America's Got Talent

According to overnight ratings since the new season started, America's Got Talent continues to be ranked as the summer's most watched program. I used to be an avid follower of the show. But this year, I am just not that enthusiastic about the program. The show has some serious flaws, yet people keep watching! The ratings seem to be as consistent as they were last year. I compare it to Britain's Got Talent over in the UK, which is a fantastic show. It's a well produced show and the talent really is there. Just look at world sensation Susan Boyle. Yet America's Got Talent just doesn't compare favorably to it. I just can't get into watching a full episode yet this season.

Last season was a down year for the show talent-wise, in my opinion. I thought winner Kevin Skinner was undeserving of the award, however, he was pimped so incredibly hard by the producers that he was an easy pick to win. The judges kept praising his off-key singing. It's not really much of a surprise to see he is not doing any large shows since winning the competition last season. He doesn't even have a professional-looking website. I have not heard any press regarding the Vegas shows that he did and really have not been able to find any information regarding those shows. Did his run end early? Were they canceled by AGT producers because of this underwhelming winner? If I were the producers, I'd be looking long and hard at who I'd be pimping this season. They really need to find a dynamic act that can sustain an audience. Yes, Kevin Skinner had a great back story. That's what America's Got Talent does best; showcases all of the great back stories of each contestants they find most compelling. But in my view, it's not always about the back stories either, and a lot of times they go overboard in bringing up back stories over and over again. Yes, it's great to hear those stories earlier in the season. But it gets old fast in the end.

In my view, the auditions go on for far too long. And I understand the show wants to display as much great/not so great talent that they can. But the auditions seem to go on and on. Why showcase the bad talent when there's plenty of good talent to show off? Why take a similar route like American Idol when they could be different? Condense the auditions and showcase the best of the best. Then let's see how they progress during the voting rounds. As we've seen in previous seasons, some acts may have great auditions but then totally tank once the voting rounds starts. It's all part of these kind of shows.

I may watch bits and piece of the audition rounds, but I doubt I'll be watching entire episodes. There's plenty of websites out there who do recaps of the show anyways. I'll probably start watching the show more regularly once the voting rounds begin. But if the judges and producers start pimping another "talent" like Kevin Skinner again, that may be my last straw with the show. As I said, it's not always about the back story. You actually need to have a talent to do well on this show.