America’s Got Talent: Second 10 Semi-Finalists Perform and a Few Stand Out from the Crowd
After seeing that the Bollywood dancer Kashif and Boy Shakira landed a coveted spot in the Top 20 I was a tiny bit turned off by “America’s Got Talent”. I do realize that they want to represent a wide variety of acts and talents but Kashif cannot dance and Boy Shakira may be full of happiness and I applaud him for that but he certainly is not a sensational female impersonator. This isn’t “America’s Got Entertainment”; this is “America’s Got Talent”!
With that said there were some pretty fantastic acts through the night. “Second Story Guys” had infectious energy, charisma, and they nailed their routine. I especially liked seeing Jerry Springer stand by them, it really showed how tall those guys really were and made their act that more amazing. I don’t think they’ll win it but somebody should pick up their act. Those boys belong in Vegas baby! The ventriloquist Terry Fator never ceases to amaze me as he did a Kermit the Frog impersonation and Louis Armstrong. Piers said it all when he said that he was a great impressionist, a great singer, and a great comedian. “The Fault Line’ proved to be tight, together, they looked great, and they sounded spectacular. I don’t know what the judges were thinking. They gave them almost no positive feedback because they didn’t like their song choice of “The Way You Make Me Feel” by Michael Jackson. I don’t agree with the judges and I don’t think America will either. They rocked! Finally my favorite of the night, Cas Haley. What a fantastic and unique voice this young man has and he is so likeable and talented. I think Cas should win it all. Piers pointed out it was the best performance he has seen so far.
There were a few acts where you wondered what they were thinking. Like “Popovich Comedy Pet Theater”. Where were all the stunning dog tricks? We didn’t quite get the act and it was definitely slow and kind of boring. Definitely disappointing compared to what we have seen them do before. Changing their act probably lost them a spot in the Top 10. Jason Pritchett was another performer that I was disappointed in. He has a great country voice but chose to tackle “Life is a Highway” which was very recently covered by Rascal Flatts. Never good to be compared to them! The style was all wrong for him too. Jason is not a rock star, he is a country singer. It seemed kind of sloppy and flat. The judges were mixed and my husband thought it was more like “Road Kill on the Highway”. The last act of the night “The Duttons” picked “La Bamba” to perform and they were all over the place with solos, dancing, and singing. No doubt they are talented but it was frantic, not connected, strange, and had way too much going on. Sharon hit the nail on the head when she said that “less is more”. The Hoff thinks they’ll make it to the next round but I don’t see that as a sure thing. Their act was literally ripped out of the early 1980’s which was very unfortunate for them.
Finally there were a couple of acts that were so-so. The women’s trio “Southern Girls” looked beautiful and sounded pretty good. They were a classy act but something just seemed off. They lacked spark or energy. Piers thought there was something not quite right with the chemistry of them and I totally agree with him. Sharon wondered where the identifiable lead voice was. I wondered that too. Then there were the high energy “Calypso Tumblers”. Usually they flew all over the place but tonight they only had a couple of tricks. They really needed more tumbling and acrobatics in their routine. Of course there was Boy Shakira who became Boy Britney with back up dancers and everything. What do I say? As William Hung was to “American Idol” so is Boy Britney to “America’s Got Talent”.
At the end of the show we see that Julienne Irwin, Butterscotch, “The Glamazons”, Robert Hatcher, and “Sideswipe” make it through to the Top 10 from last weeks voting. I was a little disappointed “Jonny Come Lately” didn’t make it but they are young and still have time. It looks like America got the first 5 right. Hopefully next week we’ll see “Second Story Guys”, Terry Fator, Cas Haley, “The Fault Line”, and either Jason Pritchett or “The Duttons” in the next group to make it to the Top 10. In the end though it will be down to the singers of the competition giving it their all for the coveted votes of America and Cas Haley will eventually take home the one million dollar prize and be crowned the winner of “America’s Got Talent”.
© Copyright 2007 Blindigo Magazine | Article written by Niki Tschirgi
