Andrew DeLeon.
It’s a name I think we’re going to be hearing a lot in the next few months.
In case you haven’t seen it, this kid comes out on stage in full Goth gear: black eyeliner, long hair, and blackened eyebrows. In his interview, Andrew explains that he’s always been rejected and that he’s never been good at anything.
And then when he sings—wait—I won’t spoil it for you. You gotta see this for yourself.
“I think my days of being shy and being an outcast have reached their end…”
Here’s my question… Is there any way this kid is for real?!
About Joanna Schroeder
Call me cynical, but.. no. There is no way he’s for real. That combination of a super-tame version of an ‘alternative’ look which won’t scare off the mainstream audience, the heavy emphasis and repetition of the outcast sob story, and the unexpected twist when he starts singing are all way too fucking perfect to just happen to show up in a 7th-season, bland reality show.
So either his life ‘just happens’ to imitate art.. badly.. or some, possibly all elements of his story are bullshit.
My parents know his parents and they had no clue he could sing. They said he was always locked up in the room, very quiet and just kept to himself. The day the show came on they all were watching it together and they were all crying because they couldn’t believe the talent their son had. Now they do! Great job to to him. I hope this helps others who feel they are not good at something open up and realize they everyone has been blessed with something. Best wishes to him!
Yeah its too perfect. I’m having a hard time believing that he managed to get that good at singing while never having sang in public before. He can sing but I’m not convinced of his look or back story. They might be real but I have doubt.
Well, I’m impressed, and frankly any attempt to bring opera into the mainstream is fine by me.
One of these days people will suddenly realize that the “reality” in reality television is that it’s still television, and as such largely fabricated for our viewing pleasure. This shows is about as real as a Law & Order episode “is fictional and does not depict any actual person or event.”
He’s a talented kid for sure, but it does seem picture perfect. It’s also a lesson to dig into your teen’s life and see what they’re doing.
Here are my counters to these arguments, just for arguing sake (because my husband and I said the same things as all of you when we saw this online last night).
1. The producers of the show are smart enough to vet him and know whether he’s performed in front of an audience before. In our Internet-sleuth culture, they know they’ll be caught if a lie is THAT big.
2. He’s not that good of an opera singer that he has to have had like many years of professional training.
3. Why is he so different from Susan Boyle?
4. All the emphasis on the story comes from the massive pre-interview process all these people go through when they’re getting ready to perform. They go through like five auditions before they end up in front of Howard and the gang. So once they realized they had an eyelined-diamond in the rough, they’d milk those interviews and tell him exactly what to say…. But does that mean it’s not true?
I’m not sure I’m right, but it’s something to think about.
I can agree that this might be true but again this is reality tv.
1. Of course there is a vetting process. But at the same time internet sleuth culture isn’t perfect.
2. Its not a matter of professional training. He could have gotten that good on his determination. And by “good” I mean “better than I’ll ever be”.
3. I missed the initial outbreak of Susan Boyle but when I looked her up later I really didn’t get any sort of sense that she was made up.
4. Of course it can be true. This guy really could be undiscovered gem.
The things you mention here and the things that others have mentioned here are all things to think about. He might be a true diamond in the rough just as he might be a created pop sensation in the making.
Oh the Susan Boyle thing…a lot of the stories about her that were floating around were actually made up. She wasn’t nearly the underdog-type that everyone thought she was. I mean, I saw her interview with Oprah. It was ridiculous…she was treated like some poor, helpless child who could sing, like she was the female version of Oliver or something.
“1. The producers of the show are smart enough to vet him and know whether he’s performed in front of an audience before. In our Internet-sleuth culture, they know they’ll be caught if a lie is THAT big.”
I think you’re giving these producers way too much credit than they deserve. Producers of reality tv shows like this one aren’t that smart. Or they’re smart but only in terms of ratings and profits.
Because if this vetting process is as thorough as you claim, how do you explain all those trainwreck freakshows that come out on stage, do their thing to disatrous results, and don’t get on? If there’s a process involved that goes into who is judged on their merits pre-performance, then the amateurs wouldn’t be given their chance in the limelight.
In reality, no pun intended, producers of these shows don’t want a natural talent. They want a talent that’s safe, friendly, and can be branded. Failing that, high ratings. Trainwrecks and sob stories bring in the big bucks so it’s going to dictate who goes on and doesn’t. So this vetting process will reflect that.
I realized, long ago, that these talent shows on television are about anything BUT talent when I learned that contestants on American Idol have to go through a pre-panel of judges before they’re actually judged by Randy, Jennifer Lopez, and Steve Tyler themselves. All this time I thought the latter were the authority on merit. As it turns out, that’s not the case. And this shattered the “Reality” of television shows such as this completley. I call it a blessing, actually, since I don’t need to waste my time rooting for something that’s rigged from the get-go.
I guess this one IS a fraud, but it’s a testament to my theory that if you put yourself out there, the audience will find out whether or not you’re for real.
If AGT producers aren’t looking into whether or not the Goth kid is for real, they should be.
http://tv.yahoo.com/news/is–america-s-got-talent–breakout-star-tim-poe-a-fraud-.html
Joanna: “If AGT producers aren’t looking into whether or not the Goth kid is for real, they should be.”
It’s not in their best interests to do so, Joanna. Like I said, they’re about ratings and buying power. Merit, talent and accountability are rated on the low end of their scale.
For all I know, they could’ve known he was a fraud but sold him off as real anyway. That’s basically what Britain’s Got Talent did with Susan Boyle: They sold her as something she wasn’t, willingly. Not a fraud, yet not exactly someone lacking in experience.
I praise the kid for being brave enough to sing in front of people and I hope he finds happiness in singing…but it’s terrible. It’s not real singing, and “America” is gonna get conned into thinking this is real singing…but bless him for overcoming his fears and doubts. I hope this will help him to actually find his voice and sing for real.
If he hasn’t been trained his singing life is going to be short with the strain on his vocal cords. The damage will be incredible. I wouldn’t say he was that great but with training could be. This guy reminded me of all those people caught in that weird no-mans land between emo and goth. I kind of felt bad as there are few goth icons for this kid to look up to. Marilyn is looking a little worn these years.
There’s always Votaire.
http://dannyscorneroftheuniverse.blogspot.com/search?q=voltaire
Why are people being so cynical? I think what he did was really gutsy.
Personally I’m being cynical because it really isn’t that gutsy. He put on gobs of eye make up and some contact lenses that aren’t that revolutionary. Combed his hair and went out on stage and attempted an opera song which, while sounded decent, was not inspired or particularly good for me at least. I see it as a guy working a schtick to get a lot of publicity. And he did. It worked for that but it wasn’t gutsy.
Think he would have got through not made up with contacts in? I’m not so sure he would have.
But you realize that he’s singing an aria for a female soprano, right?
To get up a sing something intended for another gender – from a genre of music that is very gendered – is very gutsy IMHO.
Well, call me naive but I believe in the possiblity of this happening…even on reality tv. I think it’s fully possible he trained himself, that he is goth and that he spent hours alone in his room singing and never shared it with anyone. But whether you think this story is true or not, I think a major point is being missed. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover. I can’t tell you how many times I found out things about people that were either positive and shocking or negative and shocking. I can’t count how many times I put people in boxes based on how they looked and treated them basd on what box I thought applied. That doesn’t mean I disrespected them but my preconceived notion of who they were does impact your thoughts and actions. So whether you think this is real or fake, there is still something here that is a grand reminder for everyone. Next time you find yourself making a judgement about someone, ask yourself if that is really a judgement you are qualified to make.
I thought Andrew De Leon delivered an amazing performance. I thought it was Cris Angel at first, when he took stage then realized it wasn’t him. It’s true you can’t judge a person based on looks after Andrew’s awesome performance which is why I love to watch Americas Got Talent. Now that I have the new Auto Hop feature I will be able to watch all my future shows commercial free on my primetime recordings. I was stoked when a couple of my coworkers at Dish showed me how this first worked. The Auto Hop doesn’t erase any of the commercials or any of the content. It’s like when you use the fast forward button on the remote. The commercials will always be there if you want to watch them, Auto hop just does the fast forwarding for you. Now I can save the wear and tear on my remote by not having to fast forward every ten minutes.