Untitled

[mashitandsmashit]

I have moved!

To anyone who still checks in here, I have moved my AGT reviews to Reddit! You can see my review for Episode 1 of Season 20 here: https://www.reddit.com/r/agt/comments/1kx9rq7/mashits_agt_act_rankings_season_20_auditions_1/

Hopefully I'll get more traffic on this new platform...Hope to see you there!

[mashitandsmashit]

AGT Season 19: Finale

SURPRISE! RICHARD WON!

Yup...Pretty conventional and predictable winner, but not undeserving...

...Though I DO have some hang-ups with that runner-up...

It seems I have COMPLETELY underestimated America's continued adoration for dogs...And while Roni and Rhythm were quite exceptional in such a field, I feel that Second Place was going a bit far for them...I honestly thought that both Roni's controversial political views as well as the backlash from last year's winner would sooner or later catch up to them...But nope...It's clear that America's still all in on these kinds of acts...Dog training acts are now officially validated!

So with a dog act winning last year and another one coming in second this year, you can bet your boots that there will be a litter of canine contestants next year to capitalize on the hype! ...And few if any of them will be any success...

As for me, I'd say dog acts are the latest type of act that I'm officially getting tired of...Just another thing that stand-up comedians just can't seem to win against...

Speaking of which, good on Learnmore at least making Fifth...And no arguments with the other Top Fivers...Though I would have loved it if my Golden Buzzer ranked higher...

I also would have loved to see AIRFOOTWORKS and Hakuna Matata make the Top 5, but you can't win them all...Actually, I notice that NONE of the live GBs made the Top 5...I guess that goes to show you that when America doesn't get a chance to actually VOTE for someone until the very end, they won't be as invested when that chance actually comes...

Those are my observations with the results...Now let's talk about our special performances...and one video package...

9: Learnmore Jonasi & Gabriel Iglesias. For a video with two funny dudes, the laughs were kept to a minimum and just focused on their little talk...Nice talk and all, but I would have loved to see them actually do some comedy on the stage...Fluffy's giving us fluff...

8: Simone Biles & The Gold Over America Tour. Not to discredit a legend like Simone or any of these other amazing athletes, but they obviously didn't have the time or resources to put a balance beam or anything on the stage...This resulted in a very basic display of their tumbling abilities, and I especially feel bad for that gentleman who tried that crazy flip only to fall on his back...I'm sure the rest of the tour will be more interesting than this...

7: Sky Elements & Detroit Youth Choir. I have no doubt that AGT has already paid Sky Elements for the rights to that title card next year...And maybe they'll even use them for the occasional opening text at the beginning of the show as they did here...And DYC has returned to perform an encore of what is arguably their weakest performance on the show (not counting their repetition of “Can't Hold Us”, which was at least one of their BETTER songs to begin with...)

6: Michael Bublé. For any of these jazz crooners, song choice makes all the difference in the world between a great performance and a cheesy one...Which proves to us that even the great Michael Bublé isn't above being cheesy sometimes...Oh well...He still has a good voice...

5: Solange Kardinaly & Magic Mike Live Las Vegas. I guess everyone gave us what they promised...Still, there was a part of me that was hoping Solange would do a little quick-change striptease herself...You know, just to give the guys a little fanservice as well...

4: Hakuna Matata Acrobatic, Roni Sagi & Rhythm & Brent Street. A mash-up of different acts that managed to NOT be super-clunky...Also helps that Brent Street reprised what I still consider their best performance (and one of the best of the whole season).

3: AIRFOOTWORKS & Steve Aoki. While AFW didn't get much opportunity to show any new moves, this mash-up actually did manage to work pretty decently...

2: Richard Goodall & Journey. No, no cameo from the Journeyy with two Y's...Actually, he seemed to be strangely left out of that video package with all of the highlights this season...It's almost like Journey the band wanted him struck from the record just for having the same name...That said, Richard performed well with them, and even managed to hit one or two high notes that were missing from his audition performance of the same song...

1: Dee Dee Simon, Sebastian & Sonia, Detroit Youth Choir & Andra Day. First of all, thank you for not performing “Rise Up” for the millionth time...even though Sebastian & Sonia's presence may have made it tempting...The songs they DID sing were perfectly effective in bringing the best out of all of our musical performers...while the aerialists were left to do whatever Sonia's condition would allow overhead...

Okay season, okay finale, only a few results I would have had differently...

I'll do my annual power-ranking of all of the live acts soon enough, but for now, we'll look ahead at what to expect from the future of AGT...

Hard to say what they may or may not be planning for the in-between spinoff season in January...One idea I would suggest if I was involved with the show would be kind of a showcase of all of the big contestants over the years performing...No competition or anything, just performances, spread over a few shows...

Otherwise, I got nothing...Obviously, the BIG thing we're looking forward to next year is the 20th season! And I'm hoping they will TRY to give us something new and special to consider for the winner for the occasion...Maybe try to keep the magicians, singing ventriloquists, dog trainers and singers with inspiring backgrounds to the wayside for once, and SERIOUSLY push either a comedian that can stand out enough to win...or something really cool and epic! If they really want me to tune in for Season 21, I would highly suggest it be one or the other...

(I'm kinda holding “Saturday Night Live” over the same fire...They're about to start their 50th season, and I expect to be given a good enough reason to keep tuning in after the hype of their big milestone passes...And yes, I know that even sticking with them THIS long is giving them a LOT of leeway...)

So, yeah, I'll be back with my final ranking of this season's acts...Until then, that's one more season of AGT officially in the books...

---

Okay, let's rank this season's live talent...As usual, I am factoring in progress, memorability, consistency, and overall promise of a Vegas show...

45.That guy in the aisle with the crazy mustache. Seriously, who is that guy!? With him standing in the aisle every show, he must be a member of the staff, like an usher or security guard or something...But he has one epic look, and I can't help but smile every time he pops up onscreen...

44.L6

43.Sam Huang

42.Los Osos High School

41.Journeyy

40.Brooke Bailey

39.Biko's Manna

38.The Reklaws

37.Menudo

36.Jelly Boy the Clown

35.Schumacher

34.Tonikaku

33.Jonathan Burns

32.Oscar Stembridge

31.Stephanie Rainey

30.Alex Sampson

29.Pranysqa Mishra

28.Erica Rhodes

27.Phillip Lewis

26.Legión

25.Sabrina

24.Flewnt and Inkabee

23.Arshiya

22.Attraction Juniors

21.Hypers Kids Africa

20.Ashlee Montague

19.NiNi

18.Young-Min

17.Kelsey Jane

16.Reid Wilson

15.Ashes & Arrows

14.Illya & Anastasia Strakhov

13.Bboy Samuka

12.Maya Neelakantan

11.Liv Warfield

10.Roni Sagi & Rhythm

9.Sebastian & Sonia

8.Dee Dee Simon

7.Richard Goodall

6.Learnmore Jonasi

5.Brent Street

4.Sky Elements

3.Hakuna Matata Acrobatic

2.AIRFOOTWORKS

1.Solange Kardinaly

And now for my new annual tradition of ranking every main season winner of this show...

19.Kevin Skinner

18.Dustin Tavella

17.Landau Eugene Murphy Jr.

16.Brandon Leake

15.Neal E. Boyd

14.Bianca Ryan

13.Richard Goodall

12.Olate Dogs

11.Adrian Stoica and Hurricane

10.Michael Grimm

9.Kodi Lee

8.Mat Franco

7.Grace VanderWaal

6.Darci Lynne

5.Paul Zerdin

4.Kenichi Ebina

3.Shin Lim

2.Terry Fator

1.Mayyas

Aaaannnnd...That's about it! This was a pretty “meh” season, but maybe they're just holding out until the big 2-0...Hopefully they don't apply the same logic for the spinoff season in January (assuming they're doing one next year).

So with all that said...I guess I'll see you in 2025!

...In fact, I might actually be able to post these online again!

Fingers crossed...

Edit: Yup...I'll officially see you in May! ...I just hope someone will see ME...

[mashitandsmashit]

AGT Season 19: Finals

Well, it's Finals night! I'll just start right up by saying that everyone here brought their A-game! ...Or at the very least, their B+-game...So ranking them will be tough...I guess in the end, it all comes down to how much they stepped it up tonight, coupled with how much I like the act in general...

11: David Alan Grier. Kind of an UNCONVENTIONAL wildcard act, but an amusing prank nonetheless...Felt out of place in the SECOND segment of the show...Probably would have worked much better in the middle segment, just before the comedian, but whatever...I guess they needed to fill the runtime, so they threw in a segment that's usually reserved for results shows...

10: Dee Dee Simon. At this point, I can't help but wonder why she bothers even wearing shoes in the first place...No doubt she's a great singer, though she might have sounded a LITTLE pitchy at times...

9: Sebastian & Sonia. Glad to see Sonia able to participate again, even though her ability to perform is still limited in her condition...Final result is an above-average aerial duo performance...I know these two are CAPABLE of reaching and possibly even surpassing Aidan Bryant's lofty heights...But I understand that under these unfortunate circumstances that this is about as good as we can expect for now...That being said, this will make for a great comeback story when they show up for an upcoming spinoff season...

8: Brent Street. I honestly feel that they peaked at their audition, and have been getting slightly less interesting with each round...But just know that even at their weakest, they're still one of the best dance groups we've ever seen on this show, and they would totally rank a fair bit higher on an average night...They just need to keep pushing the envelope instead of relying on the tricks we already know they're capable of...

7: Roni Sagi & Rhythm. Maybe it's for the not-amazing expectations I set for them going in, but they managed to compel me a little bit tonight...That being said, if I were to ever pay to see a dog show in Vegas, that show would still be Adrian and Hurricane...

6: Learnmore Jonasi. Great use of props with the feathers and his own glasses...Not much else to say that I haven't last time...I still don't think he's the comedian to break the curse on this show (especially against one or two other performers in this line-up), but he sure has made his mark among the OTHER comedians that made that attempt...And he has the best hair and most dapper suits!

5: AIRFOOTWORKS. This is a fine example of an act that took a step BACKWARDS from their last performance...but was still very impressive! They set such a high bar (pun WAY intended), with the last set, with all of its videomapping effects mixed with their moves, that taking it out only made it a LITTLE disappointing...Still, if this was what they did for the Quarters, I think Howie and Simon STILL would have fought to press the button for them, and if they did that other set tonight (still the best performance of the entire season!), it would have been one of the hottest streaks in AGT history! In the end, while this step backwards compromised their place in THIS list, this is still overall my favorite act of the entire season! ...Which means they're probably gonna end up in Third...

4: Richard Goodall. Kinda pigeonholing himself as the Journey Guy, but why stray away from what works for you...? I think he's gonna win this season, and thankfully I'm no longer crinkling my nose at the prospect like I was a few weeks ago...He's not the BEST singer ever...Hell, I'd say Dee Dee is overall a much superior vocalist...But there is something about his modest, mild-mannered persona that really resonates...Chances are, you've probably met a few men like him somewhere...He may be a janitor, or a retail clerk, or just some guy on the bus...But to see one of those guys able to belt out these classic 80s rock ballads is almost the perfect representation of what this show is ALLEGEDLY about...I don't know this guy's full story, but I can certainly believe that beyond the overall strong vocals, he's just a humble average joe trying to make a living...And I have mad respect for that! So I wish him the best of luck REGARDLESS of how things turn out next week, and accept him as this season's potential winner...

3: Sky Elements. They really came into their own last week, and pushed the effects even farther here! Obviously, this act isn't made to sustain in Vegas, but it makes a great sky display...They'll be a smash for 4th of July festivities! Although half of it seemed less “American Dream”, and more “Magic of Reading”. Still, it was very effective, and provides an example of a “Greatest Showman” song working pretty well for the set...

2: Solange Kardinaly. Now THIS is someone I am happy to call my Golden Buzzer! Once more, everything was slick and seamless, and she threw in a few bonus effects like the doll...THIS is how you do a quick-change act!

1: Hakuna Matata Acrobatic. This is #1 on the list, because they stepped their act up (and out) more than anyone else tonight! They had crazy new formations, new tricks, everything! This is pretty much the opposite of how their friends the Ramadhani Brothers progressed last year, relying on the same overall trick...And even with that one little stumble at the beginning, Hakuna Matata! They just kept going and gave us quite possibly the best acrobatic performance I've EVER seen on this show! It's hard to say where they'll place next week, but I would like to hope that the voters realize how amazing this is and at the very least put them in the Top 5...But even if they don't...Well, there's a certain song from a certain Disney movie set in Africa that still rings true! ...It's called “Be Prepared”! As in, be prepared to be disappointed...Just kidding; You know what I'm trying to say!

If this wasn't the most consistent Final, it is certainly in the Top 3 at the VERY least! I was ready to be pissed off this season, but I think it might actually work out okay...

Predicting where everyone will place will be even harder than ranking them...Some of them America hasn't even had the chance to actually vote for yet, so it's hard to tell how much they like each of them overall...But regardless of how things turn out, there's pretty much a case to be made with EVERYONE...So...(Sigh...) Here we go!

Results Prediction:

10: Roni Sagi & Rhythm

9: Sebastian & Sonia

8: Dee Dee Simon

7: Learnmore Jonasi

6: Brent Street

5: Hakuna Matata Acrobatic

4: Sky Elements

3: AIRFOOTWORKS

2: Solange Kardinaly

1: Richard Goodall

I really have no idea WHY they decided to have us wait an extra week, as I don't even see anything listed tomorrow that would conflict with a two-hour finale...But it is what it is...If this is what they see as the ideal way to go, then who am I to question their decisions!?

Edit: I just read that the show decided to air the results a week later, and it wasn't live. People speculate that this was to avoid having to compete with the "Survivor" season premiere...So...People are still watching that...? Enough to be a threat to AGT...? Whatever...Forgive me for not knowing this at the time, as I was still kinda offline...

All I can say is...while I know this show doesn't tend to follow through with satisfying payoffs...it would be the wasted opportunity of the millennium if they don't have Journeyy the contestant make a cameo with Journey the band! I know they're obviously performing with Richard, but SOMEBODY needs to point out this coincidence!

Also, Michael Buble, “Magic Mike”, and some other artists that I may or may not be familiar with and will have to watch and be like, “Oh, THAT artist!” Par for the course with these finales...

So, with everything said...Here's to a hopefully satisfying finale...

[mashitandsmashit]

AGT Season 19: Semi-Finals

A presidential debate (pushing this week's show up a day), the VMAs (same night), Emmys, and Fallon golfing with Khaled!? TO HELL WITH ALL THAT!!! THIS is the television event of the week! It's the AGT Semi-Finals!

12: Young-Min. Uhhh...Is it too late to switch my Golden Buzzer over to Solange...? I guess so...(Shame I'm not a REAL judge, then the producers would have talked me into that direction instead...) Honestly, despite my earlier praises, our Asian Tommy Wiseau HAS been getting SMALLER with each performance instead of BIGGER...Tonight it reached a head with him relying on a fake firefly for all his tricks...It looked like a cat trying to catch that magic beam of light being shone around the room...And that dim blue lighting isn't helping things either (it was a minor issue I had with the last performance as well...) Finally, he had ONE decent trick with the clothes, but even THAT looks like a desperate ploy to compete with his magical rival tonight...This beats out Drake Milligan repeating his audition song as the biggest letdown I've EVER had from one of my pretend Golden Buzzers!

11: Pranysqa Mishra. Same as last week...Nice, ballad-y rendition of a modern pop song, generically nice voice, etc...

10: Alex Sampson. He never was an amazing singer, but he sure knows how to write some earworms...His audition song is STILL stuck in my head (along with that Wyn Starks song thanks to Kelsey...) This one wasn't QUITE so catchy, but it had a nice little premise...Still, I quickly forgot about him as the night went on...

9: Roni Sagi & Rhythm. On a weaker night than this, they'd definitely be higher up the list...But as it is, I must admit that I find this act rather overrated...It's basically Sara & Hero, but if the dog was EXTRA-hyper...I can definitely see them getting votes, but I'm not sure if it will be enough this time, considering how many contenders they're up against...

8: Kelsey Jane. Again, nothing SUPER-new, but I get where the charm is with her...She may not be Aidan-Bryant-caliber (A-B-C), but she has her own unique identity with the emotional song choices and graceful, elegant moves...And again, you gotta give her mad props for being so committed to juggling TWO tough jobs...(I guess that's her REAL talent! I can barely juggle ONE job!)

7: Reid Wilson. I guess throw this in with that Robyn song in the category of slowed-down covers of pop songs about dancing taking on a new meaning...Here we see a poor teen at the prom looking for a date...This didn't quite blow me away like his last performance, but I still think this kid's one of the best vocalists of the season...Nonetheless, I'm not sure if it will be enough to earn him the advance this time, again, considering who he's up against...

6: Learnmore Jonasi. As usual, a lot of the humor is in his delivery...But a relatable topic also helps, and what's more relatable than pets, even for those who never owned one!?

5: Ashes & Arrows. Well, it's good to see at least ONE of my Golden Buzzers actually deliver! While I didn't find the song QUITE as rousing as the last one, they still know how to harmonize their hearts out! Out of everyone in the first half of the show, they are the one act that I would consider a lock...

4: Solange Kardinaly. I was reluctant to concur with the judges on her being the best quick-change act after the uniqueness that Lea Kyle gave us before...After this performance, I am finally jumping on that bandwagon! Smooth, slick, seamless, and overall entertaining! THIS is the answer I have to myself about five years ago when I dismissed all of these acts outright! And honestly, with all of the hype she has online, if there's one performer who COULD take the obvious win away from a certain janitor (who we'll get to in a moment), it's her!

3: Brent Street. Still one of the best-choreographed dance groups I've EVER seen...Still, this performance didn't have any big surprises like we've seen from them before...Still, I'll be pulling for them to make the Finals tomorrow! ...STILL!!!

2: Richard Goodall. Now THIS is more like it! I was rough on him last time, but only because for this season's projected winner, I expected more than just overly-nervous, flat-noted takes on old ballads like we've seen from countless singers in the past on this show...But if the last performance was the original “Rocky” where he loses, but manages to get up to fight another day, this one was “Rocky II” where he overcame the odds and delivered a massive K.O.! Still, he's ANYTHING but an underdog in THIS competition...Only difference now is, his near-imminent victory next week is looking a LOT more justified...Congrats, Richard! You have officially redeemed yourself!

1: Sky Elements. Man, to put this literally RIGHT after Learnmore was like the ultimate mood whiplash! It's like they LITERALLY wanted us to laugh AND cry between the span of two commercial breaks! And make no mistake...I DID tear up at this one! Between the backstory, the visuals, the music, I actually found myself blubbering like a whale! There's just something about dead kids that hits me right in the feels...But beyond even the emotional aspect, the visuals were top-notch, and told the exact story they needed to tell! This was hands down their best display, and any doubt I had from the not-quite-live aspect of this act getting them into the Finals has all-but evaporated!

Well, the show started off a little lacking, but literally picked up around the second half! Then it became one highlight after another! Basically, I predict the acts in the second half of the show being the passing ones tomorrow, only replace Reid with A&A...

Results Prediction:

12: Young-Min

11: Alex Sampson

10: Pranysqa Mishra

9: Reid Wilson

8: Kelsey Jane

7: Roni Sagi & Rhythm

6: Learnmore Jonasi

5: Brent Street

4: Ashes & Arrows

3: Sky Elements

2: Solange Kardinaly

1: Richard Goodall

I can even already picture the match-ups! The magicians, the strapping singer-songwriters, Heidi's Golden Buzzers, Howie's Golden Buzzers, the “up in the air” acts, and the dog vs. the guy who told jokes about dogs...It just writes itself!

Also, we'll see how well a talented acrobatic contortionist gels with an equally talented European vocalist...All this and more...tomorrow!

---

Sara and Sophie went about as well as expected...One got to sing an original song, and sing it well...And the other got to do a few tricks above her head...Still a WAY better performance partner than the Black Eyed Peas...

And now for the results...First of all, it was super-cruel of them to call a ten-year-old to the stage and then have her wait through a commercial break AND a video package before telling her she didn't make the cut...I guess she at least had a cute dog to keep her company...?

Speaking of the dog...I take my job of predicting this show's outcomes VERY seriously! ...But there's usually that ONE act that kinda throws me, and I feel that I made a mistake in underestimating their odds...This week, that act was Roni & Rhythm...Being that they were the first to advance, I immediately proceeded to re-calculate, and try to figure out which of the six acts I initially predicted would NOT be making the cut after all...I cycled through a few candidates, even Richard at one point...(I wondered if the voters suddenly turned on him because his song wasn't ballad-y enough...)

Sadly, it ended up being my Golden Buzzer that DIDN'T royally disappoint last night, Ashes & Arrows...I am very, as Simon would say, “gutted” by this result...This DOES mean that there are only two singing acts in the Finals next week (both being Heidi GBs), but I figured there would be room for one more, especially if it was a band instead of a solo performer...

Saddened as I may be though, there are other acts that I would have honestly been even sadder to see leave at this stage (the only thing sadder than Sky Elements' performance last night would have been seeing them eliminated after they poured their hearts into it), and they all made it!

Still, I feel left out having no GB in the Finals, when everyone else ON the show has at least one. (Even Sophia, who saw both of her initial GBs unceremoniously tossed aside in the same week, has an act to fall back on and say, “Oh well...Hakuna Matata!”) So I know I'm pretty much making the rules up as I go, but the judges all had a third GB, and since I dub myself the FIFTH judge...or sixth, behind the freaking audience, I guess...I shall allow myself to pick one more...

Of course, there are only two to choose from that don't already have someone else's golden seal of approval...But I feel good enough for ONE of them, that I think she deserves it!

My final Golden Buzzer of the season is, of course...Solange Kardinaly!

Yes, after spending quite a few years dismissing quick-change acts on this show, I have finally reached the point that I am willing to fully endorse one of them! And again, even if she doesn't win this season, she seems to have a solid chance of being Second or Third! So here's to a good final performance from her, and I wish her the best of luck!

As for Roni & Rhythm...Well, if my old friend FrankDoc was around, I'd let HIM have them...They're not my favorite dog act ever, but they're certainly worthy as far as dog acts go...

So all things considered, this is looking like a pretty good Top 10! And now that we have it, let's predict next week's running-order...

1: Dee Dee Simon

2: Brent Street

3: Hakuna Matata Acrobatic

4: Roni Sagi & Rhythm

5: Solange Kardinaly

6: Sebastian & Sonia

7: Learnmore Jonasi

8: AIRFOOTWORKS

9: Richard Goodall

10: Sky Elements

Now I shall rank their odds to the best of my ability...

10: Roni Sagi & Rhythm

9: Hakuna Matata Acrobatic

8: Sebastian & Sonia

7: Dee Dee Simon

6: Sky Elements

5: Brent Street

4: AIRFOOTWORKS

3: Learnmore Jonasi

2: Solange Kardinaly

1: Richard Goodall

And finally, here is my ranking based on how much I'll be rooting for them...And mind you, I'm ranking from good to fantastic!

10: Roni Sagi & Rhythm

9: Learnmore Jonasi

8: Dee Dee Simon

7: Hakuna Matata Acrobatic

6: Sebastian & Sonia

5: Richard Goodall

4: Sky Elements

3: Solange Kardinaly

2: Brent Street

1: AIRFOOTWORKS

See you next week for the end of...Wait...(Looks at schedule.) Oh...The results will be the week after...Stupid election season...

Well, anyway, see you next week for the final competitive performances...Yup...

[mashitandsmashit]

AGT Season 19: Quarter-Finals 4

11: L6. They didn't take the judges' advice to go acapella, and they sounded incredibly pitchy! They're lucky that Simon's such a sucker for “Greatest Showman”, or he might not have defended them like he did...We'll just see if their typhoon story suckers in votes...

10: Tonikaku. This guy knows what he is...It's stupid and pointless, but it's good for a chuckle before he inevitably gets the ax tomorrow...But at least he'll still be WEARING PANTS!!!

9: Jonathan Burns. Again, humdrum magic topped by a funny personality...I'll give him points for MILD improvement though, because after that lame-ass cheese trick, you can only get better...

8: Oscar Stembridge. Like Alex Sampson, he's got one of the most perfect faces ever, and he's a capable singer and songwriter...This wasn't at the level of his last song, and he mumbled through much of it...But he had a decent guitar solo near the end!

7: Stephanie Rainey. I wasn't SUPER-impressed by her last song, because it sounded like a wake...This one at least went a little more upbeat (albeit still quite dramatic). Still, it lacked the emotional impact of the last song, and her voice wasn't quite as interesting this time...Pretty much all of the singers came and went tonight (regardless of Simon's efforts to prop ALL of them up). She was no exception...And what better way to drive away votes than to promise a repeat of her audition for the next round...Usually they wait for the Finals to do that!

6: Pranysqa Mishra. I suppose she WAS the best overall vocalist tonight...Which isn't saying much...In the end though, she was pretty much interchangeable with every other girl singer her age...Nice and shiny voice doing a nice and shiny ballad version of a modern pop song...They're REALLY trying to prop up all of Heidi's GB singers, but Dee Dee's still the only one who REALLY delivered in this round...

5: Erica Rhodes. Not as funny as her last set...But I still like HER...

4: Sebastian & Sonia. Well, I pretty much called it with Simon's GB choice, and I can tell that he intended to give it to them one way or another! Real shame for the circumstances, and I give Sebastian mad props for assuring that the show must go on...With that, I can forgive THIS performance for being rather generic on its own...I'm sure they would have earned the GB all the more if Sonia was able to participate...But as it is, I think it was the right thing to do, A: because it will keep America from voting for them out of sheer pity, and B: because they'll have TWO weeks to (hopefully) recover, instead of just one...And I'll be pulling for Sonia's speedy recovery so that we can see the act in its full glory for the Finals...

3: Illya & Anastasia Strakhov. So while we're on the subject of danger acts, let's once more talk about how thankless being a contestant on this show can be! I feel like “stepping it up” can be a very overrated and honestly quite intangible achievement on this show...It seems that only the judges get to dictate what truly is “stepping it up”, even when you add more things to the act that increase the stakes...Worst of all, they don't even need to back up their claims; Just say, “Meh, I think you could have done more...” I think it should be less about “stepping up”, and more about “stepping out”! Less about simply adding more of the same to the act, and more about showing something new that can effectively up the stakes! With that criteria in mind, I am very satisfied with what Illya pulled off! I was at the edge of my seat the whole time! Still, Howie DOES raise a good point that despite her name being in the title of the act, Ana's not really doing anything beyond watching her husband risk his life...

2: Solange Kardinaly. I'm still not sure if I would call this the BEST quick-change act...But to be fair, Lea Kyle's performances got a little hit and miss as well...As for THIS beauty, she's definitely upping the tricks from before...Still, there were one or two occasions where it appeared that she had trouble activating her fold-out dresses, and I find myself waiting a little impatiently for something to happen...Technical hiccups aside, this was definitely one of the more memorable performances tonight, and now that I see how big a hit her audition video was, I realize now that she's likely going to be one of the acts to beat this year...

1: Brent Street. This whole episode was an exercise in patience...They put what is CLEARLY the best act of the bunch at the beginning so that Simon could nitpick them for having a slightly more gradual build-up to the total awesomeness that made up most of the performance! It's telling that Howie was actually BEGGING him to steal his GB! But nope...Let's put the awesome dance act and super-dangerous balancing act at the beginning of the show and nitpick little insignificant things from them while putting some little girl on a pedestal for simply belting out a song everyone knows...That's pretty much this show in a nutshell...

Hands down the weakest and most frustrating show of the season, mainly for putting the most exciting acts at the beginning (and letting Simon nitpick them), and ending on a generic child singer! It's nights like this that make me seriously consider quitting this show, because I get so sick of the preferential treatment, both from the judges AND the voters (each having different biases...) Still...I want to see how Season 20 goes...So I guess I'll stick with this show for now...

Also, Terry looked like a big black leprechaun...

Results Prediction:

10: Tonikaku

9: Jonathan Burns

8: Illya & Anastasia Strakhov

7: Stephanie Rainey

6: L6

5: Oscar Stembridge

4: Erica Rhodes

3: Brent Street

2: Pranysqa Mishra

1: Solange Kardinaly

Tomorrow, it's the return of the Doren-Boss!

---

I think with all of the pre-filmed bits the Bossman does, he should get his own TV show to do this kind of stuff for extra cash...Though I would respectfully request that he get a haircut first; He looked good with it short...But I guess if he wants to rock the mullet look, he can get away with it...

I'll admit, I was a little cranky last night...But I feel better now that I've seen that the voters didn't let Simon keep them from putting through Brent Street, and even Simon walking back his negativity from the night before...Hell, Illya & Anastasia even made the Top 5!

I'll admit, the Top 5 was exactly who I predicted it would be going into this week...I just started to feel a little pessimistic for Illya & Anastasia's chances after how unceremoniously they were treated last night...But I called it with the other four, as well as the three passing acts!

And so we move on to the Semi-Finals! I haven't gotten the full scoop yet on how this round is going to work; How many acts will advance, if they're doing one last Golden Buzzer, or if there will be a wildcard selection of some sort...But I WILL go ahead and make my OWN golden announcement!

That's right! My Golden Buzzers have been selected for this season! I figured it would be okay to select them for the Semis, and if they play their cards right, they could BOTH potentially be finalists, or even Top 5!

My Golden Buzzer selections are...

(...Drumroll...)

...Ashes & Arrows...

...and Young-Min!

A solid folk band with hearty songs and strong, earthy vocals, and a unique, mesmerizing magician with an almost emotional resonance! Both have earned their spots in this round, and both have the right aspects to win votes into the Finals!

So with that said, it's time to predict next week's running-order...

1: Pranysqa Mishra

2: Roni Sagi & Rhythm

3: Alex Sampson

4: Solange Kardinaly

5: Ashes & Arrows

6: Learnmore Jonasi

7: Sky Elements

8: Kelsey Jane

9: Reid Wilson

10: Young-Min

11: Richard Goodall

12: Brent Street

Now for their odds...A little tricky to call, since we've had no clear indication who ranked where for each respective week...

12: Alex Sampson

11: Roni Sagi & Rhythm

10: Pranysqa Mishra

9: Reid Wilson

8: Kelsey Jane

7: Solange Kardinaly

6: Young-Min

5: Ashes & Arrows

4: Sky Elements

3: Brent Street

2: Learnmore Jonasi

1: Richard Goodall

I guess it all comes down to how they each fare...Except for Richard; He's good to go no matter HOW he does...

And finally, how much I'll be rooting for each of them...

12: Alex Sampson

11: Pranysqa Mishra

10: Kelsey Jane

9: Roni Sagi & Rhythm

8: Reid Wilson

7: Solange Kardinaly

6: Learnmore Jonasi

5: Richard Goodall

4: Sky Elements

3: Ashes & Arrows

2: Young-Min

1: Brent Street

Here's to a good Semi-Final!

[mashitandsmashit]

AGT Season 19: Quarter-Finals 3

11: Sam Huang. Look, the finger thing is neat, but even by close-up magic standards, this is a VERY small act...Again, does anyone really want to pay to see a big stage show of some guy playing with his hands...? (Sorry, Shadow Ace...) Still, while my faith in him wasn't the highest leading up to this week, since Young-Min already made it through, the judges' reception was positive enough that he's now pretty much already advanced...So I guess we'll have TWO of these guys competing in the Semis, and going in, the other guy is definitely my preferential favorite...

10: Journeyy. Is this the season of flat balladeers getting better reception than they should!? After how much I enjoyed his last song, I was hoping he would go BIGGER, with a band or something, not do some downbeat piano cover of a Bob Marley song...But the judges loved it, and I can definitely see the voters following their example...I mean, they already gave Richard AND Alex an easy pass, so why not this kid, even though there's a much better child singer on the same night...?

9: The Reklaws. The song in their audition was probably my favorite original of the season (except maybe Liv's song from Prince, but that's in the past now...) So for them to enter more generic country party jam territory is a bit of a step down...Still, the song was catchy, and I'm sure the Heartland will help them in the votes regardless of what the judges say...

8: Menudo. I guess these kids are SLIGHTLY better than, say, Gforce from a few years back, which isn't really high praise so much as it's calling them a guilty pleasure...I give them points over Reklaws for the prodigy factor, but I'm not gonna pretend like it was high art or anything...

7: Kelsey Jane. Does Sophia even realize the song was from the audition of an AGT contestant from just two years ago that she liked!? Honestly, the emotional song choices are the most interesting thing ABOUT this lady's performances! It sure stands out a lot more than some dark, foreboding cover of an old pop song...Otherwise, this was quite forgettable...I admire the homegrown nature of the act, but again, she's no Aidan Bryant...

6: Jelly Boy the Clown. The main issue with this performance was that it was just too short! When he was returning to the stage, I was expecting a big intense climax, not for Terry to announce his name to wrap it up...Still, he definitely made an impression with the sandwich thing...But from someone like him, I expect a LOT more!

5: Sabrina. Comparing them to Mayyas is just not fair...Avantgardey, maybe, but not Mayyas...They're definitely not at the level of EITHER of those groups, but they still put their all into it, were technically flawless, and had a Lindsey Stirling track to boot! (Yeah, any Lindsey Stirling track is automatic points from me!)

4: Learnmore Jonasi. An improvement from his audition; I chuckled at parts...Still, I highly doubt that THIS is gonna be the guy to break the comedian curse on this show...

3: Reid Wilson. His voice was just as powerful, and he seems to be improving his nerves onstage! Not much else to say...I just dread when he hits puberty...

2: Dee Dee Simon. I almost wanna tie her with Reid, but she's definitely more mature and seasoned...And she's definitely pigeonholed herself as the lady who takes her shoes off while singing...No real argument against Heidi's GB choice (except that it's ANOTHER female singer). It's just that there's one other performer who came right after her that I GREATLY would have preferred...

1: Maya Neelakantan. I DID originally root for NiNi over her, because she seemed a little more dynamic...But as the two's performances have shown, sometimes less is more! (And when “less” involves one of Metallica's greatest songs, that says a lot!) I just REALLY wish she got the Golden Buzzer, because I don't have complete faith in the voters giving her what she deserves when they have two child singers, a close-up magician, and a comedian who all got the same amount of praise, and even a boyband and country duo who didn't, to choose from...I dread that Maya's just gonna be treated as another throwaway novelty act that's edged out in favor of several more generic types of talent that America votes for time and time again...She deserves better than that! (But of course, so did Liv Warfield and Bboy Samuka...) I just hope she'll at LEAST make the Top 5 tomorrow, then even if she doesn't advance, I can forgive the voters a little bit...

With a line-up like this, tonight was bound to be a mixed bag...Still, a FEW managed to stand out...

Results Prediction:

10: Jelly Boy the Clown

9: Kelsey Jane

8: Menudo

7: Sabrina

6: The Reklaws

5: Maya Neelakantan

4: Journeyy

3: Reid Wilson

2: Learnmore Jonasi

1: Sam Huang

---

I think Loren and Lauren are a fine example of a shiny, perfectly nice, and utterly bland performance...I honestly don't attribute that to our “Greatest Showman” breakout, as she is usually fairly compelling to listen to, and I know the other one is responsible for one of the blandest pop ballads that almost always tricks me at first into thinking it's Adele...So of course they performed that song...I probably would have preferred the millionth round of “Never Enough”...

As for the results, well, I guess I'll have to let things slide with America as promised, as not only did Maya make the Top 5, she made it in over the acts I was most afraid were gonna top her by clear virtue of America's bias...Granted, she didn't advance, but at least she came fairly close...And so far, she's my favorite potential wildcard choice (assuming they're even doing that this year...)

I guess I wasn't the only one who wasn't impressed by Sam's fake finger prop...Actually, after watching him back, I realize how lame it really is! I initially had him at #8 on the list, but now I'm moving him dead last! I didn't get a good look at the fake finger before, but now that I have, I have a pretty good idea what his trick is, and that is NOT something a magician should do!

And despite what I said last night, I didn't really hate Journeyy's performance that much...He was a little hit and miss, but he hit a few decent notes near the end...His singing is...Billie Eilish standards...Not great, but perfectly passable as far as his style goes...So good on him making the Top 5, even though he didn't make it through either...

As for the three that did, no surprise for two of them...But despite everything, we still had ONE underestimated upset named Kelsey Jane...I COMPLETELY dismissed her chances, particularly with the lukewarm reception she got the night before...But I can only assume that with all the attitude the show's gotten lately for PRETENDING to discover new talent for the first time, only for it to be revealed later that said talent is already fairly well-established, she must REALLY appeal to fans of the self-taught and homegrown who have a day-job...Same reason why the odds-on favorite to win this season appears to be a singing janitor...At this point, I won't be surprised if Kelsey ends up being the Anna DeGuzman of the season and makes, like, Second Place or something (even though the aerial act performing NEXT week appears superior as far as I've seen so far, and looks like a real contender for Simon's GB...)

On a side note, this week's Top 5 all had the nicest smiles (INCLUDING the dentist)! I wonder if she talked to Reid about his braces...

Now onto next week...Let's try to predict the running-order...

1: Pranysqa Mishra

2: Jonathan Burns

3: Oscar Stembridge

4: Erica Rhodes

5: Sebastian & Sonia

6: L6

7: Solange Kardinaly

8: Tonikaku

9: Illya & Anastasia Strakhov

10: Stephanie Rainey

11: Brent Street

...Their odds...

11: Tonikaku

10: Jonathan Burns

9: L6

8: Stephanie Rainey

7: Oscar Stembridge

6: Erica Rhodes

5: Illya & Anastasia Strakhov

4: Pranysqa Mishra

3: Solange Kardinaly

2: Sebastian & Sonia

1: Brent Street

...And how much I'll be rooting for them...

11: L6

10: Jonathan Burns

9: Tonikaku

8: Oscar Stembridge

7: Stephanie Rainey

6: Pranysqa Mishra

5: Erica Rhodes

4: Solange Kardinaly

3: Illya & Anastasia Strakhov

2: Sebastian & Sonia

1: Brent Street

Actually, if Simon doesn't pick the aerialists...Well...He tried to steal Howie's GB once already this season...And they never said a judge couldn't steal someone ELSE'S GB...

[mashitandsmashit]

AGT Season 19: Quarter-Finals 2

11: Brooke Bailey. Once again, Simon knows what he's talking about when it comes to singing...I was pretty much falling asleep during the first two thirds, and then when she finally hit those big notes near the end, I woke up! Shame most of it was so forgettable, because I can tell she's a solid vocalist...

10: Alex Sampson. I'll have to give this another watch, because I was talking to someone during this performance...But from what I could hear, the nerves were REALLY getting to him, and the song wasn't quite as memorable as the last one...Still, he's got a very unique style and one of the most perfect faces I've ever seen...Won't be too surprised if he makes the Top 5 tomorrow...

9: Biko's Manna. Very nice, very positive, they're adorable and have a nice harmony...Still, compared to most of the other acts tonight, I certainly wouldn't say this was a winning act...

8: Schumacher. Again, I can't help but wonder what Simon was expecting...As for me, they gave me EXACTLY what I expected and THEN some! Very inspirational! In fact, I think I'll go form a centaur with someone right now!

7: Legión. I guess I forgot about this act pretty quickly as the night went on, but I still think they deserve more credit than they got here...They're kinda like Malevo, but a bit more amateurish...Still, Malevo doesn't utilize this much fire! If nothing else, they'd make great backup dancers for Puss in Boots...

6: Ashlee Montague. Similar deal with her...I think the live aspect made this all the more intense over her audition, and she certainly followed the principle of “When in doubt, add fire!” Still, I suppose I can see Howie's point of repetition...The only question is, where was this point last year during half of the Ramadhani Brothers' performances...?

5: NiNi. Honestly, I think I could have used more in some parts, and less in others...It can kinda get all over the place...Still, her adorability is sure to draw in some votes...We'll just see how she fares tomorrow...

4: Sky Elements. This act does present a pretty big conundrum; When you can't perform live on the stage, there can be a real disconnect with the audience...This might prove to-

WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG TO GIVE YOU A TWO-HOUR DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION!

-be a problem for them in the votes...Still, they have a good shot at making it tomorrow...But it's not a guarantee either...

3: Young-Min. Similar to Yu Hojin, he didn't quite impress Simon in the auditions, but turned it around in the lives! And I think he's quickly surpassing Yu as the best magician on the show since Shin Lim! I'd love to see him go bigger, but for now, he did his job!

2: Bboy Samuka. It's official: He's even better than Musa Motha! I guess it's appropriate that he was at the Olympics, because this was Olympic-standard!

1: AIRFOOTWORKS. Really, who cares who hit the GB first!? Isn't it enough that an amazing and deserving act has been sent into the Finals!? No...? We're just gonna keep going on about Simon ALMOST stealing Howie's GB for the second time...? I mean, at this point, NOTHING he does is gonna surprise me...As for this act, they followed the lead of their mentor by working in some slick video-mapping for the lives...Everything came together seamlessly, and I hereby declare this the best performance I've seen so far this season! I almost want to claim them as MY Golden Buzzer!

A lot of mixed opinions for most of these acts, but I guess it's a good sign when even the weakest of them has SOMETHING great in it...Overall, another solid night...I just hope the results will be more satisfying than last week...

Results Prediction:

10: Schumacher

9: Brooke Bailey

8: Legión

7: Biko's Manna

6: Ashlee Montague

5: Alex Sampson

4: NiNi

3: Sky Elements

2: Young-Min

1: Bboy Samuka

---

(After two hours of ANOTHER DNC...)

Well, I'm sad to see Ashlee, NiNi and Samuka go...Otherwise...pretty predictable results...It also looks like they're still trying to settle on a formula for these results shows...

Anyway, props to Mat Franco and his magic spinning wheel...(I hypothesize there was a magnet in it or something...? At least I don't KNOW the trick, which always helps!) And after that bit with Shin Lim, maybe we'll see HIM back at some point this season...?

Onto next week! Here's my most educated guess at the running-order...

1: Sabrina

2: Journeyy

3: Sam Huang

4: Menudo

5: Kelsey Jane

6: Learnmore Jonasi

7: The Reklaws

8: Maya Neelakantan

9: Dee Dee Simon

10: Jelly Boy the Clown

11: Reid Wilson

...My closest approximation of their odds...

11: Jelly Boy the Clown

10: Sabrina

9: Menudo

8: Sam Huang

7: Kelsey Jane

6: Journeyy

5: Dee Dee Simon

4: Maya Neelakantan

3: Learnmore Jonasi

2: Reid Wilson

1: The Reklaws

...And my ranking based on how much I'll be rooting for them...

11: Dee Dee Simon

10: Sam Huang

9: Menudo

8: Kelsey Jane

7: Journeyy

6: Sabrina

5: The Reklaws

4: Jelly Boy the Clown

3: Reid Wilson

2: Learnmore Jonasi

1: Maya Neelakantan

Nobody I'm straight-up rooting AGAINST...But only one act I'm THAT eager to see again...

[mashitandsmashit]

AGT Season 19: Quarter-Finals 1

We're back from Paris (boy do I wish), and the live shows have begun! Let's talk about tonight's acts...

11: Richard Goodall. Yup...This season's proposed golden boy who's clearly being built up as this year's winner was hands down my least favorite act of the night! It honestly felt insulting giving him the pimp spot compared to several other acts tonight, because after watching just about everybody else bring their A-game, here comes Richard, looking lost, singing a cheesy old ballad by a cheesy old artist...And mind you, despite everything, Michael Bolton has his charms, not the least of which is an amazing singing voice that still sounds pretty damn good to this day! Richard has a good voice as well...But it didn't gel with this song, as made evident in all of the cracks in his voice...And now the judges are trying to make excuses for these flaws that they acknowledged...It's like Kevin Skinner all over again! And what's more, he now has that story with his wife in the hospital to score extra cheap votes...Now I'm used to great VARIETY acts getting screwed over in favor of a subpar performance like this, but it's become even more glaring than ever tonight, when we have other musicians writing their OWN songs and putting on excellent singing performances! (Well, I guess one of them DIDN'T write the song...BUT FREAKING PRINCE DID! FOR HER!!!) We'll get to these artists when we get to them, but they were like actual MUSICIANS tonight, musicians that I might actually pay to see in Vegas even, whereas Richard was like every other generic cover singer we've seen on this show over the years...Is this really the one destined to win this year!?

10: Los Osos High School. This was hands down the only act I wasn't really looking forward to seeing again tonight...But I kept an open mind throughout, and all things considered, I think they did alright...Still a pretty generic dance group, but I can tell they were at least putting their all into the choreography, which is respectable...Hell, even though Howie's still not impressed, he called them a “high school halftime show”. Honestly, that's kind of an upgrade from “dance recital”.

9: Phillip Lewis. I probably would have ranked him dead last if it weren't for the fire trick at the end...Dropping the batons (even several times) is one thing; I pretty much expected it...But it took a while for him to perform any tricks at the level of what we saw at his audition...That said, the fire did give him a moment (albeit a brief one) to step things up...Final verdict: Decent, but not a highlight for this week...

8: Flewnt and Inkabee. Sometimes I feel like the audience is only further complimenting Simon's opinions by booing him, and may even make them sound more negative than he intended them to be...And it can REALLY be a nail in the coffin for an act that was never really a contender to begin with...There's a definite cheese factor to a father-son rap duo, and both of them would benefit more in the music industry if they each went solo...But as an AGT act, they did the best they could, and gave us some fun jams! They won't advance tomorrow, but I wish them the best nonetheless...

7: Roni Sagi & Rhythm. “Don't Stop Me Now” AGAIN!? What, was the end of “Bohemian Rhapsody” too depressing that you had to switch songs partway through!? Look, as far as dog acts go, this is...ONE of the best...I still don't like it as much as Adrian and Hurricane, because they mixed the tricks with telling stories and performing amusing slapstick, whereas this is just a lady doing choreographed tricks with a REALLY hyper dog! On a weaker night than this, I could see them making my Top 3 or so, but compared with the Top 6 in THIS list, I don't think it was THAT big a standout for me...Still, she ALSO has a sob story with a hospitalized relative that will surely draw in votes...So we'll see how it evens out with her controversial views on Hamas...

6: Arshiya. Well, contrary to what my “advice to the producers” ORIGINALLY was, Roni and Rhythm weren't really THAT heartfelt tonight, and if there's ONE thing that made Richard work as the closer, it was coming right after this Halloween Horror Nights theater display! This kid definitely upped the scares as well as the contortions! My only criticism was that the lights were a little too glaring...I barely saw her face when she peeked out from under the bed, and didn't quite get to fully grasp the gruesome effect of her pulling that fake skin off her face...Still, everything else was exactly what I expected from an act like this! Congratulations! You held up better than Noah Epps and Mariandrea! Now let's see if you can go farther than they did...(Probably not...)

5: Attraction Juniors. From one Halloween act to another...But the last one was more “The Exorcist”, and this one was more “Scooby-Doo” (right down to having a dog at the end). I guess it's a good thing I didn't officially pick this as my GB act, with how early they were in the show (and not even being the opener), and how much Howie wasn't onboard with this performance...Perhaps they won't be a front-runner after all...Still, I really like how they're willing to move away from what these kinds of acts usually do, with their emotional stories and little single-word messages...I had a good time watching this, even if the effects were a little sloppily done...Also, a haunted tree made of hands is probably even creepier than they were going for...At least until it sprouted big, cartoony eyes!

4: Hypers Kids Africa. This may not be a million dollar act, but these kids really do go above and beyond with their dance moves and presentation, right down to continuing the dancing after the performance is over! Again, they “served” a group of older teens tonight!

3: Ashes & Arrows. Once Howie stood up, I knew...These guys just made themselves legitimate contenders in this game! I enjoyed their first song fine, but this one really went full-on Mumford & Sons in the best way possible! Top it off with an amazing lead vocalist and some solid harmonies to compliment him! Something tells me these guys are gonna be a force to be reckoned with in this game...And I'm all onboard for that!

2: Hakuna Matata Acrobatic. Well, I guess THESE guys will have no worries for the rest of their days...until the Finals...I suppose there were a FEW parts where they didn't go quite as far as I was anticipating (like unlocking arms during the head-balancing part, like the Ramadhani Brothers did). But I'm willing to look past all that and say that this was a pretty damn good display! Best parts were the human totem pole and being willing to have another guy's butt in your face for the sake of the craft...A Golden Buzzer well earned! My only regret is that this means we won't see them again until the Finals...Oh well...Hakuna Matata!

1: Liv Warfield. HOW WAS THIS ONLY THE THIRD ACT!? Everything about it screamed closing act...But nooooo, they had to give it to that other guy...But seriously, Liv is everything you want out of a musician! Her voice sounded amazing tonight, she commanded the stage, even with her big band playing, and she did an original with the blessing of the Man in Purple himself (and I ain't talking Thanos or Barney the Dinosaur!) She might actually be the best singer I have EVER seen on this show! So why do they still seem to be pushing some old janitor with such a limited range performing songs we've heard to death!? I don't know, but I hope the voters are willing to see through this bias and vote for one of the few AGT singers I would ACTUALLY pay to see in Vegas!

This was a VERY solid night! It's just that closing act that they're trying to hype up that I'm taking issue with...It's not even that he was terrible...But compared to Liv, or even A&A...The contrast is just night and day!

My Votes: Ten votes each to Liv, A&A, Attraction Juniors, Arshiya...and Hakuna Matata, just to test it...Seriously, you can vote for the act that's already advanced to the Finals! THAT'S how broken the voting system is (almost as bad as our presidential elections!) They need to fix it so that we're not just dumping ten votes on each act we like!

Results Prediction: Despite what I say, voters are too split on Liv's already-established career, so I suppose they'll prefer Richard's homegrown persona...

10: Phillip Lewis

9: Flewnt and Inkabee

8: Arshiya

7: Hypers Kids Africa

6: Los Osos High School

5: Roni Sagi & Rhythm

4: Attraction Juniors

3: Liv Warfield

2: Ashes & Arrows

1: Richard Goodall

See you tomorrow, when we get to further compare this year's dog act to the one that won last year...

---

...Yeah, I still like Adrian and Hurricane more...

The performance was basically what they do best with a very fun set...So kudos!

And I'll start talking about the results by saying: It's clear that Liv was TOO big for this show...A big part of the show's charm is the underdog getting their day in the spotlight...In this case, that underdog is Richard Goodall...I may not agree with the hype surrounding him, but it's clear to me that his base is too big and devoted to let him get any less than the win this season; There's just no stopping it...Liv meanwhile is the exact opposite: A well-established artist who has worked with the likes of Prince, and other big names...She's doing perfectly fine!

There are numerous reasons why I preferred her over Richard...But as it is, all I really want now is for Richard to pick a song that suits his range better next time...That way, his inevitable victory will be SOMEWHAT justified...

At least we ripped this band-aid off quickly, instead of denying it throughout the game...

Still happy for Ashes & Arrows...If they keep up this momentum, they could be this season's runner-up (or at least make the Top 5...) Best wishes to Roni and Rhythm as well...

Now onto next week! Here's my prediction for the running-order...

1: Legión

2: Biko's Manna

3: Bboy Samuka

4: Alex Sampson

5: Ashlee Montague

6: Schumacher

7: Brooke Bailey

8: AIRFOOTWORKS

9: NiNi

10: Young-Min

11: Sky Elements

And now for their odds...I don't think I need to do a detailed analysis this time...

11: Schumacher

10: Biko's Manna

9: Alex Sampson

8: NiNi

7: Ashlee Montague

6: Brooke Bailey

5: Legión

4: Young-Min

3: AIRFOOTWORKS

2: Bboy Samuka

1: Sky Elements

And finally how much I'm rooting for them...

11: Brooke Bailey

10: Alex Sampson

9: Biko's Manna

8: Schumacher

7: Ashlee Montague

6: Legión

5: Bboy Samuka

4: NiNi

3: Young-Min

2: AIRFOOTWORKS

1: Sky Elements

Honestly, it's a close estimate in all three lists...

[mashitandsmashit]

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...

1.Liv Warfield

2.Los Osos High School

3.Phillip Lewis

4.Ashes & Arrows

5.Hypers Kids Africa

6.Flewnt and Inkabee

7.Attraction Juniors

8.Hakuna Matata Acrobatic

9.Arshiya

10.Roni Sagi & Rhythm

11.Richard Goodall

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...

11: Los Osos High School

10: Hypers Kids Africa

9: Phillip Lewis

8: Flewnt and Inkabee

7: Ashes & Arrows

6: Richard Goodall

5: Arshiya

4: Roni Sagi & Rhythm

3: Hakuna Matata Acrobatic

2: Attraction Juniors

1: Liv Warfield

Alright...I guess it's time to look forward to Tuesday! See you then!

[mashitandsmashit]

AGT Season 19: Auditions 7

13: Joey and Jordan. Well...THIS was a mess...But it DID almost manage to be so bad it's funny...ALMOST, I said...

12: Ruben Solo. Yup...They pulled another Ben Trigger on us...And I certainly am shot! The rest of the act had some interesting ideas, but a messy execution...That said, he appears to have demonstrated a decent talent in ventriloquism (assuming he was actually doing those voices live, and it wasn't just a recording...) Maybe he should come back next year, and bring a puppet! Otherwise, this is the second time an Aussie pushed a fakeout Golden Buzzer for himself...

11: The Jerusalem Youth Chorus. We didn't see a WHOLE lot of this act, but overall this seemed like a nice, generic choir...But obviously the judges were drawn in by their story, and that story will help them get farther than they need to...

10: Mervin Mayo. Same with this gentleman, but we saw more of his performance, so that puts him over the choir...There are two types of good singing: There's the INTERESTING kind, that compels you to keep listening intently (as we'll cover later...) And then there's the generic kind; The kind that's undeniably good, but in a bland and shiny way that it serves more as background music while you're lounging on a cruise ship...As you've obviously figured out, this was in the latter category...If it weren't for his background and that nice uniform he happened to be wearing for this audition, they still would have passed him, but wouldn't have committed an entire segment to him, and he would most likely be out before the lives...But once you look past that inspiring background, he just comes off as a poor man's John Legend...And that's not a good thing when it comes to standing out!

9: Insane Shayne. Hey, he DOES look familiar...I know! It's Screech from “Saved by the Bell”! Wow, he hasn't aged a day...(No disrespect to the actor, who died a while back...) Seriously though, he's obviously a very popular TikToker, and what he does is very impressive...That being said, would anyone really wanna watch this for an hour? I don't see how he's gonna expand the act for a Vegas show...Plus it's a damn waste of perfectly good marshmallows! Still, the act went off without a hitch (barring Howie and Sophia's terrible throws), so I'll give him a pass for now...

8: Horse. Yup...I remember this guy...For those unaware, he competed on the show before way back in Season 7...(Oh, how the time flies!) Naturally, it was a ridiculous joke then, and it's still pretty dumb now...But he HAS become quite famous by now, and has grown out a lovely mane of hair and beard...And he seems to be doing good work as a coach and father...And contrary to what Howie said all those years ago, it looks like he had that third child after all (it probably just took a decade off from the act and a LOT of ice!) And on that note, I love how Howie is pretending he doesn't even know this guy, especially after they recently brought back Tone the Chief for that All-Stars season, and he was only a year AFTER Horse...As for the act itself, I can see the demographic, but for my Jackass-y kicks (SOMETIMES in the groin) on this show, I prefer the Lazy Generation...

7: Aleksandr Batuev. Kind of generic as far as contortionist acts go, but as Simon said, between his presence, costume, music choice, and of course the use of the box at the beginning and end, he managed to be entertaining enough that I'll give him a pass for now...

6: Forest of Haunts. Similar to the last entry, it was quite the generic mentalist act...But BOY do I love these characters! It's like “American Horror Story” meets “Five Nights at Freddy's”! I think Olive has them beat so far in the creepy magic act category, but I can only imagine the potential for future performances...

5: Schumacher. I guess with all of the judges getting two Golden Buzzers, it figures one of them would just throw their hands up and give one to something ridiculous...And I guess between all of the weird Japanese guys we've seen this season, this was...my SECOND favorite (behind the balloon guy...) It was stupid, but in a creative way...Extra points for the music! Otherwise, not much else to say...This is one GB act that ain't making it past the first live round...

4: Mia Soleil Sanchez. Fun fact: My groceries arrived just as the show was starting, so I had to bring them in and put them away during this audition...Which gave me an opportunity to look away and just listen to the girl's voice...While I could tell it was a kid singing, she had a very seasoned tone beyond her years! (Although it WAS funny hearing her censor the more profane lyrics Eilish originally put in the song...) Other than that, she had a very nice look (ESPECIALLY those glasses!) She may not have gotten the GB as I originally predicted, but it's telling that I ranked her over the REAL GB of the evening...

3: Dian Rene. For once, Simon stopping the song actually made sense...He CLEARLY was not prepared to do the song choice in English...And with all the drama of him preparing another song and coming back later, I was expecting that HE was gonna get the Golden Buzzer now...And then that other act got it just before he came back...Honestly, I might have actually PREFERRED a singer for once, at least between him and the girl (though that police officer was half-expected to get it too, since he closed out the first hour...) But either way, assuming we don't get another Daniel Emmet situation (and maybe even if we do), he DOES have potential to go far in this game...Aside from his dashing good looks (rivaling the pretty-boys from the last two weeks) and his journey on the show, he has a VERY strong voice and some nice moves to boot! This might actually be one of my favorite singers so far this season!

2: Jabu and Cornelio. Obviously, the point of the segment, and why they showed those two country bros leading up to this act, was to set an example of the WRONG way to do a mash-up duo act, followed by the RIGHT way! I for one am mostly a sucker for some good drummers (or ANY kind of innovative instrumentalist), but the tap dancing was very impressive as well, and they both worked together nicely (plus they showed that they could cover for each other if necessary)! Perhaps Justin Jackson should have teamed up with Timothy Fletcher last season, then the former could have gone farther, and the latter would have had an excuse to be brought back after his outrageous elimination between the audition and the lives...

1: Illya and Anastasia Strakhov. This was my favorite act of the night, because they took an act that can be pretty one-note and hard to maintain, and breathed life into it with an upbeat track and a creative theme with the bar setup and the hitting on the pretty lady bit...On top of all that (pun not intended), the tricks he pulled off while balancing upside-down on a flimsy stack of (possibly thick plastic) glasses was just INSANE! The bottle bit ALSO explains where he got that flat indentation on the top of his head...We'll see how they do in the long run, but if nothing else, they might get some votes for his handsome middle-aged charm and bombshell wife!

Not the best show of the season, but it definitely had a handful of interesting acts if nothing else...And probably the most interesting Golden Buzzer in the history of AGT!

Next week marks the end of the auditions (and will most likely be the last show before we take a two-week hiatus for the Olympics...) Even though they clearly stated that Sophia had the last GB...Well, I wouldn't put it past them to throw in one last surprise Group Golden Buzzer next week...

But if nothing else, there ARE a few auditionees that I was hoping to see this season...I clearly saw the ventriloquist with the creepy squid puppet from BGT waiting in line throughout the season, and I'm hoping we'll see him for the last show...

Also, I almost could have sworn I saw Celine Tam in the audience at one point, as well as a young Asian girl in the waiting room with her parents...Is that Celine's little sister Dion? I was WONDERING if we may see her follow in her sister's footsteps as a contestant...

And honestly, that black kid in the dapper suit and hat looks very promising...Are we gonna get to see HIS audition...?

All these and more will be answered next week...Same Talent time, same Talent channel!

...But without the hour-twenty-minute interruption of watching Republicans kiss Donald Trump's you-know-what...I was ready to strangle his daughter-in-law if that twenty-minute overtime cut into the show...That said, I'm better than that guy who shot him! Needless to say, last weekend's been quite the emotional roller-coaster...

[mashitandsmashit]

AGT Season 19: Auditions 6

12: Full Steel Combat. Stick to Renaissance Fairs...

11: Ry the Healer. Well, it's not much of an act, but I'm certainly feeling slightly less of my usual grouchy self...But not enough to say yes to that weird dancing cow...

10: Ada Filppa. Even if she had a REAL horse, this wouldn't have worked (and it would have been quite chaotic...) But I'll give her points for jumping over MOST of those bars...

9: Tyler Burke. Well, he's good with a whip, and can catch an arrow...I can even forgive missing the ring three times (near-impossible trick anyway) if he had a better presentation...Maybe this would work if he made it a comedic act like Lioz Shem Tov...Or joined the Indiana Jones show in Disneyland, since he's a Californian (maybe he tried that already...) Otherwise, the best part of this act was picturing Simon Cowell in the starring role of an action-adventure movie...

8: Alex Sampson. This audition seemed like a near-copy of Oscar Stembridge's last week, between being the second segment of the show, having a vlog of him in his hometown in the opening package, doing an original song, and being one of the handsomest dudes ever to grace TV...I thought Oscar had a stronger voice and a more meaningful song, but this young man gets points for a nice, catchy, throwback-y little ballad...Naturally, the singer-songwriter category's getting pretty stacked this season, but I liked him enough to be curious to see how he progresses in the coming rounds...

7: Espiritu. Look, I see what Howie's saying; These kids don't hold a candle to quite a few dance groups we've seen in the past...But they had plenty of energy, choreography, and one jammin' track! They won't get far in this game (especially with Howie's pickiness), but this is certainly one of the better “dance recital” type acts I've seen lately...

6: Praveen Prajapat. I very nearly put this guy at #8 (the lowest rank among the acts that actually passed this week), but I figured what he pulled off here is enough to bump up two ranks...Very cool and impressive, but it's hard to imagine what he's going to do to follow this up...

5: B. Thompson. This guy is definitely talented...Possibly even more so than Avery Dixon, who's still one of my favorites from recent years...That being said, soprano sax CAN be a little pitchy...Might make it difficult to listen to him for an hour or so...But Simon better watch it with his criticism of the song choice, lest he insult people still mourning the great Tina Turner...

4: Reid Wilson. I guess Howie had to give the GB to at least one singer...He can pick whoever he wants after giving the other one to that awesome dance group a few weeks ago...And honestly, this kid wasn't half bad a choice either! He was DEFINITELY nervous, but I didn't think it did much to hide those amazing pipes! I'd say so far this season, he might be the best singer in terms of raw vocals...So I wish him good luck in this game...He could go very far indeed!

3: Balloon Taro. I guess third time's the charm...This is probably the best birthday party act I've ever seen on this show! Of course, I knew he was gonna make it up the platforms, since that clip was shown in all of the previews for this season...Never thought I'd say this for a goofy naked Japanese guy, but I'm actually looking forward to seeing what else he can do!

2: Super Silva Jr. While it's hard to compare this with the more traditional aerial acts we've seen over the years, this was very innovative as far as trapeze acts go! Like most of the other acts in here, I look forward to seeing what else he has...

1: Helen the Foot Juggler. It was almost like an upside-down dance! It started out impressive enough, but once she brought in that little table, THAT'S when it went from good to one of my favorite acts so far this season! She's better juggling with her feet than most jugglers are with their hands! It's tricky to imagine how far she'll go in this competition, but maybe her skills and the sentimental factor with her pwecious daughter will help her out...Needless to say, I will be rooting for her!

Whereas last week was heavy on singers, this week was heavy on goofy rejects...Still, I'd say all of the ones that DID make it had enough to appreciate!

Next week, Sophia uses up the last Golden Buzzer...And let's be real, it's most likely gonna be that singing girl shown so prominently in the promo...

We'll see if I'm wrong...See you then!

Edit: Perhaps not...If it WAS her, they wouldn't have given her audition an early preview on Youtube...

[mashitandsmashit]

AGT Season 19: Auditions 5

I won't waste my time on the rejects this week...Except for Magic Middle Finger Guy for being such an epic troll! (Extra points for the patriotic graphic they used to censor him...Happy Birthday, 'Merica!)

9: TT Brothers. They must have set their expectations VERY low after that screeching tiger...I've seen plenty of delightfully silly acts on this show over the years, but I think I'll have to draw the line with this...This was more like a goofy bit on “Sesame Street” than a comedy act...Points for enthusiasm, but this was a pointless waste of time...(And in case you're counting, this entry has a total of 43 T's!)

8: Boss Baby Brody. Love Queen, but honestly, I'm getting pretty tired of hearing “Don't Stop Me Now” on this show...(In other words, maybe they SHOULD stop it now...) As for this kid, he has long-term promise...His dancing is like Freddy Mercury meets Mick Jagger meets Baryshnikov...He'll probably make the live shows on cute-factor alone...Still, I kinda thought the other kids they briefly showed in this segment looked cooler...Oh well, this kid's likable enough that I'll give him a pass...

7: Menudo. Again, I see a lot of promise in the long run, but I'm with Howie in that they could use a little fine-tuning...I ALSO agree with him that the little one steals the show; Talented AND funny!

6: Pranysqa Mishra. Super-predictable GB choice on Heidi's part, since she obviously needed at least ONE female singer to give it to...And, you know, this kid was the last act of the night, and I saw it coming a mile away when she DIDN'T give it to the shadow act in the middle segment...But whatever, the girl IS a very strong vocalist, and shows a lot of energy...somewhat bottled up in her awkward shyness...Plus, I heard SOME enunciation problems...I see a slight hint of Courtney Hadwin in her, but we'll just see how this one does in reaching her level of stage presence...A few little blemishes, but I still lean toward the positive on her.

5: Oscar Stembridge. Another super-promising songwriter with a very pure voice! Also, he has the ladies literally screaming in the audience over his perfect looks; Like if Justin Bieber dressed like Kurt Cobain...I just hope he doesn't trip on those SUPER-baggy pants!

4: Erica Rhodes. Wow, another comedian! I was beginning to think that guy who got Terry's GB was gonna be the only one this season! Well, she seems very likable, and I enjoy her delivery...I suppose she might get a LITTLE one-liner-y at times, but I think her personality shines through, and she had some funny, relatable anecdotes in there...Probably won't be the comedian that finally wins this, but nonetheless I see a lot of promise in her!

3: Young Min. (Just one letter off from being Young Man!) I suppose I can see where Simon is coming from with the pacing, but these were still some VERY mesmerizing illusions! And honestly, I kinda LIKED the slowness, as it added to the dramatic, zen-like presentation! This season has been surprisingly scarce on magic acts, but this Asian Criss Angel has by far the most potential of the bunch so far...And I have faith that we'll have another Yu Hojin situation where he'll officially win Simon over in the NEXT round...For now, it's time to go home and wash off all that glitter!

2: Attraction Juniors. Again, I feel this is the act that SHOULD have gotten the GB...But on the other hand, they probably don't need it...They already have the potential to go VERY far in this game! Will they win? ...Eeehhh, I'm not holding my breath...But I can still see them in the Top 5 at the VERY least! The only distraction from the impressive effects was that one girl's large nose, which was very much visible even as a silhouette...

1: Sebastian & Sonia. Howie proclaiming them the best aerial act to date is not to be taken lightly, as it's still early in the game, and we've yet to see NEARLY as much of what they can do compared with the MANY performances we've seen from Aidan Bryant...That being said, I may very well have to change the name of my recently-coined “Aidan Bryant Effect” very soon...The moves were both expressive and impressive, the music was fittingly romantic, and they took it to such heights that they nearly knocked down the X's hanging from the ceiling! THIS is how you keep aerial acts fresh!

Not a bad show...A little singer-heavy, but quite a few (if not most) of these acts have the potential of making the Top 10...

Enjoy the barbecue and fireworks, or whatever you do on the 4th of July (for those of you that live in America...The rest of you, have a good week nonetheless!) And I'll see you next week!

[mashitandsmashit]

AGT Season 19: Auditions 4

Welp, we're back from our two-week hiatus...Back to the blogs!

12: Emotional Brainwaves. Obviously, much of the dullness of watching this was thanks to the editors for playing no music as he shakily controlled the drone. Pretty cool technology...But this is a talent competition, not a tech convention...

11: Venom Trick Shots. Not what I expected from the new “Venom” movie...Very impressive...But not a stage show...

10: CPA Girona. And THIS is the rejection that pissed me off! I suppose they might not be quite at the level of whatever insane skating acts Howie's watching online, and it DID kinda fizzle out by the end...But there were still some pretty awesome tricks in there, and we don't get enough skating acts on this show as it is, especially of THIS caliber...In my opinion, they were better than about HALF the acts they've said yes to so far, and they deserved another chance to polish the act...Or at least NOT get placed in the same segment right before the chicken...

9: L6. Losing the track didn't really do ANYTHING for me...They were still just a nice little singing group with some nice vocals and harmonies...Maybe I'm just being hard on them because they were sandwiched between some pretty awesome acts, but these ballad-y choirs tend to bore me, and the Simon Switch only tried my patience further!

8: Daniel Simu and His Dancing Robot. SOMEONE was desperate for a dance partner...Seriously, it's interesting technology, and makes for a cute little novelty act, but I'm not gonna spend precious money just to watch a guy swinging a headless robot around...But I DO like his geyser-y topknot!

7: Curry the Chicken. From robot, to chicken...(Cue Seth Green...) Putting aside my annoyance at this act coming right after they say no to the skating group, I will say this was pretty decent as far as mentalist acts go...Giving Howie the egg obviously involved some good sleight-of-hand, and I don't know how they got that message inside of it, particularly within the span of the performance...I guess this is ONE way you can make an interesting act with poultry...

6: Stephanie Rainey. Very nice voice, very solid lyrics, she has a LOT of promise...But HOO BOY, do I need some Prozac after listening to that...

5: Hypers Kids Africa. Okay, here's something a little more upbeat...These kids had some solid moves beyond their years...Probably won't get too far in the competition, but I still think they deserve a spot in the lives...

4: DaksDominoes. Yeah, everyone go home! We had another six hours of auditions coming up, but these guys insist that we all leave IMMEDIATELY, so they could put up their big, crazy contraption! Obviously, they must have been scheduled as the last act of that night so that they could set up to be the first of the next day...Domino “acts” obviously are gonna have a hard time on this show, especially since you can't exactly do something like this on a stage for an hour-and-a-half...But I gotta give these guys credit for their skills and craftsmanship...Honestly, I've probably seen plenty of videos from them on Youtube in the past, and if that's anything to go by, this little setup is only the tip of the iceberg...

3: Flewnt and Inkabee. Kid's got some mad flow...and cool hair...and a cool name...Daddy ain't half bad either! Very catchy, throwback-y song that schools most MODERN rappers...I suppose I had trouble hearing much of their lyrics through their accents, but I can still tell...Dey dat good!

2: Maya Neelakantan. Between her height and her mad guitar skills, I bet the other kids on the playground think twice before messing with HER! Regardless, she rivals even seasoned players like John Wines, and even manages to engage with the audience here and there instead of focusing on the guitar the whole time...Who knew we'd get two badass female guitarists in one season, let alone from countries that are better known for sitars and sanxians...

1: Brent Street. Howie Mandel: Still the king of Golden Buzzer delivery! And what an act he picked! This was pretty much everything Chibi Unity wanted to be last season, further complimented by that BANGER of a track! So far, this is my favorite act of the season...Will they win? Probably not...But they're looking pretty worthy of that Third Place spot that has gone to so many excellent acts that came before...

Once again, only one GB this week...But hopefully, we'll get the rest covered within the next two or three weeks...I know Howie, Heidi and Sophia each get one more, and MAYBE they'll let Terry take another one...And then of course, there's the Group Golden Buzzer, Audience Golden Buzzer, Simon's Aunt Gertrude's Golden Buzzer, and whatever other extras they're throwing in this year...It's getting to the point that the GB is meaning less and less every year...

Oh well...We'll just see what next week brings...

[mashitandsmashit]

AGT Season 19: Auditions 3

Tubby dancer relying on pelvic thrusts, an elderly Napoleon Dynamite still playing with his nunchuks, a bad pick-up artist with a goofy mullet, Freddy Krueger getting into an early Christmas spirit, and a hammy witch...Now that I acknowledged all those goofballs, onto the REAL talent...

10: Dee Dee Simon. Good voice...Overdone song choice...

9: Biko's Manna. You know, it's hard to cover a song when the opening lyric is literally “Here is a little song I wrote”. All that aside, all three of these kids are adorably likable...Naturally, the sister is the real talent of the group, the middle boy is an adequate back-up, and the youngest is the cute appeal there to yell over the track like he's DJ Khaled...Still, I can definitely see these kids scoring some votes in the lives...

8: Jelly Boy the Clown. Another interesting sideshow performer, with a memorable look...I guess the main hook (pun not intended, since that was last week's guy) is how he combines sword-swallowing with crazy contraptions on the opposite side of said sword...He stands 0 chance in the live shows, but he's still an interesting enough clown to MAKE said lives...

7: Solange Kardinaly. I'd say it's WAY too early to call her the best quick-change act, considering how far Lea Kyle made it a few years ago...I think I remember Lea's audition having more creative effects...Still, it's definitely head and shoulders over all the OTHER quick-change acts we've seen...She could go far in this game, but I would like to see a little more innovation from her...(Points for the song choice though...)

6: Olive. And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is how you make a show with nobody on the stage! Probably the scariest part of this was that the voice kinda sounded like Peppa Pig...This was definitely in the same vein as Sacred Riana and Klek Entos, but the effects were pretty creative, and there's kind of a rebelliousness to how “she” messed with the buzzers and left without waiting for the judges' vote...I suppose this technically disqualifies her, but due to the nature of the act, she might show up in the next round whether the judges like it or not (at least according to the Season 19 script...)

5: The Reklaws. I guess everyone has a soft spot when it comes to sob stories, and mine is mental health...Any song about depression, OCD, or the like is going to resonate with me in some capacity (even that hokey phone number song from a few years back that got that Grammy nomination...) And this was one of the best I've heard! That alone is enough to get them this rank in the list...As for the singing, the sister's good, the brother's adequate, and they harmonize alright...If they were just singing other people's songs, I wouldn't think much of them...Hopefully they have some more original songs that can at least approach this one's level of quality...That way, the inevitable country and sob story votes they'll rake in as we enter the lives will at least be well-earned...

4: Legion. I figured this would be Sophia's GB, not just for the culture, but also for the constant pushing of the act in all of the promos for this season...Essentially, it's Malevo all over again, but with flaming shoes and Zorro hats...So once again, it comes with the usual pros and cons...I can tell that it's very impressive, but I want to hear all of their instruments without them getting drowned out by the loud music they're blaring over the speakers...It's hard to say how far they'll actually go this season, but I saw a lot of potential in Malevo, and I see the same potential in these guys...(I just hope they can all keep their shoes on in the next round...That seems to be a theme this week, is people losing their shoes while performing...Or BEFORE performing, in the next entry's case...)

3: Roni and Rhythm. Saying this is a step up from last year's winner might be a little rash...Adrian and Hurricane told stories with their performances...Silly stories, but still both funny and compelling enough to endear voters...Nonetheless, this was definitely a unique new direction as far as dog acts go! A lot of it seems to be the dog's energy, but the trainer knows how to work with it and put on their own compelling performance...Also, the dog is ALMOST as gorgeous as Hurricane...and the trainer's kinda cute too! If they know what they're doing, they could go ALMOST as far as last year's winner...But I doubt America's gonna give the win to a dog act two years in a row, especially with the relative backlash the last one got for winning...

2: BBoy Samuka. In case you haven't noticed, the theme we're running into this week is acts being compared with other acts from earlier seasons...Guess who THIS guy's getting compared with! Musa was something special, don't get me wrong, but I think this guy might have him beat! Musa's style was more contemporary dance, whereas this guy is practically break-dancing on his crutches and his one leg...And while Musa used his handicap as...well...a crutch, this guy's able to just shake it off and boogie! Bottom line, I think with the right choices, he can make it HIGHER than Fifth...But again, we'll just wait and see how he does down the line...

1: Andrei Burton. The first act of the show was also the only one I don't find myself having to compare with anyone...I mean, I GUESS there was that one bike-stuntman from way back in Season 5...But whatever, this guy was better! He turned the entire studio lot into his own personal obstacle course, and bounced his bike across it all like it was nothing! It's hard to imagine how he can top it...But I wouldn't write off that possibility...My only criticism is that he TOTALLY should have bounced off of Simon's car!

Another overall solid show...As you can see, the highlights were at the beginning, and it kinda ended on a slightly lesser note...But once again, I have no real criticisms for any of the PASSING acts, nor do I have any disagreements with who got rejected...The only criticism I have about the show in general is that they're lucky I love the first “Inside Out” enough to forgive the incessant plugging of its sequel tonight...Oh yeah, and I'm KINDA disappointed we only got ONE Golden Buzzer this week...But what can you do...?

[mashitandsmashit]

AGT Season 19: Auditions 2

Now THIS is more like it!

Aside from a goofball dancer, a bunch of nerds playing those whatchamacallits, and that unicycle couple who would make a great redemption story on this show in a year or two, NONE of whom got admitted to the next round anyway (and deservedly so), everyone in here is at LEAST B+ material...I still feel somewhat jaded by this show in general, but I can't deny that this list will be about 95% positive...So let's get started!

9: Sabrina. Well, SOMEONE in here had to come in last, and I didn't feel like covering the pre-mentioned rejects anymore than I already have...So the bottom spot goes to this overall impressive dance group...If this was three or even two years earlier, they might have ranked higher...But we've seen quite a few amazing Japanese dance groups in recent years, and since these ladies lacked the unique identity that Avantgardey or even Chibi Unity possessed, nothing in here was THAT surprising...except maybe working in that fire Lindsey Stirling track! But we'll see what they bring next time...

8: Bao Cuong. Honestly, I never set my standards THAT high when it comes to sideshow acts...But there is something about the instruments he used, as well as the calm way he did it (and that dissonant happy track) that made this pretty compelling...Not enough to win votes in the live shows, but enough to at least MAKE said live shows...

7: Chrisyius Whitehead. (Kind of a gross last name...) Second show in a row where a little black kid does something most ADULTS can't do! I suppose he was a LITTLE off the beat at times, but when you're smaller than the bass-drum, you can't really hold that against yourself...As it is, he's somewhere between Travis Barker and Taylor Hawkins standards...In a few more years, he'll be on the Moon...KEITH Moon!

6: Ashes & Arrows. It's like Mumford & Sons meets Zac Brown Band, with a little sprinkle of Nathaniel Rateliff...Only the facial hair is all the more epic! Howie may not have liked the song THIS time, but if these guys play their cards right in later rounds, they could go VERY far in this game!

5: Hakuna Matata. What a wonderful phrase! And it's EXACTLY what I say in response to the occasional stumble in this performance! I mean, they're pretty much combining every acrobatic act we've seen on this show into one, so you can't expect it ALL to go perfectly...Just the fact that they can pull off all of those formations while on that rolla-bolla is something in and of itself! If they can work out those little kinks, they could very well take it even farther than their friends the Ramadhani Brothers...

4: Phillip Lewis. Well, I never thought I'd enjoy a baton-twirler this much, but here we are! The juggling was amazing, he made it all look so effortless, AND his flamboyantly bubbly personality shined the whole way through! I don't know if there's something in those donuts he's eating, but if they're helping him do as well as he did here, what's the occasional sweet-tooth here and there...?

3: NiNi. Wow, this sequel to “Kubo and the Two Strings” looks amazing! Not much to add here; She played all of those instruments perfectly, and rocked the house with them! I just hope we don't get another John Wines situation where Simon just decides he doesn't like her anymore...

2: Liv Warfield. Backed up for Prince, huh...? Well, I know a dancer who performed with Vanilla Ice AND Milli Vanilli! Beat THAT! No, seriously, she was amazing! So far, she's my favorite to win...Especially since she'll NEED the million dollars to cover for the damages of the house she just brought down! A Golden Buzzer VERY much earned! (Note: Richard Goodall still seems to be the clear front-runner...)

1: Sky Elements. Well, it is NOT the guys from “Xtreme”...It's better! While Simon's OTHER GB may be my favorite to win so far, I really can't give the #1 spot to anyone else tonight! It's hard to deny the limitations, and it WILL hold them back in the long run, but for now they created a spectacle worthy of Olympic-sized stadiums! It really is one of those cases where I wish I was actually there! The only thing is that it went into brief uncanny valley territory with that Simon face...(Shudder) But on the other hand, they used a track from Sara James' best performance on this show! I knew they were getting Simon's second GB, because the promo clearly showed him pressing it outside with all of them wearing coats in this 70-degree California night weather...I look forward to seeing what they have in store for us in the lives...All I ask is that they spare us the obviously-scripted producer banter next time...

Again, pretty damn solid show! Here's to next week, and seeing if Howie or Sophia will finally use their FIRST GBs...

[mashitandsmashit]

AGT Season 19: Auditions 1

Welcome to AGT: Season Not-Quite-20!

I guess the only known update for this season so far is that each of the judges get TWO Golden Buzzers this year! Kinda cheap, and very much a publicity stunt, but I guess we all wish to get an extra GB in case the first one doesn't quite work out...Also, I'm glad they're not limiting every show to just one of them this year...Good way to keep the audition round a LITTLE shorter...

As for me, this should HOPEFULLY be the last year I'll have to write these articles for myself without sharing online, and maybe next year we can discuss alternative avenues in reviewing this show...

But for now, let's just stick with our usual format...SO ONTO THE LIST!!!

11: Chris Ivan. That poor Guinness Record guy keeps getting dragged over to moderate some goofball's pointless record attempt (that never has any real place on a big stage).

10: Daisy May & Clifford. Just goes to show that you can't teach an old dog new tricks...or likely a REALLY old dog any tricks at all...

9: Los Osos High School. Not a good sign when we literally open the whole season with a standard dance recital group...But I guess the sheer number of them makes it a LITTLE interesting...If nothing else, I suppose it would make a decent opening act when we get to the live shows...

8: Baby Dev. Speaking of numbers...This isn't really much of an act (so much as it's a class), but I really do need to give credit where it's due; We have a prodigy on our hands! I think he could very much grow up to be a black Einstein...And I can just picture him giving that same look when his future students disrupt his equations the same way Howie did...

7: Tonikaku. Does his sister know he stole her undies? The amount of naked, half-naked and almost-naked Asian dudes I've seen on this show is becoming quite staggering (and naked WHITE guys aren't too far behind...) I guess the way he can use his legs and stomach to conceal the undergarment is something...Otherwise, this is pretty much in the same vein as Yumbo Dump in using fat, shirtless Asians for cheap laughs to create an amusing waste of time (complete with a catchphrase between each “trick”). Still, LIKE Yumbo Dump, he may have some funny stuff coming up in later rounds...I suppose anyone who watched BGT this year will have an idea what to expect...

6: Reyna Roberts. Yes, ruby red rodeo rocking Reyna Roberts, raises the roof with a rousing rendition of “Raised Right”. (I didn't find the R's, the R's found me!) The more country singers with original songs I hear on this show, the higher my standards for them become...With that in mind, I'm with Howie in that this was a pretty generic country song, and her voice is generically...nice...But she's cute!

5: Learnmore Jonasi. Every season, I find myself rooting more and more for a comedian to finally win AGT...But it grows increasingly tough every year, because after you see an energetic force of nature like Preacher Lawson, an ambitious character like Mike E. Winfield, and a plethora of comedians with disabilities (with some varying degrees in humor-level) all miss out on being the one to pull it off, you can't help but wonder where else they can go in this category...Probably the only real hope at this point is to find someone who's...well...REALLY, TRULY funny! I mean, funny enough that you can see them headlining a comedy special with the likes of Dave Chappelle, John Mulaney, or more modestly, Pete Davidson...It may SOUND unfair of me to compare comedians on this show to the likes of those guys...But really think about it! Some comedians hit it big at a very young age! Honestly, the only real excuses these contestants have is the family show standards that might hold back some of their raunchier material, and that pesky time-limit that relegates them to less time than your average song...So with that two-paragraph-long rant out of the way, what do I think of this particular guy...? ...He's okay...He's got a good look and a LOT of energy (enough to wear even Preacher down), but ultimately relies on the same kind of one-liner material we see on this show all the time...I just want to see someone REALLY push the standards of this show...Because again, at this point, what else can a comedian do to win!? Even Terry's Golden Buzzer isn't likely gonna make much of a difference for him...But we'll see how he fares in this game, because there have been quite a few comedians in the past that started off “meh” for me, but somehow found their footing in the live shows...

4: Ashlee Montague. Even if I were to assume that the judges have NEVER seen this performance before (which is highly doubtful), surely they must have noticed the bridge of bottles behind her and realized that this was more than a standard ballet dance...But you know that they're just helping to set up the audience's surprise by acting out-of-the-loop themselves...Anyway, this was a very impressive stunt and all, and there are possibilities for her future performances...But I can also easily see this going the same way as the Ramadhani Brothers where it's mostly the same trick every time, further marred by the (to be fair, necessarily) slow pacing...Still, I wish her luck!

3: Sam Huang. Certainly no shortage of Asian magicians out there...Well, I gotta give credit that I'm pretty damn mind-blown by this! Still, a big part of it was surely the camera angle...I'm sure I've said this several times before, but it's hard to really have an effective stage show when your tricks require the audience to look closely at your hands (though I suppose Shin Lim and Mat Franco somehow pulled it off...No pun intended...) Nonetheless, this gentleman has my attention...

2: Richard Goodall. While I overall liked the last two entries, neither of them were enough to help redeem this underwhelming premiere...Then, just as I start to lose hope, we get our first two real highlights of the season...Let's start with the obvious one...First of all, Heidi gave her GB to a MALE singer for once...Haven't seen that since Sal Valentinetti! So far, there is a legitimate case to be made for this guy winning the whole thing...He has the standard surprising voice, as well as the humble Cinderella backstory with the mundane day-job, much like early-season winners like Kevin Skinner and Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. Granted, it's a MUCH different time from when those guys were the go-to stars for America...Even Kodi Lee wouldn't be as safe a bet as he once was...Still, we'll just see how these auditions progress, because by the end of them, we may find this guy unrivaled in the front-runner category...But if nothing else, he could make a great stand-in for Journey's CURRENT stand-in lead vocalist...

1: Arshiya. If you mixed Mariandrea and El Invertebrado into one, with a little extra boost of Atai Show's twisted creepiness, you'd get this girl...Basically, she's a fusion of all of last season's creepiest contortionists...And I freaking love it! My only concern is that she'll likely go the same route as fellow early-teen creepy contortionists Mariandrea and Noah Epps in letting me down once we get to the live shows...

Contrary to what the judges said out of sheer obligation just before plunger boy stepped in, this was the most underwhelming premiere episode I've seen in a while...Thankfully, going by the promo, next week looks like it will be MUCH more interesting...I wonder if that drone act they showed will be the same guys from “AGT: Xtreme”...

[mashitandsmashit]

AGT Fantasy League: Final Results

As usual, let's start by talking about the performances...

7: Calum Scott & Musa Motha. Great singer plus great dancer doesn't always mean great performance...In fact, it's usually a weird hodgepodge...I suppose these two gave us the best they could for the song choice, but these slow ballads put me to sleep more often than not...Maybe that's why Musa's moves look so...hypnotic...But really, it was fine...I just had to give the bottom spot to SOMEBODY...

6: Robin S. and SAINTED. The lady looks like she came straight out of retirement and threw her funny hat on for this gig, but I guess it was fun enough...SAINTED was the REAL star of the show though!

5: Drake Milligan/Chapel Hart. Fun little double-feature...Drake performed as well as ever (though some notes in that song sounded eerily similar to Blake Shelton's "Honey Bee"...) And Chapel Hart gave a nice little encore of their Dolly Parton takeoff from their first audition...Again, I'm no country fan...But I'm a fan of these two acts!

4: Shadow Ace & David Taylor. I was kinda hoping Ace would do something with Mel B. since she's the only judge he hasn't performed with yet...Still, it's Ace being Ace, doing what only Ace does best...From him, you just can't ask for much more...

3: Kodi Lee & Stephen Sanchez. These two actually had a really nice harmony! The song is a nice little throwback to late-50s/early-60s love ballads, and the pair had the class to fit the tone of it perfectly!

2: Loren Allred & Brian Justin Crum. These two sounded great and all (and Loren got to sing a "Greatest Showman" song BESIDES the one she's known for), but the real stars were the acrobats performing behind them, particularly Aidan and Sophie's dual aerial act at the end! Actually, you could say this whole performance was about duos working together!

1: Sheila E., Pack Drumline and V.Unbeatable. This was just pure, unadulterated awesomeness, and would give Usher himself a run for his money at the Superbowl Halftime show! V.Unbeatable felt a LITTLE tacked on at the end, but it still gave everybody a chance to do what they do best! Two of the all-time best AGT acts performing with one of the all-time greatest R&B artists? How could it NOT be awesome!?

So this had some pretty solid performances...Now onto the final results...

As usual, there are a lot of people online who are upset that it didn't go to certain acts that have already won one of these...And again, I love Kodi, Aidan, AND V.Unbeatable...But they had their time in the spotlight, and I think it's only reasonable to give it to someone else this time...

It was a little shocking that Aidan didn't make the Top 5, but considering the competition (particularly in the acrobatic category), and after how much of him we've seen over the last few years, people might have been getting a LITTLE tired of him (myself included...)

Kodi's elimination was less shocking, since he didn't make the Top 5 in last year's All-Stars either, and with the lukewarm reception he got last week, as well as the backlash he's been getting online, I knew his hype died down quite a bit by now...

As for V.Unbeatable, they were able to make Third due to the fact that unlike the other two acts, we haven't really seen them in a while...There was obviously still some reluctance to give them another win either, but there was still that part of me that wanted them to at least rank higher than Fourth like back in Season 14...

I guess the only real shame of it all is Musa having to settle for Fifth YET AGAIN...I guess this time it's a little more understandable, but still, it's VERY sad irony...

I underestimated SAINTED's odds, seeing all the competition they were up against, but with their story, I suppose it's not surprising they ranked where they did...And the lead guy sounds a LOT more optimistic for them going out than he did going into this, so that's a good sign...I really do wish them the best, because they truly are one of the best choirs on this show...

I knew that if any of the non-finalists from previous seasons could win this, or at least come close, it was going to be Pack Drumline...Simon has clearly pulled for them from the beginning, and they are the one act this season that I can truly say has consistently stepped things up (though that's mostly because we haven't seen as much from them before as some of the other acts). They were overall second to Musa as my favorite to win this, and while it's a shame they DIDN'T, I'm at least glad they made Second...

And now for our winners, the Ramadhani Brothers! Indeed, I'll admit, I wasn't really rooting for them...The trick got pretty repetitive by the end, and it feels almost predictable that Howie would be the judge with the winning act, since he's had a few GBs win previous seasons, both regular AND special...Still, I'm not really upset at all by this result...It's good to see acts win this that didn't before, and they definitely made an impact with their insane stunts...And I can't say I'm surprised that Howie is the one with the best overall taste in talent...I suppose that's why he has a few GB acts that have won this, and Simon and Heidi are still yet to take any...

So in the end, this result was satisfying enough...I wouldn't mind another "Fantasy League" season, but maybe next time, they should put more focus on acts we haven't seen as much of lately...And there's GOT to be SOME way they can make it so home viewers can vote on these...I feel a little left out in the process...

So best of luck to all of the acts, as well as all of the judges and Terry Crews...Hopefully Sophia will be able to make the next one...

So here's looking ahead to Season 19 of the main show! I hope to see you all then!

Take care...