Got Talent

Got Talent is a talent show television format conceived and owned by Simon Cowell's SYCOtv company. A pilot was made in the United Kingdom in 2005, hosted by Paul O'Grady, but after O'Grady's split with ITV, the series was postponed, resulting in America's Got Talent – the first full series of the format.

It has spawned spin-offs in over 58 countries (as of April 2014), in what is now referred to as the Got Talent format, similar to that described by FremantleMedia of the Idol and The X Factor formats. In April 2014, the format was named the world's most successful reality TV format ever by the Guinness World Records.

History

Got Talent was an invention by The X Factor creator Simon Cowell, with comedian and talk show host Paul O'Grady producing a pilot for ITV in 2005 under the provisional title Paul O'Grady's Got Talent. O'Grady left the network after disputes with ITV, resulting in Cowell moving the concept to the United States while he and ITV searched for a new show host.

Due to these issues, the Got Talent franchise ended up debuting first as America's Got Talent on NBC on 21 June 2006, with judges David Hasselhoff, Brandy Norwood, and Piers Morgan. The show's original series was hosted by Regis Philbin. In 2016, the judging panel consisted of Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Melanie Brown, and Simon Cowell, and hosted by Nick Cannon, who has been the presenter since 2009. The grand prize on America's Got Talent is $1 million, and, since season 3, a chance to headline a show on the Las Vegas Strip. America's Got Talent proved extremely successful for NBC, pulling in high ratings in both total viewers and the younger 18-49 demographic. The show's initial success in America is credited with the eventual launch of the British series, and the overall global launch of the Got Talent franchise.

America's Got Talent

America's Got Talent (sometimes abbreviated as AGT) is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of one million dollars. The show debuted in June 2006 for the summer television season. From season three (2008) onwards, the prize includes the one million dollars, payable in a financial annuity over 40 years, and a chance to headline a show on the Las Vegas Strip. Among its significant features is that it gives an opportunity to talented amateurs or unknown performers, with the results decided by an audience vote. The format is a popular one and has often been reworked for television in the United States and the United Kingdom.

This incarnation was created by Simon Cowell, and was originally due to be a 2005 British series called Paul O'Grady's Got Talent but was postponed due to O'Grady's acrimonious split with broadcaster ITV (later launching as Britain's Got Talent in 2007). As such, the American version became the first full series of the franchise.

Todrick Hall

Todrick Hall (born April 4, 1985, Arlington, Texas) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper and actor. He auditioned for the ninth season of American Idol, where he made it to the semi-finals. Since then, Hall has been performing on Broadway and YouTube.

Post-American Idol career

YouTube

As of January 31, 2016, Hall has exceeded 2 million subscribers on his YouTube channel. Videos on his channel have been played 260.4 million times as of today. Videos of note include a flash mob thrown for Ariana Grande, a reinvention of the Wizard of Oz starring Pentatonix which was directed by and also stars Hall, and a Beyonce themed flash mob performed in the middle of an actual Target store, which has garnered over 14 million views as of January 31, 2016, and which Beyonce personally publicly congratulated Hall on.

Virgin America

In November 2013, Virgin America produced a pop-music safety video directed by Jon M. Chu with music by Jean-Yves Decornet. Hall starred in the video, and wrote the song and lyrics.

Mrs. Claus

Mrs. Claus (also known as Mother Christmas in the UK, as a counterpart to Father Christmas) is the wife of Santa Claus, the Christmas gift-bringer in American and European Christmas tradition. She is known for making cookies with the elves, caring for the reindeer, and preparing toys with her husband. Her first name is a mystery, though she has been referred to as Mary, Annalina, Jessica, Layla, Ahoop, Seeki, Martha, Kasey, Juliana, Gretchen, Annabel, Santarina, and Bae.

Origin

The wife of Santa Claus is first mentioned in the short story "A Christmas Legend" (1849), by James Rees, a Philadelphia-based Christian missionary. In the story, an old man and woman, both carrying a bundle on the back, are given shelter in a home on Christmas Eve as weary travelers. The next morning, the children of the house find an abundance of gifts for them, and the couple is revealed to be not "old Santa Claus and his wife", but the hosts' long-lost elder daughter and her husband in disguise.

Mrs. Santa Claus is mentioned by name in the pages of the Yale Literary Magazine in 1851, where the student author (whose name is given only as "A. B.") writes of the appearance of Santa Claus at a Christmas party:

Whitney Avalon

Whitney Avalon (née Whitney Sara Cohen) is an American actress, writer, producer, singer, and rapper best known for her Princess Rap Battle videos on YouTube, where her channel has over 199 million views. She uploaded her first YouTube video in September 2010, a parody of the CeeLo Green song "Fuck You".

She posted the first Princess Rap Battle "Snow White vs. Elsa" in September 2014. Since then, she has posted more rap battles on the channel, including "Galadriel vs. Leia," "Mrs. Claus vs. Mary Poppins," and "Cinderella vs. Belle" starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, who is a fan of the series. In June 2015, Avalon released "Maleficent vs. Daenerys" starring Yvonne Strahovski. In November 2015, Avalon released "Katniss vs. Hermione" starring Molly C. Quinn.

Variety listed her in their 2015 Comedy Impact Report, stating her work has "amassed over half a billion views" worldwide in a year. She was also named one of Cosmopolitan's "Internet's Most Fascinating" people in 2015.

She is a working actress, including in television, theater, and commercials. She graduated from Brandeis University in 2003 with a degree in theater. She has appeared in TV series such as Outlaw, The Big Bang Theory, Days of Our Lives, Monday Mornings, Girl Meets World, Love That Girl!, and Jane the Virgin.