In the show’s first few minutes, Nick Cannon promised us that, this season, we would laugh, we would cry, and we wouldn’t believe our eyes. Something he promised us last year as well. However, I must admit that the season premiere delivered the goods to at least make me laugh and to make my jaw drop a few times. This was probably one of the most entertaining episodes of the series thus far thanks to the fact there were less singers and dancers than on previous seasons — allowing AGT to slightly step away from being too much like American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance — and because the acts they chose to show in the episode were diverse: ranging from magic, to juggling with stun guns, to a comedic act with a parrot!
Kudos to the staff members who decide who gets to perform on stage for having chosen 50-year-old Frank Olivier to start the season off with a juggling-on-a-unicycle act. If you check Funny Frank’s official site, you’ll discover that the act he performed during his AGT audition has been performed many times before, including on TV shows, and with other celebrities. But what made his AGT performance extra special was that he chose not Sharon, not Piers, but germaphobe Howie Mandel to be his helper! Howie truly seemed freaked out by Frank especially since the latter was very good at faking being rather unstable on his unicycle. The fact that Frank was holding onto Howie’s head and one of his arms was just pure comedic genius considering Howie hates being touched because of all those nasty germs! Even if Frank will never get Howie’s vote, the comedic juggler will more than likely go far in the competition.
Some of the acts going through:
Some of the acts not going through:
The Worst of the Worst: My vote goes to The Forever Young Dancers. Don’t know about you, but I think I’ll have nightmares tonight featuring those elderly men dressed as babies with diapers! That was just plain wrong. Udi “How you feelin’?” Abagnale was a close second.
The “I Can’t Believe this Act is Going to Vegas” act: Olivia Bellafontaine, burlesque dancer. Really?!
The Show Stealers: Tobias, Young J, and Lil’ Josh, the members of SH’Boss Boys, rocked the house and won over the hearts of the crowd and the three judges! Their “wapping,” as they said, was not the best but those boys were so darn cute! Extra brownie points for one of the kids saying that, if they win, he would buy a big house with tons of toys for kids who currently don’t have a home. Awwww….
The Best of the Best: Team iLuminate amazed everyone with their performance. Some might say they are “Fighting Gravity” wannabes since both acts were done in the dark with some cool light effects. But what Team iLuminate seems to have that Fighting Gravity didn’t to the same degree is the dancing. Some of the moves iLuminate members made were quite daring considering they were in total darkness. For sure, this group will make it through the Top 20 if not further in the competition.
Lastly, here is a clip from the premiere featuring some successful contestants, including magician Landon Swank who performed an amazing and unique box trick.
I only caught the neon dance team (iLuminate). That was soooo amazing. Although, I’m not sure I could watch an entire hour or more without suffering a severe headache by the end.
*POST AUTHOR*
Marissa, you at least saw the best act of the night. iLuminate were extremely impressive. You can check the 2nd video I posted in my review so to see a few other great acts.