On the last day of auditions for America’s Got Talent things got off to a shaky start as the first few acts were heavy on the delusional front. Things quickly picked up and there were a few surprises and one more golden buzzer given to a 90 year-old stripper.
Once again the talent was spread across the age spectrum. An 11 year old rapper, whose fierceness was almost scary, wowed the judges. 32 year old Las Vegas school teacher Moya Anglea, however, stole the show by singing a goosebump inducing rendition of a Celine Dion cover.
There was a 14 year old lad who twirled batons and two young men who did a beatbox redux of “All About That Bass.” Ironically these talented fellows followed a quartet of older performers who picked the Meghan Trainer song but were sent off before they almost before they started.
The final week of auditions saw a little friction between Heidi and Simon as they both reacted differently to the various dance acts that tried out. Acts that Cowell loved Heidi disliked and vice versa.
Even the self taught crowd pleaser Outlawz failed to move Ms. Klum and when the time to vote came hers was a thumbs down. The lads did get through though with three yes votes. To be fair, neither Simon nor Heidi got irate with one another. Cowell told her that they saw things differently. “You think bananas and I think apples” was Simon’s philosophical take on their disagreements.
The acts for the final auditions were varied, as usual and while there were more of the more delusional contestants, a number of successful acts were more eclectic in nature.
The Passing Zone, two men who had juggled together as an act for 28 years managed to get through despite irritating Howie enough that he voted them down. The men included the comedian as part of their act and his vote down was an act of pure spitefulness. Tsk Tsk Mr. Mandel.
There was a three way tie for the most eclectic successful act. Steven Brundage wowed the judges and the audience with a magic trick with a Rubik’s Cube and a paper bag. The up close magic astonished both Heidi and Simon and the magician easily got through. It will be interesting to see where Steven goes in the first proper round.
Jon Bernhardt baffled then enthralled the audience and the panel, except for Heidi, with his rendition of The Clash song “Should I Stay Or Should I Go.” Using the Theremin, a device used years ago to make creepy sounds for science fiction and horror films, he gave a spirited performance.
The other act to step outside the box was 90 year old Dorothy Williams from Hawaii. This energetic contestant did a burlesque type strip tease after singing a couple of lines from Gypsy Rose Lee‘s “Let Me Entertain You.” The crowd and the judges loved Williams and her enthusiasm.
Nick Cannon got so carried away that he hit the Golden Buzzer, even though he is not a judge. Apparently despite not sharing a chair on the panel, Dorothy will go through to the live round making this the fifth golden buzzer from a four judge panel.
This year on America’s Got Talent has been a revelation. After a number of years with mediocre and mendacity passing for talent, not to mention the nutty time wasters, season 11 has been brilliant. The level of talent has been so high as to be unbelievable.
This time around it looks like the children are taking over. Capable beyond their years and worthy of attention and adoration for their skills and abilities. Some, like Skylar Katz are, as Simon implied, a little scary. Somewhat disturbingly the 11 year old responded to Cowell’s statement with “You’re right to be scared…”
This last episode of auditions finished with Nick bestowing a fifth golden buzzer on 90 year old Dorothy Williams. It also featured a teacher who proved that 32 is not too late to show the world what you have got.
AGT airs Tuesdays on NBC. While waiting for the first round of America’s Got Talent to start next week, have a look at some of the last contestants to go through:
Mikes Film Talk 