Gift of the Golden Buzzer

A recent telecast of “America’s Got Talent” was an unusually instructive viewing experience, because it demonstrated the exceptional power of the talent tilt’s Golden Buzzer.

This is the special, one-time-only right given to each of the tilt’s judges to personally send an act he or she regards to be indubitably excellent, straight to the competition’s quarterfinals.

The show we viewed was noteworthy, because that prized power was exercised, not once, but several times in the same hour—proof positive that the acts featured in that particular telecast were exceptionally outstanding.

The acts “promoted” by individual judges included Arielle Baril, an 11-year-old girl who sang an operatic aria—with the fully-developed voice of an adult contralto!

The effect of her unexpectedly unique performance was nothing short of amazing, so the studio audience agreed with the decision to put her straight through!

Also the ecstatic recipient of a Golden Buzzer boost straight to the quarterfinals was a grown-up singer, Sharon Irving, who simply sang so exceptionally well that she didn’t need an unusual gimmick to bowl listeners over!

Another set sent straight through to the next level in the competition was the dancing duo, Freckled Sky, whose claim to fame and potential victory was its most creative use of projected and digitized images fused into its modern-dance performance.

The creative fusion, fission and frisson achieved was the standout of the evening.

It also presaged the coming of a new age in the performance arts, when a combination of artistic and  technological creativity and artistry could take viewers and artists to greater heights of excellence.

The last performer to be given a Golden Buzzer “promotion” was a teen talent named Drew Lynch. He billed himself as a comedian, but he impressed viewers not so much with his jokes, but with his “unsinkable” spirit and determination.

Why so? Because Drew had a bad stuttering problem, which usually inhibits people from performing in public—and yet, he strove mightily to rise above it and achieve his dreams of becoming a successful comic.

He still stammered and stuttered, but he used his vocal tic as part of his act—a savvy and courageous decision that could inspire other vocally impaired people to similarly struggle to succeed.

Other acts didn’t get Golden Buzzer tickets to the top, but they also deserve to be cited and acclaimed:

On one end of the age spectrum, a pert 5-year-old singer and tap dancer reminded everyone of the iconic moppet for all seasons, Shirley Temple, and got a standing ovation.

At the other end, a 96-year-old ballroom dancer and her young male partner, also bowled the audience over, especially when the “old” lady executed some dance moves that could have strained and exhausted other women half her age!

America’s got unusual and unusually scrappy and unsinkable performers, indeed!