Topic: America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent: Finals
Airdate: Monday, September 14, 2009 [8-10pm]
On Monday, the finalists performed one last time for America's votes. Who blew away the competition, who was forgettable, and who completely bombed? Let's find out...
- The Voices of Glory: Singing a Whitney Houston song ("Greatest Love of All") was risky (but was obvious strategy since Whitney is trying to make a comeback), but for the most part, the group pulled it off. I give it a seven or eight out of ten, based on the vocals. Nadia was a little flat at times (in the middle to lower vocal range). But when her voice got higher, she and the boys were great. They may have increased their chances of winning, but was possibly diminished by going first.
- Hairo Torres: After my contradictions last week, I wanted to be a little easier on him, while still being truthful. There were times when I was impressed, but I didn't think there were enough dance/contortion moves. He is still a talented young man, regardless. His chance of winning plummeted; he's out of the running.
- Lawrence Beamen: The song choice ("My First, My Last, My Everything") was better than last week, but it didn't completely work out. The song forced him to sing short notes, so we couldn't hear any range or length in his voice. Out of the two singing acts so far, Voices of Glory has it. Chance of winning: forgettable, so no chance.
- Barbara Padilla: It is not surprise that she sang the first song she did on the show; season 1 winner Bianca Ryan, season 3 winner Neal E. Boyd, and Britain's Got Talent finalist Susan Boyle all did it. And since it has been a long while, it felt like a new song to me. Out of everything I have said about her all these weeks, there's nothing more I can say other than this: she's already a winner. And I love how, each week, she is shocked when the judges say how great she is. I saw more confidence this week, which was great. Chance of winning: 99.9%. I don't say 100% because you never know how America will vote sometimes.
- Fab 5: This week, they had to do more than just give an enjoyable performance. Unfortunately, that wasn't apparent. There was nothing new brought to the stage; just the same type of tap dancing/clogging we have seen from them before. Chance of winning: forgettable, so no chance.
- The Texas Tenors: There will always be cheese with their performances, but this was their best yet. They saved the best for last. And "My Way" is a great song, which is fitting for the end of the competition. They definitely increased their chances of winning, though I can't see them winning.
- Drew Stevyns: I am amazed that he has made it this far. But this time, he stepped it up enormously. This was his best of the season, like the Tenors. And I found nothing wrong with the song ("I'll Stand By You"), his voice, or the overall performance. Even though this is the best we've seen of him, he will probably get lost in the mix in America's eyes.
- Grandma Lee: I was worried that she wouldn't be as funny this week, but she brought her A-game as usual. Each joke, from Seacrest to Piers to Simon, was top notch. When she was carried out by those "Egyptians," I was already laughing. Then I noticed the belly bump, and wondered how that would fit in, but I loved that she said "We'll talk about this later, Piers." And revealing that her new baby daddy is Simon was hilarious. I think that out of anyone in the competition that could give Barbara Padilla a run for her money, it is Grandma Lee. She is the only person I could see beating the opera singer.
- Kevin Skinner: Singing "I Don't Want To Miss a Thing," he started right off the bat with horrible notes. And it continued until the middle of the song. The last half was better and more on key, but he didn't do anything to persuade me. This was nowhere near a million dollar performance. The judges admitted he doesn't have a good voice, but decided to throw that huge aspect out and basically said he should win because he's unemployed and has a touching story. But the truth is this: When you are buying an album, you are buying the voice, not the story. So, once again, a big epic fail to the judges for not doing their job. Kevin is a nice guy and all, but I really don't want him to win (if you haven't noticed already). He is not the best act in America, plain and simple. Chance of winning: I'm not even going to go there.
- Recycled Percussion: It was a little uneven at times, but so much energy and excitement. The song was great, which added to the energy. The water seemed pulled straight from the Taylor Swift award show playbook. That was a little unnecessary. But overall, a great end to the night. Chance of winning: while uneven, they had the pimp spot, so it's hard to tell how their chances of winning are. But I doubt they will win.
Favorite Acts: Barbara Padilla / The Texas Tenors / Drew Stevyns / Grandma Lee
My Votes: Barbara Padilla [10 votes by phone] / Grandma Lee [10 votes online]
Winner Prediction: Barbara Padilla
Alternative: Grandma Lee
Overall, this was a great night of performances. There's no doubt about it, Barbara Padilla has the best shot at winning. If you would have told me that during the auditions, I would have said no, because we had an opera singer win last year. Neal E. Boyd is one of the best acts to grace the America's Got Talent stage, but I have to admit that Barbara is better than him. It's hard to say that, because I can't say anything bad about Neal, but it's probably the truth.
Even though I'm predicting Barbara to win, I also voted for Grandma Lee and selected her as an alternative to win if Barbara does not. I love Grandma Lee, and couldn't help but vote for her as well, because regardless of the results, she's deserving as well.
Well, we're at the end of the season, finally. It's all come down to these ten finalists. Who will win, and will the winner or any of the finalists reach a Terry Fator-like level of fame? We won't know for a quite a while, but I'm looking forward to tonight's Finale, where Leona Lewis, Shakira, Rascal Flatts, and Cirque du Soleil will all perform, as will Susan Boyle. Even though Terry Fator already performed earlier in the season, he really should come back for the Finale to perform. With all of these performers, it should be a great show. I don't have to worry about writing down notes or finding someone to vote for; I just have to sit back and relax and enjoy the show.
Even though I don't have to worry about all those things, I will still be multi-tasking: I will be Live-Tweeting tonight's Finale as I did for Monday's performance episode. You can follow those Live-Tweets on Twitter @TVWatchOnline beginning at 8pm Pacific Time. For the final time, see ya then...