Summer Special: Rankdown

Hey guys! I like trying to do other things on this blog besides just posting weekly. So I came up with the idea of doing a rankdown very similar to what blogger "." has done on his blog. You can consider this the special for hitting two million pageviews and for the five-year anniversary of this blog existing since I doubt I'll be able to do much else in the future with school and stuff. A whole page is dedicated to this and it is linked below as well as the top of this site with the other pages. All the information you need is there. I encourage people to participate, but it is your choice of course.

Link: http://siriusxmhits1weekendcountdown.blogspot.com/p/billboard-ye-h100-rankdown-2013.html



Also, as a little extra, I thought I'd talk a little bit about season 13 of the summer show America's Got Talent. I watch the show every year, though I don't do regular reviews because it's a lot of work. However, I do want to give some thoughts now because we just finished the Judge Cuts, which is the second round of the competition. Starting tomorrow night are the live shows, which will be fun to watch.

There were four rounds of Judge Cuts and seven acts advanced to the live shows each week. There were also five acts that received the golden buzzer in the auditions, which advanced them to the live shows skipping the Judge Cuts. Finally, there are three wildcard acts, which have all been revealed. This brings the total performers to 36 and 12 will perform each week for three weeks in the quarterfinals. Out of these 36 acts that will perform, I will be counting down my Top 10 favorites. So let's kick it off with #10.

10. Angel City Chorale
There have been a few choirs in the past on America's Got Talent. But the Angel City Chorale is such a unique one and a very large one as well. I loved their audition where they sang Africa by Toto. It was one of the auditions I remember the most. When they all sing together, it just sounds very magical. Their Judge Cuts performance was fantastic as well. It was so great that even got the golden buzzer from guest judge Olivia Munn. I think it was easily the most-deserved golden buzzer of the year. Seeing the diversity and hearing them sing together is just amazing. I hope they do well in the live rounds.

9. Joseph O'Brien
Joseph is a singer and pianist. Ever since Simon Cowell joined the judging panel in season 11, it seems like we've been getting more singers than ever. But there's something about Joseph that just stands out to me. I really liked both his audition and his Judge Cuts performance, the latter of which was also an original song, making it even better. He's probably my favorite male vocalist this season. I think he has a great voice and I see a lot of potential in him. Having heard his voice and that original song, I have a feeling he could do very well in the future beyond this show.

8. Samuel J. Comroe
Samuel is one of two comedians left in the competition and he is hilarious. His audition was very enjoyable when he took his tourette syndrome and made it into such a positive thing. It almost reminded me of Drew Lynch from season 10, who was a comedian with a stutter and was the runner-up. His Judge Cuts performance was even funnier. I love his material and the way he speaks. He's just a funny person all around and I love a good comedian like him.

7. Vicki Barbolak
Vicki is the second of two comedians remaining and I think she is hilarious as well. Her audition was good and her Judge Cuts performance was even better. Like Samuel, part of what makes her funny is her personality and the way she talks. I love good comedians like Samuel and Vicki and I have a feeling she could go far in this competition if she keeps this up because she is genuinely hilarious.

6. Us The Duo
Married couple Carissa and Michael have auditioned for America's Got Talent this year after already being pretty popular on YouTube and after having toured with Pentatonix back in 2016. I think they're very talented and they obviously have great chemistry. Their audition where they performed their song No Matter Where You Are was very good and I loved their energy and how they were playing the instruments. Their Judge Cuts performance of (Stop) Just Love was also enjoyable. I really like these two. I'm not sure what Howie Mandel is on when he watches them, but they are clearly very talented. They could do well in this competition given that they already have a fanbase.

5. Brian King Joseph
We don't usually get very many instrumentalists who don't sing and actually do well on this show. Brian is a violinist and I don't think we've had one of those since Lindsey Stirling in season 5 I believe. I think this guy is very talented and what he does. For his audition he performed Lean On by Major Lazer on the violin and for his Judge Cuts performance, he did Something Just Like This by The Chainsmokers. Both were very enjoyable. And on top of being a great violinist, he seems like such an amazing person. He's very energetic. He has a great positive attitude. He's very humble. His smile is infectious. I could go on all day about how great he is. He's very unique and I have a feeling he could be the next Lindsey Stirling.

4. Aaron Crow
The mysteriously silent danger act Aaron Crow brought us some great performances this season. I'm not usually a huge fan of danger acts, but Aaron has me on the edge of my seat. In his audition, he nearly killed Howie Mandel slicing a pineapple with a sword while blinded. In his Judge Cuts performance, he nearly took out Heidi Klum and/or guest judge Ken Jeong shooting an apple off Heidi's head with an arrow while spinning. He's very entertaining and the fact that he doesn't speak actually makes the act even better because you don't know what's going to happen. I think he's great and I really look forward to his next performance.

3. The Sacred Riana
Another mysterious act. She's supposed to be this creepy girl with a doll and a weird twitch. I will say that she never leaves character, which I find impressive. Her audition was good and I thought the Judge Cuts performance was a step up. She's like a magician, but she also puts on this weird, creepy show that I actually really enjoy. From the way that she looks to the way that she acts to the way that she speaks, she has a great character that I would love to see go far in this competition. She's unique and easily one of the most memorable acts, hence why she's one of my personal favorites.

2. We Three
These three are a sibling band and they're the only band we have this season. I loved their first audition where they performed an original that was dedicated to their mother who had passed away from cancer. It was very emotional and Mel B was moved to tears since she had gone through a similar experience with her father. Their Judge Cuts performance was also amazing as they performed another original. These guys are great songwriters, singers, and musicians. Seriously, the guy in the back does drums and keyboard. I can feel every word they sing. They got praise from guest judge Martina McBride and I love them. I can see them in the finals, maybe even in the Top 5. They are just fantastic and I'm glad they decided to come on this show.

1. Glennis Grace
Right off the bat, this woman is incredible. I've heard a lot of singers obviously because I review music. But Glennis has one of the best voices I have ever heard and I genuinely mean that. Her audition with Whitney Houston's Run To You is easily the best audition this year and while she did deserve a golden buzzer, I'm kinda glad she didn't get one because that meant we got to see her again in the Judge Cuts. But seriously, that audition was phenomenal and I got chills at so many points in the song. Her second performance was with Nothing Compares 2 U by Prince and once again, it was absolutely stunning. If guest judge Chris Hardwick hadn't used his golden buzzer earlier in the show, he probably would've used it for her. This woman is not only the best singer in the competition, but she is the best act of the year and she deserves to win. I haven't felt this strongly about any act this year until I saw her. She's beautiful, her voice is incredible, and she is a great performer. I absolutely love her and I encourage people to vote for her when she performs in the live shows.



So those are my favorites on this season of America's Got Talent. I'm not sure when I'll do another update on the show since I don't do weekly reviews anymore. But we'll see with time I guess. I hope you enjoyed and if you plan on participating in my rankdown, I hope you have fun putting your list together. That's all I have for you today and I will see you again with my next countdown post.