Season 4 Reflection

Overall, I would have to say that America's Got Talent Season 4 was just full of talent.

Being someone who tends to like acts that aren't just about singing, I thought this season had a lot of unique variety and dance acts who really had shots at winning. I thought the Top 40 was fairly solid this year minus maybe 4 or 5 acts. I thought the Top 20 was pretty good; I agreed with 13 of the 20 acts in the Top 20. I thought the Top 10 was overall very talented, although I only agreed with 5 of the 10 acts in the final round.

Some of my favorite acts this season:
-Fab Five
-Mosaic
-Drew Thomas Magic
-Voices of Glory
-Pixie Mystere
-FootworKINGz
-Hairo Torres
-Ishaara
-Barbara Padilla
-EriAm Sisters

Some of my least favorite acts this season:
-Kevin Skinner
-The Diva League
-Manuela Horn
-Carol Loo
-Dave Johnson
-Coney Island Chris
-The Lollipop Girls

I really thought this season had potential, and the truth is it did. The only problem was America got in the way and screwed things up. Kevin Skinner did NOT deserve to win, but there were definitely many acts in the Top 40 who did. I have watched all three seasons preceding this one, and have always been happy or at least content with the winner until now. However, I will still continue to watch the show and blog about here at americas--got--talent.blogspot.com. I am excited for Season 5 and am ready for a new season full of talent!

It's been a great few months, and I'm happy to say it was all worth it, despite the fact that I don't like the winner.

AMERICA'S GOT TALENT SEASON 4 FINALE

1. Kevin Skinner
WOW, I cannot believe Kevin Skinner won! He is absolutely nothing compared to Barbara Padilla, and deserves sqaut for his voice. OK, you can argue he deserves something, but certainly not one million dollars and a headline show in Las Vegas!!!! He can't carry a tune, and had the worst voice of anyone in the Top 10. I would argue even in the Top 20! Why the hell did he win?! America voted for the wrong reasons of course. Either that, or American's are tone deaf and/or complete idiots.

2. Barbara Padilla
Now SHE can sing! She has an amazing voice, and is a wonderful and kind person who deserves the title of Best New Act in America. She is certainly talented, and I cannot believe she did not win. However, I must say I am happy to see her in second place at the least.

3. Recycled Percussion
Although not my favorite act, Recycled Percussion is very Vegas-like, and they are a unique group who at least does something other than sing. I am happy to see them in the Top 5.

4. The Texas Tenors
Although not the greatest singers (still better than Kevin Skinner), The Texas Tenors are a quality Vegas act taht have the talent to sustain a show. They can sound really good at some points, and after a bit of work they will be able to harmonize much better.

5. Voices of Glory
They should be second place (out of the acts in the Top 5) in my opinion, but they certainly deserve a spot above Kevin Skinner. Those three kids are talented, kind, and generous and man can they sing! That little girl can sound really good at some points, and they all harmonized perfectly during their last performance.

Fab Five, Grandma Lee, Drew Stevyns, Hairo Torres, Lawrence Beamen
In my opinion Fab Five should have won, as it would be great to see a talented act that doesn't just sing win this show. Hairo Torres also deserves recognition for his amazing talent, and I don't think Drew Stevyns is too bad either. Lawrence Beamen is almost as bad as Kevin Skinner in my opinion, and then Grandma Lee is a great woman, but honestly just not funny enough to be in the Top 5 like she isn't.

Finals REVIEW

1. Voices of Glory
This was by far their best performance yet. The girl had a great performance tonight. It was a little shaky at first, but the performance just got better and better. It sounded really good when the three of them sang together in harmony. They really sound terrific! I was very surprised by their improvement this week.

2. Hairo Torres
I don't think that his decision to go solo tonight was the greatest idea. I understand he wanted to showcase himself, but I think he could have done that fine in a group. It was really just missing the energy of a Las Vegas show. He is no doubt an amazing contortionist/dancer, but his performance just didn't work tonight.

3. Lawrence Beamen
I think I've finally come to my opinion on Lawrence Beamen: eh. He's really just not that great. Sure, he can sing, but I don't think it's good enough. He's better off singing ballads, and I just think there are way better acts than him in this season's finals.

4. Barbara Padilla
Once again an amazing performance. She has the voice, the looks, the story, and the quality to be a real star. She truly has an amazing voice, and continues to take charge of the stage every performance.

5. Fab Five
They definitely slowed down their speed tonight, andI still haven't decided if it's a good thing or not. They are definitely superb tap dancers, and they certainly have talent. I liked their performance tonight, and thought the choreography was different and unique than their past performances. Still one of my favorite acts.

6. Texas Tenors
I really liked them, but their performance tonight did not go well in my opinion. Separately, their voices are pretty good, but not great, and when they come together they fail to harmonize and end up sounding like three people singing the same song at the same time. It's just not an appealing sound in my opinion, and I just don't think they're good enough for Las Vegas.

7. Drew Stevyns
This was definitely his best performance of the season. He gave a really solid, clean performance and his vocal talent really shined tonight. He didn't really stand out as anyone special to me until tonight. He really has star quality, and I think he could certainly win American Idol, so why can't he win America's Got Talent?

8. Grandma Lee
She's a great lady, but I still don't find her material "laugh out loud" funny. It makes you smile, but not really "laugh". I was surprised to see her come this far, but I can tell America is caught up in her story and her age. She's a great woman, but I don't really think she's that talented.

9. Kevin Skinner
I still don't like him. I've said it all along: Kevin Skinner is no one special. His vocals are not up to par with the rest of the acts, and there's really nothing special about him. OK, he's a chicken catcher achieving his dream of being a performer, but so what? I don't care how raw his talent is if it's no good.

10. Recycled Percussion
I liked their performance tonight, and liked their use of recycled items. They had more of a "melody" to their drumming instead of just constant "bum bum bum bum bum". They are a very Vegas-like Show, and are very talented.

WOW, this was the BEST night of performances all season! After all, it IS the FINALS. I am very pleased with this season's finalists, and I would happy with almost all of them winning the title.
Here is my list of acts from best act (who I think should win) to worst.
(I'd be happy with any act winning besides Lawrence Beamen and Kevin Skinner).

1. Fab Five

2. Barbara Padilla

3. Voices of Glory

4. Hairo Torres

5. Recycled Percussion

6. Drew Stevyns

7. Texas Tenors

8. Grandma Lee

9. Lawrence Beamen

10. Kevin Skinner

My "Las Vegas Show" Finalists

Here are the five acts (if they do what they did last year) I want to see perform in the Vegas Show:

1. Fab Five
They have mad talent and can tap dance like no other.

2. Barbara Padilla
She has an absolutely amazing voice and deserves recognition.

3. Texas Tenors
They are raw, quality talent and have great voices. 

4. Hairo Torres
His dance skills are so unique, and he is a great guy. 

5. Voices of Glory
They have so much potential, and I would love to see a child/young adult act in the Vegas Show.

Top 10 Checklist

How did MY Top 10 match up with America's?

*Green Box with a check mark means we both picked that act.
*Red box with an X mean America picked it but I didn't.

5 / 10  :  Not too shabby; I agree with half of the acts in the Top 10.

Semi-Finals Round 2 RESULTS

1. Hairo Torres
Great to see him go through. His act is fun, entertaining, original, and well, not a singing act.

2. Recycled Percussion
They were not my pick to advance, but I am interested to see what they bring to the finals.

3. Barbara Padilla
She has an amazing voice, and I am not the least bit surprised that she is in the finals.

4. Lawrence Beamen
His semi-finals performance was not the best, but he is a talented singer, so I am not totally against him being in the finals.

5. Drew Stevyns
I still don't think he is the greatest singer, but I can tell America likes him. He has is probably the weakest of the four singers in the final, but it will be interesting to see what happens.

Well, America only voted 2/5 that I chose through, but I guess we will just have to see what happens in the finals.

Semi-Finals Round 2 REVIEW

1. Recycled Percussion
I really was not impressed by this act. It was just a bunch of guys running around and banging on drums. It would be way cooler if their act actually focused on making sounds with recycled materials, but it doesn't, and I find it very boring to watch a bunch of guys make a bunch of racket, which is really all it is. Could you listen to that same beat for more than five minutes? I couldn't. 

2. Lawrence Beamen
That was definitely not the right song for him. His voice is much more suited for something lower. I definitely think he needs to forget the vocal "acrobatics" and stick to singing songs suited for a voice as low as his. His voice can be very smooth and rich, but tonight it just wasn't. 

3. Erik and Rickie
They are great dancers, but I think I prefer their classic ballroom dancing more. They had some interesting moves, and I thought it was a fairly well choreographed dance. It didn't WOW me, but it was fairly entertaining. I liked the whole theme. 

4. Jeffery Ou
More like Jeffery "OW- stop hurting my ears". His performance was terrible, and the music didn't match the stage lighting. There were a bunch of fast, flickering strobe lights, and then Jeffery playing a classical song. It just didn't work. Plus, the piano playing didn't sound that great either. 

5.  Hairo Torres
He was very entertaining tonight, and I loved the story. He is a great dancer, and continues to bring something new to the table each time. I loved his performance and thought he did a great job. His body can do amazing things, and I just think he is really unique and talented. 

6. The EriAm Sisters
Agreeing with the judges, I would have to say that their performance was shaky at the beginning, but then really came together well towards the end. They need to work on their blend, and should work on balancing between all three singing at one, and one girl taking the lead vocals. They sure have talent, but the whole song did not showcase it. 

7. Mario and Jenny
Terrible performance in my opinion. They did nothing interesting, and they simply danced and banged a few drums. Their act is not a dance act, it is a danger thrill act, and there was none of that in that performance. OK, glad to see you have variety in your act, but show us that mixed in with the danger and excitement, not altogether on its own. It was boring, stupid, and I would never pay to see it. 

8. Drew Stevyns
His voice is not my favorite of the ones I've seen on this show, but he has star quality. His voice is very raspy, and it only works with certain songs. The performance was fairly good, but I don't think his voice is diverse enough in itself to really sustain a show. 

9. FootworKINGz
They definitely failed tonight. They needed to cut the "fighting" crap, and stick to dance, which is something they're very good at. I thought they really had potential, but they really did not showcase their talent tonight. They gave that same boring, quick-footed step, and they need to dance together in unique ways, like in their last performance. 

10. Barbara Padilla
She has an amazing voice, and is a very talented singer and performer. There is not much more I can say; Barbara Padilla will go far in life.

Not really the greatest performances tonight, but here are my Top 5:
-Hairo Torres
-Barbara Padilla
-EriAm Sisters
-FootworKINGz (to give them a second chance)
-Erik amd Rickie