Canada's Got Talent - S2E3: A magician takes a scary bite; a doggy act is far too light; pogo stuntmen hit the height; but singers dominate the night
TrishStratus.com special guest columnist Bob Kapur recaps Canada's Got Talent airing Tuesdays on Citytv.
Welcome back, all, to your weekly Canada’s Got Talent recap on TrishStratus.com. I’m Bob Kapur, your guide as we continue our journey towards the finale where Canada’s next biggest superstar will be crowned, taking home $150,000 from CIBC, a spot on the upcoming America’s Got Talent Superstars show in Las Vegas, and the title of CGT Champion. We’re at week three of the competition, and the talent is as strong as ever.
Though maybe not as strong as Trish, who told host Lindsay Ell that sometimes she has to flex her muscles when the other judges get out of line. After seeing her unleash her power in a winning effort at WWE WrestleMania this past weekend, I certainly wouldn’t want to get on Trish’s bad side. So, lest I say anything that angers her, let’s head right to the auditions.
XPOGO is, of course, short for Extreme Pogo, and this trio from Orillia, Ontario certainly delivered on that front. Their act saw them perform super-high bounces and jumps and aerial acrobatics while on customized stunt pogo sticks. A highlight was them performing simultaneous backflips while on their sticks, landing perfectly. This was a really unique act that the judges flipped over, and soon their heads were bouncing up and down in affirmative nods along with their unanimous Yesses.
Alexandra and her dog Tesla came all the way from Thetford Mines, Quebec to perform their act, which saw Tesla run around the stage and do fancy jumps and Frisbee catches. They were later joined on stage by another dog, and the two pooches jumped around some more, using Alexandra as a springboard and choreographer. Dog-loving Lilly was impressed by the creativity of the act, and Howie really loved the energetic performance. Trish earned some boos when she revealed she wasn’t a dog person – she liked the act, but wasn’t blown away by it, saying that it just looked like they were playing like a normal dog would. Lilly, Howie, and Kardinal all voted Yes, and that was enough to put Alexandra through to the next round, and Trish in the doghouse.
My take: I’m 100% with Trish on this one. My buddy has a dog, and if you play with it in the backyard with a stick or a tennis ball, it looks pretty much like what Alexandra and her dogs did. That’s not special, and certainly not something you’d buy a ticket to see – and, to me, for an act to go through, that should be the litmus test.
Melleeepops, a singer from Toronto, Ontario, certainly brought a unique look to the stage, with long bright green hair, and also a confident attitude. Too bad about the voice, though. She barely blurted out a few pitchy notes of her terrible original song before Trish buzzed her. Melleeepops asked to start over, but the second attempt was just as bad, earning her three more buzzers and she was forced to Melleee-stop.
Sima, a mother of two from Victoria, BC, performed an original rap song in tribute to her own mother. Unfortunately, it was a performance only a mother could love. The lyrics were childlike, with 90% of the words being “My mom” or variations thereof, and the rapping was drunk karaoke levels of bad. The judges had fun with it, though, with Lilly actually dancing an impressive Robot. As bad as the performance was, the judges and the audience really appreciated SIma’s spirit and personality and much as the judges and the audience liked Sima’s positive spirit, personality, and willingness to put herself out there, and they gave her unanimous Yesses.
My hot take: To me, putting Sima through is almost a mean joke. Because there’s no chance she’s going to make it any further, and giving her the false hopes that she has a chance could actually be dream-crushing for her. Some of you may be too young to remember William Hung’s rendition of “She Bangs” on American Idol. Yes, that was also a fun moment in an aural trainwreck kind of way. And William also had a certain charm and a wonderfully positive attitude. But the judges on that show didn’t put him through. Why? Because his performance was awful. That should have been the case here. Or maybe I just need a Snickers?
The next couple of acts performed some interesting physical feats like you’d see in Cirque du Soleil.
Abebe Erigete from Toronto, Ontario performed some acrobatics with a straight ladder, including scaling it freestyle, planking on the top rung, and even doing some flips up and down the ladder while it was standing upright.
Duo A3 from Quebec City, Quebec started their act with a surprising moment, as the female member emerged from a backpack that the male member was wearing. They then performed some combination strength and balancing moves, with some highlights being the woman standing on one foot on the man’s shoulder while he was riding a unicycle, and then later doing a handstand on his head while he was unicycling blind.
The acts defied gravity, physics, and judging how dangerous they looked, common sense. But they were certainly exciting and entertaining, and both acts deservedly were put through to the next round.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away. But what about an apple that has a bunch of razor blades stuck into it? Because that was what Will, a magician from Vancouver, BC, brought to the judges’ table. Will then proceeded to swallow the blades one at a time, and then took a lengthy piece of dental floss and ate that, too. After a moment, an end of the floss poked out of his mouth, and when he pulled it out, the razor blades were all tied to it, each one spaced out evenly over the length of the string.
As if that weren’t simultaneously gross and spectacular, Will followed that up with something arguably more extreme. He chewed up a mint Life Savers candy ring, and then unspooled some more dental floss. Instead of eating it, though, he used the floss to garotte himself, showing the judges that the floss had pierced through his neck. He then yanked the string forward and the mint was tied to the string. That was extreme – and extremely cool.
The judges were fascinated and a bit frazzled by what they’d seen, and actually seemed at a loss for words when praising the act. Still, they were all able to say Yes, and he Will be back to shock and awe us in the next round.
Trevor, from Toronto, billed himself as a singer and dancer among other things who has a penchant for yelling out “Yeah!” in hopes that the audience will follow suit. Speaking of suits, he also wore a tacky sports jacket and 70s-era Elton John glasses. He had two backup dancers who dressed up 50s-style, which was appropriate for his song choice, Buddy Holly’s “Rave On.” But nobody was going to rave about his act. He should have billed himself as a bad singer and dancer because that would have been more accurate. And while he may have yelled “Yeah!” the judges unanimously said no, giving him four buzzers and cancelling the Trevor Show.
Amir is a wedding singer from Toronto, Ontario whose biggest fear was to be pitchy during his audition. His fears were unfounded, as Amir hit all the big notes in his performance of Whitney Houston’s “All the Man I Need.” The judges gave him four Yesses, and he’ll be walking down the aisle en-route to the next round.
Konah, originally from Liberia, now lives in Ottawa, where he likes to sing while on the job. Although he didn’t hit every note perfectly during his rendition of John Legend’s “All of Me”, the judges were impressed – Howie even thought Konah had the best audition of any male vocalist so far this season. They put him through, and if Konah keeps going, maybe he won’t be singing on the job, but instead singing will BE his job.
Grand-Barachois, New Brunswick native Anica said that since she was young, she used music as a refuge from her abusive childhood. While at the last of nine foster homes that she passed through, she was gifted a guitar, and she said that helped her find herself. She now wants to use music to help others find themselves and make them feel not invisible like she’d felt for so long.
She performed a rocking acoustic version of Sia’s “Unstoppable” as if performed by Melissa Ethridge. Her raspy voice was perfect for the arrangement, ranging from strong to soft and ending on a powerful crescendo that brought the crowd to their feet.
The performance was so fantastic that it prompted Lindsay to come on-stage and then walk down to the judges’ table. After Anica’s pre-performance interview, Lindsay had said she felt a strong connection to Anica’s story. She said that she was a fellow survivor of some of the things Anica had gone through, and she knows how important and inspiring music can be. She felt that Anica was the right person to go out there and be an inspiration for others. And to help that happen, Lindsay hit the Golden Buzzer and put Anica through to the semi-finals.
My take: No question, Anica has a great story. Moreover, though, she had a great voice, a great stage presence, and a truly artistic authenticity. She definitely has the vocal chops, and based on the song choice and the arrangement she played tonight, she knows exactly who she is and what kind of singer she wants to be. If she can keep doing what she did tonight, there’s no reason she couldn’t win it all.
As you might expect from the name, this troupe is Canada’s national tap dance team who compete for our country in international tap dance competitions. But from the bored looks on the faces of many audience members, many were ready to tap out rather than watch this act in its entirety. The same can be said for Howie, who gave them the buzzer, saying he was disappointed in the performance, which he compared to a high school production. The rest of the judges agreed, and the dancers clickety-clacked their way off the stage.
Unlike the tappers, this Toronto-based troupe brought some more contemporary elements into the routine. Unfortunately, their execution was lacking, most significantly in a throw routine that barely caught any air. Trish felt the moves were flat and the energy was lacking, and Howie said he didn’t feel like the performance demonstrated a drive to succeed. In the end, no Yesses got thrown their way, and MVP went BYE.
Unlike the last two troupes, the Cool Giraffes from Edmonton, Alberta, brought the moves, brought the energy, and brought the house down. Their synchronized choreography was perfect, the music was modern and electrifying, and their Matrix-like motions were jaw-dropping. Even Howie, who doesn’t impress easily when it comes to dance troupes, was on his feet, saying that the performance checked all of his boxes. All four judges said Yes, and the Cool Giraffes are going into the Necks-t round.
Other notes:
That does it for this week. Do you agree that Sima was as bad as Anica was good? Do you think the dog act was for the birds? Let me know in the comments below or hit me up on the Twitter at @ReadBobsTweets or on the Instagram at @BobKapur. See you all next week!
Stills from episode »
Welcome back, all, to your weekly Canada’s Got Talent recap on TrishStratus.com. I’m Bob Kapur, your guide as we continue our journey towards the finale where Canada’s next biggest superstar will be crowned, taking home $150,000 from CIBC, a spot on the upcoming America’s Got Talent Superstars show in Las Vegas, and the title of CGT Champion. We’re at week three of the competition, and the talent is as strong as ever.
Though maybe not as strong as Trish, who told host Lindsay Ell that sometimes she has to flex her muscles when the other judges get out of line. After seeing her unleash her power in a winning effort at WWE WrestleMania this past weekend, I certainly wouldn’t want to get on Trish’s bad side. So, lest I say anything that angers her, let’s head right to the auditions.
XPOGO Stunt Team
XPOGO is, of course, short for Extreme Pogo, and this trio from Orillia, Ontario certainly delivered on that front. Their act saw them perform super-high bounces and jumps and aerial acrobatics while on customized stunt pogo sticks. A highlight was them performing simultaneous backflips while on their sticks, landing perfectly. This was a really unique act that the judges flipped over, and soon their heads were bouncing up and down in affirmative nods along with their unanimous Yesses.
Alexandra Côté
Alexandra and her dog Tesla came all the way from Thetford Mines, Quebec to perform their act, which saw Tesla run around the stage and do fancy jumps and Frisbee catches. They were later joined on stage by another dog, and the two pooches jumped around some more, using Alexandra as a springboard and choreographer. Dog-loving Lilly was impressed by the creativity of the act, and Howie really loved the energetic performance. Trish earned some boos when she revealed she wasn’t a dog person – she liked the act, but wasn’t blown away by it, saying that it just looked like they were playing like a normal dog would. Lilly, Howie, and Kardinal all voted Yes, and that was enough to put Alexandra through to the next round, and Trish in the doghouse.
My take: I’m 100% with Trish on this one. My buddy has a dog, and if you play with it in the backyard with a stick or a tennis ball, it looks pretty much like what Alexandra and her dogs did. That’s not special, and certainly not something you’d buy a ticket to see – and, to me, for an act to go through, that should be the litmus test.
Melleeepops
Melleeepops, a singer from Toronto, Ontario, certainly brought a unique look to the stage, with long bright green hair, and also a confident attitude. Too bad about the voice, though. She barely blurted out a few pitchy notes of her terrible original song before Trish buzzed her. Melleeepops asked to start over, but the second attempt was just as bad, earning her three more buzzers and she was forced to Melleee-stop.
Sima Saxena
Sima, a mother of two from Victoria, BC, performed an original rap song in tribute to her own mother. Unfortunately, it was a performance only a mother could love. The lyrics were childlike, with 90% of the words being “My mom” or variations thereof, and the rapping was drunk karaoke levels of bad. The judges had fun with it, though, with Lilly actually dancing an impressive Robot. As bad as the performance was, the judges and the audience really appreciated SIma’s spirit and personality and much as the judges and the audience liked Sima’s positive spirit, personality, and willingness to put herself out there, and they gave her unanimous Yesses.
My hot take: To me, putting Sima through is almost a mean joke. Because there’s no chance she’s going to make it any further, and giving her the false hopes that she has a chance could actually be dream-crushing for her. Some of you may be too young to remember William Hung’s rendition of “She Bangs” on American Idol. Yes, that was also a fun moment in an aural trainwreck kind of way. And William also had a certain charm and a wonderfully positive attitude. But the judges on that show didn’t put him through. Why? Because his performance was awful. That should have been the case here. Or maybe I just need a Snickers?
Cirque-style physical acts montage
The next couple of acts performed some interesting physical feats like you’d see in Cirque du Soleil.
Abebe Erigete from Toronto, Ontario performed some acrobatics with a straight ladder, including scaling it freestyle, planking on the top rung, and even doing some flips up and down the ladder while it was standing upright.
Duo A3 from Quebec City, Quebec started their act with a surprising moment, as the female member emerged from a backpack that the male member was wearing. They then performed some combination strength and balancing moves, with some highlights being the woman standing on one foot on the man’s shoulder while he was riding a unicycle, and then later doing a handstand on his head while he was unicycling blind.
The acts defied gravity, physics, and judging how dangerous they looked, common sense. But they were certainly exciting and entertaining, and both acts deservedly were put through to the next round.
Will Stelfox
An apple a day keeps the doctor away. But what about an apple that has a bunch of razor blades stuck into it? Because that was what Will, a magician from Vancouver, BC, brought to the judges’ table. Will then proceeded to swallow the blades one at a time, and then took a lengthy piece of dental floss and ate that, too. After a moment, an end of the floss poked out of his mouth, and when he pulled it out, the razor blades were all tied to it, each one spaced out evenly over the length of the string.
As if that weren’t simultaneously gross and spectacular, Will followed that up with something arguably more extreme. He chewed up a mint Life Savers candy ring, and then unspooled some more dental floss. Instead of eating it, though, he used the floss to garotte himself, showing the judges that the floss had pierced through his neck. He then yanked the string forward and the mint was tied to the string. That was extreme – and extremely cool.
The judges were fascinated and a bit frazzled by what they’d seen, and actually seemed at a loss for words when praising the act. Still, they were all able to say Yes, and he Will be back to shock and awe us in the next round.
The Trevor Show
Trevor, from Toronto, billed himself as a singer and dancer among other things who has a penchant for yelling out “Yeah!” in hopes that the audience will follow suit. Speaking of suits, he also wore a tacky sports jacket and 70s-era Elton John glasses. He had two backup dancers who dressed up 50s-style, which was appropriate for his song choice, Buddy Holly’s “Rave On.” But nobody was going to rave about his act. He should have billed himself as a bad singer and dancer because that would have been more accurate. And while he may have yelled “Yeah!” the judges unanimously said no, giving him four buzzers and cancelling the Trevor Show.
Amir Brandon
Amir is a wedding singer from Toronto, Ontario whose biggest fear was to be pitchy during his audition. His fears were unfounded, as Amir hit all the big notes in his performance of Whitney Houston’s “All the Man I Need.” The judges gave him four Yesses, and he’ll be walking down the aisle en-route to the next round.
Konah Raynes
Konah, originally from Liberia, now lives in Ottawa, where he likes to sing while on the job. Although he didn’t hit every note perfectly during his rendition of John Legend’s “All of Me”, the judges were impressed – Howie even thought Konah had the best audition of any male vocalist so far this season. They put him through, and if Konah keeps going, maybe he won’t be singing on the job, but instead singing will BE his job.
Anica
Grand-Barachois, New Brunswick native Anica said that since she was young, she used music as a refuge from her abusive childhood. While at the last of nine foster homes that she passed through, she was gifted a guitar, and she said that helped her find herself. She now wants to use music to help others find themselves and make them feel not invisible like she’d felt for so long.
She performed a rocking acoustic version of Sia’s “Unstoppable” as if performed by Melissa Ethridge. Her raspy voice was perfect for the arrangement, ranging from strong to soft and ending on a powerful crescendo that brought the crowd to their feet.
The performance was so fantastic that it prompted Lindsay to come on-stage and then walk down to the judges’ table. After Anica’s pre-performance interview, Lindsay had said she felt a strong connection to Anica’s story. She said that she was a fellow survivor of some of the things Anica had gone through, and she knows how important and inspiring music can be. She felt that Anica was the right person to go out there and be an inspiration for others. And to help that happen, Lindsay hit the Golden Buzzer and put Anica through to the semi-finals.
My take: No question, Anica has a great story. Moreover, though, she had a great voice, a great stage presence, and a truly artistic authenticity. She definitely has the vocal chops, and based on the song choice and the arrangement she played tonight, she knows exactly who she is and what kind of singer she wants to be. If she can keep doing what she did tonight, there’s no reason she couldn’t win it all.
Tap Dance Canada
As you might expect from the name, this troupe is Canada’s national tap dance team who compete for our country in international tap dance competitions. But from the bored looks on the faces of many audience members, many were ready to tap out rather than watch this act in its entirety. The same can be said for Howie, who gave them the buzzer, saying he was disappointed in the performance, which he compared to a high school production. The rest of the judges agreed, and the dancers clickety-clacked their way off the stage.
MVP Dance
Unlike the tappers, this Toronto-based troupe brought some more contemporary elements into the routine. Unfortunately, their execution was lacking, most significantly in a throw routine that barely caught any air. Trish felt the moves were flat and the energy was lacking, and Howie said he didn’t feel like the performance demonstrated a drive to succeed. In the end, no Yesses got thrown their way, and MVP went BYE.
Cool Giraffes
Unlike the last two troupes, the Cool Giraffes from Edmonton, Alberta, brought the moves, brought the energy, and brought the house down. Their synchronized choreography was perfect, the music was modern and electrifying, and their Matrix-like motions were jaw-dropping. Even Howie, who doesn’t impress easily when it comes to dance troupes, was on his feet, saying that the performance checked all of his boxes. All four judges said Yes, and the Cool Giraffes are going into the Necks-t round.
Other notes:
- After Sima’s audition, they showed a clip of Howie and Lilly in the judges’ lounge. Lilly’s phone rang and her ringtone was Sima’s song, “My mother’s journey.” If this is being played for comedy, like I said, I think this is kind of mean-spirited. But if this is serious and people genuinely liked the song, then… no, I don’t think that’s even possible.
- Teller, of the famed magic duo Penn & Teller, does a similar act to the razor blade trick that Will Stelfox did. In Teller’s version, the apple is stuck with about a hundred sewing needles, and when the string is pulled out, all of them are threaded on the string. But I think Will’s is actually more visually impressive, because the razor blades are bigger, and the long edges make it seem like there’s a much bigger risk of him slicing himself open.
- In one clip, Lilly was polling the audience to see what city people were from. Naturally, most people seemed to be from Niagara Falls (where the show is based) or the Greater Toronto Area. Howie asked if anyone was from Cleveland, Ohio, and not surprisingly, there was nobody. Growing up, I heard nothing but horror stories about Cleveland. But in recent years, I have been visiting there fairly regularly to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I also went with some buddies to see the Christmas Story house (I’ve never seen the movie so didn’t get the appeal, but they had fun). Bottom line – Cleveland doesn’t suck, so if you get a chance, maybe check it out.
That does it for this week. Do you agree that Sima was as bad as Anica was good? Do you think the dog act was for the birds? Let me know in the comments below or hit me up on the Twitter at @ReadBobsTweets or on the Instagram at @BobKapur. See you all next week!
Stills from episode »
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