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mashitandsmashit · 4 years ago

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America’s Got Talent: Season 15 - Quarter-Finals 1

Well, it's official! AGT has reached a “new normal”!

Almost half the acts were filmed, and some of them appeared to be pre-recorded...Kinda undermines the live stage aspect of this show...

What's more, we have Kelly Clarkson filling in for the man who made her famous (I figured it was only a matter of time before we saw her as a guest judge). I guess she was okay, but not really one worth judging anyone other than singers...I'm sure she's right at home on “The Voice”, but here...Well, we'll see if she might develop more of a presence, assuming Simon still needs more time to recover...(No need to hurry, Simon...But get well!)

Speaking of people who couldn't make it, the Divas and Drummers were unable to make it for some reason, and have dropped out of the competition...Brett Loudermilk has filled their spot for tonight, which still leaves a vacant spot to bring somebody back in one of the next three weeks...Let's just say, I've already made my wildcard predictions, even though they weren't actually intending on any for this round...Also, this change of plans must have happened a while ago, since someone on the Wiki kept listing Brett for this week, even with the editors removing it...This was WELL before they announced that Divas and Drummers dropped out...

Despite the weird nature of the show, I guess I'll give them props for not USING props, and creating some pretty neat three-dimensional backdrops...Roberta really did look like she was trapped on an island with no means of escape...Well, in an overly-CG'd movie sort of way...

I also liked how the acts that WEREN'T there were able to get some pretty neat sets...It's almost like they're in a movie studio amusement park or something...

Anyway, let's gauge their qualities best we can...

11: Michael Yo. This is probably the first time in a while that a comedian on this show (not counting the ones that were quickly rejected...though on second thought, it might) failed to make me crack a smile even once! The jokes were the same old uninspired gender stereotype jokes I've heard from every hack comedian, and there's just something REALLY obnoxious about his whole “CAN I GET A WHAT-WHAT!?” delivery. I didn't like him last time either, but there were a FEW chuckle-worthy jokes in his audition...And yes, I feel bad saying these things, especially after hearing what he went through. I sympathize, and am glad that he recovered...But if he goes through tomorrow (and let's face it, he likely will), it's not for whatever laughs he brought (as few as those might have been) but the tears. And some of those tears are his own...(Not that he doesn't have REASON to be emotional, but he is VERY emotional, even by this show's standards...)

10: Shaquira McGrath. Without the upbeat fun of her audition, or the moving arrangement of her JC performance, this felt about as bland as any singer I've heard in the past...She also drowned herself out with the backing track and just didn't seem to have the confidence she showed before...She even had a boring set to compliment the boring performance (which is sad, since she was the first to perform on that stage, and the ones to come were much better...)

9: Roberta Battaglia. I guess she's in a similar position as Shaquira, as what made her stand out before was the Lady Gaga vocals...This song wasn't nearly as interesting, but I guess at the very least her singing was more consistent than Shaquira's...Are they really gonna push her to win this season? Because so far, I'm not quite sold on her...

8: Pork Chop Revue. “Lethargic dog act” sounds about right...I know they're hyping it up because “It's pigs instead of dogs! OMG!” But like I said before, pigs aren't really that hard to train...And none of the tricks were anything surprising...(At least their audition had that baby pig in the carriage...) Still cute, but I'd still say this act is the runt of tonight's litter, ready for the proverbial slaughter...It's gonna take more than a talented spider to save THEM...That'll do, pigs...That'll do...

7: Frenchie Babyy. There's a likability to Frenchie that makes me REALLY want to like his act...But in the end, I think he's suffering pretty much the same problem as Turf did: There's not much to the act aside from a guy doing weird things with his arms...He just looked lost in that elaborate 3D set, and there's only so much stage you can fill with just your arms...It's not like contortionists filling a stage is impossible; Strauss Serpent pulled it off (at least once), and that guy can pull off contortions that Frenchie could never even DREAM of! We'll just see if Howie's faith that he'll go through tomorrow is well-placed...

6: Simon and Maria. It's amazing what a fun set can do for an otherwise humdrum act...Not much to this performance that I haven't seen before from them, but throw in the diner set and the retro clothes, and something just clicks...I didn't love it, but I still had fun watching them, and I could tell they had fun performing...

5: Double Dragon. Similar case for these ladies, but even moreso! Their name may be a ripoff of an old-school arcade game, but they sure know how to put on a show! In a battle against that OTHER singing twin act with a name straight out of 80s martial arts works, sorry, but the Ninjas are no match for the Dragons!

4: Archie Williams. I'm starting to get Archie's charm. He may not be the best singer, but he is compelling to listen to...Do I support him potentially winning this whole thing? Not really...But I will wish him the best nonetheless!

3: Annaliese Nock. Sorry, Bello, but I can't count you for this performance...Nonetheless, like Simon Cowell, I wish you a good recovery! (Speedy too, but like I said, Simon doesn't need to rush it...) Anyway, it's funny how they talk about their previous appearances on this show, and yet never brought up that Bello performed this very same act in this very same round three years ago...I will admit...It was better when he did it...He was a LOT more nimble and probably had years of experience doing it, as opposed to Anna tripping at points and looking like it was much harder for her...But that still didn't stop it from being compelling to watch...Even when she tripped (or ESPECIALLY when she tripped), you just can't help but root for her to keep going! For that, it might have ended up better than it would have if both of them performed this stunt together...Either way, we'll see if they get the votes they deserve this time, but there's still some stiff competition (by which I mean there were quite a few acts that appeal to emotions more than raw talent...Though maybe they'll get sympathy votes for the accident...)

2: Brett Loudermilk. A mixture of sword swallowing, archery, magic and comedy! It's like he threw four separate acts into a blender, and this was the result! It looks like Sofia's gonna be a permanent fixture as his assistant, at least as long as he's competing in this game...I guess they work off of each other too well! And once again, funnier than the actual comedian tonight (without any offense to Michael, since I know he went through a lot lately). Him and his Pepto-Bismol hair have my vote!

1: Feng E. The sad thing is, Feng's probably not gonna get the votes he deserves, because he didn't receive the hype he deserves. I mean, second act of the night!? Really!? This was too awesome to be placed so early! No doubt there's a bias for which acts tend to get hyped over others, and innovative instrumentalists are never particularly high in the pecking order unless they have a sob story to milk for all it's worth...Though I will say that his Lego story is a story I would vote for! We'll just see how things turn out tomorrow, but with so many acts that the judges seem to like over him, and even in the child category he gets out-cuted by Roberta and Maria, it's not looking particularly hopeful for him...

Pretty mixed bag of a night...Cowellization seemed to be in full effect even without the man himself there...Also, the filmed performances are gonna take some getting used to, but I do like how the acts work with them...

My Votes: I gave every vote I could to my Top 3 in this list...

Result Predictions: I'm not really in the mood to be optimistic here...I still hold that Archie and Roberta will get the Top 2 spots, Michael will probably get the other one, and maybe one or two of my three favorites will make their way into the save votes alongside maybe Simon and Maria and/or Double Dragon...

See you tomorrow for Kodi Lee and Mat Franco!

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