"Shy girls" on America's Got Talent

[Amelia]

I watched AGT for the first time this season. Had skipped the first two episodes and didn't regret it.

I liked the girl who got the golden buzzer -- Courtney Hadwin. But AGT has made me skeptical, and my skepticism was justified tonight.

The girl comes out all meek and mild and looks like she's never been in front of a big crowd and might not be able to sing. Then she shocks everyone by doing an energetic performance which channels Janis Joplin.

For this she gets the coveted Golden Buzzer and is consumed with happy tears like this is a barely imaginable thing to happen to a girl who never had come out of her shell before.



..... then you look online and see she's been competing for years and was a finalist in UK's "The Voice Kids" last year and has given other Joplin-esque live performances.




Similar thing happened a couple of years ago when a girl who won Romania's Got Talent did her America's Got Talent audition and gave a non-answer to a question about how long she had been singing, making it sound like her mother had just casually, recently given her a piece of music which launched her new adventure. When really she was an old pro at talent shows. So she got the Golden Buzzer and acted all shocked ... but she wasn't all that good at acting humbly surprised. Tonight's girl was much better at it. Tonight's girl was so good that I almost thought I was being unfair to her when I had that flashback to the Romanian girl.


Courtney is still a fun performer ... but I don't like feeling manipulated by little kids who are hiding that they're semi-professional competitors.

 

[Superfly]

This girl named Emily West was on several years ago. I rooted for her. Her voice gave me chills. She came in 1st runner up. She was amazing, and I thought she should have won. Afterwards I started looking her up and she already had a record contract and was pretty well known.

I know what you mean about feeling a little snowed.

This is her finale performance:

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Courtney is still a fun performer ... but I don't like feeling manipulated by little kids who are hiding that they're semi-professional competitors.

I don't know Courtney but I know a couple of people who have been working hard for both her and another very young and super talented musician, a boy named Ray Goren.

It's a little bit of a misnomer to call either of them professional "competitors".
Ray decided not to pursue the AGT/Idol/X Factor/talent show route but Courtney felt it was the right path for her.
But both are utilizing the "shotgun approach" and that's for one simple reason:
Radio and records just don't do it anymore, not by themselves...the industry has had the bottom fall out of it.

The only path that really yields anything worthwhile is whatever path yields the most exposure and the most asses in seats and eyeballs on the screen. These TV shows are about one thing only, RATINGS for the production, nothing else.
So, when production decides that the "shy little girl" routine is the approach they want, that's what you do, if you want to be on the show. These are reality shows, which means that they are "game shows".
Nothing is by accident, and there's no reality in a reality show.

Courtney probably won't get a worthwhile record contract out of her appearance but she will get her name remembered, so that when she does get a decent tour and a record, people will buy tickets and records. Truth be told, it's now the touring that pays more, and even touring doesn't pay like it used to except for the top ten percent or even the top five percent, of talent.
But it pays something.

My own nephew is on the same level, he deserves to be on top of the world. He also chose to avoid the talent show path, he thinks it's a trap, which it is. He's not only a gifted musician but also a gifted writer.

Marshall Gallagher - The Shallows - Drive Away

The shotgun approach - spread your name and your talent as far and wide as possible, by any means possible.

PS: Dani Poppitt, the singer...not bad, not too bad at all...but everything you hear, is Marshall, except her singing.

Ray Goren was the last talent mentored by the late Leon Russell, aka The Master of Space and Time.

 

[Skeptic Bob]

The first episode had Shin Lim, one of my favorite card magicians. Now, he wasn’t putting on a shy act but he is certainly no stranger to such shows. Hell, he has been on, and won, Penn and Teller’s Fool Us..TWICE.

I also saw a girl magician going with a scary shtick sort of out of The Ring, who I know for a fact I have seen on some other talent show.

Now, this isn’t new. But in the past Simon would say something like, “oh, I remember this person who is about to come on. He auditioned on Britain’s Got Talent and was great. But now, yeah, it is as if they are pretending they are making their public debut or something.

 

[Howard the Duck]

I don't know Courtney but I know a couple of people who have been working hard for both her and another very young and super talented musician, a boy named Ray Goren.

It's a little bit of a misnomer to call either of them professional "competitors".
Ray decided not to pursue the AGT/Idol/X Factor/talent show route but Courtney felt it was the right path for her.
But both are utilizing the "shotgun approach" and that's for one simple reason:
Radio and records just don't do it anymore, not by themselves...the industry has had the bottom fall out of it.

The only path that really yields anything worthwhile is whatever path yields the most exposure and the most asses in seats and eyeballs on the screen. These TV shows are about one thing only, RATINGS for the production, nothing else.
So, when production decides that the "shy little girl" routine is the approach they want, that's what you do, if you want to be on the show. These are reality shows, which means that they are "game shows".
Nothing is by accident, and there's no reality in a reality show.

Courtney probably won't get a worthwhile record contract out of her appearance but she will get her name remembered, so that when she does get a decent tour and a record, people will buy tickets and records. Truth be told, it's now the touring that pays more, and even touring doesn't pay like it used to except for the top ten percent or even the top five percent, of talent.
But it pays something.

My own nephew is on the same level, he deserves to be on top of the world. He also chose to avoid the talent show path, he thinks it's a trap, which it is. He's not only a gifted musician but also a gifted writer.

Marshall Gallagher - The Shallows - Drive Away

The shotgun approach - spread your name and your talent as far and wide as possible, by any means possible.

PS: Dani Poppitt, the singer...not bad, not too bad at all...but everything you hear, is Marshall, except her singing.

Ray Goren was the last talent mentored by the late Leon Russell, aka The Master of Space and Time.

I don't want to say this, but she should get a great day job and continue to pursue music as a hobby. Perhaps it's better to view it as a second job.

Music industry people simply aren't interested in investing in artists anymore. Consider that genesis didn't see their first royalties until trick of the tale in 1976. So, peter Gabriel never did see a check while he was in the band. Steve hackett saw checks for a year before he left. They were paying back their advance and touring expenses all of those years over seven(7) albums.

The good news, however, was that Atlantic records continued to invest in their band. Today those kind of bands wouldn't have made their second album. They'd have dropped you and you'd have a million bucks of debt split 6 ways.Enjoy.

Yes is another band that meets that description. There are lots of them.

When you wake up one morning and find that you don't need any help? Help will be everywhere.

I make a living playing. But I am 60 years old. I've had other jobs. I play. I don't belong to the band. The union makes them cut me a check on the spot.

Big bands, hell ALL bands, make their money playing live and selling cds, hats, and t shirts on the side. That's why live tickets cost so much. When I was a kid they were dirt cheap. I once saw CSNY, santana, the band, and Jessie colin young for $8. What would that show cost now 44 years later with geriatric versions of those bands?

So either you are a very very good/experienced side player, or you are going hungry.

Those are the facts. I encourage her to play! Get better! Learn to write! Record. Play out! PLAY OUT SOME MORE? Practice. Learn to produce your own stuff. Enjoy the small victories. And take the pressure off yourself.

Thank you for listening.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

I don't want to say this, but she should get a great day job and continue to pursue music as a hobby. Perhaps it's better to view it as a second job.

Music industry people simply aren't interested in investing in artists anymore. Consider that genesis didn't see their first royalties until trick of the tale in 1976. So, peter Gabriel never did see a check while he was in the band. Steve hackett saw checks for a year before he left. They were paying back their advance and touring expenses all of those years over seven(7) albums.

The good news, however, was that Atlantic records continued to invest in the band.

Yes is another band thst meets that description. There are lots of them.

When you wake up one morning and find that you don't need any help? Help will be everywhere.

I make a living playing. But I am 60 years old. I've had other jobs. I play. I don't belong to the band. The union makes them cut me a check on the spot.

So either you are a very very good/experienced side player, or you are going hungry.

Those are the facts. I encourage her to play! Get better! Learn to write! Learn to produce your own stuff. Enjoy the small victories. And take the pressure off yourself.

Thank you for listening.

Very well said, and true, all of it.
Oh and, Peter Gabriel taught Phil how to sing!!

"The music industry is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where pimps and thieves run free and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."
(Hunter S. Thompson)

How do ya like them apples!!

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Get a load of this:
Marshall Gallagher's father, my cousin, is also a huge talent.
But he too decided to get rich some other way, and is now retired and back into being a musician, but just for the fun of it.
He's so good that Gregg Allman gave their cover band his blessing before he checked out.

"STAY"
My Blue Sky - featuring vocals by John Gallagher

Oh damn...this is actually an ORIGINAL!! He wrote the damn thing!

 

[Howard the Duck]

Very well said, and true, all of it.
Oh and, Peter Gabriel taught Phil how to sing!!

"The music industry is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where pimps and thieves run free and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."
(Hunter S. Thompson)

How do ya like them apples!!

The funny thing is I don't want to play much anymore. That makes me more valuable than ever. Sometimes double and triple scale.

If only I knew that saying no was so profitable 30 years ago.

 

[Superfly]

I don't know Courtney but I know a couple of people who have been working hard for both her and another very young and super talented musician, a boy named Ray Goren.

It's a little bit of a misnomer to call either of them professional "competitors".
Ray decided not to pursue the AGT/Idol/X Factor/talent show route but Courtney felt it was the right path for her.
But both are utilizing the "shotgun approach" and that's for one simple reason:
Radio and records just don't do it anymore, not by themselves...the industry has had the bottom fall out of it.

The only path that really yields anything worthwhile is whatever path yields the most exposure and the most asses in seats and eyeballs on the screen. These TV shows are about one thing only, RATINGS for the production, nothing else.
So, when production decides that the "shy little girl" routine is the approach they want, that's what you do, if you want to be on the show. These are reality shows, which means that they are "game shows".
Nothing is by accident, and there's no reality in a reality show.

Courtney probably won't get a worthwhile record contract out of her appearance but she will get her name remembered, so that when she does get a decent tour and a record, people will buy tickets and records. Truth be told, it's now the touring that pays more, and even touring doesn't pay like it used to except for the top ten percent or even the top five percent, of talent.
But it pays something.

My own nephew is on the same level, he deserves to be on top of the world. He also chose to avoid the talent show path, he thinks it's a trap, which it is. He's not only a gifted musician but also a gifted writer.

Marshall Gallagher - The Shallows - Drive Away

The shotgun approach - spread your name and your talent as far and wide as possible, by any means possible.

PS: Dani Poppitt, the singer...not bad, not too bad at all...but everything you hear, is Marshall, except her singing.

Ray Goren was the last talent mentored by the late Leon Russell, aka The Master of Space and Time.

Your nephew is impressive as hell. And he has to be commended for not going the route of those talent shows. Thing is, I believe that the one they want to win is going to win, no matter how many "votes" they get. Especially with Simon Cowell at the helm. He'll get who he wants.

I don't know about AGT, but I know that I heard at one time, American Idol made all top 10 winners sign contracts that basically gave percentages of their earnings for the next X years to them. I lived in Alabama at the time, and there was a guy named Bo Bice that was 1st runner up, and he lost to Carrie Underwood. According to people who knew him, he was glad he got 1st runner up, because he didn't have as long a contract as she did, nor did he have to give up as high a percentage of his earnings.

I know what you are going to say - but where is Bo Bice now, and where is Carrie Underwood? Carrie Underwood was a fluke. There are only a handful of people on all those talent shows combined that actually went anywhere, and she is the most popular, by far.

 

[Superfly]

The first episode had Shin Lim, one of my favorite card magicians. Now, he wasn’t putting on a shy act but he is certainly no stranger to such shows. Hell, he has been on, and won, Penn and Teller’s Fool Us..TWICE.

I also saw a girl magician going with a scary shtick sort of out of The Ring, who I know for a fact I have seen on some other talent show.

Now, this isn’t new. But in the past Simon would say something like, “oh, I remember this person who is about to come on. He auditioned on Britain’s Got Talent and was great. But now, yeah, it is as if they are pretending they are making their public debut or something.

It's because most of us don't watch BGT.

And I saw that scary girl, too, and thought the same exact thing. I looked her up. She's already got a pretty big name for herself. I only looked her up because she looked familiar.

 

[Infinite Chaos]

~ Big bands, hell ALL bands, make their money playing live and selling cds, hats, and t shirts on the side. That's why live tickets cost so much. When I was a kid they were dirt cheap ~

When you were a kid, people had to pay for music or put up with low quality copies on cassette tape. Now, a fan in Mongolia can download a near perfect duplicate of a recording for free - most people even expect it to be free.
Used to be a poster (before he got himself banned) who actually blamed musicians for trying to sell their music. His view was put all music on pirate websites and bands make money through the advertising on the site.

I think most bands SHOULD do more live music and sell merchandise. In the older days, a few designers made extra money designing album covers but now a much larger group of talented designers can design, print and make T-shirts / mugs / hats and other memorabilia for bands and all this to cut out the middle men.

The only thing now - don't know if you have the same problem in the US is reselling websites where a bands tickets are all suddenly sold only to reappear at 10 times the price on ticket reselling websites.

 

[Howard the Duck]

Very well said, and true, all of it.
Oh and, Peter Gabriel taught Phil how to sing!!

"The music industry is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where pimps and thieves run free and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."
(Hunter S. Thompson)

How do ya like them apples!!

Btw. Richard Manuel was sick that day so they asked Billy Preston to sit in. Yes. The band played outaa space. Yes. Billy played up on cripple creek.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...gQtwIIngEwDA&usg=AOvVaw3S1mD_DD9u_EzdLbmG32t3

 

[nota bene]

Here's the performance:

 

[hanger4]

Courtney is still a fun performer ... but I don't like feeling manipulated by little kids who are hiding that they're semi-professional competitors.

I suspect it's AGT doing the primary manipulation, I find it hard to believe AGT was in the dark and not in the know about Ms Courtney.

 

[Sampson Simpson]

I watched AGT for the first time this season. Had skipped the first two episodes and didn't regret it.

I liked the girl who got the golden buzzer -- Courtney Hadwin. But AGT has made me skeptical, and my skepticism was justified tonight.

The girl comes out all meek and mild and looks like she's never been in front of a big crowd and might not be able to sing. Then she shocks everyone by doing an energetic performance which channels Janis Joplin.

For this she gets the coveted Golden Buzzer and is consumed with happy tears like this is a barely imaginable thing to happen to a girl who never had come out of her shell before.



..... then you look online and see she's been competing for years and was a finalist in UK's "The Voice Kids" last year and has given other Joplin-esque live performances.




Similar thing happened a couple of years ago when a girl who won Romania's Got Talent did her America's Got Talent audition and gave a non-answer to a question about how long she had been singing, making it sound like her mother had just casually, recently given her a piece of music which launched her new adventure. When really she was an old pro at talent shows. So she got the Golden Buzzer and acted all shocked ... but she wasn't all that good at acting humbly surprised. Tonight's girl was much better at it. Tonight's girl was so good that I almost thought I was being unfair to her when I had that flashback to the Romanian girl.


Courtney is still a fun performer ... but I don't like feeling manipulated by little kids who are hiding that they're semi-professional competitors.

I like watching AGT, but its all staged. THey play up peoples back story so much. And their selections are often not about talent, although in the end I think they get it right. But they put people to the live shows that have no business but they do it for the entertainment/backstory. I bet the producers are the ones actually making the decision, not the judges when it gets down to that point, THe worst I've ever seen was a few seasons ago this stupid guy dancing around poorly on roller blades who was terrible got picked for the live shows.

it's also annoying that every season is "the best season ever" They say it all the time

 

[americanwoman]

I watched AGT for the first time this season. Had skipped the first two episodes and didn't regret it.

I liked the girl who got the golden buzzer -- Courtney Hadwin. But AGT has made me skeptical, and my skepticism was justified tonight.

The girl comes out all meek and mild and looks like she's never been in front of a big crowd and might not be able to sing. Then she shocks everyone by doing an energetic performance which channels Janis Joplin.

For this she gets the coveted Golden Buzzer and is consumed with happy tears like this is a barely imaginable thing to happen to a girl who never had come out of her shell before.



..... then you look online and see she's been competing for years and was a finalist in UK's "The Voice Kids" last year and has given other Joplin-esque live performances.




Similar thing happened a couple of years ago when a girl who won Romania's Got Talent did her America's Got Talent audition and gave a non-answer to a question about how long she had been singing, making it sound like her mother had just casually, recently given her a piece of music which launched her new adventure. When really she was an old pro at talent shows. So she got the Golden Buzzer and acted all shocked ... but she wasn't all that good at acting humbly surprised. Tonight's girl was much better at it. Tonight's girl was so good that I almost thought I was being unfair to her when I had that flashback to the Romanian girl.


Courtney is still a fun performer ... but I don't like feeling manipulated by little kids who are hiding that they're semi-professional competitors.

I totally fell for the shy girl act and now knowing this I don't feel as blown away by her performance but still it was very good.

It's like the couple in the first or second episode this season, us the duo, coming out talking about an original song they wrote and busted out with a song I knew I heard before. It was a song from the 2014 movie Book of Life. So while it's true they did write the original song, it had already been in a movie and they acted like it was just coming out.

This song:

 

[Skeptic Bob]

I totally fell for the shy girl act and now knowing this I don't feel as blown away by her performance but still it was very good.

It's like the couple in the first or second episode this season, us the duo, coming out talking about an original song they wrote and busted out with a song I knew I heard before. It was a song from the 2014 movie Book of Life. So while it's true they did write the original song, it had already been in a movie and they acted like it was just coming out.

This song:

Wow. Good catch.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

The funny thing is I don't want to play much anymore. That makes me more valuable than ever. Sometimes double and triple scale.

If only I knew that saying no was so profitable 30 years ago.

Really, what's your axe?

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Your nephew is impressive as hell. And he has to be commended for not going the route of those talent shows. Thing is, I believe that the one they want to win is going to win, no matter how many "votes" they get. Especially with Simon Cowell at the helm. He'll get who he wants.

I don't know about AGT, but I know that I heard at one time, American Idol made all top 10 winners sign contracts that basically gave percentages of their earnings for the next X years to them. I lived in Alabama at the time, and there was a guy named Bo Bice that was 1st runner up, and he lost to Carrie Underwood. According to people who knew him, he was glad he got 1st runner up, because he didn't have as long a contract as she did, nor did he have to give up as high a percentage of his earnings.

I know what you are going to say - but where is Bo Bice now, and where is Carrie Underwood? Carrie Underwood was a fluke. There are only a handful of people on all those talent shows combined that actually went anywhere, and she is the most popular, by far.

No actually you don't know what I'm going to say.
Here's what I'm going to say:

Well said!

PS: Thanks for the flowers on the nephew, check out his dad, equally amazing.
And neither of them are egotistical in the least, they're really wonderful people.

 

[Howard the Duck]

Really, what's your axe?

Currently, I use a '64 strat, black. Hipshot B bender, otherwise stock.

 

[Howard the Duck]

When you were a kid, people had to pay for music or put up with low quality copies on cassette tape. Now, a fan in Mongolia can download a near perfect duplicate of a recording for free - most people even expect it to be free.
Used to be a poster (before he got himself banned) who actually blamed musicians for trying to sell their music. His view was put all music on pirate websites and bands make money through the advertising on the site.

I think most bands SHOULD do more live music and sell merchandise. In the older days, a few designers made extra money designing album covers but now a much larger group of talented designers can design, print and make T-shirts / mugs / hats and other memorabilia for bands and all this to cut out the middle men.

The only thing now - don't know if you have the same problem in the US is reselling websites where a bands tickets are all suddenly sold only to reappear at 10 times the price on ticket reselling websites.

People who believe that music should be free are now getting the kind of new music that they deserve.

We have reseller problems, too. They are hard to circumvent. It is very difficult to get a cheap ticket in the hands of a loyal fan.

 

[jmotivator]

Very well said, and true, all of it.
Oh and, Peter Gabriel taught Phil how to sing!!

"The music industry is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where pimps and thieves run free and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."
(Hunter S. Thompson)

How do ya like them apples!!

Love Peter Gabriel. Also, your Hunter S. Thompson quote has me replaying Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar" in my head...

But yeah, I'm not in the music industry but I can tell from daily observation that there is a glut of talented performers, and a precious few make a real living at it.

I mean, how do people know who the Black Eyed Peas are but not Lake Street Dive?

Because the music industry is about talent the way Subway is about sandwiches.

(Edit: Also, I realize there are about a bazillion examples of talent less known than Lake Street Dive... but I like them, so there. :lol

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Love Peter Gabriel. Also, your Hunter S. Thompson quote has me replaying Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar" in my head...

But yeah, I'm not in the music industry but I can tell from daily observation that there is a glut of talented performers, and a precious few make a real living at it.

I mean, how do people know who the Black Eyed Peas are but not Lake Street Dive?

Because the music industry is about talent the way Subway is about sandwiches.

(Edit: Also, I realize there are about a bazillion examples of talent less known than Lake Street Dive... but I like them, so there. :lol

I absolutely LOVE Lake Street Dive.
Not only do I love the musical talent, I am hypnotized by Rachael's lips.
Hey, I'm happily married to a hot mama, but I'm not blind!
Rachael just has an awesome mouth and the voice that comes out of it is awesome, too.

 

[NeverTrump]

I watched AGT for the first time this season. Had skipped the first two episodes and didn't regret it.

I liked the girl who got the golden buzzer -- Courtney Hadwin. But AGT has made me skeptical, and my skepticism was justified tonight.

The girl comes out all meek and mild and looks like she's never been in front of a big crowd and might not be able to sing. Then she shocks everyone by doing an energetic performance which channels Janis Joplin.

For this she gets the coveted Golden Buzzer and is consumed with happy tears like this is a barely imaginable thing to happen to a girl who never had come out of her shell before.



..... then you look online and see she's been competing for years and was a finalist in UK's "The Voice Kids" last year and has given other Joplin-esque live performances.




Similar thing happened a couple of years ago when a girl who won Romania's Got Talent did her America's Got Talent audition and gave a non-answer to a question about how long she had been singing, making it sound like her mother had just casually, recently given her a piece of music which launched her new adventure. When really she was an old pro at talent shows. So she got the Golden Buzzer and acted all shocked ... but she wasn't all that good at acting humbly surprised. Tonight's girl was much better at it. Tonight's girl was so good that I almost thought I was being unfair to her when I had that flashback to the Romanian girl.


Courtney is still a fun performer ... but I don't like feeling manipulated by little kids who are hiding that they're semi-professional competitors.

I don't know if it's a new phenomenon, w/the impact of social media, but if you look hard enough. You can find anybody online doing the things they love and hoping they can be the next Justin Bieber. It may feel like a scam if you look into it, and I usually do look into these things, but w/reality shows. I know they are all fake. I watch them to get away from the research that I do constantly in my daily life. I don't search for the acts online (although the Trump impersonator from last year was @ the Singapore summit) and I found that out by accident.

For Instance for awhile, I watched Storage Wars, and I loved it! Yes it's completely fake and staged, but I didn't care.

Even on The Voice, those artists are all usually seasoned musicians singing around in coffee shops or selling larger venues and getting noticed on YouTube. American Idol was the first show to do the undiscovered singing thing, but nowadays that's extremely rare to come by. Because everything is online and can be searched. Social media was not a thing when American Idol first started and there was no YouTube.

 

[hanger4]

I absolutely LOVE Lake Street Dive.
Not only do I love the musical talent, I am hypnotized by Rachael's lips.
Hey, I'm happily married to a hot mama, but I'm not blind!
Rachael just has an awesome mouth and the voice that comes out of it is awesome, too.

Would you recommend some music of theirs, I have an opportunity to see them live July 3.