S09.E05: Special 200th Episode

[maraleia]

The 5th group of potential contestants performs for the judges tonight hoping to be selected to move on in the competition. This very Special Sunday edition of AGT we will see attempts to break 2 Death-defying Guinness World Records!

[peggy06]

Did Howard already use his magic button this season? Because if not, he should have used it with that kids' choir that he was so intent on pushing through, rather than guilt Mel B. into changing her vote. I thought she was right the first time; they weren't that special. Kind of all over the place, and the soloists weren't strong. That really bugged, with Howard making such a big deal over it.

 

I was prepared to be all "Ho hum" over the Bulgarian husband and wife team, but their act was amazing (and looked amazingly dangerous). Speaking of amazingly dangerous, Human Spring, you seem very likeable, and you actually make your stunts look easy, but you're a dad! Maybe something a little less exciting?

 

Thought the first contortionist (Swiss, in the shiny bodysuit) was the best. What contortionists do is mind-boggling, but there's only so much of that stuff I can watch. Definitely diminishing returns for me with the second and third acts.

 

The 11-year-old singer with the big voice was good (and very personable), but there's something off-putting to me when young kids sing like 10 years above their age. I think she could be really good in a few years, though. Frank the Singer was endearing and did a nice job on a song that's not all that easy to sing. I don't disagree with putting him through, but saying Sinatra and Bennett have nothing on him? Come on, Howard.

 

Bug acts were a waste of time for me.

 

Knife-throwing boy. My heart was in my mouth. I definitely do NOT want to see him throw knives at his 6-year-old sister. It was hilarious when they asked her if it was OK with her, and she said NO!

 

I actually agreed with the judges about the shirtless male dancers (can't recall their name). But it seemed a tad unfair to let Howie go up there and use them for a "bit," then ding them.

 

I give the rollerblader one more round. His shtick is funny once. In a limited dose. Agreed with Howard here.

Edited June 23, 2014 by peggy06

[Rapunzel]

Did Howard already use his magic button this season?

I think he used it on the very first show to put through Dustin's Dojo (the slapstick/3 Stooges-like karate/martial arts spoofish act) if I remember correctly. He and Howie both loved it but Mel and Heidi didn't seem very fond of it.

Edited June 23, 2014 by Rapunzel

[Juneau Gal]

Ugg, the children's choir. A whole lot of nothing. If those solo singers were the best of the bunch, they got nothing. I wish Mel B had stuck with her belief. What a waste of everyone's time to send then through. They really pissed me off for some reason - HA!

[Rapunzel]

I have never been a big fan of Howard Stern's radio show, however as I've been watching him as a judge on this show there are definitely times when I wish his radio show persona would come out and actually criticize some of these acts (there are definitely a number that rightfully deserve it). When I finally saw the children's choir tonight, I was wishing for 'Radio Show Howard.' Instead we got 'Sell Out Howard,' and there is no way those kids should have been put through. Howie was right and Mel B should have stuck with her initial instinct and not voted them through. It basically amounted to what were supposed to be the background voices yelling into the microphones and no strong actual singing/musical vocals at all, much less those that were supposed to be "leads" or "solos." The whole thing was mediocre at best and I think even calling them mediocre is generous.

 

Given the alarming amount of people that the judges are putting through this round (they haven't shown us many people getting at least three "no" votes so based on what they have chosen to air it appears as though nearly every act is making it to Vegas), they are going to have to cut tons of acts without giving them a chance to perform in Vegas. They normally split them into three groups in Vegas - automatically through to the live shows, have to perform again in Vegas, and those going home right away. Based on what they've shown, the group going home right away is going to be huge or they'll have to continue Vegas auditions or live shows until Christmas in order to determine a winner.

Edited June 23, 2014 by Rapunzel

[needschocolate]

I have watched snippets of this show in the past, but this is the first season where I have "seen" every episode (seen is in quotes because I am usually doing something else when I watch, so it doesn't get my full focus, but I can rewind if the audience goes ga-ga for someone).  I am happy that we are not subjected  to a bunch of bad acts, most seem pretty good. 

 

However, many (most?) of the acts that they put through don't seem like they could be successful Vegas shows.  For instance, I think they sent though 3 contortionist acts last night, and a contortionist would be great as part of a cirque-du-soliel type show, but I don't see how a contortionist could could have a whole 2 hour Vegas show by themselves.  Same with the guys that balance on things and a lot of other ones.  During the first few shows of the season, I kept expecting the judges to say "Wow, that was quite impressive, but we couldn't build a whole show are what you do, so, unfortunately, my answer is no," but that never happens.  Maybe it happens later?

 

On the other hand, I do enjoy that they have a wide variety of acts, not all singers, dancers and magicians, but maybe the goal of the show should be to get the top 10 acts for a variety show in Vegas, not to build a show around one performer.  The audience could vote on which balancing act and which contortionist act would be picked. 

Edited June 23, 2014 by needschocolate

[A Boston Gal]

If the children's choir had put half as much time into staying in tune as they did making sure all the girls' hair matched in perfect ringlets, they might've deserved another chance. As it was, one big "eh".

[Taeolas]

However, many (most?) of the acts that they put through don't seem like they could be successful Vegas shows.  For instance, I think they sent though 3 contortionist acts last night, and a contortionist would be great as part of a cirque-du-soliel type show, but I don't see how a contortionist could could have a whole 2 hour Vegas show by themselves.  Same with the guys that balance on things and a lot of other ones.  During the first few shows of the season, I kept expecting the judges to say "Wow, that was quite impressive, but we couldn't build a whole show are what you do, so, unfortunately, my answer is no," but that never happens.  Maybe it happens later?

 

It's important to remember that the winners are NOT getting a full scale Vegas show. That was dropped in the 3rd or 4th year. (And really only Terry Fator has capitalized off of it).

 

What the prize is now, among the rest of the small print, is the CHANCE (I'm pretty sure Chance is in the wording now) to headline a Las Vegas Variety show; usually for a very short (~1 month) run, usually with the rest of the Top 10 acts that want to stick around, and anyone else they feel are good enough. 

 

So don't look at the acts as "Is this something that could hold a 90 minute show?" and more "Is this someone I want to see 3 acts worth compared to 2 acts worth of the rest of the Top 10" (Give or take). Granted a lot of those acts don't even reach that criteria for me; but it may help with the decision that these shows are only going to be in Vegas for a month or so, and only as a number of acts in a 90 minute show, not the full big show. 

[Babalooie]

I agree 100% about the children's choir.  I was actually shocked when they started singing.  As an elementary level music teacher, I've had children's groups that could sing rings around last night's choir and soloists -  and this is a small town with less children to choose from.

[LadyMustang65]

It would appear I am in the minority, but I was glad Mel voted to put the children's choir through.  As Mel B herself stated, they started off shaky but finished strong.  If they could put that ridiculous roller blader through, who I didn't find even remotely amusing or talented, they could certainly put through the children's choir.  For me anyway, they put through an awful lot of really stupid and absurd acts just because they want to see what else they can do, so why not the children's choir that showed promise and could simply have fallen victim to nerves at the start?

 

I've only seen the first half of last night's show so far and will watch the rest off the dvr tonight, but I liked the "mystifier" and the brothers who played electric cello best so far.  The young singer was very good as well, but it always freaks me out a bit to see such a mature voice come from such a young person, and I wish that once in a while they would choose to sing a more age-appropriate song. 

 

Hated the roller-blader they put through (what in the world were they thinking?) and was so glad to see the Psychic Divas get the boot.  Ugh.

[helenamonster]

The children's choir sounded exactly like what it was: a bunch of children singing. Nothing you couldn't hear/see at your local elementary school's winter and spring concerts. I wish Mel had told Howard to bugger off and stuck with her gut. The kids will either be booted right from the jump or will have to perform again in Vegas. If the latter happens and the first half is all over the place again, they will not go through. This was a clear showcase of "put us through, we're cute children!" and not actual talent. In their intro package they said they practiced every day? Mkay. But I guess when you have a hundred kids in one act it's hard to make sure everyone is on key. Either way, their "children-ness" can only get them so far.

 

I weirdly enjoyed the roller skater guy. I'm 99% certain he was a Dustin's Dojo type thing and his whole act was totally ironic. Do I think he deserved to go through? No way, because like Howard I did get bored halfway through it, but his interview portions gave me a good laugh.

 

That 11-year-old singer was good, but as usual, I wish she'd just wait until she was eligible for a strictly singing competition. She'd go farther that way, imo, and this show is over-saturated with singers as it is. On a shallow note, when was the last time she brushed her teeth? Yikes, those were seriously yellow.

 

Knife-throwing kid was good for his age, but I got bored after the first couple throws. Again, he should have waited until he was older and more experienced.

 

I thought all three contortion acts they showed were good, and I liked the "mystifier" and the husband/wife circus/danger duo. Nothing else is really sticking out.

 

They said that two world records would be broken during this show, but I only counted one (the guy with the spiders). What was the other one? (I watched it on Hulu so maybe something was cut from the original broadcast.)

 

Mel was great last night. I loved her reactions to the psychics and the spider guy. If only she'd said no to the children's choir.

 

How many more audition rounds are left? Howie, Heidi, and Mel still haven't used the golden buzzer. They're gonna have to cut a ton of acts in Vegas. Only 48 can go through to the live rounds, right? And one of those is coming from the Today Show audition.

[A Boston Gal]

I got the strangest Hank-Azaria-in-"The Birdcage" vibe from the roller-dancing dude.

[needschocolate]

They said that two world records would be broken during this show, but I only counted one (the guy with the spiders). What was the other one? (I watched it on Hulu so maybe something was cut from the original broadcast.)

 

 

There were two times when Howie was outside with someone trying to break a world record.  The first one was fairly early in the show - a guy who landed in a shallow pool of water that was on fire (I am not sure exactly what record he was trying to break).  The second one was late in the show - a guy trying to break the record of jumping over 3 moving cars the fastest.  I think they were both near commercial breaks, so if Hula was showing it commercial free, it may have been cut. 

 

I think spider guy was making up his "record."  Personally, I would not want tarantulas on my face, but if there were a record for number of spiders on a face, it would have to be much more than 2 (plus there was no one there from Guinness stating whether he had set some record - which there was with the 2 outside ones) .  Most tarantulas are not poisonous, and the is no record of any human being killed by a tarantula bite (lets see him put 5 brown recluse spiders on his face). There are plenty of people who had a tarantula for a pet. 

 

 

 

 

It's important to remember that the winners are NOT getting a full scale Vegas show. That was dropped in the 3rd or 4th year. (And really only Terry Fator has capitalized off of it). 

 

 

 

What the prize is now, among the rest of the small print, is the CHANCE (I'm pretty sure Chance is in the wording now) to headline a Las Vegas Variety show; usually for a very short (~1 month) run, usually with the rest of the Top 10 acts that want to stick around, and anyone else they feel are good enough

 

  

Thanks Taeolas, for the clarification.  This makes more sense.  

 

A guy putting tarantulas on his face would be a lousy Vegas act, as bad as the guy eating cactus, or the guy eating bugs, even if they were only one in ten performing.   

[Rapunzel]

That 11-year-old singer was good, but as usual, I wish she'd just wait until she was eligible for a strictly singing competition. She'd go farther that way, imo, and this show is over-saturated with singers as it is. On a shallow note, when was the last time she brushed her teeth? Yikes, those were seriously yellow.

I thought the exact same thing about her teeth helenamonster!  I was so distracted by it that I didn't even really pay attention to her singing. Since everyone on TV seems to have ultra whitened teeth these days this just seemed to really stand out.  I also thought that she seemed older than 11 - more like 13 or so.

 

They said that two world records would be broken during this show, but I only counted one (the guy with the spiders). What was the other one? (I watched it on Hulu so maybe something was cut from the original broadcast.)

I think Professor Splash was another one who broke a world record. He jumped from a high scaffold/tower into a kiddie pool that was on fire during one of the in-between segments that were pre-recorded with Howie hosting. I think Professor Splash was a contestant on AGT a season or two ago and he actually made it to the live shows.

Edited June 23, 2014 by Rapunzel

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Man.  I absolutely had an animus towards Nick Cannon in his MTV "playah" days.  I never doubted his magnetism, but I hated the persona he put out there.

 

I love, love, love how he is showing a goofball self now.  When he joined Juan Carlos roller guy on stage, I thought what a great guy he has become.  Maybe his illness helped him discover the better man inside.  

 

Frank was Fee-nominal.  No way he wins as AGT has already had the aging (if not amazing) singer bringing back the American Songbook.  I hope we get to see every appearance he makes until he is eliminated.

 

It appears Comcast's mission was accomplished as this "special edition" won the night and blunted the debut of the singing show on Disney/ABC.

Edited June 24, 2014 by Lonesome Rhodes

[LadyMustang65]

The children's choir sounded exactly like what it was: a bunch of children singing. Nothing you couldn't hear/see at your local elementary school's winter and spring concerts. I wish Mel had told Howard to bugger off and stuck with her gut. The kids will either be booted right from the jump or will have to perform again in Vegas. If the latter happens and the first half is all over the place again, they will not go through. This was a clear showcase of "put us through, we're cute children!" and not actual talent. In their intro package they said they practiced every day? Mkay. But I guess when you have a hundred kids in one act it's hard to make sure everyone is on key. Either way, their "children-ness" can only get them so far.

 

.I'm guessing you have much better elementary school children's choirs where you live.  You had to get up to the high school around here before you got as good as those kids were.  Or maybe it's just different strokes.  I .liked them.  As far as putting them through, my gosh they put through all kinds of stupid acts that really aren't very good, so why not the children's choir?  I was surprised when Mel started off saying no because her first comment was that they ended strong.  So I expected her to give them another chance and couldn't figure out why she wouldn't.  So far they've put through that idiotic "dojo" comedy(not) guys, the boring as all heck roller blader, the 12-year-old kid telling dirty jokes whose timing and delivery were terrible and the jokes weren't funny but creepy coming from a kid, a guy who pulls cars. the kid who throw knives who had no style or flair, the kid who threw cards who also had no style or flair . . . I know I'm forgetting a bunch of them.  But that's what they seem to do every year.  I can't believe the acts that not only don't get buzzed off the stage but that get put through.  For my money, I'd rather listen to that children's choir again than see any of the acts I just mentioned.  Maybe they get cut before they even get another chance or maybe they get to sing again and get cut then.  So what?  The same thing will happen to about 3/4 of the acts, and it will be a great experience for the kids.  I'm happy for them.

 

I was kind of surprised, though, that they didn't put the Hard Rock Revue through.  They were certainly better and more entertaining, imho, than the idiot roller blader guy (who I honestly didn't even find funny or entertaining in the interview portions - he just looked like he was doing a bad caricature of every gay stereotype out there) or the guy who pulls cars or any of the other acts I mentioned above.

[Babalooie]

I'm not sure if the next round is in the same city as the children's choir, and all I could think about was what a waste of over 100 plane tickets.

Edited June 25, 2014 by Babalooie

[Diana Berry]

I had to stick up for little singer. About the color of someone's teeth, many times it is hereditary not from not brushing your teeth. But, in my case, I have a dead root in my front teeth( may have happened when when falling off a merry go round), when a kid and hitting my mouth on it. I never smoked and brushed my teeth religiously. Unfortunately, bleaching will do no good.

[SmallTownMom]

I watched the rerun of Sunday's show tonight.  The 11-year-old singer didn't impress me.  All she did was holler, and I couldn't even understand her most of the time.  Didn't matter, it was the same phrase over and over.  And I have to agree about her teeth-I was kind of watching for that after reading all the comments here.  Seemed to me that all of her siblings had grungy teeth, too.

 

The children's choir should not have gone through.  I liked the Frank Sinatra-type guy, and the Bulgarian husband/wife team.  The guy with the spiders was just so dumb and not in the least entertaining.  Maybe he could be on "Fear Factor."  And if they let that kid throw knives at his sister, I think that is child abuse/endangerment.

 

The best part is the camaradarie among the judges.  After suffering through Mariah Carey and Nikki Minaj on Amerian Idol, we are really enjoying this panel.

[bluepiano]

Another episode dragged down by too many kid acts, which predictably come with shots of the proud stage moms and dads, who are often trotted out to be congratulated for robbing their kids of a childhood. It's not hard to picture some of these parents mentally counting the cash that will be flowing in if they can kick start their kid's career by getting them on AGT. Sometimes, as in the case of child choir, I get the feeling that these acts are put together specifically for AGT.

 

If an adult or even a teenage knife thrower had the same skill level as that kid they would be considered a terrible act. So if kids get sent through because they're good for their age, then they really should be in a separate category. Same with the singers. Having a "big voice" for your age does not make you a good singer. The best you can say about someone that young is that they have the potential to someday be a good singer. (which for me is about developing a personal musical style and point of view, something that takes time and experience)

 

We need to put out an APB for the real Howard Stern, whose spot on the show has been taken by a hairy, 6 foot 5 imposter. Because the real Howard Stern would've been horrified by the calculated cutesiness of the child choir. Instead of haranguing another judge to get them put through.

 

On the other side of the same coin, I was worried that the 74 year old was going to be bad but get patronizing praise from the judges because of his age. But I actually thought he had a nice tone and good phrasing, the essentials for putting across that kind of song. I only wish that the audience hasn't been clapping along, so I could've really heard him.( I did think the clapping, which was not doubt prompted, was patronizing and completely unnecessary.)

 

There are actually lots of string instrument players out there who do Hendrix and a whole array of other non traditional music. So I was not overly impressed by the cello brothers.

Edited June 25, 2014 by bluepiano

[LoneHaranguer]

 

But I guess when you have a hundred kids in one act it's hard to make sure everyone is on key. Either way, their "children-ness" can only get them so far.

I suspect that this is one of those crackpot deals where nobody wants to tell any of the kids they have no talent because "it would hurt their self-esteem".

 

 

Most tarantulas are not poisonous, and the is no record of any human being killed by a tarantula bite (lets see him put 5 brown recluse spiders on his face).

He didn't actually make his goal. One of the spiders had long since perched on the top of his head by the time he grabbed the fifth one to put on his face.

 

 

I thought the exact same thing about her teeth helenamonster!  I was so distracted by it that I didn't even really pay attention to her singing. Since everyone on TV seems to have ultra whitened teeth these days this just seemed to really stand out.

For me, it's unnaturally-white teeth that stand out (especially the ones that look like they'd glow in the dark); why have something that screams "fake"?

[helenamonster]

I think what bothered me most about Mel giving in to Howard's begging is that if she, Heidi, or Howie had already used their golden buzzer and wanted another act to go through, and they were depending on Howard to say yes, he would have told them to fuck off and voted how he wanted. Mel was not impressed with the children's choir (since she comes from a music/performing background, I can see how their shaky start would have influenced her voting) and it was her right not to be impressed.

 

Furthermore, because of her reluctance, the choir will have to work extra hard to impress her in the next round (if they are put in the group that has to perform again in Vegas). And the kids didn't make any indication that they were going to put in more effort for the next round, or that they thought Mel's criticism held any merit. I just got a very entitled vibe from all of them, and that's probably the reason I didn't like them very much (besides the fact that they weren't exceptionally good, imo). So Mel giving in and putting them through just seemed like a huge waste of time, and as someone mentioned above, a huge waste of plane tickets.

[daughtersofanarchy]

The spokesgirl for the children's choir was so obnoxiously officious and egotistical when she came onstage, I hated the whole lot of them before they even started singing.  And I hated their parents even more.  After their performance, I can honestly say they were the worst children's choir I have ever heard.  It was a trainwreck.  There seemed to be no real arrangement, no harmony.  The choir director should be slapped silly, (if they even have a real director).

[Shermie]

I agree with the entitlement vibe from the children's choir, which is why I didn't want them to go through. Starting off key and then getting better is one thing, perhaps worth another chance. But I didn't think they got better; they seemed to equate shouting with singing and dressing alike (and doing their hair alike - WTF) with harmony.

I think they've been told constantly how amazing they are, probably by their parents and other relatives - and really, with 100 kids in the choir they could fill an audience of 300 handily just with family. But being cute and identical and loud does not equal good.

Where was their director? Or someone blowing on the little tuney thing to get them started? No wonder they were so off key.

I like the weirdo acts like the spiders and bugs and other random nut jobs just for the comedy. And if Nick joins in, it's gold!

Edited June 26, 2014 by Shermie

[DrLar]

I think the judges are coached by the producers and told who to pick, even do those silly acts like get on their knees to beg for a vote... I don't think the real Howard Stern would do that, those contracts must be really tight to make them do that..

[Taeolas]

Yeah all in all, it was a pretty blah episode. The Kids Choir was awkward as hell, way off key and should not have gone through. Hopefully the show lets them know ahead of time and maybe only sends a few token tix to Vegas for the show or something.  (Then again, they mass buy so many tix to Vegas for the Vegas rounds that it's probably barely a drop in the bucket).

 

The psychics at the start were a hoot just for being booted so quick. The mentalist who broke the jug in the box was good enough that I'm curious to see more. Most of the rest just passed by while I was doing other things. (And I FFed throuhg the old singer once I realized he was the last act.)

[DrLar]

But didn't the mentalist lie? he said that we would see some glow on top of Heidi's shoulder, I failed to see it and didn't he also say that something else would happen?

[Lava VaVoom]

He said the glowing orb was one of several things that MIGHT happen, including the jug getting heavy or hot.  None of them happened, which was why the jug's shattering (why else would it be in a box?) was so surprising to Heidi.  It wasn't what she expected. 

[Gimmick Genius]

Nina Burri the Swiss contortionist totally looked like Gozer the Destructor from GHOSTBUSTERS.

 

Edited June 30, 2014 by Gimmick Genius

[DrLar]

Dat outfit.. ehem... I'm surprised they didn't cut the whole act, lots of far zoom shots though..

[LoneHaranguer]

The producers really shouldn't have run a Sinatra soundtrack to close out the old singer's segment. It illustrated that Howard was just being nice comparing him to Sinatra and Bennett.