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Learn more- The third season of "America's Got Talent" kicked off touting more than 200,000 acts that auditioned in front of an audience of thousands in theaters across the country. The new audience component made it so the crowd acted as a fourth judge, cheering and jeering the contestants as they saw fit as the contestants set off on a journey that each hoped would end with the $1 million prize and a show in Las Vegas.
Grim Start in The Big Apple: The auditions begin in New York City. Bill B. Curlee aka "Serious Mysterious", a 52-year-old scrap metal worker, was first out of the gate, and his Elvis-inspired rendition of Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual" made judges David Hasselhoff and Piers Morgan hit their buzzers immediately, but Sharon Osbourne let it linger on and on until the judges had a chance to lambaste him. Curlee's bit was followed by an entire opening montage of terrible performances, including the tongue-stretching antics of 18-year-old Nick Afanasiev.
Jonathan Arons, 32 of NYC, was the first contestant to set the crowd on fire, and he was an unlikely one: a classically trained trombonist who tooted along to Donna Summer's "Bad Girls." Jonathan got the three "yes" votes he needed to move to the Vegas callbacks. A pair of 24-year-old, female Romanian twins, who call themselves Indiggo, sang Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" very poorly, but Sharon wanted to give them another chance in Vegas and Piers, who'd buzzed them quickly, changed his mind and decided to give them a pass.
Nuttin' But Stringz, violin-playing brothers from Queens received a huge ovation for a high-energy act that "combines classical meets hip-hop with the perfect marriage of R&B and rock 'n roll." Sharon asks, "Do you guys think you can win?" and one of them wittily replies, "I don't think I can lose." Piers said, "This show is about people walking on the stage and doing something fresh, exciting, original and super talented. You two have got the lot." They kicked off a run on "yes" votes that included an illusionist, a puppeteer, a percussion group that beat on plastic drums and PVC pipes, and an all-girl quartet called Jazmin.
Mary Bly, an 80-year-old tap dancer, got X's from Piers and The Hoff. Sharon complimented her on her dancing and gave her a "yes," but that was the only vote of approval she got and she was sent home.
Do it for the kids! A montage of kids getting turned away led into 4-year-old singer Kaitlyn Maher, who sang "Somewhere Out There" from the "An American Tail (1986)" soundtrack. The crowd cheered and she got no X's. Piers said she might be the best 4-year-old singer in the world. All three judges moved her on to the Las Vegas callbacks, making her the youngest contestant to ever make it that far.
Hello, Chicago: The auditions move to Chicago. The Slippery Kittens, a burlesque dance group of mothers, had the crowd shouting "Vegas, Vegas" before the audition ever started. The nine-member group got some huge cheers from the crowd and got three votes from the judges.
Big Boos: Host Jerry Springer says that the Chicago audience is proving to be the fourth and most brutal judge of all. Chay Vang, a 32-year-old factory worker, had barely started his performance, using a guitar he'd been building for ten years, before he was X'd off the stage and booed by the crowd. Terry Christensen, a 45-year-old handyman/songwriter, was booed before he could get much of his song beyond the opening lyrics, and he was followed by more performers who fell victim to the crowd.
... the best there's ever been: Jonathan Birkin, 17, mysteriously said that what he does made things difficult for him as a child. Eventually, viewers saw that he was a baton twirler -- and he was a darn good one. He twirled with flames on the ends of his baton to The Charlie Daniels Band's "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." Jonathan was near tears as the crowd stood and cheered. "All those kids who called you names can shove it!" The Hoff said. "I'm proud of you for sticking with your dream."
Intoxicating: The auditions move to Los Angeles. Britney Spears impersonator, 24-year-old Derrick Barry -- that's right, Derrick -- knocked Sharon and The Hoff's socks off. His Spears take was enough to win him a spot in Las Vegas, where he'll continue to make The Hoff question his own sexuality. A montage of winners followed, including a gymnast who twirled hoola hoops with her toes, a tap dancing group, a young would-be Whitney Houston singer and another dancing troupe.
Extreme Dance FX, another nine-member dance troupe that combined tap and clogging for a modern twist. Piers hated their outfits and told them to change them, but the group got their votes for Vegas, much to the crowd's approval.
Neil E. Boyd, a 32-year-old insurance salesman who sang opera, told a heart-wrenching story of growing up poor with a single mother and he wanted to show her that her sacrifices weren't wasted. He got emotional before singing and teared up again after bringing the crowd and the judges to their feet with his huge voice. Host Jerry Springer said that in his two season of doing the show, he hadn't heard better. The Hoff called him the front runner and told him it's OK to be emotional. Sharon told him he won her heart. Piers noticed the crowd's sense of the electricity he Neil brought to the stage. After he got through, Neil called his mom and told her the good news.
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