TVSquad

(S03E08) "No performance. No discussion. Just the end of the road." - Jerry

One of my favorite parts of shows like America's Got Talent and American Idol are the auditions. I love to see the good, the bad, and the ugly and try to understand why some contestants even thought they had a chance to win it all.

The AGT audition process ended last week to make way for Vegas Week. Many of us viewers, including the contestants, thought that all of the 113 acts that made it through to the next round would get the chance to be performed on stage for a second time. I was surprised that this was not the case. As Jerry said it, it would be "just the end of the road" for many performers who wouldn't even get a chance to impress the judges once again. Why pay big money to bring those contestants to Las Vegas if it was just to send them back packing without standing on stage? I know they want to shock us and the contestants, but it would have been more respectful, and cost effective, if they had gone through that elimination process before having them embark on the plane.

Vegas Week had contestants perform in different groups: extreme acts, female singers, male singers, younger acts. It was a good idea to do so as they were able to size up the competition during rehearsals and performances. It also allowed us and the judges to compare and critique since acts from each category will move on in order to ensure that the Top 40 is as diverse as possible.

Editing of AGT episodes sometimes gets on my nerves and, from comments readers leave here on TV Squad, it seems that it gets to you too. Remember how producers played with our emotions at the very end of episode 3.01? They wanted us to like Neal E Boyd and cheer for him throughout the season. This week, I felt cheated by the editing because the 2-hour episode focused mostly on singers. AGT is about all talents. ALL types of talents. If I wanted to see a show about people wanting to become singers, I would watch Idol. Couldn't they show us more of the extreme acts? Also, most of the acts that aired in episode 3.08 were some we've seen in the audition episodes. Weren't they able to show us the acts we didn't see in auditions? Do producers not want us to cheer for those contestants too? Guess not.

Let's go back to the Episode 3.08 acts. To sum up what I felt after watching the episode, I'll use one word: disappointed. The performers we've seen on stage either gave a performance as good as their audition or they were worse. Rare were the ones who really upped the ante and gave a better performance. Just take Neal E Boyd for example. His Vegas Week performance was good, don't get me wrong, but he didn't move me as when he auditioned for the show. Then, again, maybe the editing of the show is at cause here. He's an opera singer, couldn't he have worn a tuxedo or something to make his act more believable? Couldn't he have shown more stage presence and emotion during his singing? Neal is a good singer, but he needs to work on his performance if he wants to be the winner.

Some did step it up a lot like the brick breaking guy. It was impressive to see him break bricks using his head. The sword was really amazing too... swallowing a curved sword is incredible. But what next? This is the type of act that doesn't have the potential to be a main attraction on the Vegas Strip. I'm glad that some of these "good for the circus or talent show" type of acts were sent packing right away to make room for the acts that stood a real chance to headline a show in Vegas.

Other tidbits of interests:

• Shequida's act was weird to watch. If he was going to sing with both female and male voices, he should have dressed half male and half female because watching him dressed as a female, but singing really low was just bizzare. When he sang using his female voice, he would have shown his female profile and turned to show the male profile when singing using his male voice. I know it's been done many times before, but I think it would have given Shequida a better chance at winning.
• It's cute to see kids perform but let's face it, they don't stand a huge chance at winning it all now that the prize also includes a show. I'm happy David moved on even though he didn't sing as well as during his audition. This 9-year-old kid is a great role model for all kids suffering from learning disabilities, etc.
  
• If you want a chance on this show make sure you don't forget the lyrics of the song you are singing.
• The Britney Spears and the Tina Turner impersonators were not really good this week. Since neither of them sings, they need to give extremely good performances. The Britney Spears act did have back up dancers to help, but it didn't have enough dance moves and energy to be entertaining. The Tina Turner act was not better since the begining of the performance was mostly jumping up and down. For me to vote for an impersonator, the performer will need to speak and/or sing like the celebrity and act like that person too.

What did you think of the first Vegas Week episode? Were you as disappointed by the acts as I was? Which act did you prefer and why? Let your voice be heard in comments.

Don't forget that there is a 90-minute episode on Thursday. After that, AGT will be on hiatus throughout the Olympics.