I will be liveblogging the last week of America’s Got Talent Top 48 tonight! Last week’s show was pretty spectacular, and we said goodbye to some very deserving acts on results night. But this week, another 12 acts will take the stage at Radio City for our votes. Tonight’s lineup includes my favorite singer on the show this season (Kelli Glover) and possibly my favorite magician (Smoothini). Will they (and the other 10 acts) pull a Juan Carlos or will they show any form of talent? The show begins at 9 PM EST, join me in the comments!
By the way, my fellow recapper Adam is in the audience tonight and tweeted some spoilers. One Voice Children’s Choir were pretaped and they are singing Let It Go. Mothman Dance were also pretaped. One more act will be pretaped but I thought I would get these spoilers up now.
Wildcards will be revealed tonight. We open with a recap of last week. Live from Radio City, it’s America’s Got Talent! Nick Cannon is wearing purple with flowers. Semifinals are next week. Judges are introduced. Lots of pressure, more than on Nick’s wedding night.
First up are Bad Boys of Ballet. Leader of the group, the sole woman, was in Japan and they didn’t have much time to prepare. She is bossy but they all love her. They dance to Problem by Ariana Grande. This is boring. It’s just jumping and twirling. Nothing exciting here. I’d be shocked if any judges like this. That combined with the death spot of going first means I think they are goners. BOTH FEMALE JUDGES STAND UP? What? Mel B loves them, they are graceful, begs people to vote for them. WHAT? Was I missing something. Howie makes a confusing comment. Heidi loves it, thinks they inspire young ballet dancers everywhere. Howard says they are wonderful dancers, says that they had to do something different, this felt like an aerobics class, interprets Howie’s comment for him. I’m with the men, this just wasn’t good enough.
We are back! Here is One Voice Children’s Choir. 100 kids, the oldest one is 17. They are best friends. They want to prove to Howie they are diamonds. It wasn’t as bad as I expected from Adam’s spoilers but it wasn’t great either. Howard doesn’t think they did enough, appreciates that they called him a savior. Howie liked the song, makes a joke about Howard, its a dud. Heidi liked all 100 of them, thinks they are better than her kid with a hairbrush. Mel B was worried, thought they stepped it up. I don’t know, if nobody else is good tonight they might make it. But I don’t think that’s going to happen.
Next up is Jonah Smith, a 39 year old singer. He sells insurance by day, but by night he plays piano. He got married and needed more stable income which is why he started selling insurance. He loves his wife, she is at all of his gigs. He sings Stay with Me by Sam Smith. He isn’t bad, but something seems off. His voice is cracking a bit, he sounds strained. The key change doesn’t help. Howard remembered his last performance, loves his emotion. Heidi sings, wants him to stay on AGT. Mel B loved his rendition, asks what he’s thinking. He was emotional, hopes people enjoyed it. Howie thinks he was the best so far by far. Howie thinks he will make it. I didn’t think that was good enough. Three acts so far, none of them impressive yet.
Coming up now, Dom the Bom’s Triple Threat, the triplet card throwers. His dad says he eats sleeps and dreams cards. Howard scares them the most of all the judges. They are cute but let’s see if they are good enough. He’s consistently messing up. Cringing now. Heidi says they were fun to watch. Mel B thinks they are adorable, thinks they should have made it smaller so the timing wouldn’t screw up. Howie thinks they should add the missing into the act. Howard doesn’t want to be the mean judge, but he’s seen it better. There were some problems, Howard doesn’t think it was a million dollar act. I agree. They missed at least a third of their tricks.
Four acts in, none of them vote-worthy. Extreme Dance Company are up next. They are from different walks of life, and they feel like misfits which work well together. The coach wants them to put their hearts into it. Finally, something impressive. They are totally in sync, and it looks really cool. Lots of people being thrown around. Heidi loved it loved it loved it, thought it was dynamite. Mel B found it dated. What are the judges smoking tonight? Howie sensed the passion, focused on the girl up front. Howard says the dance category is tough, and he doesn’t think they will be memorable enough. I’m voting for them over the other acts we’ve seen so far.
Nearly halfway through the show. Plugging Snapple. Emil and Dariel are up next. Their grandfather was a famous cellist in Russia, immigrated to America. He gave them cellos before they could even walk. They don’t play notes, they play with heart, according to their grandfather. Slow start. But they eventually have a guitarist and drummer with them on stage. They are really getting into the music, and playing really fast. Mel B and Heidi stand up. Howie says wow wow wow, says they are surprising, taught us there is room for cello in a Rolling Stones song. Howard says this was memorable, just like their audition, wants them to bring their grandpa on stage with them. Heidi doesn’t make sense. Mel B says it was off the chain, current, fun, she loved it. I liked it. Didn’t love it. But they were the second best act so far.
Next up is Nina Burri, the contortionist. I might have to look away during this act. She loved the circus, learned to be a contortionist in China at the age of 30. This is really crazy, and it’s almost creepy. Does she have bones? Is she just jello? So many questions left unanswered. Howard comments on her personal story, he’s inspired by her chasing her dream at age 30. Howard says she is stunning. Heidi wasn’t sure if it was big enough for a night like this. Mel B didn’t want it to stop, calls it mesmerizing, a graceful spider (???) Howie is going to try to be professional, calls her sexy and officially fails at being professional. She’s hungry, and afraid of heights. It was good, I think? Maybe? I don’t know. I need a nap.
Quintavious Johnson is up next. He started singing when he was 11 months old. We see him singing at church. He is the oldest of three boys. All of the kids at his school are excited to see him on the show. He sings And I Am Telling You, and right away I think it’s the wrong song choice. He has a great voice though and it gets better towards the end. Yep, he’s making it through. All four judges stand up. Heidi is repeating “wow” and “amazing” over and over again. “Powerful…perfect…lots of ps”. Mel B says he showed us his gift, it was the loudest cheering of the night. Howie says he should be thinking “what am I going to do with a million dollars”. Howard is worried about puberty, wants this voice to last. He says it was freaky good. Quintavious thanks god. Nick says it was better than JHud and Jennifer Holiday. Nope. Not that good. But certainly good.
Up next, Mothmen Dance. The founders of the group have been providing rigging and choreography for other productions. They quit their jobs and worked on their own production. I’m really loving this. By far the coolest dance performance tonight so far. They look like they are floating around in space. They start out on the floor to prove that they are really good dancers without the wiring. Howie stands up, the rest of the judges don’t. Mel B is a big fan, but thinks something was missing, thought it was repetitive. Howie needed to see more, he loved it. Howard says they have to be memorable to win, and thinks that they were interesting and fun. Heidi feels like it was a comic book, but they rely too much on the video. I’m with Howie and Howard on this one. It was impressive.
Smoothini is next. He came from the Dominican Republic when he was three years old. He did magic on the street corner when he was younger, and he did tricks with whatever he got his hands on. He joined the Marines at the age of 21. He changes bills from 1 to 100 to 50 to 20, and then it disappears. He then makes a goldfish appear in a glass of water out of nowhere. It was cool but underwhelming in my opinion. Heidi isn’t sure what to think, is still rooting for him. Mel B thought it was great, but not big enough, she’s still a fan. Howie loved it. Howard thought it was a mess, thought it left everyone in the audience out. He’s probably a goner. I’m really disappointed. He was one of my favorite auditions.
Jonatan Riquelme is up next. He is a fifth generation circus performer. He grew up around the circus. He is not using a net or safety line. He is balancing on a swing high above radio city on a board above three cylindrical tubes. He builds a tower and then balances on it. I’m scared watching him. He almost falls but stops himself. Mel B is in shock, calls it an emotional roller coaster, says people can’t keep their eyes off him. Heidi was nervous for him too, thinks he’s great. Howard calls him stupendous at this, thinks his staging is awesome. Howie freaks out, hopes people vote. It was scary, but not very entertaining in my opinion.
Last up, in the pimp spot, is Kelli Glover. Kelli was on season 1 of Idol and season 4 of AGT, and now she’s back for a third try at winning a reality competition. She sung everywhere as a kid growing up. Her mom says they couldn’t shut her up. When she got cut it was dark, she gave up on her dream. She couldn’t let the dream die. She sings If I Ain’t Got You by Alicia Keys. It starts off a little weaker than usual but it kicks in toward the end and gets great. Heidi called it unforgettable, flawless. Mel B says it started off weak, but it got better toward the end. Howard is worried for her, thinks she gave it her all. Howie says she taught everybody never give up. I was slightly disappointed but she’s still my favorite singer in the competition.
On a different note, tomorrow will mark my final liveblog of this season’s America’s Got Talent here at mjsbigblog. I realized a few weeks ago that I will have night classes that conflict with the show starting next week. I will still be commenting on the blog (and on posts about AGT) and hopefully I’ll be doing more posts myself in the future. But next week, someone else will be taking over coverage. I’ve had a blast covering this show this season, and I want to thank mj for the opportunity and thank everyone who has read and commented on my liveblogs. And if you even slightly enjoy my opinions, follow me on twitter – @eric_ascher is my username. See you all tomorrow night-Taylor Williamson is performing, and we will find out the five acts through to the semi-final.
