America's Got Talent: Semifinals Week 1

We are now at the next stage of this competition: the semifinals! All the acts that have reached this point are only of performances away from the one million dollars and the headlining show in Vegas. From the three weeks of the quarterfinals, 7 acts have advanced from each week. 1 act will be brought back next week as a wildcard so that we can have 11 performers over the course of these two weeks of the semifinals.


Like I said, there are two weeks of the semifinals. 11 acts battle it out on stage, but only 5 can advance into the finals. So now the pressure is even higher than before. This post will include the performance reviews as well as the results.



Week 1 Performances
Because we are in the semifinals, I am a much tougher judge and I expect almost perfection. Did all 11 acts exceed my expectations? Let's get into that right now with individual performance reviews.

~ Sal Valentinetti: I don't know why but I just don't really like this guy. I mean sure, he can put on a show. But I just don't love his voice. There are a ton of better singers in this competition in my opinion. Maybe this type of performance is just not my cup of tea. But overall, he is not as amazing as the judges and America make him out to be. He was a waste of a golden buzzer and I have no problem with him being eliminated. This is all just my opinion though. I know there are quite a few people who actually enjoy this style of music and these types of performances. But I'm not one of them.

~ Blake Vogt: I'm still surprised he made it through last week. His tricks are solid, but not exactly something that really makes him stand out as a magician. He has had consistently well-done performances. But tonight I feel like his consistency of good performances just went down slightly. The trick he did in front of the judges was pretty cool and I have no idea how he did it. But I wasn't too amazed with the second half of the trick where he somehow ended up on the balcony. I didn't think it was necessarily bad, but I do think it was a step-down. He has had better performances and I just can't picture him in the finals.

~ Edgar: I've loved this family since their audition and I honestly did not think they would make it this far. Not because I don't think they're amazing, because they really are. But I just never imagine a lot of these acts making it to this point. That being said, I can only imagine how they feel and much pressure is being put on them. But as usual, they did amazing. Their story is really touching about how you can overcome a bad situation, whether it was a teen pregnancy or a drug and alcohol addiction and I can feel the emotion in their performance. They're voices are amazing and they do harmonize very nicely. And I absolutely love Nikki's big moments like she had for their past two performances. It's a really tough competition tonight with only 5 acts going through and I'm really nervous for them. I really hope that America votes for them and makes them one of the 5 acts advancing into the finals. They are truly worthy of it. They probably won't make it into the Top 5 of the season, but they are definitely worthy of the Top 10 in my opinion. This was personally my favorite performance of the night.

~ Lori Mae Hernandez: While I'm surprised that Edgar made it this far in a good way, I'm surprised that this girl made it this far in a non-good way. I liked her the first couple of times, but her last performance was a big step down. I did not find her rambling on very interesting at all. Especially when she was going on about Barbies. The only part where I laughed was at the end when she made that joke involving host Nick Cannon and his ex-wife Mariah Carey. But the rest of it was rather cringe-worthy. She's easily going to be one of the acts out of the competition. I'm surprised America voted her towards the Dunkin' Save when she was in that position. It'll pretty much be one of life's greatest mysteries. But for now, we can just not vote for her.

~ Musicality: While most acts in this competition have been progressively stepping it up with each performance, these guys have progressively gotten worse. If I'm being honest here, a lot of these people can't really sing. I was not very impressed by the solos incorporated into this performance. I felt they were pretty weak. But I think their song choices are also what hurt them pretty badly. I get that like to do covers from more current artists like Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande, and now Lady Gaga. But it just isn't working for this group. I do appreciate their story and they ended up becoming a group. But if you take the story away, it was pretty much just a group consisting of quite a few mediocre singers performing a song that wasn't fit for their voices. I'm pretty sure they won't go through, so that makes them another act we don't have to worry about.

~ Deadly Games: I typically don't really enjoy very many danger acts just because a lot of them seem like things I've seen before. But I don't know if I've ever seen anything like what Deadly Games does. I don't think this performance was as good as their last one, but they managed to really keep me on the edge of my seat hoping nothing goes wrong and I think that's the goal for an act like them. Whether or not they'll be voted through, I don't know. But did I enjoy this performance? Yes. Yes I did.

~ Tape Face: Similarly to Musicality, Tape Face has consistently gotten worse with each performance. I was even more bored with this performance than I was with his last performance, and I didn't think that was possible. The people who vote for him clearly don't understand the concept of stepping it up each time. This time he brought even less for us than he did the last few times. I thought the dual with the balloons and the staple guns was kind of dumb. I pretty much only got a kick out of Mel B chasing Simon Cowell with one of their drinks after Simon insulted Mel B with his comment. But overall, I don't like Tape Face. His acts are now really boring as he has been consistently bringing less for us. Hopefully that means elimination, but we can't be so sure with an act like him and his huge fanbase.

~ Jon Dorenbos: This guy really is one of the best magicians this season. Not only does he do great magic, but he is also a great comedian. I thought this performance was really good. It was interesting, it was funny, and I have no idea how he did it. He really does know how to engage the audience with his magic, kind of like Piff The Magic Dragon from last season. As far as magicians go, I'm pretty sure the voters will lean more towards Jon than they will Blake. I personally believe he should be one of the five to advance to the finals. He is really talented and I just really like him.

~ Grace VanderWaal: Once again, I do think she's a really good songwriter and deserves credit for that. But I still don't love her voice and this performance was clear evidence as to why. It was very shaky and croaky and while that definitely distinguishes her, I'm just not really a fan of it. It sounded like she had a sore throat or something. I feel like as she gets older, her voice will mature a little more. But for now, I'm not loving it. But of course, due to her extremely large fanbase, it's no doubt she'll get voted into the finals. Oh well.

~ Malevo: I just love these guys. Their energy is amazing and I absolutely love what they do. It makes me want to get up and join them. I'll admit, I still think their Judge Cuts performance was their best. For the first chunk of this performance, it felt a lot like their last performance in the quarterfinals. But by adding in the water towards the end, they really did step up their game. I could totally see this as a show in Vegas and I'm sure America will vote for them. They are the only dance act remaining in this competition and it'd be awesome to see them in the finals, maybe even the Top 5. Overall, I love these guys and I want them to go through as they are one of the better acts this week.



~ Laura Bretan: Like I said before, I do think it's amazing that she can sing opera like this at such a young age. But opera is not exactly my cup of tea. Her doing this at such a young age is really the only thing I can appreciate about her. If I didn't know who she was and I heard her sing, I'd say she sounds just like any other opera singer I've ever heard. Like Grace, I don't think she's as incredible as a lot of people make her out to be. But like I said, opera is not my cup of tea. It's not something that I enjoy very often. But what the voters need to keep in my mind is that she has already won one of the recent seasons of Romania's Got Talent. So I'm not exactly sure how it's fair that she can compete in another Got Talent competition when she already won one. So we really don't need her in the finals. But we'll just have to wait and see her fate.



Week 1 Results
11 acts have performed and only 5 acts are advancing into the finals. America has voted and the results are in. Also, The Illusionists joined us tonight for multiple performances all throughout the show. While I won't be reviewing them, you can find them within all the videos containing results. So here we go.

The acts that came in 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th place in America's vote were announced first as the three acts in danger of elimination. However, one of them will be saved with the live Dunkin' Save. During the episode, we had time to search "Dunkin' Save" on Google and pick the one act that we want to save. The act that receives the most votes is to be announced later in the episode and will be put through to the finals. In no particular order, the three acts are:

• Edgar
• Laura Bretan
• Tape Face

I'm not surprised about Tape Face being in this position. His performance the previous night was rather weak, yet his fans saved him from just being flat-out eliminated. I wasn't too surprised about Edgar either because not everyone loved their performance and thinking from the perspective of a good chunk of America, they do think there are better acts in the competition. As for Laura Bretan, I couldn't really predict where she'd land. I may have thought she'd be in this position mainly because a lot of people have constantly noted her past when she competed on and won Romania's Got Talent. That being said, I don't think it'd be fair for her to be put through into the finals. Anyway, two of them will go through at the end of the show, one of which will be from the Dunkin' Save. In the meantime, 3 acts will be put through immediately and 5 acts will be eliminated.

For the first result, Grace VanderWaal advanced into the finals while Musicality and Lori Mae Hernandez were eliminated. None of this surprised me at all. Musicality and Lori's performances were rather uninteresting and not up to the standards expected in the semifinals. I didn't love Grace either, but she has the biggest fanbase out of all the acts this season. So it was expected that she would advance. Next, Sal Valentinetti advanced with Malevo being sent home. This one angered me quite a bit. All Sal does is sing with a rather mediocre voice and this huge production that somewhat drowns out his voice. Malevo, on the other hand, have dedicated their lives to a type of dance that I've never seen before. America complains about singers advancing with variety being eliminated, yet they make a stupid move like this. America will only vote for a certain number of singers, and there's no room for bland and mediocre singers like Sal.

For the final result before the three acts up for the Dunkin' Save, Jon Dorenbos advanced with Blake Vogt and Deadly Games being eliminated. I did expect this, and frankly, I'm quite happy about it. Of course, Deadly Games going home is somewhat disappointing. But Jon really does deserve this and he is just awesome. So far, 3 acts have been put through. There's two more spots and it's time to bring out the three acts up for the Dunkin' Save.

Out of the three acts up on stage, America chose to save Tape Face. As I said before, his fans just don't understand that acts must step it up with each performance. They probably just vote for him before they actually see his performance. Oh well. He is now the fourth act put through. Two acts remain on stage and there is one spot left. It is now up the judges. The act that receives more votes from the judges earns the final spot in the finals. Just as a reminder, the two acts remaining are:

• Edgar
• Laura Bretan

Judges' Choices:

• Heidi Klum voted first and placed her vote on Laura Bretan.
• Mel B voted second and placed her vote on Laura Bretan.
• Howie Mandel voted third and placed his vote on Edgar.
• Simon Cowell voted fourth and placed his vote on Laura Bretan.

So because three judges voted for Laura Bretan, that means she has earned the last spot this week in the finals. I am pretty annoyed by it because I do believe that Edgar deserved a spot in the finals. I see and hear opera singers all the time, but very rarely do we get a family band containing three amazing voices. To see them go home was very disappointing because they were one of my favorite acts and my #1 favorite from the previous night with the performances. I do hope they continue with music as I will continue to support them. But still, I think they were more worthy of the finals than Laura Bretan, who I simply cannot picture having her own show in Vegas. Oh well. We don't always get what we want.

My Top 5 Performances

1. Edgar

2. Malevo

3. Jon Dorenbos

4. Deadly Games

5. Blake Vogt (because there weren't enough good performances)

Of course that means next week, we will have a load of good acts performing, which will make it nearly impossible to choose just 5. We'll have acts like Brian Justin Crum, The Clairvoyants, Jayna Brown, Steven Brundage, Kadie Lynn Roberson, and more including the one wildcard act I was talking about in the beginning of the post. Although Simon Cowell voted "no" for this act to come back (for obvious reasons), Heidi Klum, Mel B, and Howie Mandel all voted "yes" for the return of comedic jugglers The Passing Zone. Ultimately, I'm glad to see them come back because I absolutely loved their last performance. It was hilarious. And I can't wait to see what they're going to do to Simon. It's very unlikely that they'll get voted through to the finals, but one last performance involving Simon Cowell is all I need from these guys. So that's happening next week. Hopefully the results won't be as disappointing next week as they were this week. Alright guys! That is all I have for you today and I will see you sometime this weekend with my countdown post.