Last night, after 16 weeks and 31 episodes, season six of America's Got Talent crowned a new winner.
Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., the
Frank Sinatra cover artist jazz singer won the $1,000,000 prize.
Seriously, America?
Landau is a good singer, but not a great singer. Singers on AGT are encouraged to take famous songs and make them their own. Landau didn't do that. He sang Frank Sinatra in the style of Frank Sinatra. I'm shocked that the judges let him get away with that. After four performances by the West Springfield Dance Team the judges were no longer satisfied with the horror/zombie themed dances. The judges like the contestants to be diverse and show all their talents. But Landau wasn't required to change.
When the final four were announced, I knew that Landau was going to win. No matter how good the three other acts were, Americans have been conditioned by "American Idol" to think that only a solo singer can win a talent show. Only solo singers have won AGT (Season 2 winner Terry Fator is a singing ventriloquist, not a comedy ventriloquist like Jeff Dunham or Taylor Mason).
But I can think of 12 acts this season who could have (or should have) won instead of Landau.
Solo Singers
If a solo singer was going to win, there were better choices.
Anna Graceman: I was shocked that America chose Landau over Anna. Anna proved that she could do a variety of songs and make them her own. I assumed she was a shoo-in for final four, especially after Jackie Evancho's success.
Dani Shay: Sure, she looks like Justin Bieber's twin sister, but that doesn't mean she should be a Bieber copycat. She already has an EP and two albums of original music, but when she tried to do an original song during Vegas week, she was told by the judges that she needed to do a song the judges were familiar with. But after her Hollywood performance, the judges criticized her song choice for not being well known by the audience. (I'm guessing the judges thought she should have only done Justin Bieber songs.) My guess is that if the judges hadn't been so hard on her, potentially she could have won.
Kevin Colis: I really liked Kevin, and not just because he's from Texas. But because he was from the YouTube auditions, the judges thought that his second performance on the show should have been at the same level as the singers who were up to their performance on the show.
Bands:
America, solo singers don't
have to be the only winners. Sometimes really good singers have a band to back them up.
POPLYFE: They were my personal choice to win this season. The kids in POPLYFE may only be in their mid-teens, but they were tackling songs that were hits many years before they were born. I mean, seriously, the covered the Beatles' "Come Together" and not only were they able to actually find the lyrics to the song, they made it their own. And they did the same with The Jackson Five, Queen, and even contemporary singers Bruno Mars, Cee Lo Green, and Adele. And at the beginning, when Piers recommended that lead singer Kehlani Parrish drop her band and go on solo, she showed that there were more important things than money when she said she couldn't go on without her "brothers."
Fiddleheads: The Fiddleheads are a really good band, but I can't think of much to say about them because they weren't given much of a chance on the show.
Avery and the Calico Hearts: Disney needs to give these cute little girls a show on "The Channel." In the wake of losing Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers, Disney is in need of a young singer program.
Dancers:
The judges kept insisting that this was "The Year Of The Dance." And since "dance" is so broad, there were many styles to choose from.
Silhouettes: The Rocky Mountain Silhouettes were tied with POPLYFE for my choice to who should win the $1,000,000. Only 20% of the group (40 out of 200) actually went to Hollywood to perform. The group always had an inspiring story, and they said that they would have donated part of the winnings to help homeless kids in Denver. Plus, the entire concept of the team is unique.
Team Iluminate: Similar yet very different from last year's Fighting Gravity, Team Iluminate added technology to dance to make interesting entertainment. Many people assumed that they were going to win.
Beth Ann Robinson: When "rhythmic thrashing" can be called dancing, Beth Ann's gymnastic-ballet can actually be considered dance.
Comedy:
Comedians don't really do well on AGT because it is hard to do 90 second routines. But this season had two comics who made the most of their time.
Melissa Villasenor: The comedienne is able to mimic many celebrities, more than just the few she did on the show. I watched a few of her YouTube videos, and I really liked her bit on how Drew Barrymore could never play a murderer.
Geechy Guy: I have no idea what his real name is, but Geechy Guy's self-deprecating humor is reminiscent of Rodney Dangerfield.
Other:
Landon Swank: the illusionist from Sarah Palin's hometown was the best magician I have seen on the past two seasons of AGT. Is there anything more Vegas-y than an illusionist?
