When insurance salesman Neil E. Boyd took to the stage at the close of last evening's
America's Got Talent season premiere, he opened his mouth and let flow an affecting, gorgeous rendition of Giacomo Puccini's "Nessun Dorma.” The viewing audience rose to their feet almost immediately, followed by a standing ovation by the cranky judges themselves. For a man who grew up poor and tearfully credited his mother for all he now has, it was quite a moment to share with an adoring American audience.
Only some of that home audience was feeling nothing if not a sense of complete déjà vu. A year ago to the day, contestant Paul Potts of
Britain's Got Talent's first season sang the exact same song to a similarly adoring audience and went on to win the whole shebang. With this and other similarities between the two
Got Talent shows, some viewers suspect producer shenanigans with how the show is cast.
Your Take
MargoK said:
I'm not sure if Neal is as good as Paul Potts, but I'm glad to see that he received as warm a reception fro...
BuddyJeff said:
I agree, Lostfan, I think Neil is a great opera singer and I like that he's exposing Americans to such fant...
It's no secret that America and Britain share television series ideas like three year olds share the chicken pox. Massive hit
American Idol began its takeover of the US as a spin off of Britain's
Pop Idol. Both countries have
The Apprentice and
Big Brother. Heck, Britain's Leona Lewis, the winner of
The X Factor's first season, was given “A Moment Like This” as her first single -- a song Americans know as coming from
Kelly Clarkson, winner of the first season of
American Idol.
Our two great nations have a weird incestuous relationship when it comes to TV, but it's always been assumed that we're each getting our very own selection of average, everyday citizens to vote into fame. With
America's Got Talent suddenly showing us an opera singer after the massive success of
Britain's Got Talent's Potts, some fans are wondering if producers are in fact scouting out talent and fudging with their backstories in an effort to play with our emotions -- and get us to tune in for massive ratings.
Neil isn't the only
Britain's Got Talent contestant clone. Adorable four-year-old Kaitlyn took the stage last night and sung her wee little heart out to “Somewhere Out There.” Not surprisingly,
Britain's Got Talent had a similarly talented tot. Her name is Connie, and at six years old she earned praise by singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” to resounding “awws” from the audience.
Beyond apparently aping the Brit version's successful contestants,
America's Got Talent is now taking a page straight out of the
An Evening at the Apollo songbook by encouraging the theater audience to boo and jeer contestants as though they are at the coliseum and the contestants are fighting lions. With the transparent copying going on, are the
America's Got Talent producers trying to pull one over on us?
There's a lot of outcry when a talent competition brings in folks who are suspected of being “ringers.” Just look at the reaction to half the cast on
American Idol's most recent season. Reality TV is never as spontaneous and unexpected as we are led to believe, so it's only natural that when the curtain is pulled back some viewers will react with disgust at the manipulations going on.
I do find it a bit unusual that the
America's Got Talent producers might go out of their way to puppet our strings in such a way, but at the end of the day there's no denying that when Neil E. Boyd performed last night, he was spectacular. Is his participation in this show a machination of mustache twirling producers? Perhaps. But the show is about talent and he's got it in spades. I say let's forget about how the magicians do their tricks and just enjoy their show.
Do you care if the America's Got Talent producers scouted some of contestants?
- , BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Photo courtesy of the Daily Mail UK)