Auditions, Week Four
Piers,
Sharon,
The Hoff and
Jerry are back in Atlanta to start off week four.
Billy Dodson - He's big, he's burly, he's imposing. He gets on stage and sings...soprano? Three quick X's.
Alex Pyles - A 10-year-old cutie with a great southern accent. She comes out on stage with her father, and they perform a combination of acrobatics, gymnastics and self-defense. I mean, they are hurling each other around the stage and kicking the you-know-what out of each other (with very light contact). Piers gives 'em an instant X. Sharon and The Hoff are intrigued. Piers asks a very valid question: how can this act help you win the competition? Sharon asks if Alex and her Dad are sent on to Vegas, how can they build upon this act in the upcoming weeks? Alex: "I would bring in more people and fight off more attackers because it's not always one person who attacks you." Can't argue with that. She wins Sharon over and they're headed to Vegas.
Sarah Lenore - She comes out with her guitar and belts out Carrie Underwood's
Before He Cheats. She's pretty good. Sounds like Carrie, too. Gets a standing O from the audience. She off to Vegas, but Sharon gives her some advice: "You've got to work on your individuality, Dawg. There's a lot of blond, young, pretty girls who sing and play guitar." [actually, she didn't say Dawg.]
Flambeaux - Does a pretty impressive fire show for the judges and the audience. He takes a swig of something and breathes a lot of fire. The judges love it.
Nichole Romana - A pole dancer. Amid all the annoying cutaways, we see about six seconds of her routine. She's better, though, than the duo called "Gravity Plays Favorites" that pole danced
last week and has a similar figure to the pole. To Vegas!
Giwayen Mata - A dance troupe dressed as if they are right out of the tropics. Just a few seconds of the routine is shown, but Hoff loves it and they're going to Vegas.
SQ Entertainment - A group of 11 young men [all cousins] that do a high-energy hip-hop dance routine. The audience loves it and so do the judges. Hoff says they could go far in the competition if they put on new outfits and "class it up."
The judges are back in New York...
The James Gang - A nattily-clad foursome from Harlem that does a great, jazzy song and dance routine. Backstage, the judges agree they are very Broadway and one of the best acts they've seen.
Victoria Jacoby - Originally from China, precious 11-year-old Victoria was adopted at six months old. She comes out very cool and calm. She does contortions and flexes her body about every possible way you can imagine. At one point, she literally bends over backwards for the judges and then corkscrews herself and drinks from a glass - by lifting it up with her feet. Impressive. I don't know the staying power of this act all the way to the finals in Vegas, but she's headed there.
Polka Today - Matt & Elaine from Staten Island say they're the creators of "Polka Today", a high-energy blend of country, swing an ballroom dancing to Polka. They met at a Polka dance, and fell in love on the dance floor. Awww. A cute story, but, this isn't
Love Connection, so let's see what'cha got. Ack! As Piers put it, it's like Polka from the '50s. Not only three X's, but all at the same time.
Mr. Phil - Three quick X's while he - dressed in a red plaid blazer - sings some wacky song about doing a dance called the Mr. Phil. Gone.
Peter McIntosh - Ah, a ventriloquist. Last year's winner, Terry Fator, was a ventriloquist, and a very good one. Not Peter. First of all, he moves his lips rather emphatically. Then he says something to Piers that triggers the NBC bleep button a few times. Gone. But Sharon
did describe him as "barking mad." Is that a compliment?
Then it's a few quick looks at some acts that are triple X'd.
Ursula Knudson, whose singing brings Hoff to call her act the worst he's ever seen;
Rachel Star, who steps on broken glass while repeating the phrase "nothing you've ever seen";
Debra Weiner sings Martha & The Vandellas'
Dancing in the Street poorly, and doesn't quit when she gets three X's. So Hoff goes on stage and escorts her off. Backstage, he's a bit frustrated at the low level of talent and wants to be "blown away."
He may be about to get his wish...
Kyle Rifkin - He had a rough childhood and had to become the adult in the family at a young age. Growing up, he made money by begging for change or singing. He gets on stage and sings
Ain't Too Proud to Beg by the Temptations. He's in tears even before he starts singing, and breaks into tears when he's done. In between, he's spectacular. He gets a standing O from Hoff. Piers asks him to bring his mother out on stage, and now Jerry is in tears. Piers: "You are right up there with the best we've seen." He's going to Vegas.
Just an hour-long show this week, but a lot of talent. -
J.R. Whalen
