America’s Got Talent‘s fifth winner, Michael Grimm, received only about $200,000 as his prize for winning the show, which advertises its prize as $1 million. That’s because he took the lump sum, instead of getting paid over time. During the show’s second season, I analyzed the fine print of America’s Got Talent’s $1 million prize… continue reading
America’s Got Talent 5
Win tickets to America’s Got Talent’s live tour
If you’d like to see Prince Poppycock, Fighting Gravity, Jackie Evancho, and that guy who won America’s Got Talent all perform live, I’m giving away a pair of tickets to 10 of the cities on the show’s fall tour. Tour promoter AEG Live has provided reality blurred with one pair of tickets for each of… continue reading
Survivor survives move to Wed. with higher ratings, but Talent beats it and Big Brother
In the battle for reality TV ratings Wednesday night, there were many winners. Survivor survived its move to Wednesday nights, increasing its ratings from a year ago, while Big Brother‘s finale was also up. However, America’s Got Talent pulled in more viewers than either show–and significantly more than the Bragade. TV By the Numbers has… continue reading
Mediocre singer Michael Grimm wins America’s Got Talent, ending an otherwise strong season
A mediocre singer won America’s Got Talent 5 yet again, as Michael Grimm beat runner-up Jackie Evancho, third-place Fighting Gravity, and fourth-place Prince Poppycock. What a grim outcome. ZING! Prince Poppycock was voted out first, which is unsurprising considering his lackluster performance on the finale. He explained on Facebook that technical difficulties affected his performance,… continue reading
Three of America’s Got Talent 5’s four finalists were discovered by producers online
Of America’s Got Talent‘s final four, three of them didn’t show up to the auditions: two were recruited by the show’s producers, who found the performers online, while one came from the YouTube auditions. Only Michael Grimm stood in line to audition, having been rejected last year. Fighting Gravity “was discovered virally, after five original… continue reading
America’s Got Talent finalists: Fighting Gravity, Prince Poppycock versus two singers
America’s Got Talent 5 has its final four: Fighting Gravity, Prince Poppycock, Michael Grimm, and Jackie Evancho, and they’ll compete in next week’s finale. That means magician Michael Grasso, singer Taylor Matthews, singing sisters Christina and Ali, dancers Anna and Patryk, and dance group Studio One Young Beast Society were all eliminated. The most amazing… continue reading
YouTube doesn’t have talent based on AGT’s momentum-killing episode
America’s Got Talent 5 aired a special YouTube-themed episode last night that essentially took the show back to the audition rounds, which was not a good idea. Most of the acts, as you might suspect, sucked. Some of them were so bad it seemed like a joke, from the awkwardly angry stand-up comedian to the… continue reading
America’s Got Talent fail: first results show runs late, viewers pick sob stories over talent
America’s Got Talent 5 failed in a big way last night during its first results show, running late and cutting off the critical moment, never mind sending through crappy singing acts instead of ones that will actually be interesting to watch. I blame the show for all of this. First, while Howie Mandel has been… continue reading
Howie Mandel improves America’s Got Talent , but Nick Cannon needs to stop
After three episodes of America’s Got Talent 5, I think it’s not too soon to declare that Howie Mandel was a great replacement for David Hasselhoff, and I think his addition to the panel makes it the best network reality TV judging panel, not that there’s much competition. I still think the best judges are… continue reading
Howie Mandel replacing the Hoff on America’s Got Talent; Tom Papa hosting Marriage Ref
Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel is joining America’s Got Talent as a judge for its fifth season, replacing David Hasselhoff, who quit to do another show. Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan are continuing as judges, and host Nick Cannon returns. The casting announcement first came from NBC Universal executive Jeff Gaspin, who told… continue reading