I will be liveblogging the fourth night of auditions for America’s Got Talent, the show that has produced maybe four success stories (I’m probably over-estimating) in 9 seasons. Will this week’s episode show us the fifth? Let’s find out together! The show starts at 8 PM EST, join me in the comments if you’d like!
Here we go! We see a white guy with guitar walking into the building, and we see lots of other random acts checking in. Lots of acts we already saw audition, which is strange.
Our first act is Emily West. She is a singer-songwriter. She complains about the subway when asked if she’s struggling. Jesse Hall is playing guitar for her. She is singing “Sea of Love”. She’s pretty good. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly bored at the beginning. When it kicks in, she gets better. Howie and Howard stand up. Howard calls her an “original”, her voice “magnificent”, gave him chills. Howie is babbling about a love triangle. Mel B says she looks like “old Hollywood”. Four yeses.
Montage of successful acts: Duo Trapeze are doing flips in the air. Heidi says “girl power.” Girl power is now being repeated. And now Carly Jo Jackson sings “Next To Me.” She’s ok at best. I will say that the singers on this show are not NEARLY as good as on other shows. Which makes sense but whatever. A woman juggling a table with her feet. Ok then. She has three kids and a husband, I could have sworn she was my age. Four yeses.
Successful Auditions ~ America’s Got Talent 2014 by HumanSlinky
Next act is Baila Conmigo, a group of salsa dancers. Founder Joanna opened a dance studio, quit school at 17. Joanna says they have a surprise, lets see what it is. Kids (and more people) come out to join the adults. This is seriously impressive. They are moving really fast and they are in sync. Heidi and Mel B stand up. A six year old is part of the group, does the full routine and does great. Joanna cries tears of joy. Howie calls them “salsa on caffeine” because of their speed and Columbia being where coffee comes from. Howard thought it was smart of them to bring the kids out. Four yeses.
Howie is giving tours of his star on the walk of fame. Wow, that was stupid.
Rachel Butera (pardon me if my spelling is wrong) is an impressionist from New Jersey, and she wants to be a star. She knows Howard from his radio show, so Howard can’t vote. She opens with a Wanda Sykes impression. Transitions to Rosie, Whoopi…she is pretty phenomenal. Sorta planty but the good news is they all acknowledge it, so I’m not mad. Howard and Mel B stand up. Mel B says it was spot on, it blew her head off. Heidi liked it. Howard is proud of her. Rachel is crying, says she would pay rent with the million dollars. She gets three yeses.
Legacy is a group of four male singers. They have been singing together for 8 years, are in their 30s. They have a disastrous interview about how they worked in the tech industry, but then they start singing “Who’s Loving You” and they are pretty phenomenal. I see loads of potential. Harmonies are on point. The lead singer has an incredible range. Only Howie stands up, are the other three judges high? That was the best thing I’ve seen so far this season. Howard calls them “godlike”. Hedi “really enjoyed it.” Mel B says she has a sixth sense and knew they would be amazing, wanted to hear their mundane stories. Four yeses, well deserved.
Mat Franco is a 25 year old magician who specializes in card tricks. He was fascinated by magic since he was 4 years old. He is telling a story through his trick. I’m intrigued. He tells a story about himself and the judges and the cards go along with his story. He even makes the judges faces appear on the cards. Four judge standing ovation. Mel B loved the presentation. Howie said it was all true, loved it. Heidi loved how it was all about them. Howard loved his preparation, his routine. Four yeses.
Paul Ieti is a singer/US soldier from American Samoa who is a soldier who was deployed in Afghanistan for 9 months. He feels good that his singing can comfort people. He sings Stay by Rihanna. He has a high voice but a nice tone. I like him. The ending was impressive. Four judge standing ovation. Mel B goes up to give him a hug, says that was her comment. Heidi goes up next. Howard follows Heidi. Howie says he came out nervous, shy, but started singing and surprised everyone. Heidi thinks he’s a superstar. Four yeses.
Christian Stoinev is a 22 year old hand balancer. He is a fifth generation circus performer. He went to college at 17 as a backup plan, He is balancing with just one finger on a beer bottle. He takes off the jacket, balances with one hand on a pole, and then switches hands several times. He is amazing. Four judge standing ovation. He’s really good looking but also really talented. The judges love it. Howard says its like he is representing the five generations of the circus. Howie loved the switch. Four yeses.
Montage of Heidi and Mel B being cougars. <sarcasm> I’m sure that they really love this montage. </sarcasm> Ballet dancers, a wirework guy, two brothers in a band. None of them are special but they’re cute so that doesn’t really matter.
Grace Ann Gregorio is an 11 year old opera singer. And she’s impressive. But also probably too young. Four yeses.
Maggie Lane is a 31 year old opera singer from Columbus. She is a personal trainer for a living. She just wants to sing. Let’s see if she can. She strips down to a bikini. I sorta guessed that from her saying she wanted to let it all out or something like that. I don’t think she needed to strip personally, she was pretty good without doing that. I totally agree with Howard, it made the singing less important. Four yeses.
The Doctor Benji has 9 kids and grand kids too. He said he was worth 10 million dollars. And he was really bad. Or really auto tuned, either one. Four nos. Well the good news was it took 1 hour and a half until the first bad audition.
The Doctor Benji, 64 ~ America’s Got Talent… by HumanSlinky
Magical Voice Doctor wants to make Howard a good singer. Good luck with that. She can’t make him sing-well duh. But Heidi forces Howard to keep singing. Howard says he wants to crawl into a hole and die. Four nos.
Josh Orlian is a 12 year old stand up comedian from New York. He has never performed in public. AGT is his favorite TV show of all time. He tells dick jokes. I’m dead serious. My dad walked out of the room, couldn’t watch this. Mel B liked it a lot. Heidi brings his dad out on stage to scold him. Howie says he hasn’t even been Bar Mitzvah’ed yet. Then he says yes, Mazel Tov. Howard says he needs to get more comfortable, step it up, yes. Mel B says “naughty but nice” and yes. Heidi says yes. Four yeses. I’m not sure whether I should be cringing or laughing. Probably a mix.
Laura Dasi is a 43 year old aerialist from California. She has a 19 year old daughter and a 17 year old son. Six years ago she developed an autoimmune condition, her hair fell out over the course of a year. She is really impressive. Not something I’d pay to see as a show in Vegas. Mel B stands up, says she did not want it to end, calls it graceful and mesmerizing. Laura came out to prove she deserved to be seen. Howie says thank you for coming and yes. Mel B says yes. Heidi says her and her act were beautiful, yes. Howard says she has four yeses, has outdone herself today.
My favorites of the night were Legacy and Rachel Butera. The end of the show tonight was a letdown compared to the beginning.
