America's Got Talent: Season 5 - Top 48 (Group 1)

[WEBMASTER NOTE: In an episode of the T.W.O. Show, I had said that I wasn't sure if I was going to blog about Last Comic Standing or America's Got Talent this summer. I have decided that I will do so for AGT (in the same form that I do with the Idol-Talk segment), but most likely not for LCS, just because it is hard to comment on each comedian's bits without sounding so redundant (hilarious, sorta funny, kinda funny, not funny at all, etc). For LCS, I may just insert my comments into the podcast show.]


America's Got Talent Season 5: Top 48 (Group 1)
Airdate: Tuesday, July 13, 2010 [9-11pm]

1. Kung Fu Heroes [Martial Artists]: I have never liked seeing martial arts on this show, because it isn't a talent so much as a hobby or sport, so there's no point in having them on the show.
2. Christina & Ali [Young female singers; performed Rascal Flatts' "Bless the Broken Road"]: They were one of my favorites coming into the Top 48. And I have always thought the younger one had the better voice, but I was disappointed by her tonight; the older one was. But the harmony of them together was beautiful.
3. Airpocalypse [Air Guitarists]: This is one of the acts that should not have made it past the first round. There is no point to it, and like Sharon said, it's not to be taken seriously. There is no doubt that they're good at what they do, but if they're not going to play instruments, I'm not interested. Plus, the dancers they had on stage were distracting from their main act (maybe they did that on purpose).
4. The Hot Shot Tap Dancers [Tap Dancers]: On the bad side, I didn't understand the story they revolved the tapping around. And I wonder if anybody will remember this later. But on the good side, they are amazing tap dancers. And I loved the slides across the stage.
5. Paul Safy Jr. [Singer; performed "Cry Me A River"]: He's a great singer, no doubt, but he may suffer from the forgetability factor (I don't think he was featured in earlier rounds). And I agree with the judges about the cheese factor; there were a lot of over-the-top moments, especially the end with the mike going from one hand to the other and such to match the last note.
6. Future Funk [Dancers (5 & 10 years old)]: While the judges were ogling over them because of the adorability factor, they decided to overlook the fact that they were not in sync with each other many times, and it started off bad with the wardrobe malfunction of trying to rip off their sleeves. If this act had featured dancers older than them doing that same off dance, the judges would have ripped them apart.
7. Sally Cohn [Hand Whistler; performed Mariah Carey's "Hero"]: It was fun to see her the first time, but it's not a talent with a high enough caliber to be in the Top 48 or beyond. Tonight, she was off from the music backtrack, and very out of tune. It's time to say goodbye.
8. Nick Pike [Variety act (danger, fire)]: In the words of Joy Behar's SNL impersonator, "So what, who cares?" He was trying to do too much, while not really doing anything at all (a fault of the transitions, or lack of). And when Howie asked him to say what it is he does (in other words, put a label on it), he couldn't even answer. [In his opening video package, it was mentioned that he was cut in the previous round but called back. I must have missed if he they said if someone was disqualified to warrant this.]
9. RNG [Dancers (11 year old girls)]: Why do these acts have to revolve their act around a story? It only detracts from the talent. There were only a couple good moves; the rest was the same old-same old we see all the time. There was nothing extraordinary to see here.
10. Maricar [Painter]: In earlier rounds, I've thought that she's very impressive, but didn't need the revealing outfits, because it's just unnecessary. Here, she's doing the art under water. I'm not sure if there was a mistake at the start when she held up a piece against the glass and it fell off. And for most of it, it was kind of boring. I think because she was underwater, it limited her movements and such. But at least I could tell that she painted Piers (unlike Piers himself).
11. Fighting Gravity [Variety (Blacklight Act)]: This was my absolute favorite act from the auditions, and they didn't disappointed tonight. They just scream Vegas. I have never seen anything like this talent ever, and I can seem them performing in Vegas alongside the Blue Man Group and Cirque Du Soleil, as Sharon mentioned. If I had to pick a winner now, I'd say Fighting Gravity.
12. Nathaniel Kenyon [Singer (YA or teen); performed "Lips of An Angel"]: Even though he has a throat infection, I have to judge this based on what he presented onstage. You could tell in his voice that he was off, by quite a bit. And while he did perform last (the pimp spot), I wouldn't put him through. It's hard, though, because he's very likable.

Favorite Performance: Fighting Gravity

My Votes: Fighting Gravity [10 votes by phone; 10 votes online]

Predictions to Advance: Christina & Ali / Future Funk / Fighting Gravity / Nathaniel Kenyon

My Season 5 Vote Tracker:

Fighting Gravity: 20 votes

Total: 20 votes cast so far

When I was deliberating on which four acts should advance, I immediately chose Fighting Gravity because, let's face it, they're the best we may have seen so far and the odds on favorite to win in my eyes. Next, I chose Future Funk, only because of the adorability factor that I mentioned above. I personally would not send them through, because they were not that good this week. Even though Christina & Ali were not as good as they have been in the past, I predict they will go through based on their story and the fact that their harmonies together were excellent. My only worry is that they performed near the start of the show, which could hurt their chances. If they are eliminated, I will be feeling guilty for ultimately deciding not to split my votes and send half their way. The final spot was a little tougher to decide. I initially went with Airpocalypse only because the judges and the audience seemed to love their "performance." To me, personally, it's a pointless act, but they do have a shot at advancing. But I ultimately went with Nathaniel Kenyon. I think he has two things going for him that may offset the fact that he was not good. The first is the pimp spot of performing last and being freshest in everybody's mind. And the second is the sympathy vote being thrown his way due to his illness. But ultimately, I think the only act that is guaranteed a spot in the Top 24 is Fighting Gravity, with Future Funk being a very, very safe bet as well.

Tonight, four of the preceding acts will advance into the Top 24. I'm not understand this; if 12 perform each week, that calls for 4 weeks of the Top 48. And if only 4 from each are advancing, that only leaves 16 acts in the Top 24. Are they doing a Wild Card episode and/or is this when the YouTube auditions come into play?

Anyway...also tonight there will be guest performances by Selena Gomez & the Scene (I better get the remote ready to hit the mute button), and the cast of Broadway's "Rock of Ages" (which includes American Idol's own Constantine Maroulis!) will perform during tonight's hour-long results show from 9-10pm on NBC. See ya then...