missed most of this one because we tuned in a bit late.  Seemed okay but not-quite-ready-for-prime-time.

Quinn and Misha:  She was in great shape for someone her age, but the dancing was just okay.  Great for 71 but otherwise just okay.

Telekineses guy:  Nope.

Jeffrey Li:  Loved his voice, and he was a cutie!

Light show people:  We got bored and stopped watching.

Daniel Emmet: Beautiful voice!  We loved the song he was doing originally, but we loved the second song even better.  Amazing that he could learn it that quickly with all those distractions going on.  He just has a really lovely voice.  Our favorite act of the night.

Naked guy with teacups:  Oh hell no.   

Trapeze Artists:  I can recognize that what they do is extremely difficult and requires a lot of training, but honestly we got bored after a very short while.  There's only so much you can do in an act like that, and it gets repetitive after a while.

Annalyse Nock:  Bored.  As soon as we saw her lying on the ground and the guy running towards her, I told my husband, "She's fine.  She'll jump up as soon as the guy gets over to her.  This is all for show."  And yup, as soon as the guy got there, she rolled over and got up completely without any help smiling.  This is so darn predictable it's not even remotely exciting at all. 

Last Girl Singer:  Surprise surprise.  Yet another singer gets the golden buzzer.  3 out of 4 acts so far have been singers.  And she was okay but might have done better with a different song.  Aside from the fact that she has no idea what a "natural woman" is or feels like, she's no Aretha Franklin.  

We always used to enjoy this show and sometimes we still do, but honestly it's gotten so predictable at times.  I'm tired of singers getting the Golden Buzzer, especially when they're usually just not that spectacular.  I thought Darcy the ventriloquist was Golden Buzzer worthy because she was very good and the act was a bit different.  But many of them have been nothing more than pretty good.  We honestly don't even pay attention to the sob stories any more.  As soon as they start in on one of these extended intros, unless it's got animals in it, we tune it out.  Don't care.  You want a show where best sob story wins?  Bring back Queen for a Day.  Otherwise, it's a talent contest, and you do not suddenly become more talented because your dad died or your wife left you and took your truck or you have some kind of illness.  I personally would rather just see as many acts per show as we could.  And see more variety - where were the magicians and comedians and strength acts?  Heck, I'd love to see a good juggler or baton twirler.  I'd even be up for watching more chickens try to play the piano.  

[LadyMustang65]

34 minutes ago, anthonyd46 said:

The Golden Buzzer has become such a joke anyway. When it was originally introduced the point was to save an act that wouldn't otherwise get enough votes to make it through,

Thank you for posting that clip.  I had completely forgotten about that.  I agree it was so much better that first season they used it.  Wish they'd bring it back for that purpose.

[DarkRaichu]

I had to lol when Simon (supposedly) recognized one of the acts for being in Brits Got Talent.  Curious how they picked which past acts Simon remembered vs not.

The telekenisis guy was funny first time around, but his act would get old very soon.  Although for some reason I think this would be a good opening act for Piff the Magic Dragon.

[hnygrl]

I just discovered something neat-o burrito on my cable box/tv: PICTURE IN PICTURE!!! I can still watch AGT and SKIP THE SOB STORIES and not worry that I'm gonna miss the act cause I forgot to change back. Changed my life! I haven't heard a sob story in two weeks now!

Both kid singers were good - golden buzzer girl I actually agreed with. She deserved that buzzer. The gal can SANG.

The 71 year old can't dance. All she did was get flung around by the young guy and do splits. Their footwork was HORRENDOUS. She. CANNOT. DANCE. Novelty act that will get tiresome after one more round.

I hate daredevil acts. I do not enjoy watching a person risk their lives for my entertainment. Not cute.

Telekinesis guy. Was he TRYING to be funny? He wasn't SERIOUS was he? It's a no for me dawg...

OH! The naked Japanese guy! He was on LAST SEASON'S Britain's Got Talent. And he got X'd.

"Blind" Trapeze act  - I wasn't impressed. It's all MUSCLE MEMORY. As long as she's where she's supposed to be, doing what she's been trained to do, it'll work. It's all muscle memory. You rehearse a thing 10,000 times you can do it in your sleep.

Ever since I discovered my DVR had picture-in-picture, I'm  a lot more mellow and a lot less mean...I can watch Dr. Pol and this mess too. Win-Win.

[lynxfx]

Yet another episode where they montage the interesting acts. Plenty of magic, acrobats, and different entertaining acts were shown for split seconds in a montage. Then we get full segments on not one but two joke acts. 

Toss in another scripted event (learn this song and sing it) like the previous episodes.

Seemed like this episode was pretty loaded with singers. Might as well give another one the golden buzzer even though they had 4 yeses. The above video really does showcase why the golden buzzer was brought in. Can't believe that was only 4 seasons ago. It really should be used when an act doesn't get the traditional pass through, but one judge really loves it. 

[anthonyd46]

It’s really saying something how nobody can remember the golden buzzer girls name. 

[lb60]

So far, I'm completely underwhelmed with this season.  

Just for shits and giggles, I wish they would ban all singers for one season.  Or have a season of AGT-all singers, all the time. That way I could skip it.   

At this point, I'm still rooting for the scorpions.  

[Babalooie]

8 hours ago, LadyMustang65 said:

Amazing that he could learn it that quickly with all those distractions going on. 

...or did he really already know it???  More producer trickery?

[helenamonster]

Was "You Raise Me Up" kid's tragic backstory that he was an only child? I'd like to take the opportunity to speak for only children everywhere when I say that if the worst thing that happens in your life is you never get any brothers or sisters, you're doing ok.

The whole process of having that one guy do another song was exhausting. Let's pretend for a moment that the whole thing is genuine. First of all, anybody who auditions to sing for anything always has a second song prepared...even Broadway musicals will sometimes require that actors bring their books with them to auditions and be prepared to sing songs that aren't even in the show. Then, Simon was all, "I wish you'd sang this obscure Italian song that only I know" because...huh? Why would you expect this guy to sing a song that apparently nobody has heard of? But I call bullshit on the whole thing--I would be shocked to find out that none of that was staged.

I loved the guy who did "telekinesis." I rolled my eyes at first when he called himself a "mentalist" and claimed to have real telekinetic powers (I HATE when magicians pretend like what they do is real magic and not a set of well-rehearsed skills) but then I cackled when it ended up being a parody of similar self-serious acts. I have a feeling there's more to him than just the fake telekinesis, I look forward to him maybe making fun of card tricks or some of the other magic we constantly see on the show.

2 hours ago, lb60 said:

Or have a season of AGT-all singers, all the time.

They did, it was called American Idol.

[Vermicious Knid]

So it turns out the golden buzzer act, Amanda, was the winner of La Voz Kids on Telemundo. She got a scholarship and recording contract.

[ams1001]

44 minutes ago, helenamonster said:

The whole process of having that one guy do another song was exhausting. Let's pretend for a moment that the whole thing is genuine. First of all, anybody who auditions to sing for anything always has a second song prepared...even Broadway musicals will sometimes require that actors bring their books with them to auditions and be prepared to sing songs that aren't even in the show. Then, Simon was all, "I wish you'd sang this obscure Italian song that only I know" because...huh? Why would you expect this guy to sing a song that apparently nobody has heard of? But I call bullshit on the whole thing--I would be shocked to find out that none of that was staged.

Funny part is they used to criticize people for doing original music because the audience wouldn't know the song. The last few seasons they've had several people doing originals and they're all "great, let's hear it!" (and at least one got a golden buzzer) and now it's "sing this song no one in the audience is gonna know" (in another language, no less).

[backformore]

Yes, I liked the original idea if the golden buzzer - to override the vote, saving someone from being eliminated.  Now, the buzzer is used to say an act is the best of the night.

[ams1001]

15 minutes ago, backformore said:

Yes, I liked the original idea if the golden buzzer - to override the vote, saving someone from being eliminated.  Now, the buzzer is used to say an act is the best of the night.

More like "the last of the night." ;)

[CelticBlackCat]

These sob stories have got to go.  I'm an only child and I feel so alone and isolated, I need a dog.  Doesn't the child go to school and have friends like all the other only-child kids?  Why doesn't Simon give all the kiddies a dog?  My father is disappointed I'm not a jock, so he disconnected with me while I danced my way into his heart and acceptance.  OMG.

The trapeze story is probably another ruse.  He's not going blind; he's just saving up for lasex surgery.

[giaNtsandYankees]

Yeah, the sob stories seem to be super-sized this year. And I'm assuming that the montage of acts that were good and had gotten through were edited as a montage because they probably did not have a sob story to share. Their story probably was, "This is my dream, and what better than going on AGT to try to live it?" because that would probably be boring to the producers/editors. 

I don't mean to sound rude or apathetic, because I too have been through a lot...I'm not saying that I had the worst life, I didn't, but I have been through a lot. But I don't want that to be my life's story. And I think that most of these acts get through by their stories alone.

For example, last year, we had Evie Claire. Lovely young lady, and a good voice, but she got through based on her father having terminal cancer, An on the other hand, I do understand that she did it for her father. 

And then we have the, "I'm an only child. I'm lonely because of it. I would love a dog."

"I'm have bad eyesight, I could go blind."

"I had a child, so I had to quit dancing...but now I'm back..." *begins sobbing*  (That was from last week - a dance crew.)

 

I also believe the act with the guy that had to learn the obscure song that only Simon knows about was contrived. It seems as though these edits are an attempt for us to go, "Oh wow, isn't he amazing. He only learned that in an hour, with so many distractions!"

With last week's golden buzzer. "Oh, she was sooo nervous, and she broke out with that? Amazing!" 

And many folks on Facebook eat it up.

 

Again, I don't mean to be apathetic, but it all seems so contrived for the sake to gain our sympathy, or to keep watching. Personally, I miss the acts of season 11. Yeah, quite a few of the contestants had a sob story, but they were more memorable. Viktor Kee, Sophie Dossi, Lincoln Bridge, The Clairvoyants and Tape Face and many more. 

Edited June 21, 2018 by giaNtsandYankees

[bluepiano]

On ‎6‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 11:10 PM, anthonyd46 said:

Everything I bolded she didn't sing. So we give a golden buzzer to someone who skips an entire verse?????

 

And apparently even missed a couple of lines within a verse she did sing.  But what bugged me more is that she just was an okay singer, nothing special,. This show keeps wanting us to think that a 14 or 15 year old singing is the most amazing, unbelievable thing ever, when there are millions of kids out there singing in schools, churches, local theater groups etc.  Especially since American Idol filled every parent whose kids can carry a tune with dream of fame and riches.

Grace Van der Waal kind of drove me nuts with her quavering voice, but at least she was writing original tunes. A 15 year old covering an Aretha song we've heard covered countless times before? Ho hum. And as been pointed out, this is the second young girl singer to get a Golden Buzzer doing a song that was completely age inappropriate  What's next, a 12 year old singing "I Feel the Earth Move Under my Feet?"

I laughed at the "telekinesis" act, and how he played it straight to the end. ("This is not comedy.") Interested to see what else he has, and if he has the potential to be this year's Tapeface.

Laying in a box with a helmet on does not seem to me to be a "talent." The real talent was whoever designed the explosive.

I liked the husband and wife acrobats. Everything in the show was forgettable, except maybe the "traditional Japanese table cloth" act. (Silly, but at least it wasn't a singer). The 71 year old woman dancer was definitely in great shape, but the dancing wasn't that special. The kid choir got through only a feel-good story. And no way they wanted to see 70 little kids start crying.

And the opera singer who had to "learn" Simon's song in an hour was the fakiest fake yet in a season that feels more staged and scripted than ever. You get the feeling that the producers know the level of talent is weaker so they have to amp up the "drama" to keep people entertained.

Edited June 21, 2018 by bluepiano

[anthonyd46]

11 hours ago, ams1001 said:

More like "the last of the night." ;)

Yea they seem to be doing that this year instead of at a random spot.

[ams1001]

10 minutes ago, anthonyd46 said:

Yea they seem to be doing that this year instead of at a random spot.

It's so predictable. "Oh, look it's 9:48. This must be the golden buzzer person."

[Lady Iris]

I can't watch this show live. The backstories rarely if ever hold any interest for me. Also I have you lovely people to thank for summarizing the program. So between dvr'g it and the commentary here my watching experience is vastly improved.

[ams1001]

4 minutes ago, Lady Iris said:

I can't watch this show live. The backstories rarely if ever hold any interest for me. Also I have you lovely people to thank for summarizing the program. So between dvr'g it and the commentary here my watching experience is vastly improved.

I am always messing around on my computer or doing some small household chore or something while I watch. There aren't a lot of shows these days that get me to actually set everything aside and just focus on the TV.

[Mr. Sparkle]

I'll fast forward through the back stories and the songs if it's a singer. I find the judging to be the most interesting for whatever reason. 

[PikaScrewChu]

On 6/20/2018 at 12:15 PM, anthonyd46 said:

Here is the original Golden Buzzer for any of you that have never seen it:

I remember that act. Kind of sad they went nowhere with it because it was pretty good.

More America's Got Recruits this episode. Sigh.

[rr2911]

This years version of AGT hasn't shown any one contestant that will snatch the $1million dollar prize. As has been the previous seasons, the sob stories are in the fore front of the show. Luckily I dvr the show and skip them.

The only act that stood out for me was the Light Show guys. I enjoy acts like these and I'm glad they went through.

The  Telekinesis guy was not funny at all. Sure I understood what he was doing, but this is not something I would pay to see.

The Asian boy and the Golden Buzzer girl were good but again not worthy of winning the show.

Past years I've mentioned acts that I call "dead end acts". Acts that can not move further along. The children's choir and any dance group are considered such acts. the dance groups all do the same thing and have the same moves. The choir is simply not going to interest anyone to go and pay to see them.

 

MelB looked horrible! Did she do domething to her face? I still wish she would be replaced! 

[helenamonster]

21 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Funny part is they used to criticize people for doing original music because the audience wouldn't know the song. The last few seasons they've had several people doing originals and they're all "great, let's hear it!" (and at least one got a golden buzzer) and now it's "sing this song no one in the audience is gonna know" (in another language, no less).

Right? I remember for years Howie especially would always ding acts who came out with original songs. And then who was his golden buzzer two years ago, whose original songs were integral to her act? Grace Vanderwaal. 

[giaNtsandYankees]

10 hours ago, helenamonster said:

Right? I remember for years Howie especially would always ding acts who came out with original songs. And then who was his golden buzzer two years ago, whose original songs were integral to her act? Grace Vanderwaal. 

I was thinking that. No one had an issue with Grace Vander Waal doing her own songs. But that was her schtick. Also, there was the Ed Sheerhan like guy from last season...I think his name was Chase. He did his own songs, and the judges praised him to the high heavens. But, ironically enough, Johnny Manuel does an original (and adds that he didn't want to be pigeon-holed as a diva), but the judges reprimand him, and told him that he needed to go back to being a diva. They are all over the place, those judges. ?

Edited June 22, 2018 by giaNtsandYankees

[Johnny Dollar]

If anyone believes that the classical singer guy never heard of that song before then they also must believe that getting blown up in a box constitutes a talent. 

I thought the Russian light show guys were very clever, but Simon’s “don’t I know you guys from Britain’s Got Talent” routine was pathetic in its obviousness. Of course you know them. You produce both shows. They didn’t fly all the way to the US to stand in line with a troup of six year old dancing hypnotists who used music to escape the mean streets of Pasadena on the off chance that they’ll make it to the stage. Just setting up for the act must take an hour. 

The shots backstage show an awful lot of “real” amateurs who never make it on air.  Does anyone think that they’re there just for show or does everyone get to go onstage at some point?  If I had to sit through all of that I’d volunteer to get blown up in a box.

[giaNtsandYankees]

4 hours ago, Johnny Dollar said:

If anyone believes that the classical singer guy never heard of that song before then they also must believe that getting blown up in a box constitutes a talent. 

I thought the Russian light show guys were very clever, but Simon’s “don’t I know you guys from Britain’s Got Talent” routine was pathetic in its obviousness. Of course you know them. You produce both shows. They didn’t fly all the way to the US to stand in line with a troup of six year old dancing hypnotists who used music to escape the mean streets of Pasadena on the off chance that they’ll make it to the stage.

Lol! I'm sorry, I thought that the "six year old hypnotists..." comment was hilarious. Like I said before, the classical singer guy's segment was planned...it just seemed too contrived. And since the "Obscure Song that Only Simon Knows About" as an Il Divo song, I'm wondering if Simon was discretely trying to promote them since that group was created by him...and they released an album this year...

Edited June 22, 2018 by giaNtsandYankees

[lynxfx]

4 hours ago, Johnny Dollar said:

The shots backstage show an awful lot of “real” amateurs who never make it on air.  Does anyone think that they’re there just for show or does everyone get to go onstage at some point?  If I had to sit through all of that I’d volunteer to get blown up in a box.

The shots outside with people in line are faked. Wouldn't surprise me if they do the same inside. It is probably a mix. I notice they always have very "colorful" people mingling around. Jugglers, crazy costumes, acrobats etc. I suppose it would be boring to look at a bunch of singers hanging out in a room.

[ams1001]

2 hours ago, giaNtsandYankees said:

And since the "Obscure Song that Only Simon Knows About" as an Il Divo song, I'm wondering if Simon was discretely trying to promote them since that group was created by him...and they released an album this year...

I didn't know that (not a follower of Il Divo). It all makes sense now...

[saber5055]

On 6/20/2018 at 6:21 AM, Ellee said:

The dog business though ... another ‘I’m Simon Cowell ... I’ll get you a dog ... look how great I am’ moment.   I could be wrong but I think the show could use a few more of them.

All I could think was, there's a reason the kid doesn't have a dog. Like his parents don't think he's responsible or their apartment doesn't allow pets or they don't want to have to take care of it, or one of them is allergic or neither of them even like dogs. There are a zillion reasons. So for Simon to buy him a dog is SO out of line and SO not welcome IMO. Plus I wish people would stop using the term "adopting" when they are, in reality, BUYING the dog from a shelter, pound or rescue group. Let's use real words people.

The Doberman dog act we saw clips of was pretty much like Hero from last year (or the year before?) but with a Dobe instead of a Border Collie. Although all the singers are the same so I don't know why dog acts can't be the same old samo too.

I've seen Bello Nock's daughter on YouTube. She does that Wheel of Death that Bello did last year on AGT. I didn't think being "blown up" required any kind of talent. And yeah, Bello was so "worried," but thank you for not crying and shouting out after the explosion, like you thought your daughter was dead.

Did the judges ask her to "step it up" for the next round? I still think Bello is cool though.

The singer asked to learn a new song if he wants to be competitive ... yeah, right. I'm so sure that was real. *cough*

[CelticBlackCat]

16 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

All I could think was, there's a reason the kid doesn't have a dog. Like his parents don't think he's responsible or their apartment doesn't allow pets or they don't want to have to take care of it, or one of them is allergic or neither of them even like dogs. There are a zillion reasons. So for Simon to buy him a dog is SO out of line and SO not welcome IMO.

I'm sure this didn't come out of nowhere; I'll bet the parents were consulted beforehand and agreed to it.  Everything on this show is staged (pun intended) and nothing is left to chance.

 

[marketdoctor]

On 6/19/2018 at 10:24 AM, Commando Cody said:

The auditions continue.

This actually sums up how I felt about this week overall.  It was a thing that happened.

That said, I wanted to see more of the woman-and-dog act.

I liked Annalise Nock, and apologize if I misspelled her name.  Her dad knew she was fine, but worried anyway, because it's an explosion in a box.  And as noted above, the real talent was setting the explosives, but to me, that is a very impressive talent. 

I wonder if the kid's choir will try to go bigger with a different song, or more dancing, or what.  (Also they're this year's "at least the taxes won't be bad on 1/70th of a million dollars spread out over 40 years" group.)

[Plaidmoon]

3 hours ago, marketdoctor said:

This actually sums up how I felt about this week overall.  It was a thing that happened.

That said, I wanted to see more of the woman-and-dog act.

I liked Annalise Nock, and apologize if I misspelled her name.  Her dad knew she was fine, but worried anyway, because it's an explosion in a box.  And as noted above, the real talent was setting the explosives, but to me, that is a very impressive talent. 

I wonder if the kid's choir will try to go bigger with a different song, or more dancing, or what.  (Also they're this year's "at least the taxes won't be bad on 1/70th of a million dollars spread out over 40 years" group.)

That's the thing that always gets me about AGT. They make a big deal about the million dollar prize. Yes, it is a million dollars, but over 40 years, it's $25,000 per year. You could make that much working at McDonald's or a grocery store. It's not really a life changing prize. Headlining at the Hard Rock Cafe for a couple of nights doesn't put your career over the top either.