Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-1650307-20200102005018/@comment-40010956-20200112145744

Matthieus2 wrote: Though I do agree last Champions there were more memorable "champions", it did seem like nearly all AGT champions, some BGT and then just a few from other nations. Adding onto that, I would argue that last season exercised a majority of some of AGT's most iconic acts, especially in regards to comedy and magic, but others like singing, dancing, and acrobatics, as well. I think we can all agree that acts like Brian Justin Crum, Darci Lynne, Kenichi Ebina, Paul Zerdin, and Preacher Lawson, to name a few, are iconic to AGT superfans. While this cast is certainly not devoid of its fair share of AGT "icons," such as Brian King Joseph, Duo Transcend, Freckled Sky, Oz Pearlman, and V.Unbeatable, I still say it feels like there is less of an "iconic" factor in the overall AGT representation. Several acts that only made the quarter-finals were brought back - not suggesting they are undeserving of the title "Champion," but I will add that - and I mean no offense to any fans of these guys - I had honestly never heard of some of these acts, like Dan Naturman, Christian Stoinev, or Spencer Horsman before watching the cast reveal, whereas last season, I recognized every act representing AGT; and Michael Grimm is the only former AGT winner among the cast - the only bona fide "AGT Champion" competing to defend his title, if you will - compared to the five from last year; and no runner-ups, either - a generous number of third placers, though.

I do appreciate the greater diversity in foreign acts against the AGT acts from last season, though - from 32% last season to 52.5% this season, so the foreign talent actually exceeds the AGT acts. And it does not feel like Britain's Got Talent has an overwhelming majority over the foreign talent - half the foreign acts last season were BGT representatives, whereas a third of this season's foreign acts are from BGT, which is less abundant than the previous cast. If there is one thing the producers got right from last season, it is that they made the cast more nationally diverse, which I very much appreciate.

But if I was on the production staff and it were up to me, I would suggest that AGT wait a few more years before starting another "Champions" season, because that would create a greater spectrum of acts from not just AGT, but around the world, to choose from as contestants, so as to create a greater sense of "Worldwide Got Talent icons duke it out for the prestigious title of "Champion of Champions!" Exactly my initial reaction to this season's confirmation: "Wait, already?"