Of all the post-American Idol televised talent competitions, probably the most successful, outside of Idol itself, has been America's Got Talent. Unlike Idol, which concentrates solely on singers, Talent allows anyone who has a seemingly unique skill to compete. Weirdly, at least for the 21st century, one of the most popular talents presented has been ventriloquism. For an artform that seems tied to the days of vaudeville, it has produced no less than three of the 20 winners during the show's run. The most recent of these winners was Darci Lynne Farmer, a cute-as-a-button 12-year-old who, thanks to her team of puppets, most prominently a sarcastic bunny named Petunia, and her talents, won the 2017 season. While she may not be the most successful of the winning ventriloquists (Terry Fator, who won back in 2007, has made a fortune with his headlining Vegas act), she is the only one who was able to secure a prime-time Christmas special the year after winning.
Darci Lynne: My Hometown Christmas was decidedly old-fashioned even though it was a vehicle for a 14-year-old. The special was filmed in a theater, she sang both solo and with her puppets, there were special guests, and there were even clips dedicated to her childhood (well, earlier childhood) and family. One could easily imagine this airing intact in 1977.
Despite the title, the majority of the special was not actually filmed in her hometown of Oklahoma City, but in LA, the better to have Pentatonix (whose special she had been on a year earlier) and Hunter Hayes drop by to sing one number each. The "hometown" part was limited to clips of her showing off her house, her family, her church, her favorite hangout spot, and a sequence with Toby Keith, who, unlike with her LA guests, she actually got to duet with. This one was filmed at the home for pediatric cancer patients and their families that his foundation supports. Her fourth special guest, Kristin Chenoweth, is also an Oklahoma native, and Farmer did get to duet with her as well, though that was pre-recorded from a studio somewhere with no specific filming location mentioned.
All that makes it pretty obvious that the special was designed to showcase Farmer's singing voice, as she had several puppetless solo numbers, starting off the special with "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree". Later on, she'd tackle the more emotional "Mary, Did You Know", which to be fair, performing that song as a ventriloquism act would have been, well, not a great idea. Her voice is fine in that she didn't embarrass herself, but there is a definite reason she hasn't released an album in the 7 years since this aired.
Of course, most of the special was devoted to demonstrating her ventriloquism skills. Now, I don't watch America's Got Talent, so I have no idea how she wowed the judges enough to win, but on the basis of this special--well, I don't want to be overly harsh, but she seems good enough to win her school's talent show, but not a national competition. Maybe I just don't know enough about the skills behind ventriloquism, but while she does successfully give different personalities to her various dolls (in addition to Petunia, there's a horny mouse boy, an even hornier old lady, and a jealous girl doll who breaks into yodeling at one point), they all sound the same to me (outside of the yodeling girl, who at least has a southern twang), which isn't much different from her normal voice. Plus, I didn't think her comic timing was all that great. I do recognize, however, that speaking and singing any dialogue while keeping your mouth closed and your teeth clinched is not an easy thing to do, so I do feel like I should cut her a break.
In the years since the special aired, Farmer's fame seems to have ebbed. That said, she's still touring and performing, which is more than can be said for a lot of entertainers. She's now 21 and maybe her skills have come a ways since 2017. I can't say I much liked Darci Lynne: My Hometown Christmas, but I do appreciate that she has talents that I could never replicate.
Next time: Due to circumstances beyond my control, December got away from me, and I still have four more entries to do. As it is New Year's Eve, though, this seems like a good place to stop--for now. Rather than wait until the next holiday season, coming July 4th weekend will be A MarkInTexas Made-For-TV Christmas in July. I'll be posting each Sunday that month. First up, Netflix wasted no time with their latest big acquitition to put one of its most popular characters front and center in a new speical. I can't get away from the puppets! See you in six months!
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