America's Got Talent: Judge Cuts Week 1

Now that the auditions are over, all the acts that advanced have one more performance before it is decided whether or not they'll be advancing to the live shows. There are four weeks of Judge Cuts. Each week, 20 acts perform, but only 7 can advance. Each week, a new guest judge joins the judging panel and they are given one golden buzzer to use on an act they love to send them straight to the live shows, giving them one of the 7 spots.


So here is my review for the first week of AGT's Judge Cuts.


Week 1:

This week, comedian and television host Chris Hardwick joined the judging panel. He's most known for hosting AMC's The Talking Dead and NBC's The Wall.


Link to Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ-i5mE0G58
Link to Judges' Comments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YSG71PUxkw
~ Sara & Hero: Sara & Hero are a dog act. They basically just do a bunch of tricks, but they also have a storyline added to the performance. They got a little bit of a mixed reaction for their audition and just barely got three yes'. This time around, I do think they definitely stepped it up. There were better tricks and there was a better storyline. I don't like very many dog acts because they usually get pretty boring. But I definitely enjoyed this performance. However, I don't think it's something that'll necessarily go far. But it was good.



Link to Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtrCnWTVxY0&t=4s (0:09 - 0:30)
~ The Baker Family: The Baker Family are a bluegrass band. Their performance was really short and really wasn't anything amazing. They were okay, but with how short the act was, it's likely they aren't going through.


Link to Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtrCnWTVxY0&t=4s (0:36 - 0:48)
~ Mariachi Nuevo Santander: These guys are a mariachi group. My review for them is practically as the Baker Family. Their performance was very short and it was only okay. So they're probably not going through.


Link to Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtrCnWTVxY0&t=4s
Link to Judges' Comments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JNMbdVuW_Q
~ The Masqueraders: The Masqueraders are a vocal group. Each member is over 70 years old and they've been singing for a good 50 years. They've been trying to make it big, but it just never happened. So now here they are. I really liked their audition and I really like this performance as well. They are very talented singers and I'm glad they decided to come on the show because they have some true talent. My guess is that they'll be going through and they'll probably get pretty far.


Link to Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW6ZYK16N2c
~ Eric Jennifer: Eric is a comedian. His act was short and really bad. His jokes weren't that funny, him constantly saying, "Make some NOISE," got old really quick, and his presentation was just really annoying. Simon Cowell and Heidi Klum both buzzed the act. Hopefully, he won't go through.


Link to Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cngtKAndtTs
~ Harrison Greenbaum: Harrison is a comedian. Right off the bat, he was much better than Eric. His act was good, but I liked his audition better. This one felt pretty short and not every joke hit me as funny when I first heard them. He might go through, but probably not.


Link to Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sm_Ub29ZxVU
~ Dancing Pumpkin Man: Dancing Pumpkin Man is a dancer. Apparently, this guy had some kind of video that went viral. But I didn't actually know anything about him until his audition. While he's not the best dancer in the world, he is pretty funny. I enjoyed the performance in more of a guilty pleasure kind of way. It's a pretty bad act, but I just enjoy it because it's funny. Heidi Klum buzzed the act, so I have my doubts about him going through.


Link to Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu9NTyv7Cc0
~ Tom London: Tom London is a magician. What he does is he combines magic and technology and creates something that's never been done before. I loved his audition and his performance this time around was really good as well. I've never seen this kind of magic before and it's quite amazing. I have no idea how he did it. He's one of my picks to go through to the live shows.


Link to Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAfmrQfW8OY
~ Eric Jones: Eric Jones is a magician. He does more simple magic with a pack of playing cards. Not exactly anything new, but still good. I'm having a really hard time believing that he changed the back of a card with just the snap of a finger. I've never seen that before and I have no idea how he did that. And somehow, the card with Chris Hardwick's signature magically moved inside of Simon Cowell's buzzer. I honestly have no idea how he did that. I thought it was really good. He might go through, but I'm not too sure.


Link to Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGahIBbj-wg
Link to Judges' Comments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iStuYtTcvrI
~ Angelica Hale: Angelica is a singer. She's only nine years old and was able to nail Rise Up by Andra Day for her audition, which is a difficult song to sing. Now she picked even more of a difficult song, Girl On Fire by Alicia Keys, and once again nailed it. It's unbelievable how she can hit such high notes at that young age. I thought she was incredible and one of the best performances of the night. Chris Hardwick obviously agreed as he chose to give her his one golden buzzer for the night, sending her straight through to the live shows giving her one of the 7 spots. I'm happy with this decision and I know she's gonna go far.


Link to Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJlCkZN9AoM (0:00 - 0:48)
~ Danylo & Oskar: Danylo and Oskar are an acrobatic duo. They're also father and son, which I think is really cool. I really liked their audition and I enjoyed this performance as well. They really changed it up this time around. However, the act was really short. So they may not make it through.


Link to Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJlCkZN9AoM (0:49 - 1:28)
~ Lera & Nika Tomanova: Lera and Nika are an aerial duo. Their act was similar to Danylo and Oskar where the act was really short. Their wasn't really too much interesting stuff going on anyway. It was okay. But they're most likely not making through.


Link to Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_cYrRNcsBA
~ Yosein Chi: Yosein is a hand balancer. Out of all the hand balancing acts I've seen, this is probably one of the most dangerous. He even balanced his whole body with just his head on a glass. Then he balanced himself over a bunch of knives. It was pretty terrifying. I'd say he could be a contender for the live shows. But I'm not too sure.


Link to Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kgki6lHszU
~ Darcy Callus: Darcy is a singer and keyboardist. I remember really enjoying his first audition. His performance this time around was really good as well. He's got a really good voice. And he's pretty cute. But the act was relatively short. So although I want him to go through, he probably won't.


Link to Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FprPq4Mk5t0
~ Carlos De Antonis: Carlos is an opera singer. Usually I don't have much interest in the opera singers because they all usually sound the same. But I do really like this guy. He's such a likable person and I love his presentation. He may not have the best voice out there, but he puts a smile on my face from the moment he walks out on stage. He could be a contender for the live shows, but I'm not too sure.


Link to Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWf3KwurWyM
~ Canion Shijirbat: Canion is a multimedia dancer. His act is something that I've seen done before many times and also done better. I liked his audition better. This performance felt pretty boring if you ask me. Heidi Klum and Simon Cowell both buzzed the act. So he's most likely not going through.


Link to Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbVtR0cDO8U
~ Just Jerk: Just Jerk are a hip-hop dance group. They're probably one of the best dance groups I've ever seen on America's Got Talent. It's incredible how in sync they are and I love how smooth their moves were. Like Simon Cowell said, it was like a machine. Considering that we don't get very many dance acts, I feel like they'll have a spot in the live shows.


Link to Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc5eKiM1YHQ
~ Maw Kitty: Maw Kitty is a singer. I'm not entirely sure how she got through the auditions. I thought she was pretty bad. Her voice sucked and she seemed to only be there for Simon. Mel B and Howie Mandel both buzzed the act. So hopefully, she won't be going through.


Link to Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIJ9S7cL7hQ
~ The Singing Trump: The Singing Trump is an impersonator for Donald Trump. I honestly love this guy because he's just like Trump. And he can entertain. I love how he chose those two Backstreet Boys songs. I also love how he brought his Secret Service as backup dancers. I honestly just loved the whole act. This is originality at its best and I know this guy is going to go far. If he doesn't make it through, it's obviously rigged. I hope he makes it through because he will help make America's Got Talent great again.


Link to Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T53bybf1pU
~ Demian Aditya: Demian is an escape artist. His performance took place outside as he buried himself in chains. His goal was to escape from there before he ran out of air. There was a camera inside so everyone could see what he was doing on this big monitor. Of course the camera went out and everyone was freaking out until one of the guys filling the hole with dirt ended up actually being him. It's really weird and I don't know how he does it. And I think his wife is acting because I'm sure she would've seen the rehearsal. Overall, it is a good act and I think he'll make it through.


Results:

Link to Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1MAZKmnl_g
Link to Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx_psZgpE8A

Acts Moving Forward:

• Angelica Hale, singer (Golden Buzzer)
• The Masqueraders, vocal group
• Sara & Hero, dog act
• The Singing Trump, impersonator
• Just Jerk, hip-hop dance group
• Demian Aditya, escape artist
• Eric Jones, magician

My Top 5 Acts

1. The Singing Trump

2. Angelica Hale

3. Just Jerk

4. Dancing Pumpkin Man

5. Darcy Callus