I have been writing recaps for America’s Got Talent for the past couple seasons. This year I was fortunate enough to be invited to the red carpet event that took place last night at Radio City Music Hall. For the first time in AGT history, the live shows take place in NYC. When I found out I would be able to speak with a couple of my favorite contestants and judges, I was thrilled and excited. As I approached Radio City Music Hall, a few hours till show time, the line to get in, was already around the corner. I entered the press area and was stationed near the entrance of the building. First on the red carpet were a few of the contestants. Aaralyn and Izzy, Hype, Kevin Downey Jr, Special Head, and Collins Key. Those are just to name a few. I was able to speak with 2 of my favorites, Alexanderia the Great and Branden James.
I asked Alexaderia the Great what kind of response she has received since her talent is a female escape artist, which is something that we have not seen in the past. She says, “I am very pleased that so many people have reached out, both male and female. I am here to show women to go for it, go for whatever they have a passion for” I then asked what we can expect from her, she adds, “I am trying to do one of Houdini’s escapes tonight, something that has not been done before. I promise to step it up every time.” I thank her and wish her luck.
Next I spoke with Branden James. First of all he is extremely handsome aside from talented. He is a top contender on my list for the singing group. I asked who he thought was his biggest competition, he told me, “I think America has a very diverse voting pattern, and you never know who they will vote for. Since I’m a singer, my biggest competition is the other singers. But I’ve seen some other acts like the Kristef brothers and Hype. You just never know which way this is going to go.” I thanked him and wished him luck. I also mentioned I was a big fan of his.
After the contestants walked by, spoke with the rest of the press and were taken pictures, we waited quite some time for the judges. Howard Stern is the first to arrive, and I was very fortunate to speak with him. We all know Howard has always been a supporter of rock bands. This year there are a few good bands in the competition, I ask him if he thinks this year may be the year a band wins it all. He said, “I do, the Hitmen are going tonight, I hope they do a good job, there is also a brother and sister act, and they’re great too.”
The judges arrived a little late and the time was cutting close. I was able to speak briefly with Howie Mandell. This year is the first time Heidi and Mel B are in the AGT judging panel. I added that they have great chemistry on camera, does that follow off?
He said, “Yeah, I think we are all really good friends, in fact on camera we have a tendency because we are all very opinionated to disagree respectfully and we will bicker and give insight and input. But off camera we are all friendly and we socialize and I love that I get to share the panel with Howard, Heidi, and Mel B."
Heidi and Nick Cannon then just rushed past us, the show was about to start. The excitement was contagious, you could feel the emotion. It is now up to America to decide who will continue onto winning America’s Got Talent.
The live shows air on Tuesday nights on NBC at 9. The Result show follow Wednesday nights at 8.