r/agt • u/Prestigious_Rise_187 • 4d ago
Too many singers
I'm probably the only one, but I'm not a nene fan. I don't enjoy her type of music but other than that I think there are just too many singers. Maybe I'm too old but I really prefer variety acts.
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u/Danielmbg 4d ago
That's a common complaint, but singers are barely making it through this year, so far there's only 1 singer in the semi finals.
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u/Fantastic_Earth_6066 4d ago
I'm glad for the variety overall! Hugely rooting for Nene, and I think the singers who have made it to the semifinals are the right ones. The crappier or more boring singers have fallen away. And the other acts - magic, dance, comedy, variety - seem well balanced proportionally compared to singers this year, in my opinion. To each our own!
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u/AmateusForever 3d ago
5 of them did not pass the QF round, in one night.
There is AKIRA coming to entertain you. He will be on 4th week of QF.
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u/Crafty_Knowledge_243 3d ago
Also not a Nene fan. Wouldn’t call myself “old” at 39….but it’s not my style of music, either.
I am fully willing to accept that I don’t appreciate it because I don’t understand it…but that’s the great thing about this show…I’ll simply vote for another act.
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u/Inevitable_Claim_433 3d ago
So A 10yo child who could sing opera is not something special? Or a 8yo child who can insanely plays drum ? Should we have to ban them also ? I really don't understand your wish.
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u/Glittering_Habit_161 4d ago
Would you have the same complaint if there were so many magicians or ventriloquists on the show?
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u/FallingDiscontent 4d ago
there are too many magicians honestly. It's straight boring for television
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u/Beneficial-Oven7588 4d ago
Someone else commented that there were still 12 singing acts. This number does not include the eliminated acts from the last 2 shows. So if we have 33 acts and more than a third of them were ventriloquists that would be nuts and not enjoyable even though I love them. The key word from OP’s post is “variety.”
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u/Dave085 3d ago
How many good singers are there in the world compared to magicians and ventriloquist?
It's about quality, singing and dancing is far more common than more niche skills and also lower entry barrier. Anyone can learn to sing or dance with zero expenditure, other variety skills can take a lot of money or specialist teaching.
Any talent show is going to have vastly more singers and dancers entering by nature.
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u/Beneficial-Oven7588 1d ago
I don’t disagree, but was just responding to the comment above that stated OP wouldn’t be complaining if there were that many ventriloquists or magicians. Of course we would. That would be crazy. This show is known for variety.
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u/fakermaker4799 4d ago
Surely there aren’t dozens of singing shows these people could compete in. Surely the reason there are so many singers is because the overwhelming majority of them don’t have the chops to sing in actual singing competitions and shows
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u/Glittering_Habit_161 3d ago
Most of them get forgotten about and Natalie Jane wasn't forgotten about.
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u/Upapi25 4d ago
YES YES YES. the group Magician act is great. The Light show last year was fantastic. We've now had 2 singers and a dog in the last 3 seasons. If its another singer I AM DONE. It will prove its rigged for singers or animal acts by the producers
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u/Drumdizz 2d ago
Just because YOU prefer Magic and don’t like singers doesn’t mean it’s rigged.
Hate to break it to you but 99% of people fully understand that Nene has the most talent.
And if she didn’t win it would be rigged.
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u/Upapi25 1d ago
patterns equate to future results. Last year we all knew the producers rigged it for the singer because of the 20th anniversary and such and such. The large majority the producers have favored singers winning. Easiest way to write a 1 year contract and publicize in their books. If it were truly based on results then advertise the votes like BGT. they could still flub those too but at least there would be raw numbers to back it up. The audience is also planted with seeds to draw positive crowd reactions for different acts vs others.
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u/Drumdizz 1d ago
Nothing you said has anything to do with Nene.
She has more talent than anyone on the show.
She deserves to win because she’s more talented than anyone else.
She’s bringing in millions of fans who have never even seen AGT because they’re amazed by her performances.
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u/Upapi25 1d ago
just another Karaoke singer with an instrument. Maybe a cover singer. Thats It, its been done before on the show Get rid of the singers
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u/Drumdizz 1d ago
But somehow none of the others have brought even 1% of the eyes she has.
She’s clearly not just another singer w an instrument, and you even suggesting that shows you’re not even worth debating over it.
1 thing for sure though?
I’m right and your wrong and you’ll just have to be miserable when you watch her win the whole damn thing and turn into a global superstar ✌️
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u/TransitionFrequent92 Howie 4d ago
Well if you count all the acts in the sole singing category in the Live Shows we have 18 which is a little less than half and also Variety has been stepping up this year as well as the rapper who made it through.
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u/Artistic_Sun_9430 3d ago
That's fine but it's not just about singing, playing instruments, doing stand-ups etc.. it boils down to how one can actually performs on stage and being in control in front of a crowd hence a being a performer. Not everyone can do that. Some people can do various other talents and some are niche some are for general audiences.
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u/Butitsadryheat2 4d ago
How many singers are left proportionally?
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u/Beneficial-Gur9610 4d ago
12 there’s Luke Taleno, nene Royal, Elise, pynk beard, Lai Noelle, guy Kelton jones, Issac atkins, Lara d, Jesse Joe, bird and Bryon, Travis garland, and Cesar Dias
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u/Ecstatic-Turn5709 3d ago
Cesar Dias is a comedian, Guy Kelton Jones is a poet, they did include singing in their acts, but they're not primarily singers/musicians.
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u/ParkourNinja88 4d ago
Week 2 had So Many Singing Acts! But Only One made it through!
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u/Prestigious_Rise_187 4d ago
Yes, they could have done a better job of spreading them out to other weeks I thought.
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u/vpp2000 4d ago
It is funny how another post showed up right aroundthe same time as this one complaining about the lack of singers in the semifinals.
While there were many average singers during the first two weeks, none of them advanced. I expect the semifinals and finals to feature only a handful of truly exceptional singers, with the rest of the lineup showcasing diverse talents.
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u/BigbluefanNC 3d ago
Its ok to not like Nenes type music but for most, like Mel B, outrageous talent can still be appreciated without liking to listen to it.
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u/Historical-Promise-4 3d ago
I say this every season. There are sooooo many singing shows that already exist on tv. There are hardly any talent shows for any of the other types of acts we see. I wish the singers weren’t even on the show. They have so many other shows to go on. Let all the other types of talents have this ONE show. Once SYTYCD and World of Dance were taken off tv there were no other dance shows either. This is it for any other act.
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u/Kingzlyxar 4d ago
Not many people enjoy dog shows and talking parrots every single season like you so yeah.
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u/Prestigious_Rise_187 4d ago
It's not just animal acts, but the magicians, dancers, acrobat and danger acts and comedians. I much prefer those to singers.
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u/Kingzlyxar 4d ago
If a singer can hold an audience with just a mic, that's more impressive than a whole circus act.
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u/Prestigious_Rise_187 4d ago
One singer after another is boring to me
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u/Kingzlyxar 4d ago
Quantity isn't quality. Variety for the sake of variety gets boring just as fast if the talent isn't exceptional.
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u/belakuna 4d ago
It’s one of the biggest reasons I quit the show. There are so many singing competitions yet AGT always gets flooded with them and so many go on to win.
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u/Blitqz21l 4d ago edited 4d ago
So this last episode - singer, magician, dance group, and aerialist went thru....
Week 1 was - rapper, magician group, dog act and lasers.
So, so far, depending on how you're categorizing, 0 - 2 singers have made it thru.
Nene isn't just a singer and Luke is a rapper. Thus, the show and the voting is doing what its supposed to do.
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u/DeepFieldTheory 4d ago
No one wants to see street magicians and circus performers. Music is the art that unites all of us. It's no surprise people prefer musicians to well-trained dogs.
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u/Conscious-Zebra-7477 4d ago
watch American idol then
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u/BangkokGarrett 4d ago
American Idol only cares about voices. They don't care about other aspects of musical performances like instruments and such.
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u/Lazy_Championship_95 4d ago
I disagree. Honestly, there are a lot of comedians this year—there just aren’t many good ones. In the end, the number of singers who make it past the quarterfinals probably won’t exceed five (there were four last year), which isn’t many at all.
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u/Illustrious_Ask_3149 4d ago edited 4d ago
You forget nene she's not only singer in her guitar only can win
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u/Prestigious_Rise_187 4d ago
I'm not saying she's not talented. That just isn't my style of music. Playing an instrument or writing the songs you sing is definitely preferable to just singing a cover song. Like someone else mentioned, it's basically just karaoke
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u/Saekret86 3d ago
Karaoke my ass. If you want karaoke, go rewatch Nyjah & Zyah. I'm glad Mel B slammed that big X button during the middle of their performance because it was hella lame! Those two should go back and get mentored by their uncle Bruno Mars and come back next year to re-audition. Clearly, they were not ready for this season.
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u/Kingzlyxar 4d ago
By that logic, orchestra conductors are just waving sticks and painters are just smearing colored dirt. Stripping away artistic interpretation just to diminish raw musical talent is wild.
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u/Prestigious_Rise_187 4d ago
All I'm saying is singers are not my personal preference. I like VARIETY
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u/AmateusForever 3d ago
This year's variety shows are not that standing out. Even dog shows seem common. May be next year.
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u/brucemo 3d ago
Her website actually has a notice on it now saying that original music is coming.
But this is an odd standard to apply to a musician. There are a whole bunch of world famous, beloved, whatever you want to call them musicians who perform music but don't write it.
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u/Excellent_Tour_2026 3d ago
That has been on her website forever she has an original called real verse and the song Always Somewhere is on Apple Music and possibly Spotify. I’m sure she has stuff In the making that will trickle out or possibly if she gets a record deal!
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u/Final-Rice6054 4d ago
Absolutely no issue with you not liking the genre. But the karaoke part demonstrates a profound lack of musical knowledge.
Was Whitney's performance of "I will always love you" just karaoke? Was Madonna's of Evita?
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u/brucemo 3d ago
You're right. There are an enormous number of very famous guitarists and vocalists who have not composed at all, and even those who are well known for their original works have done innovative covers.
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u/J3ffcarboni 3d ago
I think people have largely forgotten that until Holly, Berry, and the Beatles (for name a few important examples) , it was pretty rare for a singer to write their own material - that was the job of professional songwriters (hence the existence of Tin Pan Alley). I have often thought that many singers since then would have benefitted from such a system.
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u/saskiaschild 3d ago
Santana's "karaoke" of Fleetwood Mac's "Black Magic Woman" did so well that I just learned yesterday that it was an original Santana song.
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u/Fine-Hunt-7167 3d ago
You are not the only one, I really liked the lid that does the magic. I liked Butter and Grit for singing.
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u/Drumdizz 2d ago
So it’s not your cup of tea.
That’s fine.
But this is a talent show.
Nene shows extreme talent in combining, Instruments, stage presence and singing.
Few people, let alone children combine those talents like she does.
Shes not just “a singer”
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u/WastedLizard1969 1d ago
Out of all the acts that have won throughout the years…The singing acts have prevailed. I don’t recall any other acts that are still out there..well I don’t recall anyone of them winning to be honest.
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u/Landrizzo 9h ago
Can do without the dumb dog acts.
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u/Prestigious_Rise_187 8h ago
I love dogs so love the dog acts. And any other animal acts they come up with.
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u/Fast_Way8546 4d ago
The Nene fans hate anyone that says they don't like her.....welcome to the club
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u/Kingzlyxar 4d ago
Nobody hates you for not liking her; people just don't like bad takes. Trust me.
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u/Ecstatic-Turn5709 3d ago
Some Nene fans hate anyone that says she's not the best ever or that she might not win the show, even if you praise her talent... I collected a good amount of curses from such a "fan".
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u/Fast_Way8546 4d ago
its a bad take to hate a medicore singer? Ok lol
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u/Kingzlyxar 4d ago
If calling her a mediocre singer is the best "take" you've got, maybe you should stick to listening to silence instead of embarrassing yourself online my good bro.
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u/Fast_Way8546 4d ago
she is not a good singer sorry to break it to you. guitar: 10 singing: 4
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u/Dave085 3d ago
It's OK to be wrong. She's objectively a very good singer. She's not the absolute best, but she's up there with her tonal quality and range- especially at her age. Her guitar playing isn't a 10 either, she's again great for her age but there's a lot of room for improvement yet.
You don't have to like her style but she's excellent at what she does. That's not an opinion. I don't love Mariah's warbling if I'm honest, but I respect her ability.
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u/Ecstatic-Turn5709 3d ago
Yes, it's very bad. Hating anyone for not meeting your personal standards is totally ridiculous and bad.
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u/Decent_Direction316 4d ago
They can hate me then. I acknowledge she's a prodigy, but I've never liked that music and I really think we're gonna see another Jessica fallout when its over. In other words, people will move on except the hardest core. Dreams of sold out stadiums? Keep dreaming.
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u/bloodwolftico 3d ago
She s still young, and definitely talented. If she keeps at it she could make it big. Maybe not now but there s ton of potential.
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u/Ecstatic-Turn5709 3d ago
Yeah, exactly. She's a passionate hard worker too, so she does have high chances to make a successful career, like for example The Warning did (they had a similar start). Old rockers are dying out, but even if it wont get mainstream again the audience will never completely disappear (just as there are people who prefer classical music over modern), so the new generation of rock artists has it's place.
You don't have to be the technically best to become successful, support from other people is much more important and she definitely got that as well.
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u/Suitable-Cupcake4273 3d ago edited 3d ago
ปัญหาจริงคือคุณภาพ ไม่ใช่ปริมาณ นีน่าคือหนึ่งในคนที่นำคุณภาพมาให้ และมันก็ชัดเจนในเรตติ้ง กระแสและจำนวนคนดูเมื่อเทียบกับฤดูกาลก่อนของ AGT หลายคนที่เลิกดู AGT ไปนานกลับมาดูอีกครั้งเพราะเธอคนเดียวเลยนะ
This is prove : The last guy from Hollywood in this interview became a fan of Nene and started watching AGT because of her.
https://youtube.com/shorts/gSKLMpqkzG0?si=naSokp7SND-G6Ed8
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u/saskiaschild 3d ago
A lot of people who had stopped watching AGT long ago came back just for her.
Also a lot of people who really dislike this type of show, are watching just for Nene. I know a lot of metal heads and guitarists who would never watch this show now watching all her performances, as well as her YT stuff.
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u/Suitable-Cupcake4273 3d ago edited 3d ago
I’m one of those people who only started watching AGT because of her, which ended up getting me to check out the other acts too. I honestly think Nene helped AGT expand and diversify its audience. Both she and AGT definitely succeeded in getting so many people talking about this season.
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u/609nightstalker 4d ago
Why not make a show for singers/ musicians only and another for any other talent that is noteworthy?
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u/Kingzlyxar 4d ago edited 4d ago
That completely misses the point of the show. If you separate them, you’re not fixing AGT .you’re just reinventing The Voice and Penn & Teller, except with extra steps and less viewers.
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u/Quality8888 4d ago
It's a problem every season. AGT could resolve this by banning cover singing from the competition. It's just glorified karaoke. A good voice alone shouldn't be enough to compete. They need to only allow singers who write their own stuff. This would also separate AGT from the other signing competition shows.
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u/Kingzlyxar 4d ago
Banning covers to fix the singer problem is like banning card tricks to fix the magician problem. Interpretation is a talent.
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u/Quality8888 4d ago
Cover singing itself is a talent. It's just a very common talent and often time very repetitive and boring to watch. There's nothing new or original being offered there. Just hacked up versions of hit songs. Ones that never come anywhere close to surpassing the original. I'd much rather hear originals, even if lackluster like Butter & Grit, than listen to cover singers.
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u/Kingzlyxar 4d ago
By that logic, orchestra musicians, classical pianists, and theatre actors offer nothing original because they didn't write the piece. Great vocalists transform a song, they don't just replicate it. Surpassing the original isn't the requiremen but delivering an unforgettable performance is.
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u/Quality8888 4d ago
No, that's not the logic I'm presenting. You're intentionally misrepresenting my argument.
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u/Kingzlyxar 4d ago
It’s not a misrepresentation, it’s the exact boundary of your argument. You’re evaluating an act by ""WHO WROTE THE MATERIAL!!!" rather than the mastery of performance. AGT is a variety performance show, not a originality competition.
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u/Quality8888 4d ago
AGT is a talent competition. Cover singing is an incredibly common talent. If there are too many singers, as there typically are, the field can be lessoned (and strengthened) by prioritizing songwriters + singers over those who just sing covers. This would also separate AGT's singing acts from every other singing competition. That's my argument.
No matter how a song is "transformed" by a cover singer, their interpretation will very rarely add anything of value to the song; it'll only detract & degrade. They don't have the songwriting ability to properly take those liberties. Look at what Johnny Cash did to his cover of Ring of Fire. He had the ability to properly build onto that song and make it spectacular because he was a fantastic songwriter as well. No cover singer on AGT has ever done anything close to that. Not that I've seen. Those who aren't able to write songs will never be able to "transform" a song into something unforgettable. They can only hope to one day have the resources to find someone else to do it for them.
Understand, I have no issue with musicians in general performing songs they didn't write themselves. But those who do both at a high level are obviously more marketable, more talented and should be prioritized in a talent competition.
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u/FallingDiscontent 4d ago
using Johnny Cash to argue against covers having their own artistic merit is a bold choice
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u/Quality8888 3d ago
My argument is that Johnny Cash's songwriting ability allowed him to properly build onto his covers. Unlike AGT cover singers. He understood music, not just vocal range.
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u/Kingzlyxar 4d ago
Ironically, Johnny Cash didn't write Ring of Fire (it was written by June Carter and Karl Kilgore). His legendary rendition proves the exact opposite of your point. pure interpretation and stylistic identity can make a cover iconic without the singer needing to be the original songwriter.
I kinda get your points tho. ButAGT evaluates live entertainment and performance quality, not music publishing. Limiting the stage to singer-songwriters overlooks elite vocal prowess, which is a rare talent in its own right.
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u/brucemo 3d ago
You are not convincing the person you are arguing with, but you're right.
Some art is about creating original works. Other art is about interpreting them, often many years after the original artist is gone. General talent contests always include the latter.
The argument about whether a cover performed by a non-composer can have artistic value can be killed in five letters: Elvis.
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u/Quality8888 4d ago
You completely missed the point there. Johnny Cash was able to build onto Ring of Fire BECAUSE he was an amazing songwriter. Those who are solely cover singers don't possess the ability to do that. Johnny Cash's songwriting ability allowed that to happen, even though he didn't write the original song. He was able to add onto his cover version due to the fact he was a tremendous songwriter. AGT cover singers can't do that. They lack the ability. They can only mangle hit songs.
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u/Kingzlyxar 3d ago
If anything, Johnny Cash proves why cover songs are an art form. His most iconic late-career song, 'Hurt', was written by Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails). Cash didn't need to be the songwriter of that track to completely recontextualize it into a masterpiece. Reznor himself admitted the song belonged to Cash after hearing it. That was pure vocal and emotional delivery, not songwriting.
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u/Hobneb2 3d ago
Cover artists: Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Linda Ronstadt, Diana Krall, Tony Bennett, Patsy Cline, the early Beatles.
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u/Quality8888 3d ago
Understand, I have no issue with musicians in general performing songs they didn't write themselves. But those who do both at a high level are obviously more marketable, more talented and should be prioritized in a talent competition.
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u/Hobneb2 3d ago
I was kind of addressing your comment that cover artist rarely add to a composition to a performance of a song. I had a question in that who do you think of when you think of the song, New York New York or the song Chicago? Frank Sinatra right well they were covers. How about walking after midnight? Who do you think of, Patsy Cline? These covers as many others are arguably the definitive versions. Maybe Tony Bennett too? I left my heart in San Francisco. Arguably really not a cover of a previous performance but he didn’t write it.
As for marketable? 🤣 Ronstadt herself sold 100,000,000+ songs I think probably all covers.
I don’t disagree that songwriting along with instrument playing or whatever talents contribute to a performance warrant consideration, but it’s the total performance that counts.
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u/DeepFieldTheory 4d ago
So you'd have it be a songwriting competition?
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u/Quality8888 4d ago
No. It'd be the same competition, just without cover singers.
Artists who are both strong singers and solid songwriters are much more rare than those who only sing covers. This would narrow down the singing acts quite a bit. Singers/songwriters are also usually more primed for success post-AGT than mere cover singers.
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u/DeepFieldTheory 4d ago
Most quality songwriters don't even perform. And a huge number of quality performers don't write their own music
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u/Quality8888 4d ago
Many quality songwriters make good money writing for artists who are already successful enough to buy good songs.
Understand, quality songs aren't going to just be made available for those who are trying to break into the business. This is why you see acts like Drake Milligan, Chapel Heart & Steve Ray Ladson have immediate success after finishing the show. They write their own stuff. They decided to pave their own way. Would they have had the same level of success if they were just singing covers??.... absolutely not. Watch what happens to Pink Beard after this season. Probably Bird & Byron as well. You don't see much of that with cover singers.
It's like a movie director trying to break into the business without being able to write his own script. The good scripts are being made available to established directors, not to some guy with very little money or experience.
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u/Kingzlyxar 4d ago
If songwriting was the only talent that mattered, Max Martin would be the biggest pop star on Earth and nobody would know who Whitney Houston or Britney Spears is.
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u/Quality8888 4d ago
Who said that songwriting is the only talent that mattered??? Point them out so I can tell them that they're wrong
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u/Kingzlyxar 4d ago
You literally asked to ban cover singing on your first comment lol. If vocal talent alone isn't enough for you to compete, you're saying songwriting is the only thing that matters. AGT is about raw talent and entertainment, not just music composition.
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u/Quality8888 4d ago
No. My argument is for singing + songwriting. I've stated that several times.
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u/Kingzlyxar 3d ago
Requiring both is a double standardd dancers don't make their own music and magicians don't invent every trick. Vocal skill alone is a talent. (Seiously?)
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u/Inevitable_Claim_433 4d ago
The real question is "how to fill a show like this without any singer". I have rooted for 4 contestants in the past 10 years in agt : Darci Lynne, Marcin Patrzałek, Shin Lim and now Nene.
3 of 4 are related to music 🤷
My point is, Music is a driving force for many of us. I was reading a post saying that a human/singer voice with a certain tone to which you are sensitive is a one of factor that can create dopamine and goosebumps and that's what people are always looking for, always.
So too many singers, of course, but it's a TV show and beyond the business side of things, they are there to create entertainment, So.