AGT Season 19: Auditions 8
12: Nick Manning. Completely pointless, as all of these Guinness Record attempts are...That being said, it made for an epic closer to the entire audition round! I almost felt the judges should have skipped the deliberations, as this was less of an act and more of a special moment between everyone in the building...You couldn't ask for a better way to end a show!
11: Haley Viloria. Not much point in covering this one, as the judges pretty much summed everything up, she was clearly used as part of a segment to compare a technically perfect seasoned performer with a homegrown and expressive hobbyist with a day-job (who we'll get to later). And...Oh yeah, they already revealed that she won't be in the live shows...Can't say I'm surprised...
10: Jonathan Burns. Another familiar face returning to the show...And just five years after his previous attempt! I think Howie summed it up best: He's a funny guy, a likable personality...and he does magic...Not very good magic, but...magic...I guess...Actually, this was probably the lamest excuse for a magic trick I've ever seen! He CLEARLY took two off of Heidi's stack (of fake cheese, not where she stuffed them) when she briefly handed them to him, and added them to Sophia's stack (see previous parentheses) when she gave him hers! It's a real shame that a personality like this can't even decide WHAT he is...He had ONE good audition a few years back and now is just scrounging for an identity! PS, I'd say this performance was a waste of perfectly good Kraft Singles...But really, it beats the hell out of EATING that Krap!
9: Corkey Miller. Another comedian who is more adorable than funny...But considering how little experience she has in this field, I guess she didn't do half bad...
8: Journeyy. You know, I almost gave this kid the runner-up spot on the list, because that original song actually sounds pretty fire! Like, if he recorded it with a full band, I would gladly add it to my playlist! But aside from the song, his singing was just decent, his keyboarding is still in development...and they never said HE wrote the original song...No doubt it was that producer who signed him...So as it is, this isn't quite the MOST impressive black child prodigy we've seen this season...But clearly these producers saw SOMETHING in him, and I think with time he could have a very promising career ahead of him...All I ask is that maybe he add his last name to the artist title or something, because anyone looking for songs by him shouldn't have to clarify, “The Journeyy with TWO Y's! ...Wait, who's this Richard Goodall guy? He sounds pretty cool...”
7: Brooke Bailey. Similar to the aerialist segment, her segment ALSO included a perfectly adequate young lady leading up to her who belongs on a stage with other performers...Aside from that, there's not much to say...She was technically flawless, but not really the singer of the season I would be the most likely to pay to see...
6: Black Peppers. A weird, goofy Japanese act? STOP THE PRESSES!!! Like most of the other acts in this ever-growing category, it was very creatively silly...That guy in the front didn't even HAVE to powder his face and show it through that hood, but somehow it ADDED to the act! Japan: The Land of the Rising Sun, and the Empire of Weird!
5: Alejandro Licea Pellon. ANOTHER caliente Cuban dude...Funny, because when I talked about that rolla-bolla act last week and compared it with other similar acts that are, in my own words, “one-note and hard to maintain”, this was pretty much EXACTLY what I was talking about! Again, this was technically amazing and VERY impressive, but what can he do to step it up...? And more importantly, can he avoid that dreaded fall that I've seen several guys like him suffer in the past...? Honestly, I'm not counting on it, and Simon seems to mirror my concern...I already know this guy made the live shows...I just hope the Strakhovs made it as well, because they outclassed this kid in both tricks AND presentation...
4: Kelsey Jane. Again, while Haley was TECHNICALLY superior, this lady made more with less...A more expressive track, compelling facial expressions...and how well she can spread those legs! Must be pretty awkward for her patients to watch that and then go see her for their semi-annual check-up...And even MORE awkward for Emil and Dariel to watch Simon NOT crap all over her day-job...(I'm sorry, but I still haven't let go of that outrage!) She definitely has the Aidan Bryant appeal, but I'm still overall getting tired of aerial acts...even Aidan Bryant...
3: Xpogo Stunt Team. I support this act, because we NEED more pogo sticks manufactured! Without them, who will keep up with those unicycles!?
2: Prilepin Quartet. Honestly, I couldn't tell if they gave away their surprise talent before the performance or not through those thick accents...I mean, it would have been a perfect set-up; Four guys in Beatles suits walk in, with “Quartet” in their name...and then perform solid acrobatics like that! I didn't hear anyone act surprised or anything! Wasted opportunity for clicks, Cowell! But I DO give them credit for utilizing a track from Angelina Jordan!
1: AIRFOOTWORKS. Wow...A Japanese act that ISN'T weird or silly...Just unconventional...Since we're talking about quite a few past acts this season (some of whom making comebacks this year), I guess we might as well throw good ol' Kenichi Ebina into the mix! And this act he coaches is definitely on the same level of creativity! Never thought I'd hear a Justin Bieber track sound so effective (and not even from recent years, where he's actually...dare I say it...not half bad!) Out of everyone tonight, this is the only act I see potentially making the Finals...That said, seeing that they are ONCE AGAIN sticking with the format that nobody likes, AND allowing the judges to deliver Golden Buzzers in the live shows, it's a VERY tiny sliver of a chance...
Obviously, focusing this episode heavily on acrobats was intentional, in keeping with the whole Olympics theme...Otherwise, again, there's only one act that I'm really looking forward to seeing again...(Actually...I MIGHT be a teency bit curious to see what Black Peppers will do next time...) But whatever, the last audition episode rarely has that many truly exciting acts...
So let's go ahead and move on to the live shows, which start in three weeks after the Olympics are over...Like I said, that EVER-so-beloved format from the last two years continues...And I was hoping this year would be different...But you know AGT's philosophy: If it ain't broke, fix it, and if it IS broke...put a fancy ribbon on it and then just leave it...
And again, to reduce non-front-runners' chances EVEN MORE this year (I didn't think it was possible!), now a judge gets to select one of the two acts going into the Finals with...you guessed it...a Golden Buzzer! They will LITERALLY never stop until the entire planet has to bow to that damn button and confetti!
Because of this, they can basically pull a “Fantasy League” and steal away another person's GB to make their own...I, as someone who likes to pick my own GB's for fun every year to help retain a LITTLE sanity with this show, am not exempt from this rule...except I can't do the same to others...
Nonetheless, I shall continue this personal annual tradition, at the risk of losing my own picks to one of the judges...And since THEY each got two going into the lives this year, I shall pick two as well!
I set my sights on two particular acts for this season, one of whom I could POTENTIALLY see going all the way to the end, assuming they don't get matched up with more likely candidates to win the top vote or GB in the Semis...That act is Attraction Juniors! That said, it hasn't been confirmed yet whether or not they even MADE the lives...Granted, I have no idea WHY they would put an act like this on the chopping block, unless maybe they backed out of the competition for some reason...So if for some reason they're NOT one of our live acts, I shall pick someone else...
As for the other choice, she has already been confirmed for the lives! And what's more, she COULD potentially be a dark-horse in this game if she knows what she's doing...I am talking of course about the one, the only, Helen the Foot Juggler!
Edit: Looks like they...UN-confirmed her...So now the same things apply for BOTH of my choices...
So with my GB's selected (again, assuming they ARE in the live shows), we now look ahead to our potential winners...
Well, as it is, all signs are pointing to Richard Goodall...He's the big viral hit of the season, and those types of acts are almost ALWAYS the ones destined to win...The humble Cinderella story as well as the unique TYPE of music he's likely to sing only further compound his chances...Yes, he definitely looks like the safest bet...
...But maybe a little TOO safe...I mean, think about it: This season has seen more people writing their OWN songs than ever, most notably Simon's GB Liv Warfield, who is essentially the whole package! A singer, songwriter, dancer, and dynamite performer! Compared with that, would America really want to give it to some guy doing slightly inferior covers of beloved rock ballads (assuming he doesn't start doing more modern pop songs, thus dropping a big part of his identity)!?
...Sadly, yes...But if there's one thing that's been consistent over the last four years, it's AVOIDING the super-obvious winner...Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't, but there hasn't been a super-obvious winner since Kodi Lee...
I'd like to believe that America will be able to avoid giving it to the guy who seems manufactured to be the big star-player of the season...But I REALLY can't risk taking any bets on that...
Either way, one positive that can come of this is that the one who might win is a Heidi Golden Buzzer, finally giving her a chance to get a ring (while Howie has two from regular seasons, and two from the spinoff seasons...)
Though Simon's been waiting for a ring too, and Liv's his best chance at getting it this year...Who knows...? With the right performances, she could come in from behind and become the favorite, while Richard finds himself in a Courtney Hadwin/Jimmie Herrod situation...But again, with all of the hype and positive feedback he's been getting, I'm not taking that bet...
I dunno, I just feel that Liv has a LOT more to offer...Plus we've seen PLENTY of men win the show, while the only female winners so far were three preteen girls, a dance group, and at least one dog...Plus that lady that WOULD have won had it not been for her health...The AGT Hall of Fame NEEDS more female representation!
Not much point looking at the other acts...Richard's the obvious front-runner, and Liv is a distant runner-up (and she might not even place in the end...) MAYBE if he's lucky, Learnmore can come in from behind and become the first ever comedian to win...
...Or they could just give it to a magician again and render this overload of GB's completely pointless...
And those are my two...or I guess twenty-five cents regarding who will win...
So we'll just wait and see who makes the final cut, and who will be on for the first live show...Dollars to donuts Richard will be in that line-up...(Now THAT'S a bet I can take to the bank!)
I'll be back for further predictions when we get those updates...
Update: Donuts for me! (Maybe I'll leave one for Phillip Lewis before he performs next week as well...)
I guess I'll start with who DIDN'T make the lives...The unfortunate eliminations for this year include Andrei Burton, Balloon Taro, Bao Cuong, Black Peppers, Chrisyius Whitehead, DaksDominoes (not that I'm surprised in their case), Dian Rene (would have made for a VERY compelling story, strong voice aside), Espiritu (mainly because I thought they were at least better than Los Osos, who DID make the cut), Forest of Haunts (awww, did they scare you too much, AGT?), Helen the Foot Juggler (DAMN IT, THEY TEASED ME BY SAYING SHE MADE IT AT FIRST!), Horse (out of...morbid curiosity for how he'd carry on his legacy), Jabu and Cornelio (awesome drummers just can't catch a break on this show), Jo De Rijck (yeah, I'll admit, I was somewhat interested in seeing what the chicken would do in the next round), Mia Soleil Sanchez, Prilepin Quartet, Super Silva Jr., Xpogo Stunt Team, and a whole bunch of other unaired auditions that I haven't had the chance to see yet...I'd include Olive in there as well, but I knew she wouldn't make it the moment I knew there were no callbacks...Can't deliberate for an act if you didn't even have a chance to say yes to them...Also, Alejandro Licea Pellon is ironic, since they've been telling us he DID make it since right after his audition aired...I guess you can't trust Fandom.com to give you the early scoop...
As for who DID make it, no real objections...I guess the only selection I find SOMEWHAT baffling is Jonathan Burns...But we'll see if he can prove himself as more than just a charmingly goofy hack magician...
Now onto my “Golden Buzzer” acts...Honestly, I think I'll retract them for now...Obviously, I can't pick Helen after they teased me into thinking she made it and then pulled the rug out from under me...And Attraction Juniors...Well...I have a feeling they will become someone ELSE'S Golden Buzzer come Tuesday night...In fact, I'm kinda HOPING they get it...I guess that's what happens when you're NOT actually involved with the actual show, and it's not like stealing someone else's GB is against the rules (unless they explicitly state that on Tuesday, in which case I DEFINITELY need to wait on picking my own...) So for now, I guess I'll have to once again wait until the Finals to pick one or two (assuming there ARE any non-GB acts by the end of the game...)
And since last season would look odd sandwiched between two where I wait for the Finals (and I never officially picked anyone last year anyway), I'll just go ahead and retroactively pick Ahren Belisle as my GB last season, since I was rooting for him to win by the end anyway (and was let down as usual...)
So with all that out of the way, let's move on to the Quarter-Finals! It seems that despite what I heard at first, there WILL be three live rounds this year...As it currently stands, each week one of the judges will get to give the Golden Buzzer to any act they want, sending the act straight to the Finals...America will then get to vote either two or three (it hasn't been confirmed yet) into the Semi-Finals, rinse and repeat for the next few shows, and then we'll have a satisfying enough number of acts to make up one show in the Semis...And then I guess a BUNCH of acts will somehow be voted into the Finals...At least, that's what I gather so far...It's kinda confusing...
So with all that in mind, I can now predict the running order, analyze the odds, and rank my support for each of the acts performing on Tuesday...
Let's start with my most educated guess at the running order...
8.Hakuna Matata Acrobatic
I'm all-but certain that the closing act will be one of our GB singers...If Liv's performance has the right qualities, she'd make for an excellent opener...Otherwise, I could also see one of them being placed, like, third to last before the other one closes the whole show...And if I was a producer on the show (not that what I say here means a hill of beans to the REAL producers), I would strongly suggest following Arshiya with either Roni and Rhythm or Attraction Juniors, to offset her creepiness with something endearing and heartfelt...Simply following the shocking acts with a plain old singing act just doesn't have the same effect...
And now for my analysis on their odds...
11: Flewnt and Inkabee. A sad truth that has persisted for many years is that rap acts (even really talented ones) just don't tend to do well on this show...When even someone like Flau'jae, who had the charm, identity, compelling backstory, AND a Golden Buzzer to boot, couldn't even make the save votes in a line-up where SEVEN out of TWELVE acts could advance, and got out-voted by a bunch of guys dancing around in high-heels, THAT'S how you know that the odds are stacked against pretty much ANY MC that competes on this show...(And yes, I know a lot of people found her song that week a letdown...which was ironically the name of said song, but for her to wind up in the BOTTOM FOUR!? To be THAT unfavored, that tells me that she wasn't much of a contender in the votes from the BEGINNING!) Anyway, enough about my bajillionth rant on how a contestant from six years ago was treated...The point is, the only hope for ANY rapper to even advance past the first live round at this point is if they are VERY special...Inkabee (the clear main draw of the act) may be very exceptional for his age, but I don't think it's gonna be enough to help him and his dad beat out some of the clear contenders in this list...But I hope they at least do well enough...They'd make a cool darkhorse...
10: Hypers Kids Africa. This line-up is made up of not one, not two, but THREE dance groups made up of kids and/or teens...Obviously, one of those acts (the one with a unique gimmick) seems like a real front-runner...As for the other two, HKA seems like the superior dance group (even while being YOUNGER than the kids in the other group). However, there's one major voting factor that I've neglected to consider several times in the past, and that's how many total relatives a group of young performers might have that will gladly vote for their act in a heartbeat...Sadly, not only does HKA have less members, and therefore less family to vote for them, but their family is all most likely still living in their foreign country, and therefore can't vote on AGT if they WANTED to! Aside from that, as much as I enjoyed their audition, it still comes off as cute filler...Voters may like the cute kids, but especially with all of the OTHER kid acts they will be competing with, that won't likely be enough...
9: Phillip Lewis. He ALMOST seems like the most disposable of the acts for this week, but I do consider the VERY slight chance that he could prove to be a darkhorse...But it's an uphill battle regardless...If he so much as drops the baton once (and it could very well happen, REGARDLESS of how many donuts he eats beforehand), it could destroy ANY chance he might have at advancing...It's a tightrope walk...with a baton...
8: Arshiya. I could see SOME people voting for her, regardless of how she does overall...Still, for most of the voters, she might be a LITTLE too creepy and disturbing to win them over...
7: Los Osos High School. Despite what I previously said about the familial factor with these kids, they're still looking quite filler-y compared to the Top 6 in this list (including ANOTHER certain dance group made of teens that has an extra gimmick to stand out). It's going to be near impossible to turn Howie's opinion around, considering the attitude he's always had about “dance recital” acts...His opinion could very well make or break (more likely break) their chances...
6: Roni Sagi & Rhythm. A few weeks ago, I would have considered this act a real front-runner for this set...But due to some rather controversial views shared by the human half of this duo recently, it could compromise their chances quite a bit...I'm not one who's quick to judge someone for their opinions on such complicated issues, and this is no exception...But in this era of what is called “cancel culture”, it does raise the question: Can one's controversies override the goodwill gained from their talents, as well as what they represent, in a talent competition...? We shall find out come Wednesday...Unless they get the Golden Buzzer, which could run the risk of a HUGE backlash at this show...
5: Hakuna Matata Acrobatic. This looks like an act that could potentially draw in a lot of votes...It could also potentially be a huge letdown, but more likely if they don't at least try...I saw a LITTLE stumbling in their audition, so I know they are liable to make a mistake somewhere...But if their tricks are still overall impressive enough, it could all be waved off with a repetition of their name...Overall, they're not QUITE as untouchable as some of the other acts, but still have pretty good chances...
4: Ashes & Arrows. They may or may not impress (Howie in particular) with their song choice, original or not...But regardless, I can definitely see this act at LEAST making the Top 5 in the votes purely on their rustic charm...My prediction for how far they could potentially go in this game still stands...
3: Liv Warfield. As Simon's Golden Buzzer, she is a legitimate front-runner in this game...That said, the fact that she's performing the same night as Richard could compromise her chances quite a bit...And I know that not EVERYONE online is onboard with her...Hell, I'm not necessarily counting on her next number being QUITE as good as the last one...But I'd love to be proven wrong...
2: Attraction Juniors. Again, this is the act that I predict will get the Golden Buzzer (regardless of which judge delivers it), but even if they don't, their creativity, emotional appeal, and connection to a fairly popular BGT act will surely earn them a spot in the top votes...provided they don't disappoint...
1: Richard Goodall. As far as I'm concerned, barring a Courtney-Hadwin-esque upset, Richard has already won this season...That being said, there is a SLIGHT chance that he'll be compared with the other singing acts of this week as the only one covering other people's songs, as opposed to writing his own, therefore awakening a possible backlash at all the hype (and votes) he receives in comparison to the others...Still, not enough people seem to fully appreciate the extra distance a singer must go to write their own songs, as opposed to just doing a nice little cover...For instance, I still hear a lot of backlash toward Grace VanderWaal winning the show, even though her songwriting skills (especially for her age at the time) are nothing to scoff at...Even the judges themselves (ESPECIALLY Howie), can be pretty dismissive toward original songs if they don't have an immediate emotional appeal like a lot of their favorite acts...Bottom line: Why take that chance when you know you can win people over with a song they already love...?
So with my prediction on everyone's odds out of the way, here's my ranking based on how much I'm rooting for them...And just note, there's only one act in here that I'm not big on...
3: Hakuna Matata Acrobatic
Alright...I guess it's time to look forward to Tuesday! See you then!