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(C-Note: some of the acts that you are
about to read involve real danger in front of a live television audience. They were
designed, practiced, and supervised by professionals, taking the
contestants' safety into full account. They are extremely dangerous and
should NEVER be attempted anywhere, by anyone, at any time.)
An injury put an act back
in the hunt, but the Red Panda was outdone by Collins
Key, Innovative Force, Forte, Catapult Entertainment,
Cami Bradley, and Taylor Williamson, all of whom we will
see in the Finals. Now the attention shifts to the other
half of the equation. Who will rise and who will fall on
the big stage? The World's Most Dangerous Panel, led by
America's Recapper Gordon Pepper, has the answers.
D'Angelo & Amanda
(Miami All-Star dancers; dancing to "Smooth Criminal" by
Michael Jackson): The shadow dancing in the water
was very cool to watch for the last 30 seconds of the
performance. The problem was the rest of the performance
felt like an exact copy of the toreador act we saw last
time out, complete with elevated platform and laser
lights. I think it's enough to get them into the finals,
but they really have to raise the bar if they want to
win the whole thing, because you may as well have
brought out the Xerox machine from Michael Gray's 'The
Weekend' and danced on that.
Marty Brown (country singer; performs "Bless the
Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts): This was a nice
performance that we needed to see in the Quarterfinals.
We didn't get this in the quarterfinals: we got a mess.
This felt like a 'Leonid' performance; the one
performance of redemption from the singer before he is
whisked back off to obscurity. It was a nice
bounce-back, but it still didn't raise the bar of what
all of the other singers were doing, and we're going to
see if his fan base can save him again.
Chicago Boyz (acrobats; jumproped & backflipped to
"Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke): Sure, everyone
noticed the 3 kid tower jumping rope, which was nice. I
also noticed the 2 failed somersaults that turned into
face plants (including one at the end of the act) which
wasn't as nice. This was sloppier than a Manwich Meal,
and though they raised the bar, I'm not sure if it's
going to be good enough.
Illusionist Leon Etienne and Romy Low (rapid fire
illusions to "Are You Gonna Go My Way"): We see a
whole set of illusions, all of which we've seen before,
and most of them we've seen done better (including two
which they visibly flub so we see how the illusion
worked) and I'm supposed to get excited about this? The
biggest magic trick is going to be if Howard Stern
convinces the audience to vote for them. Abracadabra.
Anna Christine (child singer; performs "Wild Horses"
by the Rolling Stones): I was not nearly as
impressed with her rendition of 'Wild Horses' as the
judges, the fans and the media is. The emotion was
there, but the poise and the rhythm wasn't. The one
MAJOR thing working to her advantage; the powerhouse
singers were in the other semi-finals, and she is
competing against Marty Brown, Jimmy Rose, and Branden
James. With Marty only giving a so-so performance, and
as I'm not expecting much from Jimmy, I think Anna will
snag a spot in the finals.
Kenichi Ebina (danced with himself): What the act
didn't have in high tech foolery, it more than made up
for in sheer cleverness and innovation. Ebina really
upped his game and showed us that he is more than a one
trick pony, complete with guy who is trapped even during
the judge's critique. Very clever. I'll be shocked if he
doesn't get the most votes of the night. If the dancer
vote flocks over to him, that spells trouble for
D'Angelo and Amanda AND the Kristef Brothers, who have
yet to perform.
John Wing (comic): He gets bailed out by the
judges last time, so he needs to raise his game this
time. He doesn't. It's a fun act, and I enjoyed it, but
it's not going to get the Taylor Williamson vote and I
don't how he is going to get enough votes to stick
around.
Branden James (opera singer): He does an Italian
version of Heart's Alone, to which I say...why? It's a
ridiculously horrible song choice. I understand that you
want to go mainstream to get more votes, but there's
tons of songs you could have used to have done that. I
think he has done a really good job of alienating his
voters and I think he could also be in a spot of trouble
Wednesday night.
(Loudmouth-gram: The Power of "Alone" by Heart:
- Carrie Underwood - Top 11 - Heart. Safe. (and Won!)
- Gina Glocksen - Top 20 - Heart. Safe.
- Ramiele Malubay - Top 10 - Heart. Safe.
- Allison Iraheta - Top 36 - Heart. Safe.
- Jacob Lusk - Top 12 - Heart. Safe.
- Melissa O'Neil (Canadian Idol) - Top 6 - Heart. Safe
(and won!).
- Mark Day (Canadian Idol) - Heart . Safe.
- Christopher Maloney - UK XFactor - Week 2 - Heart.
Safe.
- Sasha Allen - The Voice - Week 2 - Heart. Safe.
- Novita Dewi - XFactor Indonesia - Finale - Lost, but
Alone was widely considered to be the performance of the
series.
Leanne Jarvis - UK The Voice Battle Rounds - Heart -
Advanced.)
KriStef Brothers
(comic contortionists): You can tell in the comedy
vignettes that the brothers will stick their necks out
for each other. Though they flubbed one of the balancing
routines during rehearsal, they picked up their game in
the neck of time. I bet they will be neck and neck
competing against D;Angelo and Amanda for the duo votes.
I'm hoping the audience, when it comes to voting for
them, don't choke.
American Military Spouses Choir (choir): They
sing 'Angel', and while it's nice, I don't see that
bar-raising that's almost going to be mandatory this
round. It was GOOD, but it wasn't GREAT, and at this
level, you need GREAT. Just like Marty Brown, we're
going to find out how many American Military that are
out there to vote, because I'm not sure that this is a
Top 6 worthy performance.
Timber Brown (pole dancer): I completely don't
get the act. He's flailing around on ropes and then
jumps in a pool, getting himself all wet, then holds on
to more ropes and gets himself wet again. Obviously this
act isn't tailored for me; it's tailored for the people
who want to see Timber all wet and sexayyy. It makes
zero sense, but in a strange sort of way, I can see him
advancing - especially because they are taking 6 acts
and there haven't been 6 acts that have had a 'Wow'
factor this evening. What would have made the act better
for me? If they put a bunch of piranhas in the pool.
Jimmy Rose (country singer): He promises to take
country songs and make them their own. With Garth
Brooks' 'If Tomorrow Never Comes'...he doesn't come
anywhere close to doing that. It's a carbon copy of the
song, and though he does it well, the key is did he do
enough to beat Marty Brown? The last spot helps him, but
I'm not sure...
Overall: The better acts this week were in the middle of
the show, but the voters usually always get the acts at
the end, which weren't exactly worthy of a Top 6 spot.
This makes the week interesting...
PICKS:
IN: Anna Christine,
Kenichi Ebina, Branden James, Kristef Brothers, Chicago Boyz.
Wild Card: Timber Brown def. Military Wives |
IN: Anna Christine,
Kenichi, Jimmy Rose, Chicago Boyz, Branden James.
Wild Card: Kristef Bros def DAngelo and Amanda |
IN: Kenichi Ebina, Anna
Christine, Timber Brown, D'angelo & Amanda, American Military
Spouses Choir
Wild Card: KriStef Brothers over Chicago Boyz |
IN: Kenichi Ebina, Anna
Christine, KriStef Brothers, D'Angelo & Amanda, Timber Brown
Wild Card: Leon Etienne and Romy Low Over Chicago Boyz |
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LEE |
EVELYN |
CHICO |
GORDON |
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or to apply to be a contestant on the next season, go to
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