America's Got Talent Thread (pres. by Shryke and Geezer)

[Shrykespeare]

Moving On (viewer votes):

Kadan Bart Rockett
Blake Vogt (wow, BOTH magicians made it... color me shocked)
Edgar
Brian Justin Crum
Grace Vanderwaal


Dunkin' Save - Malevo

Judges' Save - Linkin Bridge over Ronee Martin


So the bottom four was pretty much what we predicted, with the exception of Julia Scotti, who I personally think should have moved on instead of Edgar.


BUT:

Here's the thing... 21 acts have moved past the quarterfinals. Next up are the semifinals, which make me believe there might be three acts given Wild Card spots.

If that's the case, I would choose, based on their QF performances:

Julia Scotti
Ronee Martin
The Passing Zone

None of the other eliminated acts from the previous two weeks, I think, deserve another shot. Who would you pick, Geez?

[Geezer]

NOOOOO not Julia!!! That's the one that REALLY hurt.

But you're right, they are probably bringing back 3 wildcards, meaning that for the semi-finals, 2/3 of the acts move on. Which when you think about it, is kinda stupid.

[Geezer]

I'd pick Julia, Ronnie and Hara.

[Shrykespeare]

Here's how the SF are going to be.

Week 1:

1. Musicality
2. Lori Mae Hernandez
3. Deadly Games
4. Jon Dorenbos
5. Tape Face
6. Laura Bretan
7. Sal Valentinetti
8. Blake Vogt
9. Edgar
10. Grace VanderWaal
11. Presumed Wild Card #1
12. Presumed Wild Card #2


Week 2:

1. Jayna Brown
2. Viktor Kee
3. Kadie Lynn Roberson
4. Calysta Bevier
5. Sofie Dossi
6. The Clairvoyants
7. Steven Brundage
8. Brian Justin Crum
9. Malevo
10. Linkin' Bridge
11. Kadan Bart Rockett
12. Presumed Wild Card #3


I'm going to guess that either five or six acts from both shows will advance, setting up a final with either ten or twelve acts.

Here are my picks for who makes the finals (I'm going to write off the wild cards as they probably won't get the votes anyway.)

SF #1: Tape Face, Laura and Grace for sure. Jon and Blake could advance if they kill it. So might Edgar. Lori Mae might have a shot too. Sal, Musicality and Deadly Games are improbables.

SF #2: Brian, Calysta and Sofie for sure. Viktor and the Clairvoyants have a great chance. I suppose Kadan does too. I love the remaining five, and I wouldn't mind seeing any of them in the finals, but all of them have finished middle of the pack (or worse) in the past and needed to be saved, so unless they KILL IT, they likely won't get the votes this time.

[Shrykespeare]

I'd pick Julia, Ronnie and Hara.

You were close, Geez. It was Ronnie, Hara and Throwings. The three acts that lost the Judges' Vote.

Sigh. If you know three eliminated acts are going to get brought back, and you're just going to make it the JV losers, why bother with a Judges' Vote as all?

[Geezer]

I agree with the sentiment, but my question to you is, who is your source? Because Nick just said that ELEVEN acts would be going tonight, which I assume means there will be 11 next week as well. Which by my calculation, means there will only be ONE wild card.

[Geezer]

Five will go through from tonight... here's how they stack up:

Sal Valentineti - This was a very good performance, but I don't think he's good enough to make the top 10.

Blake Vogt - His tricks are always spectacular, but I don't think his stage presence is quite there yet. He's a really likeable kid and I do hope he achieves a ton of success. But I think for a magician to really shine on this show, they need to be Matt-Franco flawless and smooth, and he's not quite there, in my opinion.

Edgar - I hope this is the last we see of them. I was bored again. They just don't have that wow factor. They are fine, good singers, good story, nice if they are singing a local show in a bar. Not a million dollar act.

Lori Mae Hernandez - What can I say that hasn't been said? I love her. I think she's a star. I hope she makes the finals, first act tonight I deem a finalist. Not all her jokes landed perfectly, but she's so young and she doesn't have the experience of a full set prepared. Imagine how great she'll be when she DOES.

Musicality - I love them. I loved the package, it was brilliant. I had chills throughout it. But the performance wasn't million-dollar level. I'm rooting for them, but I don't think they get there. I get why they picked the song they did, but it just didn't showcase their talent in a way that made them stand out. Can a great story lead someone to the finals on a less than phenomenal performance? I have my doubts.

Deadly Games - They are really good. Like really really good. I never thought an act of this type could make the finals, but they can. They absolutely can. They have the perfect chemistry, the perfect sexiness, the perfect danger. They are a real Vegas style act. I could see them being huge in Las Vegas.

Tape Face - Brilliant. He makes something out of absolutely nothing. His mannerisms, his eyes, he' just awesome, refreshing, I love him. Top 10 for sure.

Jon Dorenboss - Here's why this trick was exceptionally amazing to me: So many of these magic tricks can be explained by saying "the judges are in on it." Whether they are or they aren't is irrelevant. THIS TRICK they could NOT have been in on it. Because there's no POSSIBLE way that you can tell me that he could guarantee that all 4 of those judges, especially Heidi snapping the ball, could hit the same 4 states on command. Which is why I am blown the fuck away at this. He's incredible. He's everything a magician needs to be to make the finals, and if the singers weren't so good this year, I'd say he could win.

Grace Vander-waal - She still came out with the same real nervousness in the beginning, which is concerning. She's so new to performing and her talent is SO raw, but my goodness when this girl hits her stride, she's running like Secretariat. I would buy her album, I would see her perform. I love that everything she does is original. I love that her future potential is so sky high. She's a lock. I still think she comes in second, but man, I want to be her agent. When she gets over those nerves and gets more polish as a performer, forget about it.

Malevo - The water was a nice touch, otherwise it was more of the same, and I'm sorry to say, but it's gotten old for me. And I HATE HATE HATE that their music makes it so you can't hear the tapping. I wouldn't put them through in tonight's top 5.

Laura Breton - She is Jackie Evancho 2.0. Unfortunately for her, this season of talent is MUCH stronger than Jackie's. She should still be a lock for the finals, but I don't think she's in the winning conversation, because opera won't compete with pop/rock/folk singing among the voters.

Who I want to go through:

Grace Vander-waal
Laura Breton
Jon Dorenboss
Tape Face
Laurie Mae Hernandez

Who I think goes through:

Grace Vander-waal
Laura Breton
Jon Dorenboss
Tape Face
Deadly Games

And I'd honestly be fine with either one of these.

[Shrykespeare]

1. Sal Valentinetti - Sinatra crooners are a dime-a-dozen. He's better than most, yes, and he could probably get gigs for a long time, but he's just not good enough for the finals.

2. Blake Vogt - Totally agree. He's not there yet. It fell a little flat for me.

3. Edgar - Yawn. Next!

4. Lori Mae Hernandez - I love her, and some of her jokes were funny, but I can't see two comedians in the Top 5. The Nick joke was hysterical. I don't think she'll move on.

5. Musicality - Great story, but didn't wow me. Wow. Five acts in and nothing's blown me away.

6. Deadly Games - They are born showmen, and damn good at what they do. I really do hope they make it. I would give them the nod over Lori Mae.

7. Tape Face - I gotta be honest, I didn't love this. I hope he does better next time out, because he deserves to be a finalist anyway.

8. Jon Dorenbos - Wow. That's freakin' impossible. IMPOSSIBLE. No way he isn't moving on.

9. Grace VanderWaal - Wow. I didn't see the nervousness, to be honest. She's a total lock. I want to buy stock in this girl.

10. Malevo - I have to agree with you. Hearing their drums and their shoes is part of the spectacle. If you can't hear it, you might as well have the TV on mute.

11. Laura Bretan - OMG. I just got goosebumps. GOOSEBUMPS. I remember when Forte did this song. I love this aria. She's a finalist for sure.


Well, correction. Looks like there will be ONE wildcard next week to make the field eleven. Wonder who it will be.


My picks:

Jon, Grace, Tape Face, Laura for sure. I'l give the nod to Deadly games.

[Geezer]

I seriously think you need to get a new source of info... I mean, you posted that over an hour before the show even started, and it was WAY off...

[Geezer]

So far, Jon Dorenboss, Sal and Grace are through, so the top 3 vote-getters. The Dunkin Save is between Laura, Tape Face and Edgar, with Edgar trailing way behind in all the updates with Tape Face and Laura in a virtual dead heat from the start. Could still go either way.

I clicked on your post before and immediately stopped reading as I hoped not to spoil anything, read it back and it is funny how it actually wouldn't have ruined anything. Seems you got trolled by someone...

[Geezer]

Tape Face won the Dunkin save by less than 200 votes, the closest in the show's history (not that the Dunkin Save has been around more than a couple years, but still, that is CLOSE!) I can't imagine the judges picking Edgar over Laura. Should be a 4-0 sweep honestly.

[Geezer]

Laura wins the judges vote, 3-1 (Howie the Edgar vote). So I had 4 out of 5, and they were the top 4, with only Sal Valentinetti surpassing my 5th spot of Laurie May/Deadly Games. I'm okay with these results.

[Shrykespeare]

My source was the page on Wikipedia. Last time I trust it....

Well, good to know Laura wasn't eliminated. And while it sucks that Lori Mae and Deadly Games went home, I'd have picked Sal over Edgar anyway.

Thanks for setting me straight.

[Shrykespeare]

And the Wild Card brought back next week to even the field is The Passing Zone.

I'm happy for them. They won't advance, but they always make me smile.

[Shrykespeare]

Brian Justin Crum, Calysta Bevier and Sofie should be locks.

Clairvoyants should also get through, one way or another.

That leaves one spot, and I expect it to go to either Linkin Bridge, Kadie Lynn, or Viktor Kee.

Passing Zone, Steven Brundage, Jayna Brown and Kadan Bart Rockett, I think, are the biggest longshots.