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AGT Results Recap: July 11th
Hawley Magic Performing on Tuesday
Four of 12 acts were set to advance on last night’s America’s Got Talent and it was once again the boundaries of what should be considered true talent. The live shows started with 48 acts and a lot of them didn’t deserve a shot. The semifinals will consist of 24 acts, many of which will be misplaced. However, there’s nothing the show can do about it. The judges were never shown a good selection of talent this season. Past seasons have certainly been better, so this is not the best the show can do. It just seems that they got incredibly unlucky this time around. This is the point where the competition is supposed to be getting serious, but it’s difficult at this point to take the show seriously.
The first result brought Turf and Tim Hockenberry to the stage. I was initially surprised. Then I remembered that both acts usually advance when only two are brought on stage. Turf did not deserve to advance, but four acts had to. America probably got it right. After all, both of them are talented. It was clear though that Hockenberry outperformed Turf on Tuesday. The judges usually say the talent is overwhelming and it would be true in most seasons. However, the acts that have been advancing might have already been gone in a more competitive season.
AGT’s Second Night of Performances
Turf
America’s Got Talent has provided its viewers with a selection of acts that basically asks America to go with the lesser of 48 evils. This isn’t to say that some of the acts aren’t good at times, but this is a season with many subpar acts. Even a lot of the ones the judges think are good will never be worthy of a Vegas show. This season’s highest quality should be considered mediocre television. Once again, it’s hard to say whether four acts actually deserved to advance. America will just have to take it as it is and realize those are the rules.
Lion DanceMe
Lion DanceMe act consisted of the performers dressed in their lion costumes jumping in between platforms. This is supposed to be a cross between a dance act and a danger act. There was neither. This act did not deserve to make it past Vegas. As the judges said, their act seems the same every performance. The platforms might have been a little higher and there might have even been less dancing. That makes the act only slightly better in one aspect and much worse in another. In the package beforehand, Sharon said she loved the element of danger. When considering the danger acts, it is incredibly unfortunate that any other truly dangerous act is put into the same category as Lion DanceMe. Howie got bored watching the performance as did I. Both Howard and Sharon were constructive, but it’s not worth it. Lion DanceMe does not really belong on the national stage.
AGT Asks Viewers to Standby in Vegas
The All Ways
I didn’t know what to expect for Wednesday’s episode of America’s Got Talent. On the one hand, the first night of Vegas performances were terrible. I’ll never understand why the judges were willing to let 25 of the acts go to New York. On the other hand, Tuesday’s episode proved that the show is capable of getting better. Day three in Vegas was mixed. Some acts were impressive and some acts were a disappointment but none of the acts were amazing. The meager selections of The Top 48 this season leave a lot to be desired.
The magic acts were first. Magicians have never been great on the show and now they are definitely below average. Hawley Magic started with a cheap looking levitation trick, but made it through anyway. The most impressive act of this category was Jarret and Raja, but that is not saying much. The magic acts this season are for the most part unexciting. They have never been great, but even compared to the sub-par acts this season has had, the standard of magic is low.
Tampa Bay’s Not So Hot for America’s Got Talent
Big Barry posing with Howard Stern
America’s Got Talent has gotten a lot of coverage lately after the Tim Poe controversy, but I was just hoping to see some quality or at least memorable acts on Tuesday’s show. After all, it’s what the show should be known for. Whether it’s showcasing the true idiots of the world or actually finding unique undiscovered talent, the show has failed to do either many times this season. Tuesday was another disappointment.
The second Tampa Bay Episode opened with a Latin dance crew called The Untouchables, which is made up of kids ranging from ages 8-13. It was obvious that the group would make it through, for the simple fact that they’re kids with high energy that can be endearing. It’s also horribly boring. There is almost never a large dance act that isn’t reasonably coordinated and refined. It is not good for the viewer to know who goes through in advance. It would have been a little better if the performance was great, but it wasn’t. It was average. The show is at its best when it showcases the superior and the atrocious. This was neither.
The montages, both successful and unsuccessful, also were not anything exciting. Granted, these are the acts deemed unworthy of a viewer’s full attention, but that shouldn’t lend itself to inadequacy and boredom. A singer with an okay voice, a dancing duo, an illusionist get sent to Las Vegas. A singer with a slightly worse voice and some variety acts whose talents are unclear do not move to the next round. They’re all basically the same. The people voted through will probably not be seen again. The people who were rejected won’t get talked about again. It just seems like an elaborate time filler.
Another act featured was a squirrel that water skis. Some animal novelty acts can be fun and entertaining. This one certainly wasn’t. As Sharon and Howard agreed, it is nowhere near big enough for a Vegas show. Howie disagreed only out of curiosity to see the act do better in Vegas. It honestly would have been more entertaining to watch the squirrel go too fast around the pool and fall multiple times. That would have been worth a proper and unequivocal rejection. Instead, the squirrel technically succeeded with the act. It just wasn’t good. This act was not good enough to be considered a worthy talent. It was not horrible enough to be considered a hopeless excuse for entertainment. If it does not fit either of those, it isn’t worthy of being aired at all.
Wait! What's A Dial? 