PITTSBURGH’S NEWEST SUPERSTAR
‘I never miss the NBC show, “America’s Got Talent”. It’s not as good as “American Idol”, which is the most brilliantly conceived show in the history of television, but it’s close.
It was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen on television.
Check out the link if you’ve never seen this kid and listen to her on some good speakers.
Last night she did it again only she was even better.
If you’re not blown away by this kid, check your pulse.
Now, just in case you’re wondering why I like these shows so much.
I stumbled upon American Idol four or five years ago while channel surfing.
I heard them introducing a 16 year old girl who was one of the 10 finalists. The theme for that night was old standards and this kid came out in front of an auditorium full of people and a live television audience of 20 million and absolutely killed “Teach Me Tonight.”
I assumed that she had probably never heard that song until she had to pick it from a list of songs that she could sing in the competition.
She didn’t win the title that year but it got me wanting to see more.
Maybe it’s because I worked in TV, but I’m just blown away by the people who come from nowhere–working as beauticians and bartenders—and have the guts to get up there on live TV and perform the way they do.
American Idol is the perfect TV show. It’s live. The music is good. It’s interactive–the viewers decide who wins, it’s competitive, it’s unpredictable and it has a soap opera element that keeps viewers coming back to see what happens each week. It also runs during two sweeps periods, February and May, which means tremendous ratings for Fox.
There is also the “Up Close and Personal” element that works so well for the Olympics. Each performer has his or her own story and the producers to a great job of getting the audience interested in the performers as people.
“America’s Got Talent” has many of the same elements with more variety. I think it’s a close second to “American Idol” only because I think too many of the dancers, magicians and other performers are boring.
Just check out Jackie Evancho. You won’t be sorry. After she sang last night, they should have declared her the winner and said “See you next year.”
