'America's Got Talent' - New Season, New Judge, New Talents

Huh. I must be out of the loop. I didn't realize that David Hasselhoff has left his judging slot on the show. I'm sure it's because he has such other fantastic things happening in his career, right? When I heard Howie Mandell was taking on the judge position, I was a bit leery. I liked Howie when he started out as a stand-up comedian, but I was SO not into Deal or No Deal that it actually soured me on him. Plus, he's all kinds of OCD and stuff. I'm OCD enough for my own life, thank you very much.

But, surprise, surprise. He works for the show! Just like Nick Cannon is so much better than Jerry Springer in the host role, Howie is perfect for judging. He, unlike Sharon Osbourne who gets all emo (as the kids say) with Piers, challenges him and doesn't back down. He's actually funny with the contestants, too. It's a shame that the show will eventually butt up against Big Brother 12 next month and I won't be able to keep track of it. But, until I can't, I will.

I don't care for all who went through last night. I was familiar with one group -- The RingMasters out of Brooklyn. For some reason, this contortionist break dance crew is down to two members and there was no mention of them appearing on Randy Jackson presents America's Best Dance Crew (MTV) a few seasons back. They didn't win, but they were pretty amazing. I found a break.com video of one of their appearances on that show with the crew intact --


The RingMasters - Watch more Funny Videos

They had a woman with a cat-woman outfit and a whip who enthralled both Howie and Piers with her "painting" act. More like pole-dancing sans the pole! The only good thing about that act was the very end when she placed the painting bits together and posed. It actually was her face in the cat mask. She can go away now.

My favorite act of the night were the two little kids who started out the show, Future Funk. If they succeed, they're probably going to have to go for a name change. When I was searching around, I found someone else already has the name going. Sigh. The kids are cute and extremely talented for the tender ages of five and nine. They seemed to be having a ball, too. Hmm ... what was I doing at five? Um, well. I was taking tap dancing lessons. But let's not go there, please.



One of my other favorites was the French street performer dude, Haspop. As they did the pre-interview, I was expecting a dud. Well, how wrong was I? Folks like this guy are why I pay attention to street performers in the city. Some of these people are incredibly talented. I also must give a nod to one of my other summer show passions, So You Think You Can Dance. One of the reasons I'm hooked on that show is that they find people with Haspop-esque talents.



The sentimental favorite of the evening would be the ex-homeless veterans group who sang "Old Man River." They were perfect!



Did you watch? Your favorites? Remember, the auditions continue tonight!