America's Got Talent

We're only four weeks into America's Got Talent and already the series is full to bursting with talented folks vying for the $1 million prize and their chance to have a show on the Las Vegas strip.

Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne and David Hasselhoff seem to pleased with most of the people they are putting through to the Vegas callbacks, but are any of these auditioners the next Terry Fator? Fator, last year's winner, is an extremely talented ventirloquist who has been such a draw in Vegas that he recently signed a five-year contract worth over $100 million. He set the bar incredibly high -- can any of the new auditioners shown so far leap above it?

As America's Got Talent will do as the series enters future rounds, I'm going to divide the contestants we've seen into Singers, Dancers, Music and Variety.

Singers

There have been a fair amount of amazing singers shown thus far. Soul-singer Eli Mattson, a drifter who sang “Walking In Memphis” in the second audition episode, has a voice that blows many an American Idol winner out of the water. The same could be said for Kyle Rifkin, the R&B singer who came from a poor background and who brought the judges and a New York audience to their feet.

However, I can't help but feel that these two and others like them -- like country singer Sarah Lenore and brother boy band Next II None -- would be better served by seeking out a traditional recording contract. They're not necessarily unique enough to win America's Got Talent, but are definitely talented enough to take the world by storm through other musical avenues.

Of all of the singers, I think only opera singer Neil Boyd has a real shot for the top prize. While all of the other singers are fantastic, their style of music seems almost commonplace with shows like American Idol and Nashville Star on the air. Neil Boyd provides a style of music not usually heard in mainstream America, and I think he could be a draw in Vegas. It also doesn't hurt that Britain's Got Talent just had an opera singer win, proving that audiences overseas love booming voices singing classic songs as well.


Dancers

The dancing cowboys of DC Cowboys Dance Company were certainly entertaining, as were the hip-hopping cloggers from the premiere and the dozen dancing cousins from the most recent episode. But it's episode two's astounding tumblers Lil Countrie and Page 1ne that stuck with me now that it's a few weeks later. With their heartbreaking back story and their amazing routine, I think they have a real shot at rising to the top.


Music

My favorite music act so far has got to be The James Gang, the four dapper gentleman who performed an entertaining old fashioned hip-hop routine reminiscent of Outkast. Also awesome were Nuttin But Strings, the two brothers who combined hip-hop with violins. While other music acts like the disco dancing trombonist were fun, I think that so far only The James Gang and Nuttin But Strings have shown they have what it takes to keep Vegas audiences coming back for more.


Variety

Variety covers a huge spectrum of talented folks, and there's been a whole lot of variety this year -- from a group of moms doing a burlesque act to a husband and wife illusionist team to a young contortionist. With their unique talents, I think almost any of these people could take the top prize -- any one of them would fit right in on a Vegas stage. But if I had to put money down, I would say that either the young Elvis impersonator or the astounding Frank Sinatra vocal stylist will be there at the very end. Both proved popular with audiences and, come on, what's more Vegas than celebrity impersonators?


So who will take the top prize? We've still got several more weeks of auditions to go, and for all we know some other undeniably incredible performer will take the stage to blow us all away. The field is wide open and the race getting even more exciting. Be there next Tuesday at 9pm on NBC when America's Got Talent returns with even more auditions.


- , BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Photo courtesy of NBC)