As you can tell from the title and the header picture of this article, this is obviously an America’s Got Talent (“AGT”) Season 20 Episode 1 recap.
The title says it all. My fingers work again. AGTBlogmmenter is BACK. It’s been the better part of a decade since AGTCommenter sat down at the ole’ typewriter and dumped the complicated contents of his brains through the keyboard and sent it out for public consumption, and more importantly, scrutiny. I want to thank the lovely folks at FWRD AXIS for giving me a forum. Special thanks to my friend and great friend of the AGT Time Pod, Stephen Anderson for the invite. It feels great to be back. Let’s have some fun.
AGT Season 20 Auditions 1 Recap starts NOW. America took to their couches Tuesday night with all the fervor and excitement of a 3rd grader on the first day of school. And, like the first day of school, what was waiting on the other side of the opening bell of Season 20 was mostly comatose. Have we seen better premieres? Sure. Have we seen worse premieres? Probably. Did Tuesday deliver more than a handful of exciting moments? No. And therein lies the greater problem at play for AGT over the past half decade or so. Where’s the ‘WOW’ factor? Where’s the Kodi Lee or the Grace VanderWaal? Perhaps we will find them next week.
The episode opened as anticipated. We got to meet the judges, including the long anticipated return of Miss Melanie Brown (shoutout Sal Valentinetti). A welcome sight for some and a jump scare for others. I for one have defended Mel over the years and appreciate her return to the table.
Eric Booker opened the season and if I were in charge, I might have gone in a different direction. I wouldn’t say Eric has any specific or recognizable type of talent. He drinks things. And what’s more, he drinks things that people don’t usually drink. Comedy! He’s most well known for consistently having one of the best seats in the house to watch Joey Chestnut beat him at the 4th of July Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating contest.
Some highlights:
Team Recycled
They chose an interesting performance structure. Not one that I would have gone with. I liken it to a saltine cracker appetizer before a really nice steak dinner. They finished with a bang though, and on a night where it wasn’t too difficult to standout, this was one of the better performances we got.
Light Wire
Our first Golden Buzzer of the season came courtesy of Simon Cowell. Video mapping act, Light Wire, knocked Simon’s compression socks off and he had no choice to slap that golden button. I thought this needed to be seen with 3D glasses to get the best impact, but nonetheless there was something interesting about this act.
Jourdan Blue
Our second Golden Buzzer of the season came courtesy of Howie Mandel. Jourdan Blue whipped a very derivative rendition of The Script’s “Breakeven“. If you haven’t heard his version but know the original, think of it like the original but in a different font. I doubt we will be talking about this performance on the AGT Time Pod in 5 years, but when you have a voice as different as his, you get remembered.
Jacqueline & Wagner
Behold. The best act of the night. They flew, they spun, and they rolled there way to AGTCommenter’s stamp of approval. The roller blades allowed for smooth dismounts. There were tons of stunts. The performance didn’t feel abridged. Only gripe with this duo is our gal Jacqueline can really spin a yarn. We didn’t order a yappuccino Jacqueline.
Let’s finish with a new segment I like to call:
Rapid Fire Grab Bag Brain Dump
This guy looked like Jesus if he was born in Laguna Beach.
I fear I am going to have to be on the front lines of the War on Zac Mirz this season. The situation is still developing. Stay tuned.
Two audition Golden Buzzers per judge still stinks.
Big shoutout to Season 20’s cup sponsor: LavAzza.
Hopefully they call the instant save during live show “The SavAzza”. Also, use this as the official copyright on that idea.
Last one. If my grandkid ever goes on a nationally televised show and allows them to zoom in on my FaceTime looking like the picture below, just pull the plug.
I will leave you with my Auditions 1 Power Rankings:
1. Jacqueline & Wagner
2. Jourdan Blue
3. Team Recycled
4. Light Wire
5. Micah Palace
6. Zac Mirz
7. Sandy Larson
8. Lastics Boyz
I hope you found some enjoyment and humor from this, and will come along with me throughout Season 20. Let us all rejoice, AGTCommenter’s fingers work again. Until next week.
