• Shania and Maurice: 18-year old daughter and her 62-year old dad …Thumbs down,, Very Karaoke
• William Close: Maker of odd ball instruments… gag me.
• Opera singer Sergio, only semi-talent so far.
• Blue Man Group rip off; dressed in weird outfits,   thumbs down
• Loyalty Dance Crew: few stand outs, but not earth-shaking.
• Alan Laver: Rapper….. help me???
• Jorge and Alexa: 7-year old and daddy again? Whyyyy Whyyyy thumbs down
• Dog Ventriloquist:       nuf said!!!
• Girl who climbs things and twists.         Say, Cirque Junior Miss???
• Ben Blade: Crossbow master???         Is this the David Letterman show?
• Sanjula Vamana:     Sticks needles in his face, hey singers, still want to audition?
• Kazoo boys, thumbs down… stupid human tricks
• Miss Les AKA Bird Lady: Sings while her 22 cockatoos defecate on her and eat things out of her mouth.    No, I am serious.
• Some guy sang Proud Mary

That’s all folks!!!!

I sent real talent audition for America’s Got Talent. People on iTunes and CD Baby. Real Brian McKnight kind of singers who failed to get on? For this circus??

So, if you want a good laugh or want to gag, watch this seasons America’s Got Freakshow!

Jessica Marciel
Las Vegas Vocal Training

The American public has been a big disappointment to me lately.  I now wonder if the intelligent people in this country are so busy watching the reality shows on TV that are ignoring extreme problems in our country.

I suppose as long as we can tune in and watch Bristol Palin on “Dancing with the Stars” everyone is oblivious as to why this young lady is on this show and why we know her name. I was under the impression to be considered a “Star” you had to accomplish something other than be a VP candidate’s pregnant teenage daughter.

When I watch “Glee” it makes me feel better, when I go out to hear a great band, it makes me feel better. Music is a healing tool, but I fear that this cultural war going on, caused mostly by your upbringing and religion,is going to overtake us.

I am urging anyone that reads my blogs, to be informed about the real world, not to listen to soundbites, carefully edited for bias, and become a citizen of our universe, and give a damn.  Just Google for the news and hear the entire phrase, not the ripped version of their truth.

Now, good news, As I watch the first episode of Glee , I am impressed by the new talent they hired. A diverse group, a rapper, a long haired blonde pretty boy, and a little Filipino cutie , good singer. I”m wondering if  any of them were chosen by that internet audition bit they pulled over the summer.  The show loses my interest when they aren’t singing and dancing, but it does deal with real issues and I enjoy the show.

I have many new students, now, and a lot of them are really good. I am going to have a great 2011, I wish you do too, and keep reading my  blog posts.

American Idol has gone to the internet for auditions, you can go to the official site and upload your video.  Gee, wonder where they got that idea?

X Factor… bring it on!!!

Jessica Marciel
Las Vegas Vocal Training

I asked her who was going through? She said some people in costumes and some people who were seemingly normal. She had no expectations because we had talked about the process and I was familiar with other singers I knew to be great singers who also didn’t make the cut. She chalked it up to experience and enjoyed the ride. I was a little more upset and confused. What, I thought, do they want?

Cut to a few weeks later, my student Nancy is planning on auditioning in San Francisco. Nancy is a teenager, and only recently started with me, and I felt she wasn’t quite ready. I mean, once you get there, If you get there, the competition gets very intense and you need to be a great singer, not just good. That was the problem last season, it was filled with “good” not great singers. The ratings went down, and it lost a lot of it’s magic. There was no one to root for.

So, Nancy wants to do this and won’t wait til next year. Now we picked a great song that would be easy for her and showed her personality. Stupid Cupid by Connie Francis and more recently Mandy Moore. we worked hard on the song and I asked her to cut off the notes and clip them to make it authentic and 50′s. You see Nancy has a high Beehive hairdo, and even to lessons wears stilletto’s and her hair high, with cute little dress”s. Nancy would, I know get their attention. But I wanted her to also be able to be able to keep their attention once they saw her.  She always wears eyeliner and red lipstick, that IS who she is. She is what the show is about at the beginning when they find characters in line. But she is for real, and I did not want them to make fun of her or hurt her feelings.

Nancy called me from the first day,“She was handed a green sticker from a man who told her to wear it when she went to sing.” Nancy knew then, when no one else had a green sticker, she was probably juiced in. She accepted that and was going to sing great to make sure she stayed in the game. She and the two other people with her were rejected. Nancy was crying and going to get her mom when the man ran after her and said “Hey, where are you going?”

She told him she was rejected and he said “Oh no,” took her by the arm and went back to the table where she sang, and was put through. Now she was happy, she went through the second round of judges and flew home to Vegas , told to come back 2 days later for a third audition.

The third audition was the one where they told her she just wasn’t strong enough, and it was a tough competition. She came home happy, knowing she did the best she could, and knowing that her “Look” got her through the first round.

I am happy that she was happy. They also had her on camera in line and the cameraman did photograph her and ask about her hair. There is a chance she will be on TV from this interview.  I think Nancy has “it” and will be fine, and this experience was great for her.

American Idol has give us a few blessings,  Carrie, Kelly, Daughtry, Jennifer, to mention a few. So this is a recent complaint about the last 2 years. Before that I believe they were on track.

As far as America’s Got Talent Las Vegan contestant, Michael Grimm, is in the finals and deserves to be. He comes across very well, and having seen him live here in Vegas, I am a big fan. That show is also a circus. A singer going against a dance troupe going against a fire eater going against a duo and on and on! I just don’t get it.

Bring back Star Search, or anything that brought us real talent. Leanne Rhinnes came from star Search, Brad Garrett also. I just am so tired of seeing  people telling people how great they are, and then they get a million dollars for being mediocre. Here we go with another season of millions of singers trying to make it in the business we call Show.

Listen, it isn’t all it’s made out to be. It can be a real drag, hence Fantasia!!!   Have a back up plan, Take it from me!

Jessica Marciel
Las Vegas Vocal Training

So, if you have procrastinated about WHAT you will audition with, How you will handle it, or if you will do it online, it is time to get on it.

Every year  I get last minute singers who want a two week crash course in audition expertise. I’m not going to tell you that you should have been coming to me for months now, but , some people have thought of it, and they are ready.

Between America’s Got Talent, The X Factor (in 2011), American Idol, and finally YouTube, you have the venues and the visability to get noticed. So don’t just stand there, or, if you are sitting, go on, Get on You Tube, I tunes, figure it out. What singers songs makes you a better you? What shows off your range and your personality. what will dazzle them?

Number one rule of advice: Video yourself. look at how they will see you. Get others to chime in on how you are doing. No, not mom and dad, someone objective. So, if you don’t go to a pro for help and plan on a do it yourself crash course, your time is NOW!  See you  in Hollywood, don”t sign anything with anyone, that town will swallow you whole.

Jessica Marciel
Las Vegas Vocal Training