America’s Got Talent Season 12 Wildcard Possibilities

So how did everyone like last night’s Judge Cuts? It was another pretty controversial episode, but for different reasons than last week. I’ll save that topic for another post though, because there’s been a lot of talk about potential Wildcards in the AGT community and I wanted to take a look at who might have a realistic shot at being one of them, even though the factors I’m looking at might not end up even mattering in some cases, as I seem to recall one or two of the choices from last season seeming pretty random……

“Wildcards” are acts that have already been eliminated that are chosen to fill the remaining spot in the appear in the live shows. Much like last season, there will be three of these that will appear in the Quarter-Finals. Or maybe four. This is kin of an awkward situation, but it depends on whether the dearly departed Brandon Rogers was chosen as one of the seven in his Judge Cuts group. If he was, they’ll most likely replace him with another act, hence the potential fourth Wildcard spot. There will also be one more Wildcard later on in the season; an act that is eliminated in the Quarter-Finals but brought back for the Semi-Finals.

This’ll be like the Power Rankings I did last week, except this time it’ll be starting with who’s most likely to be one of the Quarter-Finals Wildcards and going down from there. Also I won’t be including every single act eliminated in Judge Cuts so far, only the ones I think have a good shot at actually being brought back.

1. Bello Nock: His elimination was pretty surprising to myself and many others last night; after delivering on his promise to be shot out of a canon and showing versatility between his first and second performances, he still doesn’t advance? I think if he had been in one of the first two Judge Cuts groups he would have easily advanced (another issue to discuss at a later date) but keep in mind that the Judge Cuts episodes were filmed before any of the initial auditions had even aired on TV. The editors knew he’d been cut when they put together the TV version of his first audition, and the way they’ve been editing him since then screams “Wildcard storyline”. His entire audition being aired, his full Judge Cuts performance being shown, and the fact that the AGT social media has put up extra bonus clips of him online (something that’s usually reserved for advancing acts) make it very obvious they’re setting him up for a triumphant return in the Quarter-Finals. I will be legitimately shocked if we don’t see him again in the next few weeks.

2. Tom London: Like Bello, Tom got a full edit in both the auditions and Judge Cuts rounds, and many were surprised and disappointed to learn he’d been eliminated (even though the show actually did a good job of explaining why Eric was kept around and he wasn’t). They seem to be more tough than usual on the magicians this season, but then again, I feel like we’re seeing the same tricks from multiple performers, so I guess I understand the fatigue the judges might be feeling. Anyway, it seems quite a few people are clamoring for Tom’s return to AGT, and because of this campaign I think he might have a decent shot depending on how many magician’s we’re left with once Judge Cuts are over next week.

3. Daniel Ferguson: Tell me if this strikes you as familiar: a quirky guy auditions for AGT with a fairly unique act which ends up going viral online. He then returns for Judge Cuts and is called up at the end alongside a stand-up comedian, then gets eliminated and is visibly emotional about it. Once this airs on TV, his fans on YouTube rally for him to return as a Wildcard. What I’m trying to say here is I think Daniel might be this season’s Steven Brundage (if the name doesn’t ring a bell, think of Rubic’s Cube magic tricks). One notable difference between the two is that Steven’s full Judge Cuts act was televised, while Daniel’s was montaged (which is also the reason I have Tom above him on here). That’s kind of a bad sign, but I’m pretty sure at least one of last season’s Wildcards was also montaged in the second round, so I don’t think it totally rules him out to return. Still, Daniel might be facing a bit of an uphill battle for a Wildcard spot, so if you’re a fan, make sure to let AGT and the judges know. (I’m really pulling for this one in particular to happen, if you couldn’t tell. :P)

4. Jeki Yoo: Color me surprised that he didn’t make it through last night after being the only one of his kind to escape the magic montage! The judges seemed to like him, and the audience did too, so I think he has a shot at coming back. I still think Tom is more likely though because there was more of an outcry when he got cut than when Jeki did.

5. Jay Jay Phillips: This may seem kind of random, especially since he was another act whose Judge Cuts performance got montaged. But surprisingly, I saw a lot of people expressing major disappointment in his elimination and he’d certainly be a change of pace from some of the other acts, so I’m not enitrely ruling him out.

6. Dancing Pumpkin Man: He’s on here because there’s a fan campaign for him to return, but I don’t think they’d being him back over most of the others who also have quite a few people pulling for them. Also, I’m not sure how many more sassy dance acts Simon can take now that both Mirror Image and Oscar are in the live shows. 😛

7. Harrison Greenbaum: I doubt it’ll actually happen for him, but I suppose it’s worth noting that I did see some disappointment from fans after his elimination, and there’s a chance they might want to bring on another stand-up comedian since as of right now Preacher is the only one left and I don’t think there are any more in next week’s lineup.

Keep in mind there’s still next week to consider, even though we don’t know the results yet. The one name that’s jumping out at me right now in that lineup is Merrick Hanna, who went viral after doing the robot dance in the first week of auditions. Judging by who else he’s up against, I’d say he has a pretty good chance of making it through, but if he doesn’t I’d say his chances of being a Wildcard are just as good if not better than the current top three on this list.

Do you think I missed anyone? Let me know and I’ll see you again real soon!