A Young Man to be Proud of!

[N13]

If you have not seen Jonathan Allen on America's Got Talent, here is the link:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpeAnjyeUUQ

 

If you can watch this without a tear there is something wrong with you....IMHO!

 

His courage and spirit after what happened to him is inspirational! The audience and the judges got it right.

 

The only question I have is what would his reception have been if he wasn't as talented as he is? My hope is that the hearts would have opened to him in spite of that. At least, I would hope so.

[bostonman]

If you have not seen Jonathan Allen on America's Got Talent, here is the link:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpeAnjyeUUQ

 

If you can watch this without a tear there is something wrong with you....IMHO!

 

His courage and spirit after what happened to him is inspirational! The audience and the judges got it right.

 

The only question I have is what would his reception have been if he wasn't as talented as he is? My hope is that the hearts would have opened to him in spite of that. At least, I would hope so.

 

When he first told his story in the interview before the audition, I was of course touched. But for him to have the courage to say it again at the audition, in front of the audience, and on TV - THAT was breathtaking. I am so proud of him. All I can say is that I hope his parents saw this, and that they are horribly ashamed of themselves.

 

Not to burst bubbles otherwise - because I hope he does extremely well on the show - but it seems to me his "talent" right now is in trying to imitate a sound he's heard, instead of producing it honestly. (For those of you that know about singing technique, it sounds to me like the sound is happening too far back; also his mouth and tongue positions are working against him.) He obviously has lots of raw talent to work with here; I hope perhaps they can help him find a voice teacher who will help him with basic technique to open up his sound. THEN, I guarantee you, we'll really all be floored at the result!! I wish him the best.

[Diverdan]

I agree with you Bostonman... I too was touched by his story and his talent. As long as we are suggesting a good vocal coach, let's get him a personal trainer too! He could shed a few pounds and that would help him with his breath control and working on his chest, etc., would also give him greater lung capacity for those high notes, which he is capable of sustaining. I wish him only the best. It is heartwarming to her stories of people who have made a decision like this to not let bigots ruin their life.

[BSR]

Thanks to the OP for bringing this subject to the board because I stopped watching America's Got Talent a long time ago. As much as I love contestants like Terry Fator (seen him in Vegas 3x already!) and Jackie Evancho, you have to suffer through so much crap in every single episode.

 

Thanks also to Bostonman & Diverdan for pointing out the flaws in his technique. As a layman, I knew there was something off in his singing - not pitch because that sounded fine to me - but a lack of depth and power, plus a minor issue with voice control. That said, young Jonathan shows immense raw talent. I wonder if Mr. Allen could end up being an American version of Susan Boyle. Susan Boyle hardly has the greatest voice, but as Madonna and far too many others have proven, a singer doesn't need a great voice to become a star. Susan Boyle captured millions of hearts with her story, one of triumph over adversity.

 

What struck me most about Jonathan, after his raw talent, was his lack of self-pity and his unconditional love for his parents. Frankly, if he had come onto the show and played the victim, it would have turned most people off. Granted, he got served a sh*t sandwich (getting kicked out of the house on his 18th birthday? worst birthday of his entire life!!), but as comedian Dennis Leary put so eloquently: "Life sucks! Wear a helmet!!" In other words, a lot of people get handed a raw deal by Life, and as bad as Jonathan's story is, it's not much different, or even as bad, as the fate of countless others. I didn't get the sense that he was masking his self-pity; I don't think he feels any. I can't say that I would have been so admirably lacking in self-pity were I a 20-year-old going through what he has/is.

 

Finally, I was so moved by his unwavering love for his parents, which tells me they were great parents and good people with an antediluvian mentality about homosexuality. Who knows if this spotlight will do anything to put a crack in the wall the parents have built, but I can only hope, for Jonathan's sake first and foremost.

[JackTwist]

The cynic in me suspects that if Jonathan were to "make it big" in the business and strike it rich, his parents would change their tune and embrace him with welcoming arms. I hope he continues to perform well and remains on the show for a while, garnering as much media exposure as possible.

[Frequentflier]

Thanks for posting the video...it was very interesting. He said about his parents "I love them with all my heart but I don't know if they still love me". Wow. I wouldn't hurt a stranger the way this guys parents have hurt him. I'm not sure the take away is really anything about his talent but how hurtful some people can be to a gay family member, how parents can really screw over a child (which means they should never have been blessed with one to begin with) and how this guy just keep going until he lands on the show. Great perseverance given what he's gone through. And I sure didn't expect what we heard when he started singing, which I'm guessing is not the result of any formal training. How the audience and judges reacted shows how how really good we can be to each other....when we want to be.

[Guest]

...which tells me they were great parents and good people...

 

His parents are assholes. And probably uneducated trash. It would be absolutely wonderful if he made it big, and they would come up to him and ask him for help--and he would tell them to go fuck themselves, and laugh at them in public.