America’s Got Talent is back for season 4. David Hasselhoff, Piers Morgan, and Sharon Osbourne all return as judges. However, there’s a new host in town. Following in the footsteps of Regis Philbin and Jerry Springer, Mr. Mariah Carey Nick Cannon is the new host. NBC seems to believe he’s ready to be a star on something other than Nickelodeon.
Auditions will take place in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Seattle, and Washington DC.
Teacher’s aide Ray Schwarz will be singing and dancing a little bit. He claims he’s had lessons, but apparently not many. Hasselhoff buzzes. Piers lets him go for a while before buzzing. Once she’s done laughing, Sharon also buzzes. Piers wants to know how bad he was before the lessons.
Moses Lanham says he has a unique talent that nobody else does. That means it will suck. He’s the only known living person who can turn his feet around 180 degrees and still walk. Apparently, dead people do this trick all the time. While this may well be fun to watch, I don’t think he’ll be able to turn it into an hour and a half show and sell tickets to his act. Piers buzzes him. He gets three nos.
Christopher Mad Dog Thomas is the leader of FootworKINGz, a male dance group ages 16-24. Piers likes their energy and dynamism. Sharon thinks it’s awesome. Hasselhoff’s not sure if they can sustain an act, but he does like their attitude.
A bunch of blonde people (two brothers and two sisters) from Wisconsin called Shine are up next. They sing Walking on Sunshine. Yeah, color me surprised. The crowd is not very happy, and the judges aren’t either. Sharon is, however, happy to meet such very nice people. Piers reckons they’re really evil underneath.
Pete Peterkin is a Barack Obama impersonator. So basically this guy had no job before two years ago? He calls himself the Rock & Roll President. Then he tosses on a wig and becomes James Brown, which is not as entertaining, but he’s not just a one trick pony after all. He does about 300 impressions and plays about 15 instruments. He can sing, too. Despite the judges’ reservations, he’s won them over like he did with the crowd, and he gets three yes votes.
Debbie Victor has been perfecting her act for 50 years. Uh oh. She does animal sounds. Sharon buzzes immediately. Hasselhoff buzzes after hearing the sheep. Piers joins in. Come back in another 50 years.
Perhaps this next animal act will be better. Tony Hoard has brought his dog Rockin Rory, an Australian shepherd who’s 7 years old and does canine flying disc. Piers calls him an incredible flying dog. Sharon and David are equally impressed.
Brad Byers is a small town Idaho guy. He does an impression of a fishing trip gone horribly wrong… by sticking a hook through his nose and out his mouth. It’s not enough that he does that, though. He then begins to swing it back and forth. For his next trick, he brings out a drill. Then he drills into his nose. For real? Just as long as Hasselhoff keeps his finger off that buzzer, he should be safe. Piers calls him the most disgusting man in America. Translation: Piers loves him. David also says yes. Sharon says no, but with two votes, he will proceed to Vegas.
Haben Abraham (11), Salina (14), and Lianda (15) are the EriAm Sisters (Eritrean-American), a singing trio that recently released their first single. Nick is just happy to see some normal people to get away from the freaks and weirdos. He doesn’t care whether they can sing or not. They sing One More Chance by Jackson 5. Piers would like to see them take it to another level and get it right, but he thinks they’re very talented. Hasselhoff calls them the most talented kids he’s seen.
David Johnson has been playing the guitar since high school. He tells a tale of a character on Baywatch he had a crush on. David Hasselhoff? His original song is all about that crush. Yes, it is about the Hoff, not that blonde chick. Entertaining. Creepy. Let’s just stick with creepy. Obviously, David Hasselhoff gives him a yes. Sharon says no. Despite having buzzed him, Piers would like to see the love story continue, so he’s going to Las Vegas.
Bruce is an aerialist, and he’s there with his soul mate Simone, or at least that’s what they tell us anyway. They perform a double hoop act that they’re both in together. The music that starts playing is Barry White. Oh, now I’m afraid. Piers buzzes. He wants them to go get a room. Nick plans to get one of those hoops for himself and Mariah. Hasselhoff says no. Sharon says yes because that’s something she’d like to do with Ozzy. For some unexplained reason, Piers wants to see that again.
Joseph Maracina is an impersonator. Based on how he builds himself up, I’m not expecting anything good. First, he does Jack Nicholson. That’s Nicholson? Piers buzzes after about one sentence. How about Anthony Hopkins? He gets two more buzzers. Hasselhoff felt he did a very good Joseph… but no.
Dave Paris and his new wife Zoe Klein are wearing entirely too much shiny purple. They are Paradizo Dance. He’s pretty agile for a big fellow, and she’s powerful enough to hang with him without breaking anything. He weighs 240 pounds, but you wouldn’t notice by how she’s lifting him. Piers thought it was one of the most extraordinary things he’s ever seen. Hasselhoff was moved by their performance.
There’s one act remaining, Voices of Glory, two brothers and a sister (Michael, Nadia, and Avery) ages 9-16. Their inspiration is that their mom was in a head on collision a few years back, so to see if they could reach her in her coma, they started singing. She is in a wheelchair but still alive. They sing God Bless America, receiving a standing ovation from the audience and the judges. Piers says they’re the pride of America tonight. Sharon is moved to tears.
Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of America’s Got Talent Season 4 Episode 2, which airs Wednesday at 9/8c on NBC.