America's Got Talent debuted Tuesday night and the auditions were nothing short of entertaining, exciting and bizarre.
The first city featured was Los Angeles and the first act certainly was memorable. Fifty-year-old Frank Olivier from Oakland, CA was an enthusiastic first contestant. Before beginning his act, he enlisted in the help of judge Howie Mandel and immediately broke Howie Rule #1 which is to never touch Howie -- ever. His talent was juggling clubs on fire while riding a unicycle. The only judge to give him a 'X' was Howie and the other judges loved his act. Howie also opted not to comment on the act, despite the assurance that before interacting with him, Olivier did use hand sanitizer. Even though he terrified Howie, Olivier's fire juggling/unicycle act moves on to Las Vegas.
The second act was Ryan Andreas from Ontario, CA. His rock voice, piano rendition of Sarah McLachlan's "Angel" was powerful and you instantly forgot that he was filled with nerves before going on stage. The crowd loved him and the real shocker came when Andreas admitted that he had never performed in front of an audience before. He looked confident on stage and you hardly heard the nervousness he felt in his voice. He will certainly be someone to watch in Las Vegas.
YouTube enthusiasts might have recognized John Jacobson, who is best known for his Double Dream Hands Dance that is YouTube hit and was also featured on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He might be a hit online, but he did not connect with the audience. You have to give him credit for putting on a smile throughout his routine and even though the music teacher is not moving on to Vegas, he will certainly continue to teach children around the country his catchy dance.
Jacobson's act followed a montage of failed acts which included a teenage screamo singer and an impersonator who did imitations the judge's farts.
The next successful act was Landon Swank, a magician who "folded" his assistant. He stumped the judges in how he did his trick and he easily moves on to the next round. A successful act montage followed which included dance troupe, The Body Poets who used lights to enhance their act, Brennen Figari, who mystified the audience with his aerial silk act, and Olivia Bellafontaine, a rock burlesque dancer who caught the attention of the male population amongst the audience.
The Vegas Birds came on next and Danny the Parrot certainly lived up to the title of being the smartest bird in the world. Vegas Birds gave an entertaining comedy routine which consisted of animal impressions (from the trainer AND Danny the Parrot) and Debbie (the trainer) promises that if her act moves on to Vegas, she will deliver birds who are psychic and who do magic.
Frank Miles put added a twist to the standard juggling routine. He used three 500,000- volt stun guns and he upped the ante when he proceeded to stand on water while juggling the highly electrical guns. He definitely was an act worthy of Vegas.
The last of the Los Angeles auditions was Udi Abagnale who is a financial investor specialist by day and a karaoke bar enthusiast by night. Joined by his two back-up dancers, Abagnale attempted to show how "hot, hot, hot" his act was but was immediately rejected by the judges. Host Nick Cannon wanted to give him a second chance and even joined him on stage, but was rejected even faster by the judges the second time around. Piers proceeded to call him 'diluted' and apparently Abagnale took that as a cue to start the act up once again. This time, the judges simply walked out, ending the LA auditions.
The destination for the second set of auditions was Atlanta. The first act was the Miami All Stars, a dance troupe who spiced up the dance floor and brought the Miami heat to the stage. The crowd and judges loved their dancing and Piers even called them the best dance group they've seen. The Miami All Stars will dance their way to Vegas.
Scott Alexander was another magician who put a twist to the classic levitation routine. He moves on to the next round and joining him will be 12-year-old Preston Weber, a Polynesian fire dancer who dazzled the audience.
Yellow Designs Stunt Team, who are stunt bikers, failed to impress Piers but moved on nonetheless.
The next act definitely wins the cutest act award for the night. The SH' Boss Boys, are pint sized rappers who met at school and began to rap after listening to the radio. They rap about school and having fun, amongst other topics. They were humble, enthusiastic, and said if they won the million dollar prize they would buy a big house for homeless children and fill it up with toys for them to play with (cue the chorus of 'awws' now). Once they started their act, they showed immediate stage presense and confidence. Their audition was good enough to move them on to the next round of auditions.
Their act was followed by Primitivo Montoya, a singer and dancer who was so into his act that he summersaulted off stage. Out of the safety of the contestant, the judges decieded to end his act and they all "X"ed him off of the stage. A rejection montage followed and it included high school singers Vocal Element who most likely were inspired by Glee but failed to impress the judges with their vocals. The Forever Young Dancers were a group of adorable senior citizens who donned big diapers, baby bonnets, and lollipops while dancing to the song "Lollipop". The next act was called Metatron, and no, he is not a Transformer. He's just a rapper who did not bode well with the judges and was rejected.
Up next was The Crossed Swords who performed a Medieval Times-esque routine which did not make it Las Vegas but did inspire an entertaining Morgan/Mandel sword fight.
The most impressive act of the night was saved for last. Team iLuminate was an entertaining act which was half-light show, half-dance routine. They easily went through to Las Vegas and will most likely complete against The Body Poets, who also use lights to enhance their act.
The first episode certainly started off season six of America's Got Talent on a good note. Which acts were you most impressed by?
The first city featured was Los Angeles and the first act certainly was memorable. Fifty-year-old Frank Olivier from Oakland, CA was an enthusiastic first contestant. Before beginning his act, he enlisted in the help of judge Howie Mandel and immediately broke Howie Rule #1 which is to never touch Howie -- ever. His talent was juggling clubs on fire while riding a unicycle. The only judge to give him a 'X' was Howie and the other judges loved his act. Howie also opted not to comment on the act, despite the assurance that before interacting with him, Olivier did use hand sanitizer. Even though he terrified Howie, Olivier's fire juggling/unicycle act moves on to Las Vegas.
The second act was Ryan Andreas from Ontario, CA. His rock voice, piano rendition of Sarah McLachlan's "Angel" was powerful and you instantly forgot that he was filled with nerves before going on stage. The crowd loved him and the real shocker came when Andreas admitted that he had never performed in front of an audience before. He looked confident on stage and you hardly heard the nervousness he felt in his voice. He will certainly be someone to watch in Las Vegas.
YouTube enthusiasts might have recognized John Jacobson, who is best known for his Double Dream Hands Dance that is YouTube hit and was also featured on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He might be a hit online, but he did not connect with the audience. You have to give him credit for putting on a smile throughout his routine and even though the music teacher is not moving on to Vegas, he will certainly continue to teach children around the country his catchy dance.
Jacobson's act followed a montage of failed acts which included a teenage screamo singer and an impersonator who did imitations the judge's farts.
The next successful act was Landon Swank, a magician who "folded" his assistant. He stumped the judges in how he did his trick and he easily moves on to the next round. A successful act montage followed which included dance troupe, The Body Poets who used lights to enhance their act, Brennen Figari, who mystified the audience with his aerial silk act, and Olivia Bellafontaine, a rock burlesque dancer who caught the attention of the male population amongst the audience.
The Vegas Birds came on next and Danny the Parrot certainly lived up to the title of being the smartest bird in the world. Vegas Birds gave an entertaining comedy routine which consisted of animal impressions (from the trainer AND Danny the Parrot) and Debbie (the trainer) promises that if her act moves on to Vegas, she will deliver birds who are psychic and who do magic.
Frank Miles put added a twist to the standard juggling routine. He used three 500,000- volt stun guns and he upped the ante when he proceeded to stand on water while juggling the highly electrical guns. He definitely was an act worthy of Vegas.
The last of the Los Angeles auditions was Udi Abagnale who is a financial investor specialist by day and a karaoke bar enthusiast by night. Joined by his two back-up dancers, Abagnale attempted to show how "hot, hot, hot" his act was but was immediately rejected by the judges. Host Nick Cannon wanted to give him a second chance and even joined him on stage, but was rejected even faster by the judges the second time around. Piers proceeded to call him 'diluted' and apparently Abagnale took that as a cue to start the act up once again. This time, the judges simply walked out, ending the LA auditions.
The destination for the second set of auditions was Atlanta. The first act was the Miami All Stars, a dance troupe who spiced up the dance floor and brought the Miami heat to the stage. The crowd and judges loved their dancing and Piers even called them the best dance group they've seen. The Miami All Stars will dance their way to Vegas.
Yellow Designs Stunt Team, who are stunt bikers, failed to impress Piers but moved on nonetheless.
The next act definitely wins the cutest act award for the night. The SH' Boss Boys, are pint sized rappers who met at school and began to rap after listening to the radio. They rap about school and having fun, amongst other topics. They were humble, enthusiastic, and said if they won the million dollar prize they would buy a big house for homeless children and fill it up with toys for them to play with (cue the chorus of 'awws' now). Once they started their act, they showed immediate stage presense and confidence. Their audition was good enough to move them on to the next round of auditions.
Their act was followed by Primitivo Montoya, a singer and dancer who was so into his act that he summersaulted off stage. Out of the safety of the contestant, the judges decieded to end his act and they all "X"ed him off of the stage. A rejection montage followed and it included high school singers Vocal Element who most likely were inspired by Glee but failed to impress the judges with their vocals. The Forever Young Dancers were a group of adorable senior citizens who donned big diapers, baby bonnets, and lollipops while dancing to the song "Lollipop". The next act was called Metatron, and no, he is not a Transformer. He's just a rapper who did not bode well with the judges and was rejected.
Up next was The Crossed Swords who performed a Medieval Times-esque routine which did not make it Las Vegas but did inspire an entertaining Morgan/Mandel sword fight.
The most impressive act of the night was saved for last. Team iLuminate was an entertaining act which was half-light show, half-dance routine. They easily went through to Las Vegas and will most likely complete against The Body Poets, who also use lights to enhance their act.
The first episode certainly started off season six of America's Got Talent on a good note. Which acts were you most impressed by?