America’s Got Talent – You Tube Acts

I was gonna vote for the goth magician, Dan. I say “was” because when Nick was saying the numbers Dan preceded to pull blood out of his eyes and I almost puked. That was gross, and he lost my vote.

I swore, I swore, I swore, I would not watch this shit show this summer and get at all into it. I’d done fine until…I think it was about 9:54 this evening. My family still watches it, I’m usually playing online Tetris or something and ignoring the TV for the most part except to make snide comments (that chick that tried to sing Carrie Underwood was atrocious, and yet I totally called that they’d tell her she sounds good. Extra manipulation points for Sharon for mentioning how “loud” she was. Sure, you can whisper in a microphone and they can just turn it up, and it’s loud. Potential, maybe, but hell, surely didn’t sound good how she was. IMO, YMMV, and all of that of course. I’m sure to probably almost half of the country, she sounded fine, cause she was loud and had ‘tude. Who cares about pitch?)

But, that girl, Jackie…I don’t care if she’s a plant or not. That’s just amazing. I knew when they showed the little clip before her performance she was gonna sing…kinda at least, because of the vocal exercises with the piano. One note into her performance, and damn. It is almost a little unnerving that a voice like that belongs to a 10 year old, but you can’t deny that she’s really, really good. (As was that piano player, but a lot of people probably, as Sharon would say, would get bored by that. I know how good he is as well being a piano player myself.)

I was asked after she got done singing, “OK, so what’s her number gonna be then?” I replied with something like “No way. I’m not getting caught up in this crap again.”

Yeah, read the Wikipedia page. I saw that before I came to this post, and it did seem quite odd that she already had one. She’s gong to be singing in Carnegie Hall in December. The girl’s got it made already, so whether or not America realizes how good she is won’t matter. Good for her.

Oh, and the magician? I thought sure he’d get buzzed when he spent half his time chewing on a mint. The mask illusion that opened his act was awesome, and then it was like a minute of waiting to see what that mint was going to do. That was freaky. And the blood out of the eyes was pretty sick too (gross sick, not really “awesome” sick). But with what they had to choose from, he was one of the better ones of the night still.

I thought got magician would be interesting until he did the thing with the life saver. Didn’t like the others. Girl that did Carrie song reminded me of Nikki McKibbin. She probably would be ok if she had more experience, but not great.

I think that these auditions shouldn’t have been part of the voting rounds. If they were going to do this, they shouldn’t have gone right to the semi finals, it should have been part of the regular auditions starting in Vegas week when they picked the top 48, and then they would have been more even in experience with everyone else in the competition. The result of this is that acts that had already been sent home are better than whoever is going to get through this round. The judges even said that being it was the first time on stage for many of them was hurting them.

I hope on AI when they do the myspace auditions, the contestants that are picked start at Hollywood week, and don’t go directly to semifinals like they did here.

I don’t know whose brilliant plan it was that they have the YouTube auditions jump through this far either. As was already said, it’s totally different from singing/dancing/whatever in your bedroom/living room than on a stage for a live audience and TV. Not to mention you can redo however many times you want for something you’d post on YouTube as well, so who knows how good they’ll really be when it’s “one shot, live, on TV.” Heck, I’d go as far as to say that some of the people who post lots and lots of “acts” on YouTube, singing, doing whatever, probably do it on there because they don’t have the guts to go out and do it for real in front of an audience. Not saying these people all fell into that category, but there is something to be said for that.

I hope on AI when they do the myspace auditions, the contestants that are picked start at Hollywood week, and don’t go directly to semifinals like they did here.

Hmm…

That sure would open the door for conspiracy theories as far as them having some ringers already in mind wouldn’t it? Get them past a couple of cuts real nice and quick like. Of course they would miss the chance to gain some followers from the Hollywood week, but still, get them further and further into the competition and the chances just get better and better. Anyways, OT, so enough of that…

MJ, I was waiting for your recap! Mozart – I wasn’t going to watch this show either and have it DVR’d for when I have nothing else better to do (apparently tonight was one of those nights!).

I actually enjoyed watching the jump roper – I used to do that for exercise when I was MUCH younger, thinner and in shape – just not all of the flips- and what he did was amazing. A Las Vegas act? Probably a looonngg stretch but I enjoyed watching him.

I also enjoyed watching the pizza juggler and disagree that you can see that walking by any pizza joint. I think if he had a little work he could make it a comedy/pizza juggling/danger type act and make it in Vegas!

But what had me and my family LMAO was the goth magician – not his magic, but when he threw his dental floss at Howie who literally jumped across the room in fear! My husband had just finished explaining before the show that Howie is a germaphobe (I’m sure that’s not the technically correct term) – that he won’t shake hands with people, etc. IDK if that’s true, but after hearing it and watching his reaction to the thrown dental floss we all burst out laughing!

I LOVED the classical pianist! I’m sorry, but anyone that spends 6 hours each day practicing piano and is that accomplished deserves kudos. He also had a great personality!

I actually found it quite disturbing to watch the little opera girl sing. She creepily reminded me of that little pageant bot who was murdered at the age of 6 – and I’m sorry, but it’s not healthy or natural for a child that young to be taking voice lessons and singing like that.

seriously:
08/11/2010 at 1:13 am
I was gonna vote for the goth magician, Dan. I say “was” because when Nick was saying the numbers Dan preceded to pull blood out of his eyes and I almost puked. That was gross, and he lost my vote.

Did you think that was more gross than watching him chew a mint with his yellow teeth? LOL!

Did you think that was more gross than watching him chew a mint with his yellow teeth? LOL!

Lol. That was gross too, but whenever I see blood I feel like I’m about to pass out. *shudders*

I swore I was not going to watch this season, too, damn it. But it’s the only thing on on Tuesday. I hate it and yet I keep watching. But tonight was, as MJ said, a total fail. I can’t see any of these acts headlining a show in Vegas. I pray Idol does it differently.

I did enjoy the boy who did the jump roping and the acapella group but wouldn’t pay to see either of them. The goth magician? ewwwww. I could not watch. Poor Howie. That would have had me out of my chair, too. (I only know what was thrown at him from reading here.)

I also was a little disturbed by the voice that came out of that little girl. I could listen but I couldn’t watch and listen. There was something a little off about her sound, too. It was kind of muddled if that makes any sense. I love opera and that just didn’t do anything for me. I was actually more impressed by her stage presence and her composure, considering she’s a 10-year-old.

I was majorly disappointed to find out Jackie already has a resume and a good start on her career. She is a most taleneted child, and the judges’ darling. The sad part is that she will be taking the place of another more deserved contestant.

Out of this bunch, I didn’t think there were four that deserved to move on. At least I am not addicted to this show! I’ll be watching SYTYCD tomorrow, and switch stations during commercials.

Jackie IS amazing BUT was she singing live? Seemed like it was lip syncing (spelled wrong…sorry). If it wasn’t live, it would be totally unfair.

I say move the dog on because his just sitting there was way better than nearly every act presented last night.

I mean…Keyboard Cat would have had a better time of it than those My Bedroom Superstars. Sheesh.

Out of this bunch, I didn’t think there were four that deserved to move on. At least I am not addicted to this show! I’ll be watching SYTYCD tomorrow, and switch stations during commercials.

I’m definitely watching SYTYCD, but are 4 of these acts really moving on? Just like the other shows? Wow. That’s bad. I’ll probably DVR again and watch while I’m voting after SYTYCD.

So who will move on? Obviously opera girl. I’d love for the pianist to move on, but not sure what America thinks of classical piano music. I’m guessing the goth magician will also move on (sad to say we’ll be exposed to more grossness). I hope that WGWG doesn’t move on but if the past is an indication of the future he will. My pick would be pizza guy just because he’s different.

Ladybug:
08/11/2010 at 8:25 am
I say move the dog on because his just sitting there was way better than nearly every act presented last night.

LOL! That dog was adorable. Too bad it got stage fright.

That dog did not get stage fright. Pup got stage hand frustration. The prop(rope)would not pull the accordion open and was not properly placed as to not move about when a rope pulled on it. Watch the clip again. It is sad they didn’t fix it and let them go on later in the 2 hours.

The only acts to make a dent were a 16 year old piano prodigy named Maestro Alexander Bui, whom Sharon buzzed for being “boring” and the very last act Jackie Evancho, a 10 year-old Charlotte Church wanna-be whose adult sounding warblings freaked me out a little. Oh, and she’s a total plant. Totally.

I’m not surprised that Jackie is already pretty accomplished and was a plant (and the judges’ favorite before she even uttered a note). It’s too bad that the other Youtube acts were so lame. The magician was good, but the “gross” factor was a turn off for me. I thought that the pianist was cute and very good, but song choice was a problem. Overall, disappointing.

That alleged opera girl, I believe that was totally LYP SYNCHED. First of all, when you watch her mouth, you can tell she was not singing the words herself. I have watched drag queens lip synch better than her. And i downloaded one of her videos on You Tube and she sings in a higher voice, even one where the description says “she is singing in her lower register” and even THAT was sung on a higher voice than that. That voice was the voice of an older person. A little kid like that cannot produce such a low voice. I guess it is because when you are little your vocal chords are thinner and you cannot produce such low sounds like that fake opera girl. I am not impressed. She was “creepy” because it was FAKE! thats what we all are hearing “voice” does not “match the body”. Yeah when she was allegedly “singing” and she made her mouth move as if she was trebling/warbling, you know, that was just her mimicking that so it would look real.

Sorry — opera kid was WAYYY creepier than the creepy magician (who I lurved). That opera kid may be the creepiest thing this show has ever seen — and that’s saying something.

They should scrap the MySpace auditions for Idol, and add more audition cities instead.

I thought that the opera girl was strange too. Why in the world would they have her lipsync her song. I am confused. As to the magic guy, I think he chewed the mint, and had a hard one in his mouth, as to the blood, it was fake, probably had dye under his eyes or fingernails. There wasnt 4 good groups, it was a wasted nite, why pick them, only to buzz them. I am still confused about Jackie, maybe they just wanted to give her a trip to Orlando. lol

I’m sorry, but it’s not healthy or natural for a child that young to be taking voice lessons and singing like that.

Why isn’t it healthy? She’s ten years old. A lot of kids have started piano lessons, team sports and other activities well before their tenth birthdays. I think she seems very sweet and well-adjusted. Sad that she is seen as creepy just because she’s different and has an extraordinary gift.

That little girl has a very mature and rich voice. But last year the 30-ish opera singer did the same song, same wrong (Puccini did NOT write it that way), and annoying arrangement. I know they distill that aria to 90 seconds, but it’s a brief aria anyway. The apparently now-standard (Hey, will we hear it every year?) AGT ending to that song is AWFUL. I wish they’d knock it off.

That alleged opera girl, I believe that was totally LYP SYNCHED. First of all, when you watch her mouth, you can tell she was not singing the words herself.

I don’t think so, at all. The performance was less than perfect. It does sound strange to hear a mature voice coming out of a child, but it happens. I think when she matures, she will be a mezzo-soprano with a very full, rich voice.

That alleged opera girl, I believe that was totally LYP SYNCHED. First of all, when you watch her mouth, you can tell she was not singing the words herself.

I don’t think so, at all. The performance was less than perfect. It does sound strange to hear a mature voice coming out of a child,

Well, maybe there was something wrong with the video, but to me there seemed to be a very strange disjoint between some of her mouth movements and the sounds that were coming out … as in — her mouth moved into position and then *later* the sound came out, among other anomalies. This was either a video problem, lip-synching, or a pretty strange-looking vocal technique. (could have been the first, of course, in which case no problem.) But if it is the third — i.e., a kind of strange vocal technique that was devised to get that mature sound to come out of a kid, then it almost certainly isn’t good for her voice in the long run. And if it’s the second. Well, then, that’s way unfair, seems to me.

Honestly, to me these little-kids-singing-like-adults a la Charlotte Church are just another version of Susan Boyle. Their popularity stems from how freaky and thus attractive many find it to see the voice come out of the person, not from their actually being better than plenty of the better-looking (in SB’s case) or age-appropriate (in this little girl’s case) people singing the same stuff. Really just another version of Pup, if Pup had managed to actually, you know, play that accordion. It’s not that she/he does it so well, on any objective scale, but some find it thrilling to see this particular creature do it at all.

Hard for me to see the point of that, really. Especially since it’s probably healthier for the kid to develop at a more natural pace, both vocally and psychologically. Why not just let them do that? We don’t need this kid to hear good classical-crossover-type singing in a pure high voice. Perfectly worthy teenage and adult singers do that too, and with less risk to their own futures from doing it.

As far as what’s been said about Jackie…I really can’t believe that would have been lip synched. Yeah, AGT really does often seem like a farce, but such a thing would be a huge risk for their show. Imagine if people were to figure out, definitively, that she was lip synching. How do you think that’d affect the show in general? I would think it would pretty much end it.

As far as whether it was even possible for a girl her age to sound like that – while vocal music isn’t my area of expertise, I would say, yes, it is. It comes down to whether or not your voice/vocal cords resonate correctly to produce that sort of sound. If hers just happen to be developed right, then yes, it could happen. I personally wonder whether as she matures, she’ll end up growing out of her voice, and will actually end up not sounding nearly as good. Damaging her voice? Highly unlikely if she’s working with a vocal coach. It’s a lot bigger risk for kids to be lifting weights and spending hours on sports than to be taking vocal lessons, as long as they’re being properly instructed. The brief clip of her warming up in a lesson showed me pretty much all I needed to know there – she was doing exactly what singers in a college setting do to warm up, and it sounded completely free and open, without any stress.

And as far as her voice being so mature and almost not sounding right – there were a few very short parts of her singing (a note or two at a time), where her voice seemed to suddenly become lighter and, for lack of a better way of putting it, less mature (more like you’d expect from someone her age). It’s likely that she has an incredible ability to produce a mature tone already, but she’s not 100% developed yet. In which case, it’s a good sign, I think, for her, because it means that she probably can continue to improve, rather than be at her best at this age and go downhill from here.

That piano player has incredible technique. However I wonder whether he can play with any real emotion or if he’s simply a technical robot. I’m not knocking him – it’s something that just frequently happens with a younger piano player. Only time teaches them to be expressive. I know, I was that way myself – I played Rachmaninoff and Gershwin as a teenager and could handle the technique, but the expression was the last thing to come. He’s the one I’d fear for more psychologically – 6 hours of practice a day means he spends pretty much all of his time outside school on it. What does that do to a kid socially? I wonder if he does anything other than play piano. By age 25 or so he’ll probably be sick of it, but won’t really “know” anything else because it’s been his whole life. Jackie at least seemed to still be running around outside with her family and just being a kid.

Anyways (not that I care…umm, yeah, that’s it), I’d say the WGWG, the magician, the piano player, and Jackie. Maybe a wild card would be the pizza juggler, just because it was different but kinda interesting.

Especially since it’s probably healthier for the kid to develop at a more natural pace, both vocally and psychologically. Why not just let them do that? We don’t need this kid to hear good classical-crossover-type singing in a pure high voice. Perfectly worthy teenage and adult singers do that too, and with less risk to their own futures from doing it.

Seems like she is developing at a natural pace. She went to Phantom of the Opera and began singing the songs. Her parents indulged her new talent with lessons and helped her develop what already existed. I don’t think a child needs to be held back and told that her talent isn’t age appropriate. That’s kind of discriminatory. Who’s to say that she’s not still running around outside and doing all of the “normal” things that kids her age do? Children are amazing. They’re not lesser creatures and SINGING is not going to corrupt her innocence or put her on track for some kind of failure or deficient childhood.

Why isn’t it healthy? She’s ten years old. A lot of kids have started piano lessons, team sports and other activities well before their tenth birthdays.

Vocal chords are not fully developed until late teen years. Taking voice lessons at such a young age can lead to overuse/straining and/or permanently damaging vocal chords. Many of the well established vocal coaches in my area won’t even give voice lessons to children for this very reason. On the other hand, physical activity is quite necessary for proper development, fitness and weight management.

As far as whether it was even possible for a girl her age to sound like that – while vocal music isn’t my area of expertise, I would say, yes, it is. It comes down to whether or not your voice/vocal cords resonate correctly to produce that sort of sound.

Well, I have some, though not a lot, of expertise in this area. And as far as I understand it, the way the vocal cords resonate has nothing to do with that particular sound she was creating there. It was not the cords — which always tend to resonate basically the same way as long as they’re resonating freely, which, as someone else mentioned, they probably do, given what we’ve seen in her warmup — but the *rest* of her resonating apparatus, i.e., the muscles in her head, face, neck, tongue, jaw, etc., that are held in a certain way to shape the sound that she was getting. ….

From what I could see, when she sang the “operatic” way in that performance, she was most likely tensing up some muscles in some ways that I’ve been led to believe are not really beneficial for you long term because every time you tense or shape a muscle in a certain way to get a particular sound that doesn’t just flow out of you without tension — and she looked to me to be doing that — your body tenses other stuff to compensate and you develop some funny habits of voice production.

If a young kid gets into funny muscle-tensing habits in order to produce a “mature” sound that doesn’t arise naturally from her body — which is most likely too small to produce that sound without some special mechanics — it’s not the best thing for her long-term development as a singer.

Not that it is disastrous or anything, I suppose, but it could well get her into some bad habits that will lead to weird muscle strains and eventually vocal-cord strains and will, at least, need to be unlearned at a later date. …

I just don’t see the point of it.

One reason I say that that “mature” tone didn’t appear to come naturally to her is that I think she sings in what appears to be her more natural tone here — in a lot of her stuff on her CD Baby album http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/JackieEvancho. …. This stuff is what she sounds like normally, so she was obviously doing something kind of unusual with her voice to get that “operatic” sound. And as I understand it, it’s just not a good idea to coach kids to produce sounds that don’t just flow out of them. I may have heard too much from over-cautious coaches, but this *is* what I’ve heard.

Somebody upthread said that since she has a vocal coach, she’s undoubtedly singing correctly. … And I’d say this: Do we imagine that there’s no such thing as a bad vocal coach? Or a vocal coach who’s so invested in producing some kind of young phenom (which I don’t know that Jackie would be if she wasn’t producing this pseudo-”mature” tone) that he or she would figure the long-term risks would be worth it (to the kid, the kid’s family and the coach)? Isn’t over-coaching with little serious regard to a kid’s future a real phenomenon in *every* area where you can have young phenoms? I don’t see why vocal music would be an exception.