America’s Got Talent: Is Kodi Lee, Ryan Niemiller season 14 favorite?
For now, though, we do still contend that one person is head and shoulders above the rest: Kodi Lee. The singer, who was the recipient of Gabrielle Union’s Golden Buzzer in the premiere, is by far the most popular audition so far in the series, and we think that he’s also been the recipient of the most press after the fact. He’s a great story and the sort of performer who could end up becoming a household name by the end of all of this.
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Here’s where things are a little bit interesting, though — because Kodi does have that Golden Buzzer at the moment, this does make it a little bit easier for some other people to take advantage of some additional performance time. That’s where comedian Ryan Niemiller comes into play. We think that comedians are great on this show over the course of a season, largely because they’ve really got a lot of time to win over an audience and establish a character. Look at Drew Lynch, Samuel J. Comroe, Taylor Williamson, Preacher Lawson, and Vicki Barbolak as fine examples of this. While comics don’t often win, they have a tendency to make it incredibly far — close enough that you start to think that maybe they can. Ryan had a brilliantly-funny audition, one where he made fun of his own setbacks in hopes that it would help people recognize some of their own flaws and realize that, sometimes, it’s okay to actually skewer yourself. You don’t have to be perfect.
One of the big factors in what could happen at the end of the season is precisely what sort of acts are given the most attention now. We know that sometimes, there is a real movement against singers if viewers feel like they’re being overly prioritized over other acts. If all of the other Golden Buzzer performers this season are singers, for example, we wouldn’t be shocked if there’s more of a push towards non-singers. Yet, we don’t think that someone as talented and inspiring as Kodi is going to be slighted because of something that is out of his control — i.e., a decision made by some of the judges.
Two episodes in, and we already feel like season 14 should be a tight race — the show is going to be better for it!
What about Joseph Allen?
We wrote about Howie Mandel’s golden buzzer last night over at the link here, but the internet consensus at the moment seems to be that while he’s likable, he was somewhat of a surprising choice since his personality somewhat outshone his actual performance.
Who do you think is the favorite to win America’s Got Talent right now — Kodi Lee, Ryan Niemiller, or someone else? Be sure to share right now in the comments. (Photo: NBC.)