Visit to America's Got Talent

OK, so apparently Josh didn't fly anywhere near where I was sitting for that last blog.

Well at least the next day he came fairly near where I was sitting, though I didn't get to wave to him.

NightOwl was very good to let me know that she had a pass to go see Josh perform with the Forte Tenor group on America's Got Talent (AGT) and that I could go with her, so I rearranged my schedule and went.

I had seen lots of clips of America's Got Talent on YouTube. Probably the most notable such clip was when Jackie Evancho auditioned.

Also, those of you who are Grobies will surely be following the story of Josh Page, who sang a duet with our Josh at Madison Square Garden in November of 2011.  He is now with a group called Forte, who are finalists in AGT.  Our Josh is to be featured Wednesday.

I really like the way Josh P. emphasizes the diversity of Forte in interviews, and how singing helps bring different people together.  I was also really moved when Sean Panikkar said in one of his interviews that he is biracial between the warring groups in Sri Lanka, so that everyone there is interested in his appearance on US TV.  For those of you who have been reading this blog, you will see that this is related to my quixotic quest for the world anthem.

So this week is the finals. This seems a bit odd to me, because it seems to be the start of a new TV season, but somehow this year's show is just ending, and I know Forte only auditioned in June. Maybe someone can explain this to me. Does the show only run in the summer? I guess that makes sense, because the contestants are all young, so I suppose they're all off on break from school in the summer.

NightOwl got there about noon, wanting to be first in line, even though we didn't have to be there until 3; and she succeeded, except for one very rude woman who just kept walking to the front of the line, even though security told her to back off. Later it appeared that she knew the head lady in charge of managing the line.

I got there about quarter of one.

At about 2:30, they moved us over to the other side of the building to film a red carpet sequence when the six remaining contestants arrived. They promised us that NightOwl would not lose her first place in line, but in fact they shuffled us up, which was very frustrating.

Then they handed some people photos of the contestants with Sharpies, so that they could get autographs. We wanted photos of Forte, but they had already handed them out. I think we might have spent an hour waiting and cheering, while the contestants came in. Forte had to get back in the car and do their entrance again, because something went wrong with their entrance. Of course, by that time, they had already autographed the photos of them.

It was pretty tiring clapping and cheering for all that time. Fortunately, I've had voice lessons, so I was able to pace myself, though I was getting a bit hoarse at one point, so I changed to a more comfortable pitch.  

Really I had only heard of Forte. I didn't know the other acts, which included a country/rock singer, a magician, a dancer, and at least one comedian, all very young. I didn't mind cheering for the people I didn't know, because, after all, they must be good to have gotten this far in the show, and they're certainly under a lot of stress, so they deserve my support, even though I was really there for Forte.

Some of the audience members got into shouting the names of the performers rhythmically, though it seemed to me that they were most enthusiastic about Forte. The other members of the group walked though this without participating, but Josh P. started leading the cheer with great enthusiasm. He was definitely interacting with the crowd more than the other members of his group; though some of the other performers did even more so.

Eventually, around 4, we finally got our tickets. They completely did not observe the original line order, so we ended up something like 10 rows back, even though NightOwl had been first in line.

Then I went off in search of a bathroom. In case you ever need to know, there's a shopping mall under the building just south of Radio City Music Hall. That shopping mall has a nice, large women's room, which is open to the public. I hope I remember that the next time I'm in that area and need one.

Then we went back to the theater. Since we had tickets with assigned seat numbers, it did not matter that we had to stand in a long line to get in.

While we were standing there, I spotted one of Josh Groban's guitarists, not Tariqh, but the other one. Was he the one who switched over from being an audio engineer during the STY tour? I'm not sure.

I also saw Josh P's brother, who I think is called Zach. He didn't look very happy. I wonder if he's shy, or whether he worries that the rock band called "The Brothers Page" is going to die permanently as a result of the success of Forte.

I personally suspect Josh P. will get back to his rock band eventually.

Of the six acts that we were filmed cheering for, only two performed during the segment we saw. These were Forte, with Josh Groban, and the female singer (whose name escapes me), with Gavin McGraw.

The information that Night Owl got seemed to indicate that there might be a second taping, later, that also featured Josh. They only took one take of Josh the time when we were watching.  They were prepared to do a second take, but then said that they didn't need to. So it would make sense that they might do another taping, possibly even with different songs.

We’ll have to see what happens.

In the performance I saw, Forte started out singing "To Where You Are."  Josh P. started the singing. I have to say that his voice sounded much more amazing in person than it does in YouTube videos. There was a lot of subtle shimmering to it. Then each of three other singers sang something, followed by what they called "superstar" Josh Groban.

That was interesting to me, because my feeling from the YouTube videos was that Josh Page had the least showy voice of the three of then, but you certainly wouldn't say that based on today.

They didn't sing the whole song. I think this show operates on the concept that the American people do not have sufficient attention span to sit through a three or four minute song.

Then there was some conversation about the appearance of Josh P. at Madison Square Garden during Josh Groban's “Straight To You” tour, and how the YouTube video of that  appearance led to the formation of Forte.

I find curious that they don't mention that that same duet was what led Jackie Evancho to choose Josh P. to go on tour with her. I would think that would be of interest, because she was also an AGT contestant in the past. I was at one of the concerts on that tour, because I'm also a Jackie Evancho fan. Josh P. and Jackie alternated singing songs, and also sang a duet of “The Prayer” together. I was surprised at how much Josh P. sang, because it was billed as a Jackie Evancho concert, yet Josh P. sang nearly as much as she did.

They also put in a pitch for Josh Groban's tour.

Then they sang part of "Brave." Josh Groban started out and Forte sang the oh's as a chorus. Later Forte stepped back, so Josh G. could finish the song, not that he really finished it, of course, since, as I said before, they don't do whole 3 or 4 minute songs on this show.  At the end of what they sang, though, Josh G. had a larger gospel choir accompany Josh G. on the last chorus. The noise of the band and the gospel choir was such that one could not hear Josh G. singing the ending chorus.

I can say that I was pleased that the first time he sang "away" in “Brave” was clear as a bell, with none of the strained or strangled sounds that have plagued that song from the start. If you’ve been reading this blog you will have noticed that I’ve been very concerned about that.  When he got back to the chorus the second time, though, I can't say if he sang "away," clearly, because, as I said, the gospel choir drowned him out.

I suppose that when the thing airs, the audio engineers will remove the racket and we’ll really get to hear what he sounded like.

People have asked me what he wore. At first I said that he wore his usual concert attire. Now, though, when I think back on it, he might have had black leather shoes and a white Oxford shirt on, rather than sneakers and tee, respectively. Truthfully, I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I only really look at the too tight pants; and I noticed that the jacket seemed to be the usual one that he wears, so I just kept my eyes on the pants.  I guess I’m becoming one of those dirty old ladies.

I can say that Josh G's assertions that he is getting fat are utterly daft. He is most certainly not fat. Of course, photos make people look fatter, because they flatten a three dimensional person into a two dimensional image.

When I saw him at the Allen Room in February, I was thinking the whole time that he looked awfully thin. This time, to me, he looked like he was at a healthier weight. I wasn't quite as close as I was in the Allen Room, where I was front row center, but still I was fairly close, much more so than at the Hollywood Bowl, so I definitely feel that I got a good eyeful, and he was most definitely NOT fat.

I worry that he's got body dysmorphia.

Anyway, Josh G. and Forte were on stage for maybe three minutes. For a while, it sounded like they might redo the numbers on a second take, but then the announcer said that they had what they needed and that was the end of that.

One of the things they had us do while we were waiting was to download an app onto our cell phones, “Wham City Lights.” They made a sound and light show using our cell phones as well add the studio lights. They asked us to turn the screens of our phones toward the stage. The app displayed patterns that their cameras presumably could pick up. Also the app turned on our flashes in back. I hope this sound and light show gets on the show at least for a little while. When I looked behind me, it seemed like the whole theater was full of cell phones running this app.

At other times they had us practicing our standing ovations or listening to the warm-up guy making  jokes.

Eventually, they got to the second act. They had told us that we were only going to get to see two. This was probably just as well, as we were getting pretty cheered out.

I wish I could remember her name. She was some kind of country/rock singer. They had her performing with Gavin McGraw. She was quite pretty and had a nice voice. Unfortunately the instrumentals backing up their duet were a deafening cacophony, so most of the song was just a deafening blur.  They instructed us to stand up when the music got loud as if we were excited. Fortunately, I never go anywhere without earplugs. I needed them for this song . I also needed them for screaming at the acts on the red carpet, which would otherwise have been deafening as well.

I do find that the ear plugs tend to filter out the noise and leave the music, which is good for thus type of thing.

Now this pair did their duet twice, since apparently there was something wrong the first time they did it. That was a bit frustrating. Apparently Josh Groban and Forte, who I came to see, were too good and therefore didn't need a second take, while this group that I wasn't enjoying played twice. GRR 

I suppose, when they broadcast this, the audio engineers will clean it up so that the TV watcher won't hear that horrible racket that we heard and it will sound great.

In any case, we spent over two hours inside Radio City Music Hall to see acts that totaled less than ten minutes.

We did get to see the celebrity judges. We were closest to Howard Stern, who seems to have attended the same fashion school as Josh Groban. His jacket didn't fit quite right, and the bottom of his tie showed awkwardly in the gap below the button, which was closed in a way that made the jacket look too tight, even though Stern is pencil thin.

Finally we get to go out and go to the bathroom again. I hadn't drunk much during the day, so was quite thirsty. 

In the basement there was a red carpet area where people were taking their own pictures. Josh Page was hanging around there and letting people take pictures with him. I didn't see any other contestants doing that. He seemed really happy and very relaxed with fans, an outgoing and poised young man, which is interesting since most performers tend to be shy.  

As usual, I could not find my Josh Groban tee shirt before the show.  This always happens.  I find it at other times.  Not finding it turned out to be a good thing, though, because we weren't allowed to wear logo clothes.  I did wear my shawl neck cardigan that I bought because it looked like one of Josh G's.