AGT The Champions: All Episode Discussion

[seltzer3]

Kind of sucks that Kseniya didn't get a chance to perform one more time.  I mean, how many sand artists will ever be on AGT?

She just posted an awesome tribute to all the finalists.
 

[SG11]

I think they got the top 4 right. Kind of a no brainer. Assumed Preacher would get 5th as he’s been an annointed one from the moment he’s shown up. I think he’s a talented performer and absolutely made for a sitcom, but his material is not remotely funny. His trying waaaay tooo hard standup is painful to sit through. I’m glad he’s given up the Kevin Hart imitation, though.

Figured there was no way Darci was going to win as a Wild Card, even though the fact she had to get there that was was ridiculous.

The show had some good moments and they sure ended up with some great acts. But that horrible 50 state lie has to stop; its insulting to the audience.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

50 Shades of Shin?

Totally worthy winner and also Top 3.  I was a wee bit sad they didn't give it to Kseniya (even if she misspelled Shin's name on her tribute posted above:)).  I believe the title would have done her the most good.  And that lady merits tons of good.  Love always wins.  

I was also sad watching Mel in all the vignettes which were recorded immediately after the performance Finale.  Did she know she was on her way out?  I doubt it.  All the best to her.

Amelie is a stunning woman.  I almost don't care when I watch the Clairvoyants' act.  Just show me that vision in some phenomenal gown.    

Overall, this was not a bad mini-season.  I got my Prince back for at least a night, and some AGT royalty got to take a deserved victory lap, or three.

[CrystalBlue]

1 hour ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

I was also sad watching Mel in all the vignettes which were recorded immediately after the performance Finale.  Did she know she was on her way out?  I doubt it.  All the best to her.

I don't believe Mel B was fired; she decided to commit to a Spice Girls reunion tour.  A while back I swear I read somewhere that Mel B might leave AGT (this was amidst her personal drama with possible inpatient rehab program, which never happened) and that former Spice Girl Mel C may take her place.  That's off the table because of the upcoming Spice Girls tour.  I get the feeling that Mel B mainly enjoyed her time on AGT but is ready to move on to something else.  At times I have 'loved to hate' her and criticized her, but somehow she actually endeared herself to me and I wish her all the best.

[Jenny8]

On 1/8/2019 at 8:08 AM, marketdoctor said:

I hate to admit it, but I laughed at Simon Cowell asking Susan Boyle "What's your name?"

Quote

You know you're a star if "what's  your name" becomes a joke.

Edited February 20, 2019 by Jenny8

[matthieus2]

23 hours ago, Sounder said:

Since the got talent concept developed in the UK.... but debuted in the USA first...... they've always had similar formats....their show contains all the same elements..... auditions....judges cuts.... live shows.   Apparently....bgt champions will begin taping immediately following their live shows.  Unless the Brits have watched our show and were wondering what the bloody heck are super fans and complain ..... I expect it'll be the same.

I'm in the UK myself. AGT: The Champions has been airing weekly on Netflix so I imagine some Brit fans have been viewing, and there have been some updates in the media.

I don't know how the "50 states/superfans" would work with a BGT: The Champions. I would think it'd be safer to just have the studio audiences vote for the auditions, and perhaps a live final for everyone to vote.

BGT doesn't have judges cuts like AGT, though I wonder if it'll happen in the future. I always feel like not as much effort is put into BGT but I'd like to see that improve perhaps.

In terms of it being exactly the same, I do think it could treat viewers as idiots if it's an exact carbon copy of AGT: The Champions. But I also wonder if many of The Champions contestants would return for BGT. I was thinking I'd like to see Kseniya Simonava again, but I don't know how they could top her AGT golden buzzer audition moment.

[matthieus2]

I guess we may never know about the truth of Mel and Heidi leaving. For some reason I get the impression Mel leaving was more mutual as perhaps it was more to be expected, but Heidi I'm wondering if it came as a shock to her.

I think I forgot they'd been there for quite a big part of AGT's history, and they both seemed to have been appreciative to be there.

I think Kseniya Simonova's tribute to The Champions was a nice touch from her.

[perkie1968]

I adore Shin Lin so I was happy with the win, though I would have been happy with Darci, Susan, sand lady or even Jon.  Cannot stand Preacher, and I truly don't understand how he could have been top 5.  How the heck he beat out Paul, Susan and Jon is a complete mystery to me.

Magic people out there, how did Shin do the trick with Melissa Fumero where he exchanges the cards.  Her card was in her mouth the entire time.  

[Sounder]

17 hours ago, matthieus2 said:

I'm in the UK myself. AGT: The Champions has been airing weekly on Netflix so I imagine some Brit fans have been viewing, and there have been some updates in the media.

I don't know how the "50 states/superfans" would work with a BGT: The Champions. I would think it'd be safer to just have the studio audiences vote for the auditions, and perhaps a live final for everyone to vote.

BGT doesn't have judges cuts like AGT, though I wonder if it'll happen in the future. I always feel like not as much effort is put into BGT but I'd like to see that improve perhaps.

In terms of it being exactly the same, I do think it could treat viewers as idiots if it's an exact carbon copy of AGT: The Champions. But I also wonder if many of The Champions contestants would return for BGT. I was thinking I'd like to see Kseniya Simonava again, but I don't know how they could top her AGT golden buzzer audition moment.

I wonder if Simon might be getting old..... I thouoghly hate his ideas for two x factors.....maybe a alumni edition isn't that bad but if a successful act from the series doesn't return.....why should they?   Unless they need the career boost.   A "celebrity" edition featuring british soap stars and what nots?????  Seeeeeriously????   Does that imclude Simon himself?   And where does he find the time for two x factors.....two bgt's..... at least one agt..... he's been looking haggard..... it looks like he slept in that t shirt.

[matthieus2]

There was an X Factor UK celebrity edition some years ago and I'm sure Simon later said he hated it and would never do it again. I wonder why the change of tune now.

I think Heidi tweeted something along the lines of "Congratulation to Shin Lim being the first winner of AGT: The Champions". I personally think it'd be a terrible idea if this became a regular season idea. I think I'd only welcome another The Champions of AGT if it was some years down the line, after there's been some noteable recent talent.

BGT: The Champions I did worry could be a carbon copy but on a more amateur, cheaper scale, but if planned well I think it could do well. It may depend on the acts in the upcoming season if any of them are worthy to be on The Champions.

Personally I'm also wondering whether BGT: The Champions would be pushing for a Susan Boyle win. But that's if she would want to do it again. I wouldn't blame her if she didn't, but I think if the public could vote and Simon and the producers don't blatantly interfere and meddle, then I'd say she would have a good chance of going far. Not that she really needs it.

[Whimsy]

On 2/20/2019 at 1:34 AM, CrystalBlue said:

I don't believe Mel B was fired; she decided to commit to a Spice Girls reunion tour.  A while back I swear I read somewhere that Mel B might leave AGT (this was amidst her personal drama with possible inpatient rehab program, which never happened) and that former Spice Girl Mel C may take her place.  That's off the table because of the upcoming Spice Girls tour.  I get the feeling that Mel B mainly enjoyed her time on AGT but is ready to move on to something else.  At times I have 'loved to hate' her and criticized her, but somehow she actually endeared herself to me and I wish her all the best.

I, personally, am extremely happy Mel B is leaving.  She is just.so.dumb.  I don't think it's an act, either.  I think she is immensely dense.  She hated most of the comedy acts because she didn't get the jokes- but none of them were hard to get!  I was so tired of Howie having to explain everything to her.  I'm looking forward to new blood on the judges panel and am THRILLED that Terry Crews is going to host.  

I loved Melissa Fumero with Shin Lim.  She was so funny.  I am more than ok with Shin Lim winning, even though I also love Darcy.  Both have an amazing talent that they've had to practice long and hard to perfect. 

[Zuleikha]

Magic people out there, how did Shin do the trick with Melissa Fumero where he exchanges the cards.  Her card was in her mouth the entire time. 

I actually know the answer to this one if you really want to know. Message me and I'll DM it to you (or if enough other people want to know, I can put it in a spoiler). I don't know how he did the other parts of the trick, though.

[Chit Chat]

On ‎2‎/‎22‎/‎2019 at 6:39 AM, matthieus2 said:

I personally think it'd be a terrible idea if this became a regular season idea. I think I'd only welcome another The Champions of AGT if it was some years down the line, after there's been some noteable recent talent.

I agree.  I compare it to the reality show Survivor.  I used to like it, but then they kept doing too many seasons with returning players.  Ugh.  I like the newness of each season.  I don't want to see recycled players!  I don't think AGT should make this a yearly thing.  Should be every few years, if even that.  YMMV.  

[lynxfx]

On 2/23/2019 at 7:40 AM, ChitChat said:

I agree.  I compare it to the reality show Survivor.  I used to like it, but then they kept doing too many seasons with returning players.  Ugh.  I like the newness of each season.  I don't want to see recycled players!  I don't think AGT should make this a yearly thing.  Should be every few years, if even that.  YMMV.  

Treat it like the Olympics and do it every 4 years. Make it more of an event vs this time it seemed like a last minute winter replacement show. They just grabbed who they could based on availability. 

[Sounder]

If they were worried about the CBS competition..... they needn't...... its latest episode grabbed just 3 million viewers after starting off with 22 million after the super bowl lead in...... which was a bad show in itself.  Agt champions finale scored 11 million.

[sue450]

On 2/3/2019 at 7:34 PM, Candide said:

Every once in a blue moon, I hear a song in the background I’ve never heard before during the performance. Not to take away from the spotlight of the act, but it drives me all kinds of crazy that I have no way to know the artist. Anyone know of a way to find out? I feel it should be credited somewhere on the bottom of my tv screen or something. I notice a lot of commercials have started doing this now despite the relevance of the product they are selling.  

if you have comcast you can ask your remote "what song is this" when a song is on the tv...also there are some cell phone apps like firefly you click it while a song is playing and it will try to identify it for you

Edited February 27, 2019 by sue450

[sue450]

On 2/6/2019 at 4:12 PM, Gabs66 said:

But how can we be sure that the seat Hasselhoff was sitting in WAS seat L3?  BTW, I thought L7.

  I was close I came up with L4!!

[sue450]

On 2/14/2019 at 6:56 AM, Sounder said:

All I know about Julianne Hough is that she's the proactive zit cream girl.  So will she be judging acne?   I don't know who Gabrielle Union is at all.... enlighten me.......

julianne hough (pronounced fuff)  was a dancer with her brother derrick on dancing with the stars,she was also a judge on there for a few seasons

gabrielle union is an actress and producer  here is her imdb https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005517/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

[Lunula]

Happy Shin Lim won, he's a seriously talented guy and we were even chatting about a fun weekend to Vegas where we could see him. Highly entertaining.

I was, however, really disappointed in the format. Giving one judge a golden buzzer each week was outright dumb. Why not let the judges watch them all and at the end, they choose one and let the audience choose one?

I felt like too many golden buzzer selections where just okay talent-wise and pushed through more based on previous sentiment. Look, I think Susan Boyle is an amazing story but I don't think she was one of the most talented. Same with Kechi - totally amazing story and I want to be friends with her IRL - but definitely not the same caliber as Brian Austin Crum. Same goes for Angelica Hale, nice voice and kind of awesome for an 11-year-old, but one of the best acts? No way. 

And that whole "super-fan audience" thing was complete miss for me. The finale should've been voted on by everyone in America - not random people in the audience "representing each state" - that was craptastic. 

We were on vacation for a few weeks while it was airing, so we ended up binging the final 4 episodes in one night this week. Good thing, because we did a lot of fast-forwarding!  

[Sounder]

It's back.  It's America's Got Talent: The Champions II......it tapes in about three weeks and will broadcast in January so it will not be a live voting situation as you well remember.   Yes it will be a golden buzzer by a judge and by Terry.... and the vote of superfans to pick one finalist a week though five episodes.

I would hope they make a rule of no buzzers for this..... But that wouldn't make for controversy.  Like when Simon startled Tom Cotter and could've caused the Regurgitator to choke on a razor blade.  Likely it won't change.

So assuming no act from the last Champions returns.... which it shouldn't...... Who'd you like to see come back?    Kevin Skinner?   Cas Haley?   Micheal Grimm?   Barbara Padilla?  Acrodunk?  Olate Dogs?  There are many choices.

[Sounder]

Ok.....some news concerning AGT Champions II.

Julianne Hough and Gabrielle Union will not be judging the champions series.....Host Terry Crews and judges Simon Cowell and Howie Mandel will be joined by the returning Heidi Klum and.....if you watch BGT at all you know her.....it's Aleysha Dixon making the panel once again all non American .....except for our adopted child Howie.

[SG11]

Reading related articles on this, it appears no one knows if Heidi and Aleysha/Alesha/Aleisha (spelled 3 ways in articles so far) are actually replacing Julianne & Gabby as “AGT judges” or are only replacing Mel B, who says she’s moving back to Leeds anyway, for “AGT Champions” and that Juliane/Gabs will be back for “regular” AGT.

Stay tuned. It’s still illegal to be American and also an America’s Got Talent Judge.

[Sounder]

17 hours ago, SG11 said:

Reading related articles on this, it appears no one knows if Heidi and Aleysha/Alesha/Aleisha (spelled 3 ways in articles so far) are actually replacing Julianne & Gabby as “AGT judges” or are only replacing Mel B, who says she’s moving back to Leeds anyway, for “AGT Champions” and that Juliane/Gabs will be back for “regular” AGT.

Stay tuned. It’s still illegal to be American and also an America’s Got Talent Judge.

That would be ok and actually it's good to not have the same judging panel on Champions.   I'd like to see Hasselhoff brought back for a champions season,. maybe Piers..... you can give the regulars a break.   And I checked..... the proper spelling is "Alesha" Dixon and I'm not unhappy she's gonna be there.  Kinda surprised since she'll be a new mum..... you'd think she'd get time off.

[seltzer3]

Kseniya was on BGT.  This was even better than her AGT performances.
 

his

[Vermicious Knid]

AGT Champions films the finale on Monday the 21st.

[Sounder]

Shin Lim is doing ok for himself these days.   He now has a permanent Vegas residency and is looking at a 7.5 mil mansion.   Good for him.

[Sounder]

AGT Champions ll will be formatted a little differently.    This season.....40 acts will compete in 4 preliminary episodes...... 10 per show,  4 advance to the new semi-final round.....1 via golden buzzer......1 via judges save......and 2 by audience selection....or the "superfans".....for a total of 16.

I then believe there will be two semis, and then a final for a seven episode run.....one more than last year.

It debuts January 6, 2020.

[Sounder]

TV Line has put out a list of the 40 acts for Champions ll that you can view without seeing any potential spoilers.

[mtlchick]

I tuned in late, so I can only say the last magician had a nice card trick but feels like I've seen that way too many times before. 

 

And Hans in the semis? Really?  Eh.  

[InternetToughGuy]

Seeing there's only one post above me, this endeavor may be a giant waste of time if nobody else is watching, though feeling disappointment is much better than the emotions I get from watching 2 hours straight of hot garbage. Having not typed up one of these posts in a long time, it feels like I've been out of work for 4 months, which I guess serves as a slight taste of putting myself in Olate Dogs' shoes. It's always a struggle trying to think of which crappy act to name drop because I represent the general public in not remembering anybody's name. I didn't even remember who won the most recent season.

The shittiest judge of all time "Heinie" is back even though public demand for this was probably even more minute than a Forte solo album. Even after sitting through the full show, I don't remember who the other judge is, but hearing a few words in that phlegmy British accent and I knew I'd be repeatedly tapping the mute/unmute button faster than if I were trying to undo an accidental vote for Jackie Fabulous. Anyways, onto the main course of manure.

Paddy and Nicko - I guess the emotional tension in this act is equivalent to picking up an ancient vase in an antique shop, since that woman would probably shatter if she were to so much as stub her toe. These acts always being dependent on how decrepit the person is are always boring as hell. I can't imagine why the audience starts hooting and hollering whenever someone says how old they are before they've done anything - maybe I should get up on stage and tell everyone how old I am and that I've never had a job, though I don't imagine the reaction would be positive.

Mike Yung - His name of "Mic Young" is pretty accurate for someone's career revival that lasted for less than 2 minutes. I felt like I had the attention span of a modern day 10 year old who could only sit through this act while simultaneously playing a video game, listening to music and having a fireworks show outside. It's pretty surprising he got to do a song with Martin Garrix, whose name I only vaguely associate with being big, for all I know he could've fallen off by now, since music where it sounds like Alvin And The Chipmunks fighting over who gets to use the microphone during the early days of video calling is insanely boring to me. Enough talking about me, I thought the song was OK, though I won't go looking for it again, unless perhaps to have a chuckle at what I'm guessing the low view count says (edit - I checked and it has 26 million - DAMN)

Junior Creative - After only being exposed to Heidi and Paddy, it's great to finally see some women on the screen where we don't have to travel back to the days of radio drama to find them attractive. The attempt at evoking tears with another one of these silhouette dances was annoying, though I blame the guys and forgive the girls. I suppose it's hard to fully criticize the subject matter since Myanmar probably isn't that great and the only conflict in the west is when your bitch Mother gets you the wrong color iPhone for Christmas.

Hans - It's always a laugh when 99% of this guy's screentime is spent acting like the world's only testosterone-free man, only for him to occasionally flash a serious "game face" to the camera like he's in it to win it or whatever. He has singing chops, obviously, which I can recognize due to the most emotional note in my range still sounds like me giving a monotone interview post-labotomy, but any admiring of his skill goes out the window when he's acting goofy and the song material is nonsense. I'll have to ask the endocrinologist how someone the total opposite of threatening still managed to grow to well over 6 feet tall.

Jack Vidgen - This guy won Australia's Got Talent in 2011 and seeing the success he achieved after his victory was quite shocking to me, as the idea of someone succeeding after winning a competition in that year is hard to believe, judging by the amount of times I namedrop Landau Eugene Murphy as a metaphor for failure - I imagine looking his name will take quite a while until you come across his listing on a Mom and Pop's hardware store for being the employee who sells you toilet fixtures. Anyway, aside from Jack vaguely looking like Justin Bieber after plastic surgery, the performance was pretty forgettable. The song You Say is alright, though slow tempo songs are way easier to get tired of, not to mention Lauren Daigle's album Look Up Child is an absolute chore to slog through.

Duo Transcend - Had I remembered their name, I would've made a candle sigil to try and ward them away from appearing on the show again, though I consider all of these trapeze acts to be the same person/people anyways. I don't know if it's my utter disdain for exercise that annoys me so much at seeing the muscular man do his thing or if it's just that the act is lame. Probably the latter.

Dan Naturman - I thought this act was really funny, though perhaps the Uncle bit ran a little too long. Heidi of course had to try and make it all about herself, which ended up aging me 10 years as annoyed wrinkles spread across my forehead. I've vaguely attempted to format a stand up routine and I don't know really know how to go about it, because most of the things I think of are context specific, so seeing anyone (barring Jackie, Vicki Barbolak, etc.) succeed at stand up is pretty impressive.

Angelina Jordan - The amount of insight I have to offer on this performance is comparable to Tapeface, cause I just thought it was boring. Nobody can compare to Ferdy (not a typo). She got the golden buzzer, which in my worthless opinion was undeserved.

Eddie Williams - Seeing the two inanimate 260 pound balls reminded me of the typical American couple embedded in the sofa. I am impressed by his "gross" strength, especially considering the initials of his name being EW. The annoying "ohmygod I thought he was gonna do this, but then he ended up doing this *teehee" schtick came out and I lost all interest, especially since strongman acts are pretty uncommon unless the act is a singer because then surviving til the end grants the viewer a merit of endurance.

Dania Díaz - This sounds like a joke, but just pasting her name made the second "D" stand up for some reason; I guess this site already anticipated my usual type of remark. Double D looks more like a B, but I still approve anyways. These kinds of acts where the whole schtick is revealed in the first card and it's more of the same for several more minutes are so hard to sit through. In regards to her parents getting divorced, it seemed pretty annoying for her to be crying about events from almost 30 years ago, as that should be reserved for remembering times of being turned down by girls online that I've never met.

Dania, Duo Transcend, and Hans advance in what may be a record for the most interest in the show to fall through my feet all at one time. Terry is still paid 7 figures to dance for 5 second intervals sprinkled throughout the show, which is annoying, but helpful, as it lets me know music is playing while I've muted the TV. Being reminded that Terry was born muscular filled me with rage. The show sucked, that is all.

 

Edited January 7, 2020 by InternetToughGuy

[Neet]

The show opens with Howie saying "no matter what happens, you're all Champions™", which made me nearly go to bed, thinking the season was already over. I feel like a woman while watching this show, as I got instantly catty and passive aggressive seeing Heidi Klum back at the table. Her and the quota black woman of the season were both annoying as usual. Do they have no filter? There's no reason for them to act like waving inflatable tube men whenever music is playing.

Paddy & Nicko - What is it with the audience clapping for the woman being 85 years old when she looks every bit her age and hadn't performed yet? Maybe Americans have learned to temper their life expectancy with how much sucrose is in the average diet. The actual performance was pretty bland aside from a few moves. I imagine the only people heavily voting for this would have been Paddy's grandchildren envisioning her impending will having another $1,000,000 added to it.

Mike Yung - Him doing a song with Martin Garrix (better yet, being featured on his song instead of the reverse, which would imply Martin was paid) is a taste of relevance that 95% of acts on the show would kill for, much to Forte's chagrin that EDM and opera don't mix. He has a great voice, though his song sounded like Preacher Lawson doing a parody. Other than that, it was pretty boring. Preachy songs about "believing" and such usually have the opposite effect on me, not helped when I've been scorned from keeping the faith about having a perfect life despite putting in no effort.

Junior Creative - With how much effort they put into telling a story of Myanmar needing relief money, they failed to realize that letting the girls stream themselves playing video games on Twitch and saying the names of their obese viewers would yield donations far more easily than their routine here. "Help My Home Country While I Secretly Apply For Permanent US Residence: The Interpretive Dance" has been done countless times on this show, so while it was decent for what it was, I thought it was formulaic.

Hans - Much like his fans, Hans is a literal 'vocal minority'...get it, 'cause he sings and is gay... Anyway, I do think that his popularity is overblown and much of the viewing audience hates him, though that could be projection on my part. He's not a great singer, not a great dancer, but plenty of acts similar to him pretend like flamboyance = talent. Unless he's doing Olympic level kegel exercises, just being gay isn't a skill. There are plenty of gay contestants in various genres who are more than competent at what they do, I have no idea why Hans gets so much praise despite not doing anything.

Jack Vidgen - The sound of his pre-pubsescent voice was almost inspiring enough to pursue singing lessons, but it easily convinced me to pursue an estrogen prescription. He was right, his old voice was much more commanding than it is now. Still, the performance ended up being better than decent.

Duo Transcend - When the guy got his eyesight back with that surgery, did he look down and go "holy shit, I'm ripped!"? All of that spazzing around with what was likely horrendous form at the gym really paid off. (I know he wasn't fully blind) For the average viewer, anything that follows half a pullup is gravy, but there were some good spots in this performance. This kind of thing probably doesn't translate to TV very well, it would presumably be much more exciting to watch live. I assumed the man put on a blindfold because his wife was uglier than he anticipated until she wore one as well. That final spot was nice, not much else to say.

Dan Naturman - It's not that surprising to hear he had a regular role on a TV show, this guy comes off like a character whenever he talks. Ryan Niemiller is similar, and IMO would be even if his arms weren't deformed. I thought Dan's performance was pretty funny, his shifty behavior matches the quick delivery of his punchlines. Laughing at an AGT comedian was the involuntary spasm that mysteriously disappeared during previous Jackie Fabulous routines. Simon brought him back for this show and portrayed himself as a grump with his arms crossed the whole time, though Botox seeping into the memory portion of his brain is completely understandable.

Angelina Jordan - Her dream for the past 10 years has been to perform in front of Simon. I wish a television camera was on me so I could invent a story of what my aspirations were at 3 years old. She reminds me of the type of kids people tell travellers to watch out for, the ones that swarm you in a group and pick your pockets. I thought the song was just alright, since there's only a few hundred times you can fill with tears and gush over a young singer being a prodigy on these shows. Not golden buzzer worthy at all.

Eddie Williams - If he wanted to dazzle everyone with his weightlifting, it probably would have helped for him to not reveal how he could deadlift 833 pounds right before he lifted 260 pound weights. (I know they were shaped like medicine balls and thus much harder to lift, but still) The big reveal was more surprising due to his voice being a natural sedative that can be taken with alcohol, not really the switch to singing by itself. Big yawn, but I'd don a thesaurus of complimentary adjectives if in his presence to avoid an ass kicking.

Dania Diaz - As it stands, I'm a big fan of hers until the second she announces a courtship with a man who isn't me. That's the thing about being a fan of women on AGT, it's always precarious. Better than expected, probably the best performance of the night. Up close magic is its own genre when utilizing playing cards and such; unfortunately, up close singing isn't a performance style for acts such as Daniel Emmet who would probably be begging to do such a thing to mask how tiny their audience is under the guise of "intimacy". Going back to Dania, her timing of revealing the cards while telling her story was quite synchronized. Good stuff. Who wants to bet her Dad will "suddenly" want to reunite with her near the finale?

The results were very predictable, as was Howie's usual sentiment of "what do you mean I have to do my job and vote for somebody?" Common sense does not prevail, as Hans continues to prance his way to the next round. I'd go on a rant about him only being there to indoctrinate our children if my tinfoil hat wasn't in the repair shop.

Anyway, the show was pretty lame and feels rather pointless...same time next week?

Edited January 7, 2020 by Neet

[Mr. Sparkle]

I'm much more excited for the return of @InternetToughGuy and @Neet than I am for the show. 

I started late, so I was able to fast-forward through most of the intro packages and a lot of the acts. Despite my better judgement, I find Hans entertaining. I liked his intro package better than his act. 

The "you thought you were getting one act, but you're getting another!" surprise trope is so tired on this show. How do you do it more than once? 

I thought the magic act was good, at least a variation on the Shin Lim act that we'll be seeing for the next 5 years at least. The camera work was terrible. You need to show the cards if you're doing this. 

I thought Duo Transcend was that weird brother-sister spinning act at first. 

Other than that, more of the same. See you next week! 

[ams1001]

10 hours ago, mtlchick said:

And Hans in the semis? Really?  Eh.  

Hans entertains me, but he was most certainly not the most talented of the three Howie had to choose from to break the tie.
 

6 hours ago, InternetToughGuy said:

Seeing there's only one post above me, this endeavor may be a giant waste of time if nobody else is watching,

On the other hand, I'm here for your and Neet's insights. 😉 I even gave you both a preemptive laugh reaction even though I haven't read your posts yet.

I did debate watching but I didn't have much else to do, so... (or, to be honest, I just didn't have anything else I felt like doing; I have plenty of shit to do that isn't staring at Simon's slack-jaw and sweaty chest for two hours. Button your shirt, man.)

 

21 minutes ago, Superclam said:

I'm much more excited for the return of @InternetToughGuy and @Neet than I am for the show. 

Me, too!

Edited January 7, 2020 by ams1001

[ams1001]

Internet Tough Guy said:

Quote

I didn't even remember who won the most recent season.  

- I usually forget by the time I go to bed after the finale.

Quote

The attempt at evoking tears with another one of these silhouette dances was annoying.

- I laughed when one of the judges said they were unique (I think during the cuts at the end). No, they're not. We've seen a half dozen or more of these types of groups and most of them do at least one "war story."

Quote

I don't know if it's my utter disdain for exercise that annoys me so much at seeing the muscular man do his thing or if it's just that the act is lame. Probably the latter.

- I'm usually impressed the first time or two and then if they continue on they just get repetitive and boring. And interesting that the show led to him being treated by the one eye surgeon in the world who could stay his sentence of inevitable blindness.

Neet said: 

Quote

Her and the quota black woman of the season were both annoying as usual. Do they have no filter? There's no reason for them to act like waving inflatable tube men whenever music is playing.

- I had no idea who the new judge was, so I googled her and that didn't help at all. She was not as annoying as Mel, Gabrielle, or Julianne, so she can stay (for now).

Quote

I imagine the only people heavily voting for this would have been Paddy's grandchildren envisioning her impending will having another $1,000,000 added to it.

- Hmm...what happens if you die before your 40-year annuity pays out? I guess it goes to your next of kin?

Quote

Mike Yung - Other than that, it was pretty boring.

- You and ITG both mentioned him and I realized that while I remember a bit of his package, and I was sitting on my couch the whole time, I do not recall a single thing about his actual performance.

[DaphneCat]

Angelina - golden buzzer girl:  Simon kept saying how simple her arrangement was.  It was NOT.  She has a pretty voice.  All those extra runs and flourishes were indicative of just how young and not ready she is for this.  It was also annoying as all get out.  It seemed like every other note was a run.  Sing the damn song!  (Sort of off topic, but I was reminded of a great scene in "The Simpsons"  where some singer spends 45 minutes (or some such absurd time) singing the national anthem because they kept doing runs on every note.)  But, it's not like I think any other act was so great they should have been given a golden buzzer instead, so yay for her?

I thought the magician was good but the whole set up was REALLY boring.  Are the facts that your parents divorced and your mother died supposed to make me think you are a better magician than you are?  I don't care about your life, random woman on my TV, I just want to watch your act.

On a positive note, it was nice to see a lot of acts from other countries.  Hopefully, they will have found enough foreign "talent" to spare us from ever having to hear "trailer nasty" again

[Lady Iris]

I dont know if I love or hate my dvr for doing its job. I wouldn't have caught this otherwise. I suppose I do owe it a debt of gratitude seeing as I get to fast forward through the multitudes of sob stories which accompany all these talented people.

[foxfreakinmulder]

Didn't the golden buzzer girl say she likes to sing jazz? I might not be a jazz fan but I know what it sounds like and that was not jazz. She didn't deserve the golden buzzer but at least she didn't dance around like a chicken without a head. 

The old lady didn't dance she was like the lady from last season that was also in her 80's they just get swung around by their dance partner.

The dance group, again they had one on last season that was better, I couldn't follow the story from this group.

The boy singer with blonde hair, is only in his 20's right? What the hell did he do to his face and lips?

Han (sp?) NO, just NO. The boy I just mentioned in the line above should have moved forward instead.

The card magician was good, it was different but I wonder if she tells a story with all her card acts? I guess we'll see.

Not much talent to talk about. No one stood out to me as a Champion. I like Heidi and I'm glad she's back, I like that she gives Simon shit. Speaking of Simon, button your shirt no one wants to see that. Howie for some reason likes all the comedians. And so far I do like the new girl.

 

[InternetToughGuy]

7 hours ago, Superclam said:

I'm much more excited for the return of @InternetToughGuy and @Neet than I am for the show.

 

7 hours ago, ams1001 said:

On the other hand, I'm here for your and Neet's insights. 😉 I even gave you both a preemptive laugh reaction even though I haven't read your posts yet.

Thank y'all for the appreciation, it makes writing the posts quite enjoyable, even though it's pure silliness, there's still somewhat of a work ethic behind it

[lynxfx]

4 hours ago, DaphneCat said:

I thought the magician was good but the whole set up was REALLY boring.  Are the facts that your parents divorced and your mother died supposed to make me think you are a better magician than you are?  I don't care about your life, random woman on my TV, I just want to watch your act.

Normally I can jump on board with hating on sob stories as they are over done. The story however was her trick. Sure she could have done it the way other magicians do it by telling the same story of Jesse James or doing a generic Cops and Robbers routine but she made it personal and unique to her. David Copperfield was famous for integrating personal stories into his big illusions, usually about his dad. It would be pretty boring if all she did was come out and say here is a false shuffle and now a queen and king. One more false shuffle, boom a three, six and seven. Is hers the height of entertainment? No, but she did show enough flourishes and shuffling tricks to keep you watching. 

 

Overall a slow start to Champions. I really feel bad when young performers feel the need to get plastic surgery. That boy looked horrible.

[ams1001]

7 minutes ago, InternetToughGuy said:

Thank y'all for the appreciation, it makes writing the posts quite enjoyable, even though it's pure silliness, there's still somewhat of a work ethic behind it

We need some pure silliness these days, I think.

 

[Lonesome Rhodes]

The cousin answered the booty call knowing he was her cousin.  HAHAHAHAHAHA.   Not.

Simon looking thin and trim for realz.  Good for him.  No need to flaunt it.

Not a WORD about the return of Heidi from Simon. The very fact she was at that table was a tacit admission he screwed up by bringing in JH.  The Brit was shown in a prior season act's montage and unfortunately, her aging became obvious.  She was aight, but man, it is so annoying when she, as all AGT jidges do, worked herself into a state as some lame act is emoting ever so much. 

Howie had a couple of really good asides.  His over the top faux fear of the muscled singer was just bad.

The pacing of the show was unusually off.  Maybe it was a function of the long premiere ep intro they went with.

If they were of a mind to advance Hans, Poppycock came back a year early.  

Edited January 7, 2020 by Lonesome Rhodes

[CrystalBlue]

Straight to the comments; before next week's out I'll watch the show on Hulu.  Unfortunately, I'm being a cheapskate thrifty, so I'll have to suffer through the show and the commercials.  So far it sounds like my favorite act will be Hans, for better or for worse.

[Vermicious Knid]

That comedian was awful. Like, how did he even get on the show in the first place, terrible. I don't remember him from his season but damn, I'd watch Preacher Lawson or all the people with disabilities in a heartbeat over this guy. 

[helenamonster]

Oof. This is only the second year they're doing a special season like this and that's the best they could scrounge up? Three acts got buzzed. Doesn't feel very champion-like to me.

This episode also had all the worst of AGT turned up to 11--inane judge commentary, horrible editing* and camera work, and Simon doing...whatever it is he's doing these days. Between his dead shark eyes and his unbuttoned shirt, I had trouble looking at him. When they were showing archive footage from before his terrible plastic surgery, I gasped out loud. One of those clips was from only two years ago and he looked completely different (and so much better).

Hans is ridiculous, but I love him. Glad to see him back.

What did that Jack Vidgen kid do to his poor face? Per Wikipedia, he's only 22.

I liked Dania Diaz. That trick is done a lot, but I thought she did it well. And it is nice to see a female magician, especially a female close-up magician. I feel like most of the magicians who have excelled on this show have been men.

*There was one singing performance, I think Mike Yung, where they noticeably turned down the singer to get a soundbite of Heidi and Alesha talking about how much they liked the song. It was really noticeable in how sloppy it was. Because we're not here to see the acts, right? Just to hear what Heidi Klum and someone woman I don't know think about them.

[ams1001]

8 minutes ago, helenamonster said:

What did that Jack Vidgen kid do to his poor face? Per Wikipedia, he's only 22.

I started to google his name and the autofill came up with Jack Vidgen lips as the first option beyond just his name.

https://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/why-the-voice-jack-vidgen-got-lip-fillers-002226630.html

Quote

“I've never had plastic surgery or any surgery,” he told the Daily Telegraph, adding, “It's pretty obvious I've had my lips done with fillers”.

“These types of things [fillers] are common now, especially for people my age - it's not a big deal”.

'kay.

Edited January 8, 2020 by ams1001

[InternetToughGuy]

Anyone who was lucky enough to miss the live broadcast can watch it on NBC's website; they upload it the day after it airs on TV:

 

https://www.nbc.com/americas-got-talent/video/the-champions-one/4093653

[CrystalBlue]

Believe it or not, I agree with the finalists being chosen from each threesome of acts.  Including Hans.  I do not think Miss Norway was Golden Buzzer-worthy.  That gaudy outfit she wore was distracting.  I'm pretty over anyone using any version or contrivance of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."  Please let me enjoy the original in peace.  Sucking up to Simon was as annoying as the overuse of runs and flourishes DaphneCat mentioned.

Fast thoughts:  It was good to have Heidi back.  The New Mel B/Gabrielle Union was OK and didn't do anything annoying, so that's a good start.  As we all know, this could change.

Duo Transcend was on top of their game and gave an exciting performance.

Aussie Justin Bieber was not my cuppa tea.  The Strongman Turned Singer was better.

Dania Diaz card trick was enjoyable and I loved her outfit!

Were the Red X buzzers really part of the acts?  Will we ever really know?

[marketdoctor]

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Normally I can jump on board with hating on sob stories as they are over done. The story however was her trick.

I liked it for that reason.  It was good close-up card magic, and a sob story that fit the cards.  Changing from ordinary cards to special-face cards was a nice twist, and the line about "21, no, 31, the cards don't lie" made me laugh.

My only other comment was that although I didn't dislike the singer, I still hate the buzzers for this show (Golden and regular).  The arrangement was original, when Tori Amos did it for Smells Like Teen Spirit in the '90s, but I liked it again here, and not everything has to be original to be good.

If an act isn't a judge's thing at The Champions level, either don't bring them back, SIMON, or save it for the comments.  Buzzing an act doesn't make the point they think it's making.

 

[Commando Cody]

I wasn't paying enough attention to even remember who made it through.  I watched it last night and I'm going from memory of sort of half paying attention.

I do not have any recollection at all of the subway singer.  None.  It was like he was never there and they are just telling us he was there that year.  The song was lame. 

On a side note, do they have no rights to Nick Cannon's voice or image?  The announcer in a flashback was a woman.

Still don't like Hans.

I'm glad the acrobat can miraculously not go blind anymore.

The shadow story kids was one of the least impressive I have ever seen on this show.  I did know what the story was.  I'm glad Howie asked, because I didn't know either. 

I was amused at the comedian.  He was one of the better ones they have had on this show. I actually cracked a smile while he was on. 

I wasn't interested in the Justin Bieber kid. 

The 13 year old girl singer had poor annunciation and I don't like that style of singing.  If she could work on that, she might have a decent voice.

I'm always impressed with these little old ladies who can do stuff. While me - being much younger - cannot do, never could do.  I wish Heidi had golden buzzered those guys.  The little girl singer would have moved on without any help.  They would not win this thing, but it would give them an advantage the little girl singer already had.  I don't think anyone who was on last night will win this thing, so it wouldn't have mattered. 

Sometime, I would like someone to press the golden buzzer right after the act ends. Skip the judges comments and just hit the button.  That would certainly throw everyone off. 

[bluepiano]

Hans really has no talent. Can't sing. Can't dance. Hey, it's 2020, is acting like a cliched flamboyant "queen" really so amazing it gets you the semifinals of this show?

More little girl singers getting Golden Buzzers. Snore.