Whats Hot On TV

For those of us that know we have talent, yet can’t sing or dance, there’s another talent-based reality show contest out there, America’s Got Talent. There are ventrioquists, jugglers, musicians, animal acts, and nearly everything else you can imagine. Not that they don’t have singers and dancers, as they do, but it’s just not as limiting.

Like the other competitions, there are three judges deciding if they can move on to the semi-finals in Las Vegas. We have the quintessential British judge, Piers Morgan, as well as a bonus Brit who also is the recommended female judge, Sharon Osbourne, and required American perfromer, David Hasselhoff. Instead of just a flat out vote, they can also act as if they’re on The Gong Show, and hit a buzzer. A buzzer from each of the three judges sends the contestant home. If the contestant survives, then the judges vote, and a majority of two votes either send them home or to Las Vegas.

On the first night of auditions, coming from New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles, we had a variety of memorable perfromances, some that made it, some that didn’t.

Mary Bly is an 80 year old tap dancer. She bribed her father into letting her take tap dancing lessons in order to do better in school. She taps her way out onto the stage, this tiny old loady, full of life. As Jerry worries that she’s dancing too close to the edge of the stage, both David and Piers X her out. They call her lovely and sweet, and David tells her it just isn’t enough to sustain her past today. The crowd chants her name, or maybe they’re chanting for Jerry Springer, and she shuffles off to Buffalo right off the stage. She was incredibly charming.

Kaitlyn Maher, 4 years old, claims her favorite thing to do is sing, and she’s been doing it since she was just 1. She’s absolutely adorable, and when Sharon asks if she’s from New York, she corrects her, saying she’s from America. At first she just seems okay, but the longer she goes on, you forget she’s just 4. As the judges point out later, she remembered all the words and stayed in tune the whole way through. I don’t know why, but something about her singing Somewhere Out There got me emotional by the end. As Sharon has tears in her eyes, they send her to Las Vegas, and Kaitlyn runs off the stage and into her daddy’s arms, as he tells her he’s proud of her.

Jonathon Burkin, 17, had a famliar story but an unfamilar talent … for a guy. He’s been made fun of all his life while going through this quest to fulfill his dream of being a … baton twirler. Tonight he doesxq the most amazing routine with flaming baton to Charlie Daniels music yet. David, not one to mince words, tells him he can tell all those kids at school to shove it, because he has talent. He was simply amazing, and I hope a camera crew follows him into school as he tells those kids to shove it. But the guy that I will remember the most, and will remember all the way to fine semi-finals and beyond, as I’m sure he’ll be standing at the end, is Neal E. Boyd. He grew up the child of a single mother and recognizes the sacrifices she made for him. He fell in love with opera after his brother brought home a 3 Tenors CD as homework. He has such an emotional moment in this audition, I think this might be all he needs, but I do hope he makes it through. There’s no way he won’t as the entire audiece and Sharon and David are giving him a standing O. He doesn’t even get to finish the song because of his emotions and the crowd’s reaction. They all recognize his dream, as well as his warmth, sincerity, electricity, and passion. He cries after, and this is truly his nirvana. He just proved everything he came her to do and overcame something he needed to.

I’ll remember all these people that made it through when I see them again in Las Vegas, but it will be Neal I won’t be able to get out of my mind until then.Photo courtesy of nbc.co

For more information on America’s Got Talent, see SirLinksalot: America’s Got Talent.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS