TVSquad

(S03E07) "Dreams come true on America's Got Talent" - The Hoff

Dreams not only come true on AGT but they are also crushed (and, let's face it, it's a good thing that some dreams are crushed on the show because some acts are just plain wrong). This week, MySpace devotees faced off against the judges and the crowd in the hope that their dreams would come true. Does MySpace have talent? Let's review the final auditions of the season.

This episode is not what I expected. I knew that some of the MySpace acts were going to be performed live on stage and be judged then and there. However, I expected the episode to feature some of the footage posted on MySpace by the contestants in order to get picked for the live show. I wanted to know how and why they got picked to go on stage. Nada. Instead, this looked like a normal episode, only sponsored by MySpace (even the huge X on the stage was replaced by the MySpace logo).

Since these contestants had to apply via the MySpace America's Got Talent section, each of them has a MySpace page (I wasn't able to find the page for one of them though). If you want to learn more about this week's contestants, click on the links provided throughout this review.

Michael Trixx, magician - When he was introduced, I thought that this could be a cool act. There are not a lot of Rock & Roll magicians around the world so this idea could lead to a fun act. Sadly, Michael's basic magic skills, lack of organization in his routine made the act quite boring. He ended up being Xed by two judges and the crowd wasn't happy either. This "little Rock & Roll hobbit," as Sharon nicknamed him, will have to watch how the best of magicians put their act together if he ever wants to make it in the industry. Actually, he could just watch a few episodes of Arrested Development to see how GOB does it and it would already be better than what Trixx offered on stage.

Diva Boy, singer - Oh, boy! Need I say more?

Eloy, motivational speaker - Demotivational speaker would probably be a more precise category for him after this week's performance.

Randy, Ozzy Osbourne impersonator - I had my doubts about Randy when he walked on stage, mostly because of the other Ozzy impersonator who auditioned in episode 3.02. But I quickly changed my mind when Randy started to answer the judges questions in persona. He was Ozzy from the start. Not only did Randy show that he could answer questions as Ozzy would, but he could sing like him and win the crowd over. He was so good that even Sharon approved! I doubt Randy will make it far in the competition but after the show, I'm pretty sure he'll get a few jobs impersonating the Prince of Darkness.

Holly, singer - Yet another great singer auditions for the show. It will be a tough competition for singers this summer. Holly offered a good performance this week. She has a nice R&B-type voice and could probably do very well recording adult contemporary songs. She has a good presence on stage and showed that she had pipes at the end of her song.

The Cadence, percussions ensemble - People love a good percussion ensemble. It's my ninth summer working at a school of music and I can tell you that when we have percussionists perform on items that are not usually drums, the crowd goes wild. The "pots and pans" ensemble is always the talk of the town! So it's no surprise that the crowed loved The Cadence performance. Yes, the group has room for improvement and could insert some more moves in there, but they deserved a ticket to Vegas Week thanks to the faire performance they gave.

The Sweetones, whistlers - When contestants in interview say the words "unique" and "nothing like it," I immediately think that the act will suck. When Claudia and Elaine said that they were not sure what the judges would do with them, I knew it would be an unusual act. Let's face it, the word "unusual" may not be strong enough here. I've really never heard anything like this before. The mother and daughter duo whistled their way through the audition very well. They were in tune and followed the music. Even if their performance was good, the act was too "out there" to move on. Would you pay the big bucks to go listen to whistling for two hours?

Daniel, singer - The final audition of the season was definitely worth watching. Daniel, who served in Iraq for 15 months, gave a touching performance. The song choice was fitting and he gave it his best, and his heart. I agree with Piers that Daniel has to work a bit on his singing but it wasn't that bad at all. After all, not every AGT contestants are perfect (see last week's Ronny B. for example who got a pass for Vegas) and all need to work on their talent if they want to make it to the end of the show.

Other tidbits of interest:

• One of the most unusual acts of the night was definitely performed by the 10 times Cluck-off champion. Did he really think he had a chance to win the competition?
• We didn't see much of Shimshi's act but seeing the middle portion of the cut-off woman be taken away from the table was really impressive. I watched one of his clips on MySpace, which includes the same act he performed on the show, and it was really impressive. He could very well be one of the top contenders.
• Lesson of the week: Before going on stage to sing, tape yourself and watch it to ensure that your facial expressions aren't scary as hell.
• To learn more about this week's contestants, including some I didn't mention in my review, go to the MySpace AGT page.