My first post of the year, might actually do these on a blog in the future. But from what I saw it seems like as with last year the main contenders are being saved to later in the series. Whilst we likely have seen finalists none of them actually looks like a legitimate contender to win.
I am going to first talk about the first golden buzzer of the year, the Northwell Heath Nurse Choir. The fact they weren't given the pimp slot goes to show that producers don't intend them to be a winning contender. But being a health workers choir, I think they should see enough support to carry them far into the live shows. However I think at this stage they have a ceiling of bottom half of the final.
Talking about the other acts, each series always seems to open with an eccentric animal act, but out of all the openers Canine Stars was probably the best. It remains to be seen if they can match up to their audition but if they do they could quite easily go on a run. The best dog act comment from Howie is a good sign.
Peter Rosalita at first striked me as a second iteration of Kelvin Dukes but then after an incredible vocal in the second half, he fits the archetype of big voiced child who could gain traction with voters, which could see him go on a run. However producers may have concern that he could gain unstoppable momentum, I don't think they envision him winning. However it will be hard to justify turfing him out at judge cuts if they have that concern, so his trajectory could be interesting... He could possibly have a Quintavious Johnson trajectory.
Aiden Bryant got a promising introduction however his aerial act was not anything we haven't seen before, in fact there are many others on the show that have done better, which makes me feel like he is going to miss out at Judge Cuts. Keith Apicary also screams judge cuts rejectee, as likeable as he came across, his act has a ceiling so I don't see him topping that and getting to the lives.
We then had an entertaining segment where Gerald Kelly and his 7 year old son Lil Hunter Kelly auditioned separately, with the competition between father and son being bigged up. This is no doubt gearing up to them two being put in a stand-off at judge cuts, with only one advancing. From what I saw, Hunter looks to have more producer favour on his side...
1aChord got the first preview clip, their audition reminded me of Resound, and I could see a similar trajectory to them, making the live shows but failing to get past the first stage. The other act that got the preview clip I think has more longevity, in the form of Dustin Tavella, who I think has the highest ceiling out of all the acts in this show. He performed some incredible magic and added in his backstory, which could easily see him through to the final. However going forward he needs to step up in the magic sense as the aid of his backstory comes to a natural end. If he can, he could easily make the final.
The first audition show pimp slot in recent years has typically gone to a contender. However this year it went to, none other than King Sethwald, who finally advanced from the first audition stages!! He certainly isn't a contender to win and it could be easy to see him as a judge cuts reject. However he could bring entertainment value to the live shows and its possible that the temptation to put him in the live shows could be too much to resist...
Thats it from the first show. Of course I don't know what form judge cuts will be in (if im late to the party and its been announced someone tell me) but until then I must assume that its gonna be back to the traditional format.