Thursday, August 07, 2014

America's Got Talent Weekly Review: Ep. 2--Quarter Finals with Cheesiness Part 2-More Acts

Welcome to Maroon Mondays' weekly reviews of the Live Shows of America’s Got Talent. As with my reviews of Rising Star and So You Think You Can Dance, this review is (slightly) less professional than the those of the TV Show websites.

Hey, everyone. So this week, the acts were...um, to say the least, middling. There were good acts that weren’t really impressive, and the were bad acts that just plain stink. So please join me in finding the better acts of the week, which by the way, were closer to the top of the show than in the middle.


First up, Hart Dance Team, which is what you expect to be. The perform to “Team” by Lorde, which name fits here and “Burn” by Ellie Goulding. It was a pretty good act, but I wasn’t very impressed. I didn’t see a lot because the skinsuits the Team were wearing clashed with the lighting, and the moves I did see were pretty good, but not really great.


Next, Loop Rawlins, a Wild West performer from Tucson who does acts with a lasso and whip. I enjoyed his performance, but I don’t think it was worthy of a million dollars. The whip act with the blasts of fire was really cool and so was the big lasso jumping; but other than that it was a kinda good act here.


After the 3-minute switch, it’s John and Andrew, a salsa dance duo. The odd thing about these two is that they’re both male, which led me to think some things...But I won’t get into that. (By the way, only one of them is gay, so that hurdle’s cleared up) These two can dance, and can dance awesome-ly. The speed and skill are something else, and the moves are phenomenal. It makes me think that Salsa dancing is just as great with two guys dancing and with a guy and a girl, if not more. These guys surely can take this act to the top if they keep it up.
I do think there will be people who won’t like this; I bet you the only people who don’t like this are conservatives and general people who hate homosexuals; probably because Salsa is the Devil’s dance, two guys doing it is heathen-bait, and a gay guy is in the troupe. Triple the Blasphemy!!! I can’t even have anymore words to describe this.
They are my Favorite Act of the Week, and not because one of them share a name with me.


Later on, an Indie/acoustic band called Livy, Matt & Sammy (not very creative) performed “Fat Bottomed Girls” (hee-hee-hee) by Queen. These guys are pretty good. I see a nice mix of Lady Antebellum and Of Monsters and Men in them, their voices match very well, and play the song as their own (and for a song called Fat Bottomed Girls in this decade, no one would know the original by Queen unless they heard that first).


Andrey Moraru (a dude by the way, originally from The Ukraine) is a hand balancer. Seems not very impressive as many people can do, but how he does it is something different entirely. This act was amazing; his balancing moves and skill leave me breathless. He can do moves with both hands and still amaze me. Plus the things he can do with his legs on his sides are fantastic. And balance and strength are key, and he’s got them both. I think I can see this guy as a Million-dollar/Vegas headlining show act. Plus, he’s also my Favorite Act of the Week.


Juan Carlos is a rollerskating dancer from Houston. Okay, either he’s funny or funny-looking. If he knows how to be funny, and can make humor from obnoxious behavior, he could have the package to make it far. His roller dancing, however, is TERRIBLE. Only things he can do are roll, skate, spin and look like a damn fool. Sure, he has Howie as a fan, but Howard wishes he never made it past his audition. I really thought he won’t make it past the first live show. He is really funny, but doesn’t have a lot of talent in anything else. He’s just TERRIBLE.


Mara Justine, 12-years-old from Atlantic City, sang Katy Perry’s “Un-Con-Di-SHUUUNN-NALL-ly” (a name I still have to get used to hearing). She sounded like a black girl when she sings at first with that much force in the vocals and low-notes, which I liked. She does not sound like a 12-year-old (maybe like a 14- or 15-year-old) and really put a voice I can enjoy into this song, unlike Ms. Katy-Kat. I did think though, that she won’t go to the semi-finals.


Up next, Arial Animation. From this name alone, I was excited for what they do. They are an act from San Fran that does matching movement with animation. Wait a minute, "they" are just one person; a woman! And boy, does she do this amazingly! Her movements are awesome, the timing is impeccable (although it was a little off in a couple places, but they were pretty minor), and she really has the talent and imagination to take this all the way.


Jaycob Curlee came to the stage to sing “Beneath You’re Beautiful” by Emeli Sande. It was slow and tedious, although that was a good thing. He adds a bit of emotion and a little power into this rendition. I honestly enjoyed it.


Later, Mat Franco, a magician from Johnston, Rhode Island. In this act, he uses fire to display his magic, with the help of playing cards. This act was awesome. Especially when Howie pulls out a card that has been mentioned at the start. First it was the wrong card Heidi chose, but Mat turned it around and then drawn the right card. This was fantastic.


Next, Darik Santos from Windsor Locks, Connecticut. He is a comedian (UGH) and makes his living by making puns jokes. Dear God, this guy is horrid. His delivery and jokes sound way better on a Disney Channel show. Even the few good ones sound strained. And I don’t care if being strained is part of the deal, he still sucks this way. I have a question:
Why are all these comedy act so awkward? Is that that the schtick they like the best, so they chose it? Maybe it’s because of the TV shows they watch with the feel of the content being awkward yet hilarious, so they said “Hey, I wanna be like that!”. You do know can be funny while not being this way? It’s how many comedians and comedy actors from today and yesteryear find success. I wish this crap can stop, because if I watch another one of these on this show, I’m gonna hit myself with a hammer until my skull cracks and try to staple my head back together while I’m still conscious (unless they’re actually funny).


And finally, Acte II, an operatic duo act, performed Whitney Houston’s immortal icon “I Will Always Love You”. I’ve never heard Operatic singers using Popular songs so it seems weird to hear them sing lyrics in a different language. Man it sounded awkward at first, but when the crescendo came, it just sent shivers through me.

And now, the eliminations:

The Acts Going Through:
Andrey Moraru
Arial Animation
Jaycob Curlee
Mat Franco
Mara Justine (Judges’ Choice)

Eliminated:
Hart Dance Team / Loop Rawlins
John and Andrew / Livy, Matt & Sammy
Juan Carlos / Darik Santos / Acte II

I thought John and Andrew would be a great choice to move on, but I can understand why. Everyone else I'm okay with being eliminated. Like I said, this week was middling, to say the least. Some of the acts impressed me, while others bombed hard. I hope next can have better performances this this, because this might be a veeerrrry middling season.
Tune in next week at this same time for the next review. Bye-bye for now!!

No comments:

Post a Comment