Tom Cotter

I was really not looking forward to Tuesday’s America’s Got Talent. After a very disappointing showing on Monday, I didn’t really have any expectation that it would get better. Fortunately, I was wrong. Tuesdays performances were not great, but it was a considerable improvement compared to these awful last few weeks.

The show opened with the magic category. First up was mind reader Eric Dittelman. He was entertaining in his initial audition, but also very intimate. His act seemed a bit small for Vegas. It still might be. As the judges agreed, he’s not a great showman. Nonetheless, overall he was impressive. At this point, the show was already far better than the first night in Vegas. Next up was one of my favorite acts, escape artist Nate Horseman. He was a bit better in his initial audition, but watching him escape from a glass box underwater was still exciting to watch. On the plus side, there might have been higher risk for serious damage, but escaping from a straightjacket is still more exciting. Both Dittelman and Horseman will get a chance to further prove themselves in New York.

Vocal duos followed. This was the most inconsistent category of the night. The judges were split on Eric & Olivia. Howard said he thinks they are a headlining act; Howie is still skeptical of them. The father-daughter duos followed and were not impressive. Maurice and Shanice Hayes were difficult to judge. Shanice is a very talented singer, but the judges agree that Maurice is bringing her down. Jorge and Alexa Naverez were also not good. The judges remarked that Jorge appeared to be teaching Alexa the song as they were performing. This was a weak point for Tuesday’s show.

The next category was the comedians. I was really looking forward to this, but I have little confidence that Jacob Williams and Tom Cotter will make it far in the New York rounds. Their material was very effective, but unfortunately the other comedians continued to be examples of why comedians have done terribly on the show. Impressionst Frank Roche abandoned his old material and tried to do conventional stand up. He couldn’t remember his material, which wasn’t very good, and was sent home immediately. Luckily, he was the only act of the night that made such a glaring mistake.

Now the kids were up, which was tough for the judges because they do not want to hurt their feelings. I have criticized the judges for not holding kids responsible for their lack of talent. The weakest performance was Issac Brian Brown and the judges made the right decision in sending him home.  Fourteen-year-old Edon made up for it with his rendition of Usher’s “Without You.” The remaining acts were adequate.

The male singers were simply an average category, but Tim Hockenberry was the strongest performer. Tim Poe, who lied about his injuries and aspects of his military service, became a non-issue for AGT when he didn’t even make it past Vegas. The reason Poe didn’t make it to New York was based solely on his talent and had nothing to do with his lies, since this episode was taped last month before the news broke.

Given that Monday night was terrible, more people went through to New York than I expected. Nonetheless, Tuesdays performances made up most of the acts that made it to the next round. They were simply more talented, but if the judges’ favorites were this inconsistent, I’m afraid of how bad the standbys will be. At least, Tuesdays episode was an improvement. Let’s hope this is a sign that the season is turning around.