Can you believe we're finally four episodes away from a winner? And that we've sat through twenty-nine episodes of this show? We're getting close to soap opera territory on the season length here. As America's Got Talent Turns at the General Hospital of Passions by the Dark Tower of Beverly Hills. Tonight, the top 10 acts compete for a slot in next week's grand finale. Who will rise to the occasion and who will raise my blood pressure. I'm looking at you, Silhouettes and Smage Bros. Don't make me get my ruler out.
As always, we're doing this show live. Comment as you like throughout the two hours and keep checking back for updates. I'm decreasing the tweet frequency but still updating here after every performance.
First up tonight is Miami All Stars. They are the most technically gifted dancers left in the competition. Last week, they jumped from Latin ballroom to swing. What genre will they pound the floor with this week to get to the finale?
Miami All Stars go back to salsa tonight. They're doing a football themed routine. It's not as explosive as their Semifinals performance. The lighting is detracting from their costuming and its way too much red onstage. They're doing trio coupling. Piers buzzes them. The trio choreography is great. I just wish there were more dynamics to the routine. Now a drum-line has entered the stage as they do cheering stunts. I think it was just a bad choice of themes. With a better concept, this routine would have been amazing. Their unison at the end is fantastic. 1 X.
Second tonight is Lys Agnes. She's the talented soprano who has started to shift from challenging and lesser-performed opera to contemporary music with operatic flourish. Will America warm up to a rock-opera version of a beloved type on America's Got Talent?
Lys is performing "Dream On" by Aerosmith. Very brave choice. She's standing on a giant dream-catcher with insane eyelashes on. She sounds like a Cher impersonator. This does not sit in a particularly part of her vocal range. It's the musical equivalent of Sandou Russian Bar switching to a pop music act in the Semifinals. Lys is trying to sing this song , but it's so out of left field that it can't bode well for her. The screeching soprano quasi-belt is not working for this song. There is a wealth of rock music she could sing that fits an operatic/trained vocal and this is not one of those songs. No X's.
Up next is Landon Swank. He's the magician who still hasn't impressed me past his initial audition. Last week, he faked hiding in a box that was about to explode by sitting in a catwalk covered by a curtain onstage. Can he actually do a genuinely convincing illusion this week?
Landon's set is an office/lounge with a claw-grab machine. He is not talking directly to the audience today. He's starting by making a goldfish cracker appear out of nowhere. He eats the cracker and spits a live goldfish out into a glass. It's close parlor magic to start, which never works for magicians on this show. He's taking off his tie and jacket and hitting a remote control to change the music. He's playing with a napkin. He's going to shoot the goldfish into the enclosed aquarium "through" the glass. I'm going to tell you I hate acts that use live fish. It's rarely safe for the animal and no one cares. Birds are cared for now; fish, not so much. He pushes his fist through a prop hole in the glass and the fish disappears. At least he did a cohesive trick this time with good execution. No X's.
Next is Anna Graceman. She is the young singer/piano player the judges just love. She gave her best performance yet in the Semifinals. Can she rise up again to secure a spot in the grand finale?
Anna is performing without the piano. She's singing Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors." It's a great song for a young voice. She's performing on some random mound of grass and flowers on the middle of the stage. The lights come up and there's a tree image behind her that's rotating. Very strange presentation. This isn't a great song for Anna's voice. She's best when she gets to tear a song apart, like she did in the Semifinals. This is a bit too mellow. Now she's using melisma to cover for the lack of piano playing. Why do these acts decide the final few shows is when they should change their act? Anna is a singer/piano player. The combination made her stand out. Now she's a decent young singer. Nothing special. No X's.
Next is Silhouettes. They're the young dance troupe that creates shadow images on scrim. They have gotten worse with each performance on the show. Can they deliver anything remotely good with only a week of rehearsal time?
They're performing with projections that aren't substituting for the silhouettes. They start with an office setup that turns out to be entirely comprised of dancers. It looks like an aging theme. The child graduated. Now they are "cheating" again, with the White House silhouette popping up on the projection screen to hide a bad transition. The children falling out in height order was nice. The recurring image is roses being passed from dancer to dancer. Something is wrong with the placement of the blue lights, which makes everything fuzzy. Now there's some kind of sports event happening. Their finishing silhouette sequence of a space shuttle and the lunar landing is horrible executed. The "Believe" image is the cleanest thing they did since the first shot. Far better than anything since their first audition, but still very messy. No X's.
Kicking off the second hour is Smage Bros. Riding Shows. They're the family motorcycle duo with the limited bag of tricks. Can they do something--anything--new at all with this concept? Or will the be pushed through by the show again for a diversity quota in the grand finale?
The brothers' friend is riding out on a skateboard and climbing over the apparatuses onstage. I see their idea of stepping it up is to perform to bad Sum 41 music and threaten to kill their friend. They hit the kind in the head. That's not good. At least he's still walking. There are random backup dancers on the balcony of the theater. No, they aren't studio guests. They are NBC dancers. I recognize them from other routines. This is as bad as they've been. They're even repeating the close-work near crotch-shot from the first audition and they screw that up. They hit their friend twice this week and now they're pretending to drink and rive. No X's. Awful.
Next is POPLYFE. They're the young band that Piers said should be a solo act. They gave what I consider the best band performance in the history of the show in the Quarterfinals, only to step back with a questionable song and bad stagecraft in the Semifinals. Can they do enough to pass the more seasoned performers into the finale?
POPLYFE is performing "I'll Be There" by Jackson Five. It's a much better song for their singer than last week. It's also age appropriate. They're doing choreography and it's actually a medley. Now they're doing "I Want You Back." The scaffolding staging works much better than last week. Shame the rest of the people in the band can't actually sing well enough to do back-up vocals. They're very off-key. The choreography brings a lot to the performance. Plus, the one kid has a keytar. It's a solid performance and that's good enough tonight.
Next is West Springfield Dance Team. They are the only YouTube audition left in the contest, performing those disturbing horror hip-hop routines. I really enjoy them. Will America stay keen on a disturbing dance group on television? And what pop culture icon will they ape this week?
This group is doing a dark Gothic nightmare. A girl in a white dress is being pursued by vampires. They're actually telling a story worthy of Vegas spectacle. The choreography is big, bold, and perfectly in sync. It's a fantastically disturbing routine. Their locking is on point tonight. Piers X's the,. Now the human girl is on the scaffolding hiding for her lie. This is extraordinary. Their formations are tight and the precision is remarkable. Now the head vampire has thrown his arms through two vampires' bodies. 1 X.
Performing next is Landau Eugene Murphy Jr.. He's the not at all shocking big band/Rat Pack-styled crooner with the great presence. I've yet to be disappointed by him. Can his mellow presentation lead him to the finale?
Landau is performing "Ain't that a Kick in the Head." I really respect Landau choosing some of the harder standards to perform each week. There's enough familiarity with the genre to get by with the less-performed songs. The stage is, once again, a simple band stand with a jazz orchestra. Landau, in a suit, is just singing the song with a lot of charm for the audience. It's a clean and entertaining performance. No notes for Landau. Well done. No X's.
Team iLuminate. They're the light-up dance crew with the brilliant designer/choreographer/programmer at the helm. I like this group. They do enough to make me forget that America's Got Talent really pushes blacklight/darkness acts way too hard. Can they keep their programming together and get to the finale?
Team iLuminate is performing to orchestral music with geometric shapes. There's a very nice ballet sequence going on that is the best dancing they've done so far. Now it's transitioning quite nicely to hip-hop choreography. The suits are working much better tonight and have a bunch of new colors. The hokey-looking suits aren't as impressive, but the dancers spinning on poles are. Now they're combining all of the elements into a final crescendo. Part of the sequencing fell apart in the end. It's almost like some strange fantasy routine. It's not as dynamic as their earlier performances, but it is their best choreography. No X's.
Personal Ranking
- West Springfield Dance Team
- Landau Eugene Murphy Jr.
- Team iLuminate
- Landon Swank
- POPLYFE
- Miami All Stars
- Silhouettes
- Lys Agnes
- Anna Graceman
- Smage Bros. Riding Shows
Predictions
- Team iLuminate
- Silhouettes
- POPLYFE
- Landau Eugene Murphy Jr
So what did you think of the show tonight? Was the producer manipulation as bad for you as it was for me? Could they have been more obvious in trying to eliminate West Springfield Dance Team to prevent competition for Silhouettes and Team iLuminate? Sound off below with your own thoughts.