America's Got Talent: Quarterfinals Week 2

We have officially completed the second round of the quarterfinals out of three. This week, we have 12 more acts performing, but only 7 will advance to the semifinals. This will be pretty much the same thing as last week where I give performance reviews and then recap the results.


Just a side note, due to the 2016 Summer Olympics, which will be broadcast on NBC, America's Got Talent will be taking a mini hiatus for the next two weeks. AGT will return on August 23^rd with the final round of quarterfinals. So let's jump right into this week!



Week 2 Performances:
This week, we definitely had better and more talented acts performing, which makes is harder for us voters. I managed to pick out only 7 acts to vote for, but it was a little harder this week than it was last week. Now let's dig deeper into the performances.

~ FLIP: These girls were brought back as a wild card pick after being eliminated in the Judge Cuts instead of the Outlawz. I have to say, their choreography is on point and they were very nicely in sync. I personally liked it. However, it is really hard for dance crews to move forward in this competition for whatever reason. No dance crew has ever won America's Got Talent because at this point in the competition, each dance crew gets some sort of criticism from at least one judge. But I did love Simon Cowell's comment: "It's like having dinner with Mel B, your act. It starts off well and then goes nowhere." That of course caused a mini fight between him and Mel B. Overall, I liked it. But I don't think they'll go through.

~ Moya Angela: Honestly, I loved this woman's audition and her performance in the Judge Cuts. I think she has an amazing voice. But I did not think this performance was as good as her last two performances. It was still good. But I didn't love it as much as the last one. However, I did feel the emotion with every word she was singing, and I think that's enough to get her far. I don't know if she'll go through, but I did vote for her because I know she is really talented.

~ Viktor Kee: I always get bored watching jugglers, but this guy is a different story. It seems as though with his performances, he tells a story. He juggles in a very graceful, mesmerizing kind of way. It's something I don't think I've ever seen a juggler do. I do really like him and I'm pretty sure America will vote him through.

~ Kadie Lynn Roberson: For this performance, she sang My Church by Maren Morris, which is actually a very current country song. Honestly, I keep forgetting that she is only 12 years old. She has such a mature voice and I think it sounds amazing. The small problem I had with this performance was that the backup singers were kind of drowning out her voice, making it hard to hear her. I still voted for her because she is really talented. But if she does go through to the semifinals, I agree with Simon that it should just be her and her guitar so we can hear her voice a whole lot better. But overall, I really like her and I liked this performance.

~ Ryan Stock & AmberLynn: I never liked these two. I cringe watching them do what they do and it always makes me wonder how the hell people get into sword swallowing and shoving an active drill down their throat. This time around it started off nice and slow with some small sword swallowing and then AmberLynn attempted to shoot a flaming arrow with a crossbow to the target that Ryan was holding with his mouth. Only problem was that she actually missed and accidentally shot Ryan's neck. Now because these are live shows, we have to remember that anything can happen and unfortunately, Ryan Stock and AmberLynn have demonstrated that a danger act can certainly go wrong. Thankfully, she did not kill him and he is doing well. But this just goes to show what they do is more dangerous than it looks and you don't know what to expect at this point in the competition. This is why I have a hard time watching them. While I'm very happy to hear that Ryan is okay, I have to be honest and say that I believe this is where the journey ends for them. While it is very unfortunate that this happened, we can't just give them pity votes. I do not think they should go through, but it is completely up to America to decide whether or not we should give them another chance. Now I've re-watched this quite a few times and honestly, AmberLynn had a freakin' laser sight on that crossbow, yet she still missed.* Oh well. We'll have to wait and see what happens.

*UPDATE: Ryan posted on Facebook that the notch holding the arrow broke, causing the arrow to shoot sideways.

~ Calysta Bevier: This is the girl who had that very sweet story about how she was fighting cancer and how music and singing got her through it. I really liked her audition where she sang Fight Song by Rachel Platten. Simon Cowell then decided to use his golden buzzer on her sending her straight to the live quarterfinals, which is where we are now. She was probably my favorite of the five auditions that received the golden buzzer. For this performance, she sang Brave by Sara Bareilles and I loved it. I do really like her voice and I felt the emotion that came with every word. She is truly an inspiration and I really hope America votes for her because she deserves to be in the semifinals. I just had one slight issue during the performance and that was the typo when the lyrics were being shown on the piano and how instead of it saying "empty", it said "emtpy". That was the only issue I had. The rest of it was just amazing.

~ Sofie Dossi: This was that contortionist girl who got Reba McEntire's golden buzzer during the second round of Judge Cuts. If I'm being honest here, this performance did feel very much like her last performance when she got the golden buzzer. However, I really liked the music that was used and I truly think she is very talented. It's like she doesn't have bones. Like seriously. And then she did archery with feet. I agree with Simon Cowell that AmberLynn is probably going get fired and Ryan Stock is going to hire Sofie because she can shoot a bow and arrow with her feet while blindfolded, whereas AmberLynn couldn't even shoot a crossbow with her hands and eyes open. However, while she is certainly talented, I cannot picture her having a show in Vegas. She can only do a certain amount of contortion before it gets a little boring. I just can't see this as an hour-long show in Vegas. But regardless, it is quite amazing what she can do.

~ The Clairvoyants: The mentalist duo is back! Both their audition and Judge Cuts performance have amazed me and have actually freaked me out a little bit. For this performance, they started out pointing out this chalkboard that was covered and had it lifted up hanging in mid-air so that it cannot be touched. For the remainder of the performance, they used jelly beans. It started with Thommy having Simon Cowell and Heidi Klum pick one jelly bean each and Amelie was able to guess the flavors and colors correctly (berry/purple and bubblegum/pink respectively), which I'm already amazed by. Then they had Mel B pick out as many jelly beans as she liked and scooped it into a glass cup. During that time, Thommy asked Howie Mandel what his dream flavor of jelly beans is, to which Howie said spicy chocolate. Back to Mel B, by looking into her eyes, Amelie was able to correctly guess that there were 22 jelly beans in the cup and Mel B even counted to make sure. So by that point I am thoroughly amazed. But it's not over. They then had the chalkboard come back down and because it was hanging there the whole time, nothing that was written could've been changed. The chalkboard said that Simon would pick the purple jelly bean, Heidi would pick the bubblegum jelly bean, and Mel B would have exactly 22 jelly beans. It even mentioned how they hope spicy chocolate jelly beans will be released soon. I'm legit freaked out by these two. Like I'm determined they are from another planet. I'm really hoping America votes them through because they are one of my favorite acts in this whole competition. I have no idea how they do this. They are easily the most qualified act to have an hour-long show in Vegas. I would totally pay to see them. Hopefully America keeps that in mind. They for sure have my 10 votes. Best act of the night.

~ Sal Valentinetti: A lot of people have been waiting for this guy's second performance. I did like his audition. But it wasn't really anything special to me. But Heidi Klum loved it enough to use her golden buzzer sending him past Judge Cuts right to the quarterfinals. He sang Story Of My Life by One Direction, but completely changed the song to the point where I didn't recognize it until halfway into the performance. I do think he has a good voice. But I don't know. I didn't really love it. First off, he butchered the song. But even then, I wasn't the biggest fan of his audition either. Maybe it's just because I'm not as big a fan of this type music as he and everyone else is. His voice is good, but not really anything special. The judges seemed to have positive comments. Simon Cowell liked the song choice (no surprise). Howie Mandel was kind of against the song choice followed Simon hitting his buzzer as a joke to Howie to show that he disagrees. Overall, it was good/okay. I didn't love it. But he will probably get voted through from the number of people who were anticipating his performance.

~ ThroWings: After the whole incident with Ryan Stock & AmberLynn, I'm not more terrified of this act just because I know that anything can happen and it is really dangerous. I have to say, the fact that the girl did the same stunt that she broke her spine doing in the past is really brave and it was quite terrifying to watch. But I do agree a little bit with Simon Cowell that we're pretty much seeing the same thing each time. But they did have strobe lights up which made it harder to see. I don't know. I like it, but at the same time, I agree with Simon. Simon then buzzed the act after his comments. Overall, I do think what they do is dangerous and I do like it. But I don't know if they're going to go through. They probably won't. But who knows?

~ Steven Brundage: The third and final wild card pick. I can only imagine how many hate messages the judges got after sending him home in the Judge Cuts. Especially Howie Mandel since he noted that Steven didn't have very much showmanship. He even admitted that he got killed on Twitter because of it. But he's back and better than ever. He gave Simon Cowell this giant rubik's cube and had him guard it. Meanwhile, he did some awesome rubik's cube tricks with Heidi Klum and Mel B, which I'm even going to try to explain. He then gave Howie a rubik's cube and had him mix it up while Steven was mixing one as well behind his back. After he grabbed Howie's cube, he showed us that they were a perfect match with each other. And to finish it all off, he showed us that Howie's rubik's cube was also a perfect match with the giant rubik's cube Simon was guarding. After this performance, I am so glad that AGT brought back Steven because he is so unique, so different (I've never seen a Rubik's cube magician before), and on top of that, he is really cute. Him being cute is just the icing on the cake. But seriously, this guy is insanely talented and I have no idea how he does it. I agree with Howie that I believe the Clairvoyants are this dude's parents. This guy really did step up his game. He easily got my votes and I am sure this guy is going through. His seemingly large fanbase were who got AGT to bring him back and I can only how proud they are right now. Well done, Steven.

~ Sos and Victoria: Very interesting that these two are the last performance of the night. The first two times, it was really interesting and fun to watch. But this time, it was a little boring. They could've used better music than Meghan Trainor. It was really boring in between the changes with the weird dance moves. And the fact that I actually saw how some of the changes happened is not necessarily a good thing. This did feel a little bit like a fashion show and while I love seeing fashion and stuff like that, it's not really something for AGT. I get that it's kind of like "magic", but I wasn't really feeling it this time around. And like I said, I very clearly saw how she did the changes towards the end. But overall, this act was boring and there were tons of mistakes. I'm disappointed. Oh well. Easily one act that will not go through since America didn't seem to like them either.



Week 2 Results:
12 acts have performed, but only 7 acts are going to advance to the semifinals. It was all up to America to decide which acts we want to see in the next round by voting. And now the results are in. If you want, you can skip right to my summary of the results to avoid this long portion.

The acts that came in 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th place were announced as the acts in danger of going home. However, one of them can be saved with the live Dunkin' Save. During the episode, we had the option to search Dunkin' Save on Google and vote for one of these three acts. The one with the most votes gets sent to the semifinals. The three acts in no particular order are:

• Kadie Lynn Roberson
• Sal Valentinetti
• ThroWings

The act going through with the Dunkin' Save is announced towards the end of the episode, allowing us viewers to submit our votes. In the meantime, five acts were put through immediately and four acts were sent home. There were some special performances/skits, so I'm just gonna review those first.

~ Fitz & The Tantrums/iLuminate: iLuminate are back after being on Season 6 of America's Got Talent, finishing in third place. They are here with Fitz & The Tantrums performing one of the catchiest songs of the summer, HandClap. It was definitely a pretty good performance. I mean, it was pretty obvious that the girl from Fitz & The Tantrums is a better dancer than the guy. But it was fun, especially with iLuminate. I love the colors and everything. I really enjoyed it.

~ Nick Cannon: Judge School: It's official. Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum, and Simon Cowell will all be returning as our four AGT judges next season. How fun! But at some point, we're going to have a new generation of judges. So our host, Nick Cannon took it upon himself to teach a class of kids how to be a judge on AGT. So I'm already dying of laughter when he tells the first kid, "You could be the next Simon Cowell." His reaction is just so funny. And then when Nick asked another kid, "Who's the most famous judge of all-time?" followed by a response of, "Judge Judy." I'm already laughing so much at how funny and cute this little skit/segment is. And the little blonde girl who keeps saying "uhuh" to everything is so cute and funny. Overall, I loved this extra little segment and I do genuinely believe that America's Got Talent is in good hands!



So those were the performance/segment reviews. Now let's get to the actual results. I'm going to do it a little differently this week. Here's how I'm going to code the results:


Bold = The act is advancing to the semifinals.
Italics = The act is eliminated from the competition.


So let's get to it! Here is the first group of acts called to step forward:

• Sos and Victoria
• The Clairvoyants

So far my favorite act is through. So I'm very glad about that. Now for the next result. The next group of acts called up were:

• Viktor Kee
• Steven Brundage

I'm so glad that both of them were put through. So two more great acts have been put through. So far so good with these results. Now for the next result. The next group of acts called up were:

• FLIP
• Sofie Dossi
• Ryan Stock & AmberLynn

Looks like America did like Sofie enough as she is now put through to the semifinals. 4 acts have gone through so far. We have one more result before we go to the remaining three acts that are in danger. The next group of acts called up were:

• Calysta Bevier
• Moya Angela

Calysta was also a favorite of mine. So I'm glad America voted her through. Okay. 5 acts have been put through and it's time to bring out the remaining 3 acts. They are:

• Kadie Lynn Roberson
• Sal Valentinetti
• ThroWings

One act will put through with the Dunkin' Save that we had the option to vote using during the episode.

The act going through to the semifinals from the Dunkin' Save is: Sal Valentinetti!

Sal is now the sixth act put through. We have two remaining acts, one more spot, and it is up to the judges. The act that receives more votes from the judges will be put through. The two acts are:

• Kadie Lynn Roberson
• ThroWings

Judges' Choices:

• Howie Mandel voted first and put his vote on ThroWings.
• Mel B voted second and put her vote on ThroWings.
• Heidi Klum voted third and put her vote on Kadie Lynn.
• Simon Cowell voted fourth and put his vote on Kadie Lynn.

Once again, due to a tie as two judges voted for ThroWings and two voted for Kadie Lynn, the act that goes through is the one that received more votes from America from the previous night when voting was open.

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

Kadie Lynn is now the seventh and final act to make it through to the semifinals.

So to sum up the results:

Moving Forward To The Semifinals:

• The Clairvoyants
• Viktor Kee
• Steven Brundage
• Sofie Dossi
• Calysta Bevier
• Sal Valentinetti (Dunkin' Save)
• Kadie Lynn Roberson (Won Judges' Choice)

Eliminated:

• Sos and Victoria
• FLIP
• Ryan Stock & AmberLynn
• Moya Angela
• ThroWings (Lost Judges' Choice)

My Top 5 Performances

1. The Clairvoyants

2. Steven Brundage

3. Calysta Bevier

4. Viktor Kee

5. Kadie Lynn Roberson

Like I said, due to the Olympics, America's Got Talent will be taking a break for the next two weeks. They will be back on August 23^rd with the final week of quarterfinals, which will feature the following acts:

• Alla and Daniel Novikov
• Blake Vogt
• Brian Justin Crum
• Edgar
• Grace VanderWaal
• Julia Scotti
• Kadan Bart Rockett
• Linkin' Bridge
• Malevo
• Ronee Martin
• The Passing Zone
• Vello Vaher

Looking at the lineup, it looks like it's going to be an extremely tough competition and a tough night for us voters. That is all I have for you today and I will see you guys this weekend with my Weekend Countdown post.