America's Actually Got Some Talent

i was busy the last few days so i didn't get to America's Got Talent till tonight but here is what i think...

i have always said i hate when the show just becomes another singing and dancing talent show rather then other talents, but...

- butterscotch and cas haley are really great. cas is just such an effortless and talented singer (and unlike piers i really liked the blues number he did) and butterscotch is just incredible the way she sings and beatboxes at the same time. it is really something good.

- terry fator is, and i agree with piers on this one, the greatest ventriloquist i have ever seen, he is so good and creative and funny and he does it all without moving his lips half the time. really great showcase of what the art of ventriloquism is all about.

- the glamazons were really good. i like these women and i think they have better voices then they got credit for from the judges. and they just put on a good show.

those are the four best without question.

besides that i thought that big fiddle playing family was pretty average (their version of the devil came down to georgia had none of the power that the real song has)... the calypso tumblers were good... the country singing guy was fine but nothing special... julienne irwin was pretty good.... sideswipe is good and talented but they just have never wowed me.

at this point i think butterscotch or terry factor should win (cas is great but the other two are more 'talents' and different)

Sexy Techno Boy

America's Got Talent talk:

sexy techno boy: funny and awful? it always amazes me when some people have such delusions of grandeur. the best part was when he told springer that if he had lip-synched he would have made it through to the next round.

lazy legs and the crew: good stuff

piers morgan: how he was going to say no to that incredible contortionist guy is beyond me.
the comedians making fun of piers and the hoff: they showed clips of two comedians that didn't make it through, but they sure got off a couple good lines against piers and the hoff before they left

leonid the magnificant: back again. awesome. and hey, if they let boy shakira through then it is only fair that he makes it (the hoff is being such a big baby. maybe he's just angry at getting picked on all show).

great 'reality' tv: coming back from commercial with the springer voice-over, the somber music and the clips of the hoff walking off and his dressing room door. that's good stuff. then the hoff running back on when the audience chants his name, but not before he looks into the camera and tells us 'hassle the piers, but don't hassle the hoff' - it pretty corny that he is quoting t-shirts right?

Thoth: "it's a language i invented"

the kid with his grandfather: awesome! (hey, does anyone know the name of the song that they did?)

the talking rabbit: piers was right on this one. the rabbit was great, but it wasn't really that funny after the initial great shock. i am curious to see what else hes got though, so i would have put him through to the next round also.

Did You See My Lips Move?

i am watching America's Got Talent as we speak/write and did you see terry factor (i think that was his name) that ventriloquist? that guy rocked!! he had the dummy sing the great etta james song 'at last' and wow!!! i'm glad they put him through.

now on to some hoff thoughts. i know everyone has been making hoff drunk jokes since the video came out - we have done it on the 'watch it' podcast as well. however, does anyone else think that he might really have had a few to many before this taping of the show we are watching tonight? his slurring his speach a little praising the beatboxer chick (who was great by the way) and then all those teasers of him walking off the set later in the show. the hoff just seems a little "off". does anyone else see it, or is it just me?

ok, so we just found out why the hoff walked off stage - because the other 2 put 'boy shakira' through to the next round. is that really walk-off-stage worthy? no. of course 'boy shakira' isn't going to win it all, but putting him through was a great tv move, kind of like that guy (from russia i think) last year that cried and had a dream to be famous and did something with hula-hoops.

my favorite part is where the hoff says, "has the world gone mad?". i think the fact that he has had any kind of singing career given how untalented he is at it would have told him long ago that it sure had.

The Hoff Is Straight, In Case You Didn't Know.

i mentioned it in my post about last week's episode of America's Got Talent, but it looks like the hoff is really on a mission to make sure everyone knows he is straight and likes women because, he has just done it again. in reference to the male belly dancer guy he made some comment about how he prefers women. ok hoff we know: you like women. i don't think anyone ever suspected otherwise, but if you did, now you know the truth.

by the way.... i'm into women.

Does America Have Any Talent Left?

America's Got Talent premiered its second season last night and after watching the whole two hours i have a few things to say about what i saw during those 120 minutes...

- i thought it was pretty funny when the hoff made some comment about being with another man and then made sure to say right away afterwards that he was straight. he should have confirmed whether he was sober or not: also, if anyone caught his performance on the show last season - who is he to judge talent?

- i said this last season and i'll say it again: i hope the show doesn't just turn into another singing competition. we have enough of those. this is where all those other talents can "shine" and the judges should realize that rather then dismissing so many things that are just different (did anyone else think that colorful colon (as the hoff called it) was actually pretty cool?)

- 2 british judges on America's Got Talent


- people are putting themselves out there and when the judges start buzzing them before they even perform at all is rude and arrogant (elvis guy wasn't good, but he deserved his few seconds). the show says it is open to anyone, so that is what they are going to get. and again i mention the hoff's performance last year that for sure would have nto got him through to the next round had he been a contestant.

- the judges get all up on their high horse when a bad act comes out, but that's what makes the show fun and they know it. they are getting payed to sit there, hit a button and say 'yes' or 'no'. that is a damn good gig and they should relax a little (if they were as funny and witty as The Next Best Thing judges they could get away with being mean, but they aren't)

- that ventriloquist girl was good (piers has such a stick up his ass).

- he was so mean to that young singing girl. calling a little girl charmless is not constructive or funny. piers is the kind of judge that would probably put alec baldwin through to the next round for that angry message he left his daughter.

- that whole sharon storming off the set thing was great tv, but it just shows even more how these shows are becoming more about the judges then the performers.

hey, i kind of like the show, and jerry springer is a fine replacement for regis. i like that it showcases variety rather then just singing and dancing like we see all the time, and i just hope that it isn't a singing or dancing act that wins the $1 000 000 this time.

Is It Actually The Next Best Thing

so folks, it looks like summer reality/contest show time is upon us. On The Lot premiered last week and we have season 2 of America's Got Talent and American Inventor arriving shortly. and don't forget Last Comic Standing is coming back and the new show Age Of Love starting soon. then there is the show that premiered last night on abc, The Next Best Thing: Who Is The Greatest Celebrity Impersonator? yes, it is one of the longest frickin' titles ever, but it is also a good show... so far.

that's right, i quite enjoyed it last night. sure, the best part of all these contest shows is the thousands-of-people-audition part where you see the good and the really bad (those first few weeks of every American Idol season are the only ones i actually make an effort to watch).

however, with The Next Best Thing, i actually enjoyed seeing the good ones as much, if not more, then the bad ones. the best part of the bad ones were the funny quips made by the celebrity judges: lisa ann walter, jeffrey ross (who does funny stand-up) and elon gold (who is actually very funny also, especially if all you recognize him from is that awful pam anderson show Stacked).

last night were the l.a. auditions and there were some great ones, like that guy who did sam kinison, al pacino and one other one. he was great. the lucille ball chick was really good also and the robin willimas and george bush that they let through were alright but not great. personally i thought the martha stewart women was scary good, but they sent her home.

so, while this is based on just the first episode, and i may have to amend my grade as the show goes longer and i see how it develops past the auditions, i have to say that i enjoyed it. it was different, funny, i liked the judges and i am going to tune in next episode.

grade: B