America’s Got Talent – Looking For Diamonds In The Rough
Posted on July 17, 2009
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America’s Got Talent returns with celebrity judges Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne, and David Hassselhoff, as they search for the next million dollar act. This isn’t the singing contest of American Idol. AGT features a variety of contestants: singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, musicians, ventriloquists, jugglers, gymnasts, and everything in between. Auditions are held in various American cities, like Houston, Texas; Los Angeles and Hollywood, California; and New York, New York. Show host Nick Cannon (multi-platform entertainer, executive producer, and Mariah Carey’s husband), replaces previous host Jerry Springer.
With different types of acts in each audition, the judges look for raw talent, a driving passion, and ideally, an act that can headline a Las Vegas show. Many times, contestants share an underdog story of their triumph over a seemingly impossible situation. Hasselhoff, aka “The Hoffâ€, encourages these contestants with his oft-spoken famous line, “You are what this show is aboutâ€. Typical of reality shows, the adored are balanced with the awful. A couple of the worst acts: a wife singing while her husband balances a lawnmower on his chin and encourages Cannon to throw raw vegetables into the mower’s blades; a man, who determined he’d win a million dollars with his “toe†act, sits on stage and dresses his big toe as a puppet.
At the start of the show, fans speculate on who will win, or at least be the next “Susan Boyle†of Britain’s Got Talent fame. A few acts that fall into the diamond-in-the-rough category:
· Stay-at-home mom, Barbara Pidalla who shocked judges when she sang polished opera and told her cancer survivor story;
· Kentucky chicken catcher, Kevin Skinner, who didn’t seem so bright until he lit up the stage with his singing;
· Nine-year old guitar player Tallan Latz, who jammed his electric guitar solo with passion and precision beyond his years;
· Kari Callen, who wanted to be a cruise ship singer but was turned away for “not being easy on the eyesâ€, wowed the judges with her singing and sweetness;
· The Voices of Glory, a phenomenal kids’ group of two brothers and one sister, who were inspired to sing at their mom’s bedside when she was in a coma (their proud mom was wheeled out before a tearful audience at the end of the audition.
In every city, contestants need two out of three judges’ votes in order to go to the next round in Las Vegas. The unofficial fourth judge — the audience “votes†by booing contestants off the stage or cheering contestants to the next round by chanting “Vegas, Vegasâ€. TV viewer voting will open when the acts hit Vegas. As entertaining as some of the acts are, the focus remains on rewarding the most talented person in America with a million dollar prize. As with past seasons, the AGT winner will probably be a diamond who finally wins the chance to shine.
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