America's Got Talent Recap: More Auditions, Yay?

Hey all I can't believe we are STILL on audition shows for America's Got Talent. When does Vegas week start already? The only good thing is none of the "pimped" talents being shown at the end of each episode have impressed me yet but now there is still time for one to do so.


Tonight we are back for more NYC auditions. Hey maybe I'll see someone I know....

Glad to see the quick judges' introduction this week.

First up is government contractor Jeffrey Widom. He has a serious job but feels good inside when he sings and even hums at work. His "singing" however consists mostly of yelling and awkwardly bopping to the music. Too bad he seems like a nice guy but he gets X'd right away. Jeffrey then takes that as a cue to start singing some Sinatra, and it's slightly better but that's not saying much. He gets booed off the stage.

Bad act montage: Alex Feldman makes weird faces, plays a recorder with his nose (Ew!) and pulls a bra out of his shirt. Dorothy Bishop looks like Janice Dickinson and probably sings like her too. Chris Evans takes off his shirt and does some double-jointed stuff. At least he actually has talent unlike the other acts so far. David Glass does a horrible Elvis impersonation and apparently doesn't know the word "stop". Nick literally has to push him off the stage.

Hey another cute kid! He is nine-year-old Tallan Noble Latz and he plays guitar. He does even have musical background in his family, and he loves coming home from school so he can practice playing. He adds that if he wins the million he will want his mom to quit work so he can spend time with her. Aw... Not very realistic, but still adorable. Sharon asks him what style of music he likes and he says rock/blues. He even got his father into blues! He names a bunch of his influences, and I'm embarrassed to admit I've never heard of any of them except Jimi Hendrix. Anyway he starts playing and the kid is amazing! If I closed my eyes I would have thought it was a professional. Though I'm not sure how many people can listen to just guitar playing for an hour-long show. He even has stage presence, rocking his head with the music. David says he has a great career ahead of him, and he loves Tallan's attitude. Piers has a nine-year-old son who can barely play "Three Blind Mice", so he is amazed at how well Tallan played. Sharon says he has the soul and charisma as well. He of course gets through to Vegas, along with a standing ovation from the crowd.

After the break we get a brief glimpse of a sexy dancing duo who get through to Vegas. They looked really good in the short clip but we don't get to see much of them. Boo.

Next up is 74-year-old Tony Ferrante. Based on his outfit I'm guessing he's an Elvis impersonator. He is a retired barber who always dreamed to be onstage. Well he'll either be like the Sinatra impersonator last year or he'll be a disaster. I'm guessing the latter. And of course I'm wrong on both fronts. He's a disco dancer, not an Elvis impersonator, and he is pretty good. There is a weird leg stretch thing that doesn't look like dancing, but the rest of the routine was quite entertaining. Not quite as good as the 62-year-old dancer from a few episodes ago, but that's understandable since he's 12 years her senior. Considering my father was impressed with the 62-year-old I'm sure he'll be in awe of this too. Piers oddly X's him, but the crowd and other judges are loving it. He doesn't even look out of break at the end! Sharon says he is entertaining and has lots of rhythm. Piers though doesn't think Tony's act is worth a million dollars. That's probably true but I still think he's good enough to go to Vegas- the judges can weed out all the lesser acts later, but as long as they have some potential they should go to the next round. David says the act made him feel like dancing. Piers of course says no, but David and Sharon (after a dramatic pause of course) say yes, so Tony is off to Vegas! The crowd demands an encore, so he comes back on stage one more time, much to Piers' chagrin.

Now about halfway through the show we find out that there are two more weeks of auditions (still???) before the Vegas round. Then like last year the acts will perform again for the judges, with the top 40 facing the audience vote in the semifinals. In the montage of acts through so far are some of my faves, namely Kevin Skinner and the Eriam Sisters, along with some other early favorites like the ballroom dancing kids, the siblings who brought their mother out of a coma by singing, and the yodeling dominatrix. But why are they putting this in the middle of the show? Why not wait until the end so that audiences don't accidentally fast forward through it?

Good act montage: Arthur Gulkarov looks like a belly dancer and starts out putting his arms and hands behind his head on opposite sides. That doesn't seem too impressive, but then he does a bunch of quick spins in a row. That's all we see of him but I hope he does more spinning because the beginning of the dance was just weird. Nathan Burton is a magician who puts a woman on a chair on one half of the stage, puts a sheet over it, and then has her reappear on a platform on the other side of the stage! That was really cool. I've liked a lot of the magicians so far this season but I'm afraid only one or two will make the semifinals. African High Fliers do lots of acrobats and tumbling, and even make a human pyramid. They were good, but I've seen that kind of thing a lot before on this show.

Next up is Kelli Glover, a singer who auditioned for AI Season 1. And unlike last week, where several reality show rejects auditioned for AGT and it was never brought up, we actually see the clip of Kelly not getting through to the top 10. Hey a Brian Dunkleman sighting!!! Jim Verraros got to the top 10 instead of her, and I remember that Jim getting through was a big surprise. After doing some Youtube research it seems she originally sang a Whitney Houston song in the semis where she sounded decent but not amazing, and the judges called her out for sounding too much like Whitney. They brought her back for the wildcard and she did better, though still not blowing me or the judges away. Here is the clip of her wildcard performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYYCq2dEtMc
That also was eight years ago so maybe she's gotten better. She gave up on her dreams but now is making a comeback on AGT. She looks completely different now- I like that she ditched the afro. She is singing "Listen" from Dreamgirls (bonus points for no Whitney) and after watching that clip I think she sounds ten times better now than she did back then. It starts out great and then she shines on the big notes at the end. She does sound very much like Beyonce, but I think that's a good thing. She's one of my favorites so far this year. David says this is a lesson not to give up and it was a great job. Piers though know if she can win. What is it with Piers tonight? Did he wake up on on the wrong side of the bed? But surprisingly he says yes along with David and Sharon and she moves on to the next round.

Hey there's an Elphaba wannabe in the crowd!!!

Next up are the Badd Girls, a pop group not to be confused with the Spice Girls (whose music is of course playing in the background). They claim to have the whole package and are born to perform. Well the guys certainly will.... They want to be international pop stars as big as the Spice Girls. The dancing isn't bad but the singing is painful- it's more like shouting than anything. They are quickly X'd. Piers says they have as much chance to be as famous as the Spice Girls as he has to be US president (which of course is zero, since Piers is a foreigner). David and Sharon think they sounded like cats (I agree!!!). The three walk off before learning of their fates, but not surprisingly all three judges say no anyway. And also not surprisingly the Badd Girls still think they are talented.

After this we meet the Platt Brothers, who grew up in the countryside. They had no television, so they would hang out outside all the time growing up. Their parents have driven them to theater, dance, and gymnastics classes over the years, and the brothers hope to turn their passion into a career. For today's audition they stick with dancing. First they do a little synchronized electronic dancing that reminds me of Diversity from Britain's Got Talent. Then they act out a scene where one brother slams a (fake) door in the other brothers' faces, goes to the bathroom (I think), then throws a pretend cup at another brother, knocking him down. They finish with some more flips, including two of the brothers tumbling between each others legs while the third does a handstand. They are very energetic and good at what they do, though I don't know if they could sustain an hour show either. I kind of found myself getting bored halfway through. David loves their act and their hair. Piers says they have the tools plus the sex appeal, and now they just need to add more to it. Sharon likes the interpretation of the music. They also get three definite yes's, and seem up to Piers' challenge.

The final act/pimp act of the day is a group of Post Office workers who have been singing together for 10 years. Two of them happened to hear each other singing in the mail room one day and decided to join together. Now they have expanded to seven members, including a 21-year-old and a 76-year-old. They call themselves the Spiritual Harmonizers. They start singing, and they are basically an a capella group, as one soloist comes forward while the others do backing vocals. The soloist is pretty good, and the harmonies are even better, though I think Kelli should have been in the pimp spot instead of these guys. They are very good, but she is better. Piers says the lead singer is like a young Stevie Wonder (wow I didn't think he was that good), and that is what made the act not boring. Sharon loves the show because it gives everyday people like them to show their talent. David is proud of them. They of course get through to Vegas and start jumping for joy backstage.

So that's it for tonight's show. I was very impressed with the talent, especially Tallen, Tony, and Kelli Glover. Even Spiritual Harmonizers surprised me, though I still think they did not deserve to be in the pimp spot.

Thoughts on tonight's show? Did you love Kelli as much as I did? And who were your other standouts? Post your comments below.