America's Got Talent: Quarterfinals Week 1

NOTE: If you do not care about America's Got Talent, you can stop reading here.


We have officially finished Judge Cuts. So that means the judges are done making the decisions. Well for the most part, they are. It is now up to America to vote for the acts we love. America takes it from here with the decisions.


Now that we're in the live shows, pretty much anything can happen at this point. The live shows take place at the Dolby Theatre located in Hollywood. Tonight, 12 acts perform with 7 advancing to the semifinals.


Starting now and going for the rest of the season, Tuesday nights are the performances and Wednesday nights are the result nights (with some special performances included). We have three weeks of quarterfinals and then we go into the semifinals. These posts will include both performance reviews and the results. So let's jump right in!



Week 1 Performances:
Before we start, I'm just going to give my overall thoughts on last night's performances. I have to say, I had a hard time picking 7 acts to vote for. I was definitely a bit nicer in Judge Cuts, but now that we're in the live shows, I have higher expectations and there were only a couple of acts that really impressed me. The rest I couldn't care less if they get eliminated. Now let's dig a little deeper into the performances.

~ Jayna Brown: We all remember her as the girl who got Louis Tomlinson's golden buzzer on the last night of Judge Cuts and was overly excited that he hugged her. Her performance tonight was amazing in my opinion. She sang Ed Sheeran – Make It Rain. I loved the scenery and she really does have a beautiful voice. She is also a 14-year-old shy girl, yet she just owned that stage. Even Louis posted a tweet saying that she smashed it, which I thoroughly agree with. I hope America voted for her because she deserves to go through. She was definitely my favorite performance of the night.

~ Hara: For this performance, Hara did something more like his audition than his Judge Cuts performance. He did a routine involving projection, doves, etc. What I liked is that he told a story with his performance. It was even a true story. His mother sent him from Japan to America for more opportunity. It was a good performance and I wouldn't mind him going through. But I don't really care if he gets eliminated either.

~ Outlawz: This performance started out with a little Ghostbusters reference followed by some dances to more modern music from Skrillex & Diplo. I have to say, this was not as good as their previous performances. By them eliminating the western feel from their previous performances, they're not really the Outlawz anymore. They should've kept the hats and jackets. Simon Cowell buzzed the act. That is how you know you failed pretty bad is if you get buzzed in the live shows. I didn't hate it, but I didn't necessarily love it either. Mel B decided to call out one of them by asking if he was injured, which, by the way, Howie Mandel is not letting go of tonight. You'll see what I mean. But honestly, it is kind of sad that this performance wasn't as good as their last performance because I love when we get a group of cute guys who can dance on this show. And as much as I hate to say this, they're probably one of the reasons why a dance crew has never won America's Got Talent.

~ Musicality: I love what this group stands for. They're trying to save fine arts programs in high schools. That's really sweet. But this is a competition and I have to say, I wasn't as impressed as I hoped I would be with this performance. Like the Outlawz, it wasn't bad. But I know they're capable of more. They sang One Last Time by Ariana Grande, which was not really a good song choice. I feel like some of these people just can't really sing. The first girl is a good example as her voice felt a little flat to me. Then the chorus hits and I feel like the girls sing it better because they can actually reach those high notes. Honestly, the song choice is the only reason why I didn't love it as much as their previous performances. But I do really like their story and the relationship they have with each other and their music instructor. Maybe that'll be enough to put them through. It's possible. But we'll just have to wait and see what America thinks.

~ Lori Mae Hernandez: This girl took a very risky path with this performance that I don't think is going to pay off in her favor. I liked her last performances better. She did a lot of Donald Trump dissing. Don't get me wrong, I despise Donald Trump. But I didn't find this performance to be all that funny. A lot of people were already split on her during Judge Cuts, but this performance was pretty much a one-way ticket out of the competition. I don't hate her, but I'm just thinking realistically. Like Howie Mandel said, she pretty much knocked off half of the country because not one Republican is going to vote for her. Now being a Democrat myself, I agree with what she had to say about Trump. But I'm not a fan of her continuous rambling this time around. Like I said, I didn't hate this performance. However, even though I didn't put it in orange, she was probably my least favorite performance of the night.

~ Deadly Games: These two amazed me with their Judge Cuts performance and this time around, they stuck to what they said they would do. He threw knives while being blindfolded. She was telling him which way to move the knife before he actually threw it, but it's still really thrilling and full of suspense. Since this is the live shows, anything can happen. Then she was put on another spinning board of death. This time, the outer rim was on fire with him throwing flaming knives to her sides. After that performance that had us on the edge of our seats, I'm pretty sure they'll go through. They definitely stepped it up and they for sure have my votes.

~ Jon Dorenbos: This guy is kind of like the Piff The Magic Dragon of this season. He's a magician that includes comedy in his act. He was on the first night of Judge Cuts and received the golden buzzer from special guest judge, Ne-Yo. So they have a lot of things in common. This guy really does have an emotional story. Watching the first part of the video with his story just made me a little sad inside because I can't imagine what it was like to find out your father murdered your mother when you were 12. But anyway, the performance started with Jon placing a bottle with a prediction right next to Simon Cowell. In Judge Cuts, Jon did the drawing. So this time, he had the judges do the drawing. He had them draw whatever they want and explained that it's a personality test. After guessing the results that Mel B drew a heart, Howie drew a sweater, Heidi drew a butterfly, and Simon drew a dog (which Jon thought looked like a machine gun), he had Simon break open the prediction bottle to find that Jon have predicted everything the judges were going to draw. As usual, I have no idea how he did it. The magic was strong. I loved the comedy. He was honestly funnier than Lori Mae Hernandez. And I really hope America votes him through. He for sure has my votes.

~ Daniel Joyner: I thought this guy was okay in the auditions. Then I thought he stepped it up at Judge Cuts. However, I thought this time was a slight step down. His voice wasn't the best and the moves were a little cheesy. But he did put on a performance, so I give him that. Mel B said she wasn't feeling it, followed by Howie Mandel saying, "Maybe he was injured." I don't think he's worth keeping in the competition. People are already complaining about the number of singers that passed Judge Cuts, so I feel this is the time to get rid of the "meh" singers. Although this guy has a good voice, his performance is not something I'm going to look back on.

~ Tape Face: Okay. Here's the problem I'm having with this act. This guy's audition was novel. It was fun, it was hilarious, and I loved it. Then we went into Judge Cuts and while it was still quite funny, I didn't think it topped the audition. Now we're in the quarterfinals and I'm kind of bored. He has progressively gotten worse in my opinion. I get that he's supposed to be a mystery and that you don't know what to expect. But this was a little underwhelming and not his best performance. I kind of liked the sunglasses bit where he had Nick Cannon on stage. But honestly, I was waiting for a Mariah Carey song to come on when Nick put on the glasses. But aside from that bit, I wasn't really loving the act as much as I had hoped. Maybe it's just because I'm a tougher judge at this point in the competition. But what I want to see is a step up and I don't think he delivered that tonight. However, due to his seemingly large fanbase, it's possible that he'll go through.

~ Dorothy Williams: Those who watched the last week of auditions know who this woman is. For the very first time on AGT, host Nick Cannon was allowed one golden buzzer like the judges and he decided to use it on Dorothy Williams. She's a dancer who always dreamed of being a star. However, at an early age, she gave up on dancing and lived her life working at a supermarket. This year she decided to give dancing a shot again at 90 years old and auditioned for AGT giving her dream one last chance to come true. She received standing ovations and such positive comments. Since she was the very last audition, Nick Cannon decided to use his one and only golden buzzer to give Dorothy the moment in the spotlight that she has dreamed about all her life. Even I was getting a little emotional because it was such a sweet move from Nick. But anyway, on to this performance. She did pretty much the same thing this time around. But she did add in some backup dancers and a beautiful setting. I do think she is an inspiration and what I get out of this is that even at 90 years old, you're never too old to follow your dreams. She once again got standing ovations followed by Howie Mandel asking her if she was injured during Mel B's comment. But overall, I do like her. She is inspiring. I doubt America will vote her through to the semifinals, but it'd be really cool if they did.

~ Sila Sveta: This act was one of the three wildcard picks to return for the quarterfinals, which I find interesting since they never even appeared in Judge Cuts. My theory is that not every audition that receives three "yes'" actually is ensured a spot in Judge Cuts. A handful of them I'm guessing are eliminated before giving a second performance and they were probably one of them. But they are back now. For those who don't know, they are one of those dance acts that work with projection, very similar to Freckled Sky from last year who got judge Howard Stern's golden buzzer. However, their quarterfinals performance flopped pretty badly. With this act, I didn't really enjoy this performance as much as I enjoyed the audition. I couldn't really tell if their was a story being told. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't really making much sense to me during a good chunk of the performance. Simon Cowell didn't like it that much. Mel B was confused by the story line and asked if he died at the end, followed by Howie Mandel saying, "No, he was just injured." I have my doubts about them going through. I feel like we've seen more acts worthy of those 7 spots than these people. But who knows? Maybe America secretly loves them. I doubt it, but it's possible.

~ Laura Bretan: This girl is an opera singer from the first week of auditions. Her act amazed Mel B to the point where she used her Golden Buzzer on her sending her straight to the live shows skipping the Judge Cuts. I really do think what she can do at 14 years old is actually quite remarkable. However, it's pretty hard to catch my attention as an opera singer. I found myself zoning out a few times during her performance, but that's just because opera music isn't necessarily my thing. I'm pretty sure she'll go through because what she can do at her age is really cool. It's just not my cup of tea.



Week 1 Results:
So on the previous night, 12 acts had performed and America has voted for their favorite acts. 7 are going through tonight. There were also some special performances by last year's winner, Paul Zerdin, and Season 9 winner, Mat Franco. So I'm just going to kind of recap exactly how the results went. If you want, you can skip right to my summary of the results because this results portion of the post is a little long.

The first thing that was done was host Nick Cannon announced the three acts in danger of leaving that came in 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th place in no particular order and asked them to step forward. Then he announced that we have the option to save one of the three acts using the Dunkin' Save (the name was formed that way since Dunkin' Donuts sponsors the show). Basically for 30 minutes since announced, we have the chance to go on Google, search "Dunkin' Save", and select one of the three acts that we want to be saved. The act that receives the most votes is then put through to the semifinals. The three acts in danger were:

• Deadly Games
• Hara
• Lori Mae Hernandez

Towards the end of the episode is when the Dunkin' Save is to be announced allowing time for us at home to vote. In the meantime, some acts were put through and some acts were sent home. The way this is done is Nick calls up a couple of acts to step forward and typically one of them goes through. However, it has happened where both go through or neither go through. The first two acts called up were:

• Musicality
• Dorothy Williams

And the act that made it through to the semifinals is: Musicality!

So one of the spots is now taken and Musicality have made it through. Immediately after was the next result. The next two acts called up were:

• Jayna Brown
• Laura Bretan

And the act that made it through to the semifinals is: Both of them!

Now with the addition of Jayna Brown and Laura Bretan, three acts total out of seven have been sent to the semifinals. Before the next result, we had some special guest performances. So I'm just going to review them real quick.

~ Paul Zerdin: Paul Zerdin is a ventriloquist. He was the winner of the previous season (season 10) of America's Got Talent. I really do love his act and I definitely think he deserved to win this show last year. He's a pro at what he does and his puppet, Sam, is so cute and adorable! I've never really been into ventriloquism until this man showed up last year. If you want, you can view this video, which has all of his performances last season from auditions to finals.

~ Mat Franco: Mat Franco is a magician. He was the winner of Season 9 of America's Got Talent. I'll admit, I was pretty annoyed with him when he won just because he had won over Emily West, who was the runner-up that season, and I thought she was more deserving of that win. But now I actually do really like him and I've realized how cool is magic (not to mention how cute he is as well). Honestly, his performance now of just spawning cards out of nowhere in his hand is already enough to amaze me because I have no idea how he does it, especially since he sleeves are up. Overall, he's a great magician.

Now that those performances are over, it's time for the next result. The next two acts called up were:

• Outlawz
• Daniel Joyner

And the act that made it through to the semifinals is: Neither of them

With neither of them going through, we still have three out of seven spots taken so far. Now it's time for the next result. The final three acts on stage called up were:

• Sila Sveta
• Tape Face
• Jon Dorenbos

And the act that made it through to the semifinals is: Jon Dorenbos!

Jon now has the fourth out of seven spots in the semifinals. However, Nick had the other two acts remain on stage as another act is going through. The two acts now are:

• Sila Sveta
• Tape Face

And the act that made it through to the semifinals is: Tape Face!

With Tape Face going through, he is the fifth act out of seven spots available. It is now time to bring out the three acts that were announced at the beginning of the show that are in danger of potentially leaving. Just as a reminder, the three acts are:

• Deadly Games
• Hara
• Lori Mae Hernandez

During the episode, we as the viewers had the option to save one of the acts by the using the Dunkin' Save. So here is the result.

The act that was saved with the Dunkin' Save and made it through to the semifinals is: Lori Mae Hernandez (ridiculous choice America)

So now that Lori made it through with the Dunkin' Save, she is the sixth act out of seven spots available. There are two acts remaining and it is now up to the judges to decide which acts goes through. If one of the acts receives one vote from three judges at least, they go through. If the judges are split and there's a tie (2 vote for one act and the other 2 vote for the other) then the act that goes through is the one that got more votes based off America. I know this is all really confusing, but it's easier when you watch as opposed to me explaining it. Anyway, the two acts left are:

• Deadly Games
• Hara

Judges' Choices:

• Heidi Klum voted first and put her vote on Deadly Games.
• Mel B voted second and put her vote on Hara.
• Simon Cowell voted third and put his vote on Deadly Games.
• Howie Mandel voted fourth and put his vote on Hara.

Now because there was a tie as two judges voted for Deadly Games and two voted for Hara, the act that goes through is the one that got more votes from America.

The act that got more votes from America winning Judges' Choice and making it through to the semifinals is: Deadly Games!

Deadly Games is now the final act going through taking the seventh spot out of seven available slots.

So to sum up the results:

Moving Forward To The Semifinals:

• Musicality
• Jayna Brown
• Laura Bretan
• Jon Dorenbos
• Tape Face
• Lori Mae Hernandez (Dunkin' Save)
• Deadly Games (Won Judges' Choice)

Eliminated:

• Dorothy Williams
• Outlawz
• Daniel Joyner
• Sila Sveta
• Hara (Lost Judges' Choice)

My Top 5 Performances

1. Jayna Brown

2. Jon Dorenbos

3. Deadly Games

4. Dorothy Williams

5. Hara