Tuesday evening, Tommy, Eddie, Raul and I went to the second of four tapings of America's Got Talent at the Fillmore, Miami Beach. The tickets were free, so there was a crowd and a line when we arrived. The humidity was high and made it uncomfortable to be outdoors (especially if you followed the dress code of "hip and upscale"). The few chosen performers from these 4 tapings will go on the the live show in Las Vegas with a chance to win One Million Dollars and perform in Las Vegas.The handlers were not that great at giving directions and letting the crowd know the procedures and how everything was going to happen. At first, all we saw were large groups of under 18 kids dressed nice and looking with anticipation. We went to the end of the line/crowd ..... lucky for us. We ended up standing in front of where they were recording the 3 judges arriving. "Okay, Scream. Okay, wave. Okay, clap. Look excited." were the words yelled at us while they individually arrived in the same Towncar (They got out, then the car backed up and the next one got in and did their entrance.)
THE JUDGES:
First, was David Hasselhoff. Dressed all in white with a hat. He wasn't as tall as I thought he was. If he had put on a little more make-up he could would have looked like one of the bad JC Penny mannequins ... Maybe the make-up artist was a mortician? The crowd yelled and screamed and he signed autographs and shook hands (they all did). More about this "tool" in a bit....
Second, Piers Morgan. Dressed in a nice suit, no tie. Much more handsome and nicer in person. Some of the guys were taking second and third looks.
Third, Sharon Osborne (the crowd favorite). She was dressed in black pants, jacket, long coat, and a black and white frilly top. The pants were way too long on her ... you could not see her shoes and she was stepping on the cuffs. She looked great!
GETTING IN
After waiting in line and letting the family and friends of performers in, the hoards of kid dispersed and got into school buses and left! The tickets said 6:00 PM, we arrived at 5:30 and were not let in until about 6:45 PM. Those staying were not allowed to take cell phones or cameras in and they were taken, bagged with a claim ticket for you to retrieve later. (Eddie snuck in his I-Phone)
Patience and humor was the key....and there were some cuties and fashion victims to look at and talk about.
THE SHOW
Some of the low lights:
The first group was literally a mess. A dance/performance art troupe that danced while splattering themselves with paint. OUT!
A red, white and blue caped man on rollerblades and covered with flashing lights juggling illuminated balls .... OUT!
A smiling,peppy, Georgia Peach in way too tight clothing attempting to sing It's in His Kiss (Shoop shoop song) just like Cher. OUT! Actually, booed loudly and OUT! (How dare she attempt that in this town!)
The spastic singing cowboy. He sang Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy. Wore all black including a hat. He said he was a country James Brown and badly danced, slid and wriggled all over the stage. The song was energetic and he was entertaining, but was not voted through.
Some of the highlights:
The best, I thought, was a 14 year old Latin girl who sang a song from Dreamgirls and brought the house down. My choice for this evening. TO VEGAS! NOTE: Her mom and dad were there and they were HOT!
The Robots. Hard to explain. Imagine 4 giant cylons from the original "Battlestar Gallactica" playing instruments and break dancing. Looked great, need to work on the music, but they get to go on to the next step. TO VEGAS!
A dance troupe that ranged in age from 16 to 25. Very good and need to tighten it up. They did a "dance off" dressed as different artists (Brittany, Beyonce, Jonas Bros, Jennifer Lopez). TO VEGAS!
Notable that did not make it through:
(We liked him) A lifesize puppeteer dressed in drag with identically dressed mannequins to his left and right (he was white, one doll was black and the other a light tan). They danced in unison to "Earls Gotta Die". It was a hoot, but they were buzzed out by all three judges.
THE DRAMA:
There was a mediocre magician with a predictable act. He gave his "I've lost everything in this economy" story. After debate, he was given a chance and given the chance to go to the next step. After being told yes, they brought out their three small children with the youngest carrying a teddy bear ... touching, but cheesy. This is where David Hasselhoff made the audience turn against him. He was the only judge voting "NO". (FYI: You need 2 out of 3 to win a vote to stay or go). David got up and argued with Piers for a bit and then had a tantrum and left the stage. The 3 judges were taken off stage and the taping stopped for about 15 minutes. Now, to let you know, David was the only judge that was continually getting his make up and hair touched up at every break between performances. He needed to button up his shirt, sit there and have his discussion off stage. The audience was entertained, but not amused. Some of the audiece left after this unprofessional moment.
OTHER:
The four of us sat behind four enthusiastic and very witty black women and we all got along great. It made for fun conversation and some of the things we said about the acts and the judges made some in the seats around us either gasp in shock ("Yes, he went there" and "Oh, no he d'int" type comments) or laugh outloud ...
Overall it was an enjoyable experience and we will see if our images come out on television. Maybe we will be superstars!
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