Little Big Shots Review

Kids showcase their talents

Kyna Fitzpatrick, Editor

Kids will do almost anything, and any family with a camera of some sort has an opportunity to  instantly turn their kid into a viral sensation.

FullSizeRenderEnter NBC’s Little Big Shots, hosted by Steve Harvey, who shares an executive producing credit with Ellen DeGeneres. The show focuses on kids and their many talents such as singing, dancing, and impersonations that have been seen all around the world online. This show brings those kids to the big stage. When the first preview episode aired after The Voice, it received nearly 14.6 million views.

The first episode aired featuring its first guest, free-throw phenom Titus Ashby. It caught my attention immediately with the nice stage design and the sliding door to let the kids out. It was refreshing to see no big glamorous opening that focused more on the host and less on the kids and their talents.

Steve Harvey is definitely the right host for the show. He often tells funny jokes about what he can or cannot do, or mocks his own stupidity or failure as a father to persuade his kids to major in a field that they could make some money. Steve even makes the audience crack up when he tries to do some of the talents the kids are showcasing.

There are some amazing talents, like the 6-year-old Akash, who can spell anything from derriere to connoisseur. Titus Ashby is amazing with the basketball, making free throws from anywhere. There was also a little piano prodigy who amazed the crowd and me (a fellow piano player myself) as his hands moved up and down the keyboard almost without effort.

However, some kids do not have a defined talent, like 4-year-old Tiffany who was simply on the show because she stole a doughnut and lied about it to her mom. Or the cute little ballerina who dances to Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” with a whole bunch of attitude. Not all of these are true talents to me, but they are definitely adorable, and adorable is what sells.

If I were producing the show, I would add more kids with actual talents. There already is enough cuteness with the kids that are talented. I also would give more time for the kids to show their talent and spend less time interviewing the kids. Many of these kids are already known from the internet, so there is not much more we need to find out about them.