Category: america’s got talent

The top 48 (some good, some ridiculous and/or stupid) were revealed in America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 12. Tonight the first group of 12 acts performs for America’s votes.

The Kung Fu Heroes have kicks that are fast as lightning. This high energy act involves martial arts, weapons, and fire all set to music. Piers found that to be a martial arts routine, rather than an entertainment routine. Sharon and Howie agree.

Christina & Ali, two sisters living in a family where every single sibling has cystic fibrosis, are arguably getting by on their story more than their voices. They sing God Blessed the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts. Sharon appreciates their honest performance, and she won’t be saying anything negative, although she could. Howie loves them, whether they missed any notes or not. Piers disagrees. Not one to patronize contestants, he gives a somewhat more useful critique, but regardless thought they did well when they were harmonizing together.

Airpocalypse taught people who play real instruments a lesson at the auditions: if you actually know how to play an instrument, don’t bother bringing it. Howie is thoroughly entertained and amazed how much they can do with absolutely nothing.

The Hot Shot Tap Dancers are hoping to not make any mistakes this time. Piers loves the look and quite likes the choreography, but it needed a bit more oomph. Sharon thinks this will make tapping very current.

Paul Safy Jr. sings Cry Me a River (not the Justin Timberlake version) by Julie London. Sharon found his performance to be dated and cheesy, although he’s got a great tone in his voice. It’s hard to be current and sing songs sounding like this. Piers wants him to relax.

Future Funk probably wouldn’t be able to take a gig in Vegas since it would keep them up past their bed times, but that doesn’t stop the crowd from chanting “Future funk… future funk…” Howie says deal.

Sally Cohn is back for some more hand whistling. For some reason. Sharon thinks she’s probably the most famous hand whistler in America today, as if there’s anyone else.

After walking across broken glass soaked in kerosene while blindfolded and juggling something on fire, Nick Pike was cut anyway. However, Trystan and Krystan withdrew from the competition, so he’s back. Tonight he ups the ante with lots of fire. For those who need a reminder, do not try this at home. Piers buzzes him halfway through. Howie thought it was too much. What is it that he does? His description is juggler acrobat comedian. Oh. One of those.

RNG are hoping they don’t break the girl they’re trying to flip. The cliche sleepover theme gets interrupted by some zombies. Howie doesn’t know that this is any more than a really nice dance recital. Piers thinks they aren’t on the same level of the other dancers just yet. Sharon felt it was perfect for their age.

Maricar is the well endowed chick who wears tight leather. Oh, and she’s a painter. As her twist for the night, she is painting underwater. Howie and Piers admire… the arts.

Fighting Gravity are a bunch of frat guys who made up an act in which they float around in the dark. It’s all quite cool. Sharon says the Blue Man Group and Cirque du Soleil need to move over. Piers calls it the performance of the night.

Nathaniel Kenyon is used to singing for 10 people in an elderly home. In addition to being out of his comfort zone, he’s also sick. I don’t know that it much matters. Whoever was going to vote for him already made up their minds weeks back.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 14, which airs Wednesday at 9/8c on NBC.

Between the first two groups, 37 people advanced in America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 11, leaving 11 spots open for the final group of 28.

Danger starts off the night. A martial arts group goes first. Then some knife throwing jugglers. Nick Pike shatters some glass and adds kerosene to it. Then he walks over it barefoot while juggling three objects (one on fire) while blindfolded. Jeremy Van Schoonhoven returns with his bike.

The kids are up next. Northwest Dance & Acro invite Nick to be an honorary member.

Vocal groups are next, and they range from R&B to country to broadway. Amongst them are those with inspirationl stories, New Directions choir and sisters Christina & Ali.

Now the random novelty acts. First is the chick who paints with her body, which Piers calls completely ridiculous. He also hates the guy who drops something and the guy who accidentally pops balloons with fire. The playing card record holder keeps missing his mark, and Howie has to beg him to stop. Ronith is the most ridiculous impressionist ever, but this time he decides to be the most ridiculous actor ever.

Bands are another category. Harmonik are back to represent Haiti. We go from rockabilly to pop to classical fusion. Then we end with Airpocalypse, which is seriously an air band. The actual bands are insulted to be in the same category, but they are quite amused during the performance.

The final category is the male singers, and there is a lot of competition. Luigi Seno realizes he’s the least experienced but hopes his hard work will pay off. Nate Kenyon is less nervous than last time.

Now that all of the acts have performed, the judges have determined the acts going on to the top 48. They (most of them) are:

Airpocalypse (why?)
Ali & Christina
Jeremy van Schoonhoven
Luigi Seno
Nathaniel Kenyon
RNG
Ronith (oh god)
The Strange Familiar

That just about rounds out the 48:

Airpocalypse
Ali & Christina
Alice Tan Ridley
Anna & Patryk
Antonio Restivo
ArcAttack
AscenDance
The Belly Dancing Duo
Cheer SF
Chipps Cooney
CJ Dippa
Da Maniacs
Debra Romer
Doogie Horner
Fighting Gravity
Future Funk
Haspop
Hannibal Means
Harmonica Pierre Herbineaux
Hot Shot Tap Dancers
Jeremy van Schoonhoven
John Beatty
Lil Chris
Lindsey Stirling
Luigi Seno
Maricar
Mary Ellen
Michael Grimm
Murray SawChuck
Polina Volchek
Prince Poppycock
RNG
Ronith
Rudi Macaggi
Sally Cohn
South Philly Vikings
The Strange Familiar
Strikers All Stars
Studio One Young Beast Society
Taylor Matthews
Twisted Trystan & Krystan
Wreckless Dance Crew

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 13, which airs Tuesday at 9/8c on NBC.

The last of the auditions in America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 10 brought us singer Luigi Seno and not much else. Now we’re heading to Vegas. Over 100 acts have arrived to compete for 1 of the 48 spots in the show.

The contestants are divided into three groups. Will they follow last season, where they just cut a whole bunch of random acts on the spot? Group A consists of the judges’ favorites, and they will be performing today. Group B had worse acts, but they will be granted the remaining spots after the first group performs, if there are any. Group C, their journey here ends today because they’re going straight to Hollywood.

The ten acts going straight through to the live shows are:

The Belly Dancing Duo
Polina Volchek
Strikers All Stars
Cheer SF
Haspop
Future Funk
ArcAttack
Da Maniacs
Fighting Gravity
South Philly Vikings

First up are the magicians. William Scott Anderson will be going first. I see he’s still wearing the uniform. Michael Grasso follows him, and he is going for slight of hand this time. Good, but was going small instead of big the right risk to take? Ryan makes a car appear behind a banner. Chipps Cooney is the last magician left, except he’s not really a magician. Piers finds him utterly pointless and not funny.

Harmonica players is apparently a category. Jia-Yi He has brought 5 harmonicas with him this time, but Harmonica Pierre has a gold one.

The acrobats are next. AscenDance go first. Then Michael and Ashley go, and he gets stuck near the end. At least nobody got hurt. Rudi Macaggi doesn’t balance his head on any sports equipment, but he does perform with a chick who’s probably stronger than he is.

Danger is here. Twisted Trystan has his fiancee hammer a nail through his tongue, then he swallows some blades. Ms. Donna again makes the judges fear for their lives, seeing as she’s half blind and dropping things that are on fire. John Beatty can pick up girls, six of them, then he hooks his arms up to motorcycles as smoke from their wheels surrounds him. Antonio Restivo is back to do a magic act that is pretty much the same thing Michael Grasso did in his audition, but with fire and leather and not as flawlessly executed.

The next category is classical singers. Prince Poppycock is back. If only he’d get rid of the ridiculous outfit. Regardless, he’s sick and not singing at his best. Hannibal Means will be wearing a rooster on his head. Carlos Aponte follows him. Howie’s not as impressed, but the other two think his vocals are great.

Dance starts off with the tappers. The Hot Shots realize they crumbled under pressure. Then we move to Bollywood, hip hop, and apparently hip hop violin.

The female singers are the next group. April Lane sings Whitney. Debra Romer is going to nail it, or at least try. She succeeds with her sad song. Mary Ellen missed more notes than she hit the first time around, and she also thinks that Howie’s real name is Holly. Piers wants to know why his X is not working tonight, and her musical torture lasts and lasts until Howie pulls her off the stage after more than 10 minutes (she had 90 seconds).

The kids are going to have trouble standing out because they’re cute since they’re all going to be compared against each other. Connor Doran’s indoor kite flying was worth watching the first time, but how long can it really last? CJ Dippa may well be the next Eminem yet.

There are a pair of comedians, one of whom is named Doogie. Piers liked him better when 3000 people wanted to kill him.

Novelty acts means people who don’t fit elsewhere. The chick in leather and her chest are first. Then we see a whole lotta dogs. And a flaming lasso. One man band Arthur Nakane will be taking another three hours to set up his instrument, and Piers still wants his X back. Sally Cohn is the hand whistler. She’d like to go to Hollywood, to visit.

With the women having already performed, it’s time for the male singers. Taylor Matthews returns with another very original rendition, this time of Smokey Robinson’s Tracks of My Tears. Michael Grimm goes way over 90 seconds, which gets him a warning from Piers.

With the end of the first day, the judges now have to decide who will be advancing to the live shows. 38 spots remain. The acts advancing include:

Antonio Restivo
Ascendance
Chipps Cooney
CJ Dippa
Debra Romer
Doogie Horner
Hanibal Means
Harmonica Pierre
John Beatty
Mary Ellen (what’s the point?)
Michael Grimm
Prince Poppycock
Rudi Macaggi
Sally Cohn
Taylor Matthews
Twisted Trystan & Krystan

In total, 27 acts additional are on their way to Hollywood.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 12, which airs Wednesday at 9/8c on NBC.

Chicago brought us Strikers All Stars, Carlos Aponte, and Debra Romer in America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 9. Tonight we conclude the audition tour.

Jimmy Dinh (not the sausage guy) from Vietnam is a comedian. He starts off asking that people laugh slowly and clearly so he can understand. Maybe Howie is his father. With that, Piers buzzes him and the audience starts to boo. His joke about chicken cluking ultimately gets him axed. It’s a no for now.

Kaya and Sadie, The Belly Dancing Duo, will be going through regardless of how they perform based on what they’re wearing and their manmade parts.

Lindsey Stirling plays hip hop violin, whatever that is. Team X-Pogo make pogo sticks somewhat cool. Da Maniacs are a group of dancers. They’re all going to Vegas.

Clownvis is the king of clowns. Wow. Points for ridiculousness. He pulls some hankies out of his mouth, then he begins singing Old McDonald Had a Farm. Three buzzers. Worst act Piers has ever seen. Clownie proceeds to insult all of the judges and Ozzy. Sharon tells him to **** off. Howie follows suit just for fun.

Sumo Champs is, well, some fat guys wrestling. The Tap Dancing Sarah Palins get on stage and dance with a bear. Frequent Flyers Productions hang on a contraption about 5 feet off the ground, which Howie proves he can do (he’s going to Vegas at least).

Rick Smith, Jr. holds a world record with playing cards. Nick comes out on stage and holds a piece of celery, which is then sliced by the cards that are being thrown.

Phil Trau will be doing a tap dance routine from half a century ago. Hopefully people back then were easier to entertain. Piers buzzes, but he agrees to take it back when the act is over.

Luigi Seno and his family moved from the Philippines 8 years ago. He sings and plays guitar. Not at all the voice I expected from this guy. Howie calls him a great entertainer. Piers thinks his charm will go a long way.

Arthur Nakane is a one man band and the final act. It takes him three hours to prepare his instrument. He gets the crowd cheering “Yes we can,” which is a saying that was stolen from him. Howie says thanks, but no thanks. The other two agree to send him to Vegas.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 11, which airs Tuesday at 9/8c on NBC.

Day 2 of Portland in America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 8 brought us AscenDance and Christina & Ali. Tonight we head to Chicago.

Zach Carty plans to surprise, astound, and disgust. He will be sneezing with his eyes open, hoping that his eyes don’t fall out of his head. Howie buzzes him before he begins, then he walks away. The first part of the act is to make himself sneeze with Q-tips. The second part of the act will remain a mystery because he’s unable to sneeze. Now get out before Howie gets the pig flu.

Strikers All Stars is a dance group made up of eight roommates. Sharon thought that was good. Howie disagrees. He thought that was great.

The Gentlemen of NUCO want to break the stereotype of classical music. NU Covenant is a gospel group. Naishon Jones is a dancer. They’re all going to Vegas.

The Spellbinder is an illusionist who’s a little lost in a previous decade. He makes his handkerchief dance by putting a little boogie in it. He’s quickly buzzed off the stage.

Tom Zemke makes the most disastrous music video ever. Laura Ernst is stuck in a bubble. Buddy Holly Cheesehead sings a song about cheese and sneezing. Go back to Wisconsin, dude.

Carlos Aponte has come from Puerto Rico, which I guess we’re counting as the 51st state for the purposes of this audition. You know there are auditions in Florida, right? He promises his voice is nice and sweet. By some minor miracle, he’s right. Howie calls this one of those unexpected fantastic moments that he wanted to be part of.

Polina Volchek is a performance artist who does a hula hoop act. Howie tells her she’s like Hooters on steroids. That’s a good thing.

John Beatty is a strongman whose day job is registered nurse. He rolls up a frying pan. Then he drives a nail into boards and a license plate with his hand. Piers is unimpressed and happy he’s got security, but he’s willing to be the third yes.

Debra Romer ran away from home 4 years ago and hasn’t been back since, but she thanks music for saving her life. She sings Sarah McLachlan’s Angel. Howie senses her fear, despite her talent, and he declines. Piers found her vulnerability really appealing. Sharon is not sure, but she will give her a second chance.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 10, which airs Wednesday at 9/8c on NBC.

Portland day 1 brought us Airpocalypse, Connor Doran, and William Scott Anderson in America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 7. Now we head back to Portland for day 2.

Taxi driver Soriah usually sings in his cab. He wants to show the judges something they’ve never seen before. He comes dressed up as a… I don’t know what the hell he’s dressed as. Then he proceeds to make strange noises like a man possessed (but not with any talent).

The Amazing Amy performs contortion yoga dancing. I’m not sure whether she’s Amy or not, but she’s definitely not amazing.

Hart Keene takes off his shirt to start. Then he proceeds to swallow needles. The judges are annoyed by him. Natasha Delepine has the hair of a troll doll and makes up a song on the spot.

Family group The Hot Shot Tap Dancers will hopefully break the losing streak. Piers thinks they’re very cool and loves the look and feel of it. But he wasn’t wild about the choreography.

Isabelle and Ryan (AscenDance) have decided to combine dancing and climbing. Really? Somehow, the combination works. They drive each other up a wall much better than Howie does with his wife.

RNG (Rated Next Generation) is a group of young dancers ages 11-13 with potential. Paul Safy, Jr. is an old school singer. The Sky Sirens do a doubles trapeze act that looks like it may well have been awesome, if only we’d seen more of it. Kent Jenkins plays an instrument he and his father built. They are all going to Vegas.

Ryan Compton has a talent that’s extremely different. 99% could not even attempt to do it. Nor would they want to. He starts off by making high pitched noises, then he jumps around randomly in what’s apparently supposed to be dancing.

Harmonica Pierre is a 74 year old from Belgium. This is the greatest love of his life, more so than his ex-wife. Good… but Sharon doesn’t think she can take too much of it. The other two will allow him to advance.

The final act of the night is Christina and Ali, a pair of singing sisters. They and both of their siblings have cystic fibrosis. The judges are amazed and inspired.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 9, which airs Tuesday at 9/8c on NBC.

Day 2 of Orlando brought us Simeon Mulder and Harmonik in America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 6. Now we head to Portland.

Magique (really?) Bazaar is more bizarre than magical. The act is apparently to keep changing into different masks. Then fall off the stage.

Living Dead Girlz are a zombie dance group that are not as hot as they think. Continuing the horror theme, Bloody Maggie and Her Pet come out on to stage. She’s actually a social worker. Vee Bee sings on the trapeze. At least she doesn’t break anything. Tiny Talent is a bunch of chihuahuas that run around randomly on stage.

Jeremy is from Talent, OR. He does a bunch of stunts on a bike while hovering over Nick Cannon’s face. Once he’s done torturing Nick, he heads on to platforms to attempt some more stunts. This guy will be lucky if he doesn’t bust his head open, but he’ll be given a second chance to show what else he can do.

Bhangra Empire performs an Indian cultural dance. The Strange Familiar is a talented singing couple. Northwest Dance & Acro is pretty much what it sounds like. These acts all advance to Vegas.

Airpocalypse is an air guitar super group. As opposed to a regular air guitar group I guess. Strangely enough, they’re actually entertaining. I hope they’re wearing more clothes when they return.

Rebecca Roudman plays the cello. It’s like a giant violin. You really can’t turn this into rock, though. Piers is afraid that death will be like this.

Connor Doran flies indoor kites. That’s a real thing? He has epilepsy but hopes to prove he can do things regardless of what he’s told. Angel by Sara McLachlan is a brilliant song choice for this surprisingly touching act.

William Scott Anderson performed magic while in the military to cheer up children. Apparently, his magic act costume is his uniform. He puts a girl in a box, then proceeds to fold that box, followed by jabbing swords through it. He’ll be going to the next round.

Sally Cohn is young (at heart). After putting a block of wood under one foot (because one leg’s shorter than the other) and then lubricating her hands, she does a hand whistle of America the Beautiful. With about 5 notes left to go, Sharon buzzes her. Sally’s actually written a book about hand whistling/coming out, which Howie buys for 12 bucks. It turns out she’s more entertaining as a comedian than she is as a whistler.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 8.

A trip to Orlando in America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 5 led us to Nick Pike, Trystan and Krystan, and Wreckless. Tonight we head back to Orlando for day 2.

Frankie Elliston is going to do some magic, which he’s practiced while serving at Chili’s. He will be taking a string in his mouth and getting it out another orifice. Which one he doesn’t seem sure. He pulls it out of his stomach. What the hell is this? Because he has disgusted everybody, Frankie will be going to Vegas.

Murray Sawchuck is also a magician, and he’s brought a blonde dressed like a schoolgirl with him. The South Philly Vikings is a distractingly costumed dance group. Max Winfrey is a knife thrower, who has kidnapped Nick so he has someone to throw knives at. They’re all going to Vegas.

Erin Barylski’s talent is to paint a flag with her body. Uh. If you say so. What would her next act be? We may find out.

Dutch (Netherlands, not Pennsylvania) student Simeon Mulder is a piano player. Quite impressive. Piers says he’s got more talent than any other act this season.

Tiahizzi Cherrelle will be doing a song and dance routine. It’s obvious this will suck. To add insult to injury, she starts stripping.

Yogi Laser then tries to prove to the world he’s the light. He fails. Paul Pierog follows this with an entire group of freaks for his act. Fafo is another stripper we really don’t want to see partially clothed, forcing Sharon to cover her face.

Studio One Young Beast Society is a dance group in need of a shorter name. Piers likes the fresh feel of the group.

Efim Tabachnikov is going to sing. Even being 72 won’t save him, though. At least he doesn’t hear them say no.

Harmonik is a group of musicians from Haiti. They sing a very original version of Hallelujah.

Sponjetta Parrish is a disaster waiting to happen. She sings Studio, the most ridiculous original song I’ve heard since Pants on the Ground. Nick singing with her… not helping.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 7.