I’m going to be live-blogging the second night of semifinals tonight on America’s Got Talent. Since I was on vacation last week and couldn’t live-blog, I’ll summarize my thoughts: none of the acts really impressed me. 12 acts perform again tonight, including several of my favorites. I’m particularly looking forward to Aerial Animation, John and Andrew, and Mat Franco. The show starts at 9 EST, please join me in the comments!
Here we go! Starting with a recap of last week. Talentnado is the last word shown. I watched sharknado but frankly talentnado is pushing it.
Nick walks out on stage, dressed in purple. Only 5 will survive tonight! Judges are introduced. Howie has to REPEAT “talentnado” to drive home that this show is “in touch” with the “kids”. Ugh.
Hart Dance Team is up first. They were put straight through by Mel B to live shows. They are all about boys and selfies. (Stereo)typical teens. 26 girls on the team. They dance to Lorde’s Team. They are still doing camouflage but this time with what looks like ice and its really cool looking. Wow, one girl is spinning really high up. That was neat looking but frankly I wouldn’t need to see them again. Mel B calls them stunning. Howie talks about how the props make the act, loves it. Howard says that it was the same thing as last time, if they go through they need to change it up. Heidi agrees with Howard, tells them to do more stuff like the flying girl. I’m with Howard and Heidi.
Cowboy Loop Rowlins is next. He has been married for 7 years and has two kids. He is having trouble making money. He’s just flicking a rope around and then the stage catches on fire for no reason. This is unimpressive so far, compared to the previous tricks. I think he’s screwing something up. Howie just said “Whips, ropes and fire – Some people call that a dream date, I call that a lot of fun.” Howard says he was spectacular, really hopes people vote. Am I missing something? Heidi thought it was fabulous. Mel B asks the key question: can it last a whole show? The answer: NO. It can’t. Howard and Loop say it could be an act in a show.
John and Andrew are next. They keep talking about how Andrew is gay. But it’s about the dancing. They add cool lighting and screens to their act, and they are still awesome. It’s really incredible how fast they move. Howard says we forget that they are two men dancing together because of how great they are. Mel B found it repetitive, didn’t think it was as good as their last performance. It was slightly repetitive but when its that good I don’t care. Howie thought they did step it up. This act represents freedom and equality, says Howie. Howie says Andrew came out on the show, that his family didn’t know. My dad burst into laughter, says “HOW?” I’ll be voting for them tonight.
Livy Matt and Sammy are next. They are acoustic, this will only be their third performance together. They sing Fat Bottom Girls by Queen. Who chose this song for them? It doesn’t fit. At. All. And the acousticy thing just doesn’t work on Queen. This is almost painfully bad. I mean she’s ok but they are almost whispering, they aren’t very good singers. Mel B says they were just nice, safe, not grabbing their attention. Heidi didn’t feel the energy. Howard says that they seemed like an opening act. Howie says people should vote based on previous performances, put them through. He’s just trying to be nice.
Andrey Moraru is a hand balancer who came to America 10 years ago. He was inspired by the circus. He has screens behind him now. But other than that, nothing is really different from last time. I mean, he’s really graceful. But I don’t see anything special about this act. There’s no danger in it, there is no suspense. It’s just him being strong and flexible and moving around in the air. But the judges disagree, Howie, Mel B, and Heidi are standing up. Mel B calls it graceful, and says she’d see him in a heartbeat. Howie says best of the night so far. Howard says he is like a painting coming to life, begs people to vote. Is it bad to say I was slightly bored? EDIT: Maybe I was a little harsh. My dad talked with me and was blown away by it. I get his appeal, and he is really talented, but it’s just not my kind of act.
Juan Carlos is next. Ok, time to cringe people! He is such a joke act. Howie was standing up for the intro. Juan says this will be spectacular. Oh god, he has sparks shooting from his skates. Howard buzzed him, as expected. This is the most flamboyantly bad thing I’ve ever seen. No question. And there is no talent here, at all. I’m trying not to think of all the acts who were cut so he could be on our screens one more time. Howie gets “killed on twitter” for defending him. Howard says he wishes it was fun but he was bored out of his skull, mentions all of the talented acts who were cut. Heidi says he is not a million dollar act. Mel B was smiling, says he is an entertainer. Can’t wait for him to go home tomorrow. PLEASE let him go home tomorrow.
Mara Justine is next. Let’s see if she sings something contemporary this time. She loves her mom, starts crying. She sings Unconditionally by Katy Perry, and at least its new-ish and uptempo-ish. The high notes are a little iffy but overall its a competent performance. My issue is we’ve seen better kid singers before. Like Carly Rose Sonenclar, Rachel Crow, etc. Howard says he enjoys seeing her, but tells her she should be a little bit more subtle next time. Heidi thinks she has an incredible talent, loves the growl in her voice. Mel B loves her, says it started off wobbly. Howie says she rose to the occasion.
Aerial Animation is next. I loved her audition. She does a routine to Wake Me Up, and I have to say she is just mesmerizing. The act is really hard to describe. It involves a tornado, another guy, and really cool drawings which she interacts with in space. Needless to say she had me. I’ll be voting. All four judges stand up. Howie says she started in the boat from last time, makes him feel really lucky to be on the show. Howard says she came up with something new and fresh.
Jaycob Curlee is next. I don’t know how he’s made it this far, let’s see if he can impress me this time. He brings up his backstory again about being adopted. He sings Beneath Your Beautiful, and he’s still nothing special. But he’s a cute boy, so he will probably make it through. Now if this was X Factor, Idol, or The Voice there is zero chance he would have made it this far. This is really boring. Heidi says she was underwhelmed, says he stayed in valleys and never peaked. Howard says it was nice but not passionate. Mel B says it was monotone and a bit flat. Howie inexplicably loved it. I’m pleasantly surprised that the other three were honest.
Mat Franco is next. He visits his grandma, doing card tricks and stuff. This performance is for her. He does two tricks with the judges involving spraypainting a prediction of a card that Heidi would choose. He appears to be wrong at first but burns off the spraypaint revealing the correct card. The first, seemingly wrong prediction appears out of Howie’s back pocket. Seriously impressive trick. Heidi was wondering how he did it. Mel B says he makes magic hot. Howie was wondering how the second card appeared. Howard loves him, thinks he made magic cool.
Darik Santos is next, he’s the awkward comedian who I don’t really enjoy. Let’s see if he can win me over this time. He does bad puns and bad jokes. I really don’t find him very funny. I’m assuming its purposefully bad but even if it is I don’t enjoy his style. The audience is barely laughing, I’m not laughing at all. I think he just totally bombed. Mel B didn’t laugh once. Heidi wasn’t laughing either. Howard is a fan, calls him “interesting” but that it wasn’t very good. Howie says he is a funny guy, the material wasn’t funny, but he liked it.
Last up are Acte II, the two opera singers. I’m not a good judge of this type of music, they sing Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You. They switch languages halfway through, not like I could understand any of it anyway. Heidi stands up. She loves opera music (who knew?) and she hopes they make it through. Mel B was surprised again, loved it. Howie agrees with Mel, says she’s in a bad mood. Howard thought it was a little off, doesn’t know if they will make it through.
I’m off to vote for Aerial Animation, Mat Franco, and John and Andrew. The results are tomorrow night at 9 PM and I’ll be here to liveblog them. Lindsay Sterling will be performing.
