America's Got Talent 2016

[Joe]

AGT 2016's first audition episode was amazing! Thirteen-year-old singer Laura Bretan received some high praise from Simon...and Mel B's Golden Buzzer propelled Laura directly to the Live shows! 



Tuesday's show was recorded in early March.  Laura is no stranger when it comes to talent shows...last month she was on Romania's Got Talent (she is Romanian but born in America) and has done dozens on YouTube. 

[Ross]

Loved her. I think on the same program Boy Who Wears Tape On His Face also appeared. He comes from Christchurch New Zealand. He is very funny silent comedian. He performs at our World Buskers Festival to sold out shows.

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[Libby]

Ross, they called him Tape Face Boy in the hashtag on the screen. That's intriguing that he's from NZ, but I found his act a little strange. Though I found him interesting. His huge, staring, guy-liner-framed eyes above the dark duct tape are somehow fascinating, and you don't want to look away. LOL

As mentioned in the BGT thread, I'm sorry, but I found Laura to be very cringeworthy. Sarah Brightman she is not... though there are probably opera singers out there who don't sound much better... which is why, in general, I am not keen on "true" opera singing. Her tongue-rolling was much too exaggerated, and there were moments when the thought that came to mind was that it sounded like she was swallowing her tongue. Sounds like poor technique, if you ask me. She certainly could improve with time; but it's not as if there's demand for a 13 year old in the opera, is there?

Sorry, I'm the Simon Cowell critiquer this time. Not a fan. The girl from last year was far more tolerable.

[Libby]

After hearing the soprano with Andrea Bocelli last night, I'm that much less impressed than I was the night before. This lady was very good, and not too warbly. It's not just the strange sound from her mouth, it was the fact her handling of the notes was less than perfect, too. I am so over tweeny opera singers, and judging by Ariel Barille's placement last year, the American audience has had their fill as well. In general, the AGT audience are fed up with singers, going by comments I see every year. They want unique stuff, and since the prize is a show in Las Vegas, that actually is what I prefer these days, as well.

Tape Face Boy would fit into that unique category, though I could see him getting a little too weird. It happens all the time with other acts. LOL

[Libby]

So, they're calling him Tape Face. Here's his audition:



I find his act weird but entertaining, though I find it doesn't really make much sense. What is the point of the taped face, and what does it have to do with what the rest of his act is? LOL I don't get how he can do that with his eyes, either, though as I say, they're hard to look away from. LOL

I wish they wouldn't include the staged comments (and weird looks) from the audience, because they don't add anything, and are just annoying.

[Libby]

Should we start a new thread for AGT in general, or rename it? I have more AGT videos to share, so do what you will with them:

This is by far the best act of the night:



It's somewhat similar to what the winner a few years ago did, but I think it's better. This is why singers don't win anymore. Singers have become boooorrrinngg. They're never that good, and when there's unique stuff like this, who needs them?

[Richard]

Hello Libby!

I've shortened the thread title to cover all artists, as with Britain's Got Talent, so you can post any more videos in this thread.

Richard

[Libby]

Oh good, now I can post the video of Jose & Carrie, the dog! Who, by the way, I discovered from a youtube search for the AGT video, were already on France's Got Talent 2 years ago! How is that allowed? Oh well, I won't complain. Here's the AGT audition:

[Libby]

This girl was on last night and, not surprisingly, got the golden buzzer. I found her performance to be very beautiful and powerful. I liked the way she used her voice, and she is very genuine and real. All she had to do was stand and sing, and the whole audience was completely quiet listening to her. Singers are always told or expected to move around the stage or do something else besides just stand there, but in her case, nobody even cared, because all that mattered was her voice and her beautiful face. I was shocked to find out she was only 16. She looks like she's in her 20's.

[Libby]

There was another great dog act on the show tonight, Patrick and Ginger! This dog might be stiff competition for Carrie and Jose (seen above).

There are some other animal acts shown briefly at the beginning, as well as some cute backstage moments with Howie Mandel's adorable Bulldog, Harvey, and Simon's Yorkies:

[Libby]

If anyone has missed the auditions, they're playing a re-cap of some of the "best" auditions tonight. Next week are the beginning of the call-backs, and I think Jose and Carrie are going to be on! I hope they make it, but that other dog might be tough competition for her. It looked like she'll be back to her more complicated twirling tricks, so it'll be a better audition than the first one, I'm sure.

[Joe]

I see AGT is on twice a week now on NBC, with the live shows starting on July 26.  A break for the Olympic Games coverage takes place in early to mid-August. 

Guest judges will include George Lopez, Reba McEntire, Louis Tomlinson and Ne-Yo.

[Libby]

So the live shows start right before they take a break?

Thank goodness for gymnastics, though that always entails staying up very late with very little online time.

[Libby]

The judges' cuts are finished, and the live shows start next week. In the meantime, I'm going to post some stand-out videos, in particular, Brian Justin Crum, who has an outstanding voice. I really, really enjoyed Creep. It was incredible! His is the version I've been looking for, that's powerfully emotional, yet not growly (I don't like the original). The Queen song may have been a little overdone, but the vocals are incredible, nonetheless:





Okay, have to post Tape Face Boy's latest performance, too. His skits are very odd, to say the least, and I don't really get the point of the latest ones, but... just look at that face in the still! I'm not kidding, I watch it for his face alone! Where does anyone get eyes that can open so wide? LOL The comments below this video say that he has some really good acts that they hope he does next time he's on the show, and I hope he does it, too.

[Libby]

Now, here's Carrie and Jose. Not the most amazing dance they've done, so it's understandable why they didn't make it. It's still very cute!
Unfortunately, I don't know what happened to Patrick & Ginger. They were never on the judges' cuts, and I realize now that there may have been some acts that were on that I don't remember very likely were replacements for them. I don't think that's why the video above no longer works, because I found another one of the same thing.