MARCUS COLLINS: In the Press

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America's Got Talent Live
Opening Night At Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino

LAS VEGAS - OCTOBER 08:

The Texas Tenors performs on America's Got Talent Live at Planet Hollywood Casino Resort on October 8, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In this photo: The Texas Tenors

Photo: Denise Truscello/WireImage

Oct 08, 2009

‘America’s Got Talent’ finalists wow judges

Piers calls crooning Texas Tenors his ‘guilty pleasure’ in walk-up to finale




LOS ANGELES - The "America's Got Talent" finalists did it their way — and the judges loved it.

Piers Morgan called the Texas Tenors, a cheesy trio of cowboy-hat-wearing crooners from Houston who performed Frank Sinatra's "My Way," his new "guilty pleasure," while David Hasselhoff said Voices of Glory, an inspirational singing sibling act from Highland, N.Y., had a "slam dunk" with their rendition of Whitney Houston's "Greatest Love of All."

Viewer votes will determine which of the 10 finalists will win a chance to headline a Las Vegas show and the $1 million grand prize. Before the fourth season winner is crowned Wednesday, Susan Boyle, the Scottish sensation of "Britain's Got Talent," will make her U.S. TV singing debut. Leona Lewis, Shakira and Rascal Flatts are also scheduled to perform.

More than half of the final 10 acts competing to win the NBC talent competition are singers, including vocalist Lawrence Beamen from Walnut Creek, Calif.; opera singer Barbara Padilla from Houston; singer-songwriter Kevin Skinner, a chicken farmer from Mayfield, Ky.; and crooner Drew Stevyns, of Sykesville, Md. Sharon Osbourne had only one criticism for Stevyns.

"I think your trousers could be tighter," she teased him.

The judges were also pleased with the moves of the Fab Five, power tap-dancing sisters from Morgan, Utah, who clogged alongside acrobats to Britney Spears' "Circus." They seemed less impressed with Hairo Torres' solo breakdancing routine set to Ne-Yo's "Closer." Morgan said a subdued Torres, of Grants Pass, Ore., had "lost the fun" of his previous routines.

Grandma Lee, the only comedian in the finals, was carried onto the stage by four burly men and delivered her sauciest material yet. Acerbic British judge Morgan, the butt of many of Lee's jokes, gave the 75-year-old comedian from Jacksonville, Fla., a standing ovation — even after she said "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell was her new "baby daddy."

The most acclaim went to the evening's final act: Recycled Percussion, a quartet of rhythm makers from Goffstown, N.H., who use found objects as instruments. Their water-soaked rendition of The Beach Boys' "Wipeout" left Osbourne gushing that they "belong in Vegas." Morgan called Recycled Percussion's routine an "absolutely brilliant way to end a brilliant show."

America's Got Talent Auditions Return to Houston

by Valerie David
Associatedcontent.com
July 9, 2009



Day 6 of Auditions Sends More Great Acts to Vegas

Apparently the giant turnout in Houston warranted another round of America's Got Talent auditions. After the emotional beating judges David Hasselhoff, Piers Morgan, and Sharon Osbourne took in the largely dreadful LA auditions, they were ready to see some real talent. Houston proved to have some gems and some horrors, and also some real characters.

America's Got Talent Auditions: Texas Tenors Woo Sharon Osbourne

These three men in black cowboy hats were friends who apparently formed a singing group three months earlier, just to compete in America's Got Talent. When asked by the judges what they did for a living, only one had a day job--one answered he was unemployed and one said "starving artist". Sharon asked them to take off their hats, and the crowd whooped to discover handsome guys with full heads of hair.

Judge Sharon Osbourne was particularly smitten by the unemployed tenor with the bright blond hair and winning Matt Damon-esque smile. "I could find a job for you," she purred. The America's Got Talent crowd ate it up, and then the boys got to singing.

It was a winning performance, with a rousing country melody and wonderful harmonizing by the Texas Tenors. The America's Got Talent judges approved, though Piers accurately pointed out that their performance was a bit rough around the edges. Their choreography and comfort level on stage needs a bit of work, but they definitely have talent, and they're off to Vegas to prove it.

America's Got Talent Auditions: Are we back in LA?
Next we got a trio of bad America's Got Talent acts in the "What were you thinking?" category. First up was Bruce Thomas, who made squeaking sounds with his hands, and then piped out "Yankee Doodle Dandy." Sure, it's probably a hoot at family picnics, but a Vegas act? But hey, he got on TV, so I guess that's something to tell the grandchildren.

The Boyz are back:

Welk presents regional premiere of musical spoof 'Altar Boyz'

By PATRICIA MORRIS BUCKLEY - For the North County Times




When director Nick DeGruccio first saw the musical spoof "Altar Boyz," he fell in love with the show.

"First," he explained, "I'm Catholic. I was never an altar boy, but I was definitely entrenched in the Catholic faith. But I also really love the music and the story of the show. It's really fun and endearing."

"Altar Boyz" follows five boys from Ohio who love to sing and dance. So what do they do? Create a boy band, of course. And because they are all religious, they become a Christian boy band. This musical takes place on the last night of the group's national "Raise the Praise" tour.

The show is filled with original rock and pop tunes, such as "Rhythm in Me," "The Calling" and "I Believe." The harmonies are tight and the dancing nonstop.

"The music is really off the hook," said DeGruccio, who directed "My Way" and "I Left My Heart" at the Welk. "And there's so much dancing in the show. They never leave the stage because they're giving a concert. I think they've already lost weight from all that dancing. They just never stop dancing."

But the real appeal of the show ---- which has been seen in San Diego County only once before, when the national tour visited last year ---- comes from the characters, who are very sincere and engaging. Each of the band members is dealing with his own personal crisis.

"This show isn't done tongue in cheek," DeGruccio assured. "It won't offend anyone. There's a great innocence to it. The characters are committed to God, religion and the music. The humor comes out of how committed they are to everything. It's really genuine humor and the script is quite witty.

"These boys are spreading the word of God through their music, but the show doesn't preach in any way. It's actually the story of a struggling boy band who happens to sing religious rock songs."

The show stars Danny Calvert, Marcus Collins, Brian Gilgor, Erik McEwen and Steve Limones. Calvert, who was in the original Broadway cast and has played the role around the country, is providing the choreography.

"He's a great asset to this show," DeGruccio said of Calvert. "He's come up with all new choreography and he knows the show so well. We have a cast of amazing singers and dancers. They are a total joy to direct."

The show is certainly built to be a crowd-pleaser, but the characters are what keep it from being a jukebox musical.

"There are a couple of really moving moments," he said. "You really root for these boys. It's hard not to get drawn in by the show. People are going to have a great time. You can't help but hoot and holler."

"Altar Boyz"
When: Opens Thursday and runs through Sept. 14; Showtimes 1:45 p.m. Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; 8 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays

Where: Welk Resort Theatre, 8860 Lawrence Welk Drive, Escondido

Tickets: $44-$47 performance only; with pre-show buffet $58-$63

Phone: (760) 749-3448 or (888) 802-7469

Web: www.WelkTheatreSanDiego.com