The Recap Room: Spilling The AGTea – Is Simon Cowell’s Golden Buzzer Putri Ariani The Next Kodi Lee???
Talent Recap Reading Time: 4 minutes
America’s Got Talent returned to NBC last Tuesday with their next Golden Buzzer, Simon Cowell’s pick, Putri Ariani. This episode definitely kept us on the edge of our seat, so here’s an act by act rundown. This season, Talent Recap staff members will take turns talking about AGT on our new podcast, The Recap Room.
The second episode of The Recap Room features Talent Recap creative director Billy Blanks Jr., video producer Daniel Swan, video editor Olivia Gee, and website managing editor/YouTube host Corey Cesare. Within the podcast, the team talks about their opinions on the second episode of AGT season 18.
LISTEN HERE:
This Episode Had “More Pros Than Cons”
Generally speaking, the group felt that this episode was more entertaining than the season premiere. Episode 2 featured more of a variety of artists, and a much more shocking Golden Buzzer.
While talking about specific acts, AvantGardey, Ramadhani Brothers, Mandy Muden, and Putri Ariani were mentioned as the best of the week. As a collective group, the top two favorite acts of the week were AvantGardey’s synchronized dance and Ramadhani Brothers’ impressive head balance routine. Both acts showed an immense level of skill, so we seriously hope to see both of these acts in the next round of the competition.
This week, we had a few acts that half the table loved, while the other half weren’t necessarily impressed. These acts were country artist Mitch Rossell and Danger act Ray World. Billy and Corey loved Mitch’s performance, while Olivia and Dan weren’t necessarily impressed. Olivia and Dan explained that he didn’t really have “it” factor, and the inclusion of the long introduction video with the song overdid the meaning of the song. They respectfully explained that they don’t see Mitch as much of a songwriter. Billy and Corey were instead blown away by his song, “Son.” Corey even brought up the fact that Mitch used to write songs for country legend Garth Brooks.
One-Off Acts Impress, But We Didn’t Really Love Them
When it comes to Ray World, Billy, Corey, and Dan loved the act, while Olivia had a hard time watching it. Understandably, Olivia didn’t want to watch Ray throw knives at his mother. Even though Corey emphasizes that Ray is an entertainer and this is all an act, Olivia’s mind wasn’t changed. It’s no surprise that one of our four podcast members of the week felt this way, since many other fans complained on social media about the act.
The acts that didn’t really shine were Virginia Stone, Muhamed Kahrimanovic, Zoe Erianna Cui, SAINTED, and Lambros Garcia. When it comes to the two child performers, Lambros Garcia and Zoe Erianna Cui, the group didn’t necessarily dislike their performances, actually the opposite. Both acts were extremely cute, but that’s about it. As a group, we collectively agreed both contestants have potential that they haven’t quite grown into it yet.
When it comes to the two buzzed acts of the night Virginia Stone and Muhamed Kahrimanovic, the group was entertained by the two, but felt the buzz was necessary. These acts were both one-off acts, not acts that are typically seen again on the stage. When it comes to SAINTED, the group felt the opposite. Although a few of us were a fan of the group’s genre, we were mostly intrigued by who they are. Fingers crossed we get to see more of them.
How Did We Feel About Simon’s Golden Buzzer?
Overall, we were blown away by this week’s Golden Buzzer. If you missed it, Putri Ariani earned Simon Cowell’s Golden Buzzer, after singing both an original song and “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word” by Elton John. This performance was absolutely outstanding. The group compared the singer to both Kodi Lee and Adele. You’re blown away from how different her speaking voice is from her singing voice.
The thing that mildly annoyed the group about this performance was the fact that it was so long. Dan acknowledged that Putri’s performance was 15 minutes long, while other performances were clearly edited up.
When it comes to the song choice, we all agreed that her first song was the best. Olivia admitted that she wasn’t a fan of the second song, because the first was more than enough. Since her first song wasn’t bad, it felt like the addition of the second was to get more airtime.
Adding to the conversation, Corey admitted that she’s not typically a fan of contestants that previously won another Got Talent show. To clarify, these performers deserve to be on an All-Stars season, not regular. For those who don’t know, Putri won Indonesia’s Got Talent in 2014 at 8 years old. Although this isn’t one of Corey’s favorite things, she admitted that Putri doesn’t bother her. Corey stated that Putri has clearly grown as an artist and she has a lot to bring to the table.
We’re excited to see Putri again on the stage, but hope she’s given the same amount of stage time as the other contestants. This Golden Buzzer was well deserved. Let us know what you thought of this episode in the comments down below!
