I find it strange to know someone performing. I admit to never watching this program. I find much of the show weird. The young man, Michael, initially auditioned by himself, apparently using a tape that had bits of him performing with Ashleigh. The show asked Michael to bring her into his act for interest. It's my understanding that Michael lives in LA. Ashleigh just finished rebuilding her home (locally) after a Christmas Day fire (year ago Xmas) gutted her old house. Her mom explained that one room in her new house has very high ceilings and is dedicated to [whatever this arial medium is called]. I'll watch it until they are eliminated, unless I get hooked. .

This is so funny, I've been singing that song all day because of the show last night. I finally get a chance to log in and here is this thread. She was soooo cute, what a charmer. I really loved her parents too. They seemed pretty normal. I loved at the end of her song and critique how she ran to her daddy's arms. You could hear him say he was so proud of her then you could hear her say "thank you daddy". BIG AWWWWWWWWW! The "I'm from America" was great too. The opera singer brought tears to my eyes. Loved him and the audiences reaction to him. Just great.

I don't watch AGT anymore until it gets down towards the end, after they've weeded out many contestants. And, although I'll admit I haven't given it much of a chance, I have not gotten into Married this time around. However, I can't wait for the Little Couple!

I just watched the finals and have not yet seen the results, but I gather from the discussion that Grace won. Good for her, but I would rather have seen the Clairvoyants win. Grace's songs were poignant and relevant to today's youth, much like the songs from the late 1950s, except those were written by adults. She is like Taylor Swift in that regard. Her voice is different, but she can carry the tunes, so she'll be fine. Laura Breton screwed herself in singing one of the most tragic songs ever written with a huge joyous smile and lolapalooza last note. When sung properly, even this song in Italian should leave non Italian speakers (and sometimes the performer) in tears. If you're not familiar with O Mio Babbino Caro, the singer is telling her father that she's going away to find her lover and if she cannot marry him, she's going to jump in the river and kill herself. The last lines are "father have pity on me" sung twice and NEVER with enthusiasm. This is not to disparage her vocal talent. She'll get plenty of work, but this performance definitely changed the way I saw her. If she knew what she was singing about, she would have done it differently. If you want to see it sung like it's supposed to, check out Sissel on YouTube. Victor Kee is a less skilled version of Michael Moschen from the 1990s. Check out what Moschen can do with his crystal balls and bouncing balls in the triangle on YouTube. Sal Valentinetti absolutely killed it in the finale. He won't have to deliver pizza for long. I can't listen to that genre of music for long but he killed it. Linkin' Bridge did the same. They're the first good thing to come out of Chicago since forever. Sofie Dossi is cute and flexible but all she does is handstands and neck hangs. Her cleverest trick was shooting an arrow with her feet. That's slick, but I think I see why there's no National League of Professional Handstanders. The Clairvoyants do a mentalist act. It's a version of magic with secrets all their own. They do it VERY well and are so charismatic.