It’s time for five more acts to advance to the semifinals of America’s Got Talent, and after the judges got it wrong last week, it will be interesting to see how things play out. Of the first group of quarter-finalists, the acrobatic jump rope team took it on the chin, while a group of creepy kid Salsa dancers who messed up advanced.
And yeah, if you expect me to ease up on the kid dancers at any point, you don’t know this blog very well. Good for them though.
There are three acts that clearly deserve to move on, and those are Aerial Animation, Andrey Moraru and and Mat Franco. The final two spots, in my opinion, are between The Hart Dance Team, Mara Justine and Acte II. Anything else, most notably Jaycob Curlee — great kid and story, but doesn’t have the voice for this venue (darn you America, and your love of good-looking scamps with heartwarming back-stories!) — would be a travesty.
So naturally, I expect awful comedian Darik Santos, Loop Rawlins and probably even Juan Carlos to be advancing. The judges’ choice is the most troubling scenario, so let’s see how everyone gets it wrong this time around.
Remember, the blog is live, so keep the comments coming at the bottom. There’s a lot of filler in these results shows, so let’s get the conversation going!
The Live Blog Begins
Nick Cannon may have left the turtlenecks behind for good, but his sport coat tonight, which apparently is over a T-shirt (that I’m sure costs more than my weekly salary), resembles a weird combination of 1990s Saturday morning cartoons and a table cloth. Are those butterflies?
The judges get an on-stage introduction, and Howie Mandel is wearing the exact same outfit as Nick. What are the chances, they both ask? Probably pretty good when you have 43 minutes of time to fill.
Howard Stern says the comedy is off the hook tonight, which Nick immediately segues into an off-the-hook statement about the talent. He asks America’s Judge about his harsh critique of Juan Carlos, and he pins the blame on his fellow judges. It’s all just an excuse to do a side-by-side shot of Howard Stern’s Fartman 20 years ago and Juan Carlos’ impersonation descending to the stage Tuesday night.
I had it pegged from the start, but apparently the younger folks didn’t pick up on that. This is all followed by a recap of the performances, which again was recapped in an hour-long show leading up to these results. So like last week, we’ll just jump ahead to the juicy stuff. Because if you missed it last night, here’s all you need to know.
America’s Got Talent Recap: 12 More Quarterfinalists Hit the Stage >>>
The First Results Revealed
Apparently neither Nick nor Howie is changing his respective outfit, so yes, it IS a bit awkward. But thankfully, letting us know the first act to advance is a worthy distraction. Learning their fates are…
Before we get to that, Nick is asking Lindsey Sterling about her experience on the show. He calls her a superstar, but I didn’t watch back in season 5 or whenever she was on, and I haven’t heard of her until now. I assume she is a singer? Only American Idol makes singers really famous.
I don’t think YouTube views, even a half billion of them, actually make someone a traditional superstar. I don’t think people recognize David After Dentist or Charley Bit My Finger when they’re walking down the street. OK, at least not most people. Not like people recognize Beyonce, Kevin Bacon or Weird Al.
The Reddi Whip After Party, not to be confused with what’s popping in the Orville Lounge, is once again when they cram dozens of people into a tiny room to huff from a whipped cream can (off camera, of course).
NOW, here are the first results.
The Hart Dance Team, Darik Santos and Andrey Moraru step forward, and this shouldn’t be shocking. After an epic 27-second pause…
Andrey Moraru, still shirtless, is in the semifinals
You Have To Be Kidding Me
The next two acts on the hot seat are Jaycob Curlee and Juan Carlos, and either advancing is a waste of all our times. I’m hoping he sends them both home.
Jaycob Curlee is in the semifinals
I might have stopped typing had it been Juan Carlos, so I guess this is slightly more tolerable. Until JC points out that three of the judges poo-pooed his performance and that America knew what was up. Now I like him less. Stupid America and your soft, weak hearts.
I just realized it was JC against JC, and the real JC was like “Nooooo, neither! My dad can do better! He gets lazy sometimes, but then He makes real talent every now and then!” Though I imagine he owes more than one JC an apology over the struggles of life. You can pick which ones are most deserving of that “I’m sorry.”
We’re keeping things rolling, so Aerial Animation and Loop Rawlins hit the stage.
Aerial Animation advances
At least we’re two for two with the truly deserving acts. This chick is way more appreciative than the defiant Jaycob, and I’m optimistic about what she’ll have to offer going forward. Howard deems her a front runner.
More Howie Antics
Howie Mandel donned a mustache and a wig and took over at the AGT ticket desk, because again, filler is king during any reality television results show. He messes with people on the street outside Radio City Music Hall, and I guess some of it is funny, even though I laughed out loud as often as Mel B. did during Darik’s performance. He does get a guy to take off his shirt, so there’s that.
Wow, it appears they are quite desperate to move tickets to these shows. I should head downtown, since it’s not all that far from my apartment, at least as far as big-city living goes. Then, Howie puts on a glove and sticks his hand in some old lady’s mouth before squirting another guy in the face with water, and it’s increasingly clear that this bit has gone on entirely too long.
Then we get a Tonight Show clip of Nick playing Pictionary with Megan Fox and Wiz Khalifa, and I’m staring to feel sad. Moving on, Lindsey Sterling is apparently a rock-and-roll violinist who has toured the world and released a couple albums.
She’s pretty kick-ass, but I think it’s just as much the Evanescance vibe of the lead singer and backup band. Kind of makes me wish I watched season 5. Though then I’d have to deal with Piers Morgan. Yech.
One More Obvious Semifinalist
The rest of this, minus the judges’ choice, is predictable. So Mat Franco and Livy, Matt and Sammy hit the stage to learn whether they’ll be staying in the Big Apple or heading back to wherever Livy, Matt and Sammy are from. And yes, I honestly wrote that paragraph during the commercial break.
Mat Franco is in the semifinals
Next.
America Gets It Right. Do the Judges?
Acte II, Mara Justine and John and Andrew are the final acts, and I expect the Salsa dancers to head home before the judges make the final decision. Nick has been slacking on his pauses after the initial one, but this one goes on for 24 seconds.
John and Andrew are eliminated
No surprises here, and may these two dance not-gayly together for years to come. Down to the last two, quite accurately predicted by many (thanks for all the comments!), and I don’t think either pick is wrong. There’s no acrobatic jump rope group among the final two.
While the judges debate, I will interject my personal opinion. I think Acte II has more potential, talent-wise, while Mara Justine is more marketable. If I had to guess based on most recent performances who America wants to see again, it’s Mara.
And when it comes to the judges, they did put her through immediately after a sub-par performance during Judgment Week, which Acte II skipped entirely before coming up short on the big stage.
One of the opera singers gives a passionate tear-filled speech that Mara can’t compete with, so she talks about how grateful she is for the opportunity.
The Final Elimination
It all comes down to Acte II and Mara Justine, and Heidi is up first. She feels terrible about all of this, as she truly loves both of them. Then she picks Mara.
Mel says both of the acts were great, but she’s also going with Mara.
Howard thought Acte II’s performance was way off and he hated Mara’s song choice, but he sends Mara through to the next round.
Mara Justine is in the semifinals
Howie’s vote is moot, and we cut to Taxi Brooklyn so quickly that it’s like they are begging people to watch it. Because it’s about a cop who loses her license so she gets a taxi driver to chauffeur her around crime scenes. Because that can happen.
What’s Next?
While I don’t think Jaycob Curlee should be moving on, I’m OK with the results. At least I get to look forward to not hearing his sweet and pleasing tone for another week. Next on tap, we’ve got 12 more acts set to hit the stage for a shot at a million bucks.
Scheduled to perform are occasionally-annoying child pianist Adrian Romoff, shadow dancers Blue Journey, magician Mike Super, musical group Sons of Serendip, acrobatic dancers AcroArmy, military vet singer Paul Ieti, comedian Wendy Liebman, musical group Kieran and Finian Makepeace, acrobat balancer Christian Stoinev, YouTube audition winner Cornell Bhangra and anxiety-disordered singer Anna Clendening. I realize that’s only 11, so I must have missed someone, but we can worry about that in six days.
Did you agree with the acts that advanced? Or do you believe any missed out on an opportunity they had ripped from them by either a panel of judges or America as a whole?
Join us for the live blog next week, when we get another look at a bunch of people who will either step up or falter on the biggest stage of their lives. Can’t wait!
You can watch America’s Got Talent every Tuesday and Wednesday night at 9pm on NBC.
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(Image and videos courtesy of NBC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Emmy-winning news producer & former BuddyTV blogger. Lover of Philly sports, Ned, Zoe, Liam and Delaine…not in that order
