Out of all the singers on America’s Got Talent this season, 10-year-old Jackie Evancho and 57-year-old Alice Tan Ridley are the only ones who have managed to escape the “mediocre pop balladeer” label. Yes, I know age ain’t nothin’ but a number (and there is no age requirement or cutoff on the show), but it is interesting that the most talented vocalists do not fit the 20something-pretty-guy/girl-with-a-guitar-crooning-indistinguishable-pop-ballads-you’ll-soon-be-hearing-in-your-dentist’s-office mold that so many of the other contestants seem to believe will lead them to the finals.
Last night, both Jackie and Alice got great responses from the judges; Piers called Jackie a “superstar,” and Sharon said Alice gave her goosebumps. Both have been consistently praised since their first auditions, and in a season of confusing skills and questionable taste, it would be nice to see the decision come down to two of the truest examples of talent that we have. Plus, each will have feel-good stories to boot (10-year-old living her dream, former NYC subway singer turned Vegas headliner) — you know, if crying at reality show finales is your thing (not that I would know…).
Does Jackie Evancho just keep getting better? Did Alice do Whitney Houston justice? (Was the well-timed pyrotechnics too much of an obvious push from producers?). These two have my vote to make it into the Top 10 and beyond, but what about you, PopWatchers? Are you on board with Jackie and Alice or does your heart still beat for Michael Grimm and Taylor Matthews?
Did you forget Prince Poppycock for a reason? I would take his talent over ATR any day. I hope for a Jacki Evancho/Poppycock showdown. Now THAT would be talent!!
I agree Prince Poppycock is the best.They are looking for a Vegas act not a cute kid she would get eaten up in Vegas.
Jackie is adorable but she is maybe an average singer. No one pays to see good opera singers, what an insult that anyone would pay to see that. Love Poppycock. Neither jackie or Alice are allthat good.
Alice is gone. She was almost as over rated as jackie
I was stunned that Alice was sent home, America did not get it right!
The winner will have to share the stage with nine other AGT acts. The winner will be the focus. To say that Jackie Evancho could not handle it is ridiculous. Vegas act? AGT is contractually obligated to trumpet a Vegas act because of contracts with the venue Caesars Palace Resort. Jackie can do Vegas just as other classical music singers have but Jackie Evancho will transcend being labled just a Vegas act. When others will not.
Jackie Evancho is an average “singer.”
Truth is now eating his/her words lol.
I’d like a Poppycock/Evancho duet! Not for the competition but just for sheer entertainment. I think it would be gorgeous. Besides, every little girl fantasizes about dressing up like he does.
Poppycock is off key a lot of the time and most people I speak with about it are already tired of him. And don’t bother saying my friends and I are idiots. I’m talking about a pool of about 60 co-workers. We can’t all be wrong.
Prince Poppycock and Michael Grimm are good as well.
Eek,How do you know he’s off-key? If you think you’re such a great singer, why don’t you audition for the sixth season of America’s Got Talent?
I can listen to Michael Grimm’s soulful blues voice for hours.
Hate to show age discrimination, but I can’t picture a 10-year-old girl performing in Vegas. (Hmmm, did Wayne Newton perform there that young?)
Of course Jackie won’t play Vegas regularly. She’s release albums. And in the studio they can assist with any missed notes.
Want to see what her career path will be? Look up Charlotte Church.
Brenda Lee and Tanya Tucker had hits when they were only 11 years old. Dodie Stevens was 10 when she had the hit “Pink Shoelaces.” You obvious know very little about pop music history.
Oops, Dodie Stevens was thirteen, although I remember they said she was ten or eleven when it was released. Jimmy Osmond was nine when he had a hit with the Osmond Brothers.
Yes but they were not singing opera, it is a different class of signing. Most people that perform opera, are into their 20s before performing. Pushing your voice like that at a young age is not great. She will be burned out by the time she is 18/20.
Probably the Osmond Brothers did. Jimmy Osmond was only nine when he had a hit record.
Wayne was a little older but not much….
You prefer older mediocre talented blak females
Please don’t let the winner be a “just” a singer. These singers may be good, but so many other acts have so much more to offer.
Alice, Jackie, Michael and Prince Poppycock are great but I would love to see Fighting Gravity or Michael Grasso win.
I think Alice is a beautiful singer but haven’t we seen the older soulful woman schtick before? Jackie makes my jaw job each time, however she had a couple off notes last night and truly…how can a 10 year old be in an opera? She’s just too young. Neither of them in my opinion hold a candle to Prince Poppycock! He(?) has a brilliant voice and the most amazing stage presence. As far as singers go, Poppycoc is the best.
I would also like to see jackie&poppycock compete. I’ve watched AGT from day one and poppycock is the top performer and has my vote.
I wouldn’t be surprised if ATR failed to make the final 10. There was so much more interesting talent last night.
I totally agree , I thought her Whitney was pretty boring … definetely not in my top 5 .
Apparently America agreed with us kiki.
Boring? What planet are you from?
I don’t classify Prince Poppycock as a singer, but closer to the variety acts, so in a class separate from the singers. I like the guys from last week (Michael Grimm and Taylor whatever) but other than Alice and Jackie, no singers from last night really wowed me (this is my second week ever watching the show).
This show continues to praise singers and forgetting its AGT. I have continually said too many acts are singers and other shows are for them. In the past, way too many singers get to the finals and of the past 4 winners, half were singers. Did we forget Neal, the opera-sounding singer who won his season, we have yet to hear about him?
Although Jackie is gifted and probably deserving of the title, we must remember that due to her age, will not be able to work the kind of hours as an adult and we all know most acts are at night. She must also be tutored for at least 4-6 hours a day and hoping her parents don’t spend all her money.
Last night showcased very good acts and my choice for moving on…
Nathaniel, The Dance act in the Dark, Alice Tan and Michael Grasso!!!
LOL The “Dance Act in the Dark” is Fighting Gravity. Love them for The Win!!
Dodie Stevens was ten when she had the hit “Pink Shoelaces” in 1959. Both Brenda Lee and Tanya Tucker had their first hit when they were eleven.
I’m still pulling for Michael Grimm, but I loved the spin Alice put on Whitney – most singers just sound like Whitney clones. I still think a 10 year old is too young for a Vegas show.
Why do so many female singers in these sorts of competitions cover Whitney and Mariah tunes? I can’t help but hear the original in my head, and the contestants seldom measure up. That, in a nutshell, is how I felt about Ms. Ridley’s performance. She should have taken something by a lesser talent and made it her own.
Jackie Evancho is Phenomenal. She brings tears to my eyes each time I hear her sing. I would stand in a line for hours just to hear Jackie sing.
maybe.. but I would pay top dollar for a Prince Poppycock show. The thing with Jackie is the exposure she will get.. as she travels to different operas as a guest and eventually becomes a world class opera star. ATR is ok.. give her an album deal.. as for the “Gravity” act.. they do the same thing over and over (it is getting boring).. and the Magic acts are a dime a dozen in Vegas.. those guys will find work, just not as headliners.
ATR would get a deal with a BET record company, surely they know who her daughter is.
This is a late reply but she isn’t
that good. She is singing in a fake
voice because she has been trained
to. It’s wrong.
Also, if she is signed to sing at
Carnegie Hall, shouldn’t that
disqualify her?
She is not that good. Medicocre at best. Even that vibrato can’t hide the bum notes. She will be a burned out alkie stripper in a few years when she searches for more attention.
You critics know nothing about singing, just screaming at groups like BSB ‘N Sync, etc. You are so bored with your own lives & probably are just envious that she is doing what you cannot.
She is good for a 10-year old, but she isn’t yet good by adult standards. She should sing songs that 1) she can sing without transposing down 2) she can sing without straining her voice 3) she can understand and express emotions. Listen to how for example Ruth Ann Swenson or Angela Gheorgiu sing “O mio babbino caro” or find a subtitled performance of this aria (search you tube for “O mio babbino caro Gianni Schicchi Met”) to better understand the emotions that should be expressed here. Hitting most notes sounding pretty isn’t enough, one needs to express nuances of emotions the character feels. As to “Con te partiro”, she made a lot of mistakes there too, and a 10-year old cannot express what this song is about.
MEOW! What would you do if you could sing like her?
Since I am a middle aged successful software engineer and researcher with no singing ambitions, my singing ability is hardly relevant. I am an opera fan, but I am not a singer. I also said that Jackie is very talented and with high potential. Why don’t you listen to these two singers I named (and while there listen to how Nadine Sierra sang “O mio babbino caro” at 16), maybe then you’ll get a clue about what it means to sing this aria really well. Yes, these are adult singers, but I told that Jackie is very good for a 10-year old, but do you really think she can compare to adults?
Also, dennis, to answer this question “What would you do if you could sing like her?”, if I could sing like Jackie and if I had been her age, I’d want my parents to get me piano teacher, and maybe a voice teacher just to teach me basic breath support; then start serious voice lessons at 15. Basically, if I had a great voice, I’d want to follow the path Nadine Sierra is taking, not tv talent shows.
You’re a middle-aged, software engin… Zzzzzzzzzzz.
Oh, sorry. You must have bored me to sleep.
Thank you Arthur Lehmam, I totally agree with you.I’m a 55 year old const. worker and I get goose bumps when Jackie sings.Shes the FIRST one to ever do so.I could also listen to her all the time.God bless Jackie Evancho
Kitty, Jackie can compare to Brenda Lee who was eleven when she had her first hit record.
Yes Jackie is Phenomenal!!!!!
I want Alice to win because she’s paid her dues, not like the ten year old. She still sings in the subways and definitely deserves her own career out of this. Also, the little girl already performed at Carnegie Hall. I thought this was an “undiscovered talent” sort of thing?
Dues, schmooze; what has to count in the end is talent. Alice is good, but Jackie is phenomenal!
Alice feels what she sings, she expresses emotions. Jackie sings pretty melody with a pretty sound, but she is just too young to understand and express what she sings. Also, Jackie is very gifted and very good for her age, but her singing of the pieces she sang was not that good.
Jackie has NOT performed at Carnegie Hall…….yet!
She will perform there on December 2nd and become the youngest female soloist in history to perform there.
Jackie was undiscovered prior to her entering AGT!
Like I said before, maybe she hasn’t
sung at Carnegie Hall but she is
selling a cd at Walmart. That doesn’t
sound like undiscovered to me.
Walmart is also selling a cd by her.
I thought this was for undiscovered
talent.
You are confused. Undiscovered is American Idol.
I agree, the idea that she is 10 bothers me. I can’t help but think her parents will be millionnaires her makes me ill when Alice has worked so hard for so many years. Jackie can tour the world, I agree, let the others have a shot at Vegas. Also, I doubt she got Carnegie just from AGT. Undiscovered, BS!!!!!
Jackie is a great talent. She has sung locally in Pittsburgh for about a year. She sang at a few local events, but was not even a BIG story here. She had the Carnegie hall invitation before any of the AGT performances. Yes, Vegas is probably not the best venue for her. Her talent is undeniable and probably the best on AGT.
If she had curly brown hair, brown eyes, and crooked teeth and was a chubette she would have been x’d on first show. She is not that good. Her greatest talent is snookering all of you people with very little experience with opera or for that matter real talent.
Why do so many African American dislike Jackie but love ATR?
Alice is the mother of Gabourey Sidibe from Precious, trying to live off her daughter’s fame
Ur a jack—
Dennis you are a tool….why do so many gay men like you
Those singers selected to perform at the New York subways had to audition. Only a handful are selected so for Alice to sing there means she has to be extrordinarily talented to be selected.
I love the show ..but I agree a 10 yr old in Vegas is not where she should be, she has a talent that is obviously going to take her far so why not let someone else who has the same dream go to Vegas and let Jackie grow up slowly and nuture that voice and talent
Rating the singers in terms of pure singing ability: Jackie Evancho, Prince Poppycock, Michael Grimm, Taylor Matthews, Alice Tan Ridley, Debra Romer, Nathaniel Kenyon. Michael is the best “pop” singer. Nathaniel could be a “Jonas Brother” type pop star. Debra Romer has a soft voice that would sound dreamy if recorded and listened through headphones (like Dido & Nora Jones.) Taylor is decent but not as good as Michael nor as “cute” as Nathanial. Alice Tan really isn’t that good, and her voice is very gritty and isn’t all that listenable. Poppycock has a very good operatic/broadway voice and should look into getting into broadway shows or burlesque/vaudeville revival shows. Jackie could have a great career singing opera and needs to focus on that. She’s like a more “classic” oriented Charlotte Church. I honestly don’t think Alice deserves to move on as there were 5 or 6 better acts than her.
Additionally, it was obvious that Howie didn’t like her performance. When it was over and they cut to him, the other judges were applauding but he wasn’t. When it came time for his comments, he said that she’d made it that far and had the audience on their feet because they like her and he wished her well. But, he didn’t give her any praise and his whole demeanor showed that he was ambivalent at best, but decided to not criticize her.
darclyte, I don’t know what you watched but Howie said she was great. Watch it again and see for yourself
And Hoiwe is the final word, turd. She is not great. You watch it again, but this time LISTEN!@
I respectfully disagree with you about Michael Grimm. He definitely doesn’t do “pop.” He does blues and southern soul and, oh boy, does he do them right!
Because the semifinal shows were totally unbalanced – last week’s show was horrific while last night was actually mostly decent – untalented people like the blond sisters are going thru and people like Alice Tan Ridley will be going home tonight… but let’s face it, because of this show and her daughter she has a few connections.
Allie, I totally agree about the 2 weeks’ lineup being totally skewed. They should have put a power house act from last night on last week so that the sisters would be out.