AGT Season 11 – Auditions Week 5 Recap

Well, it turned out Tuesday night was another round of auditions! Next week is looking to be that way too, and they teased on twitter that it’ll be the episode in which we’ll finally get to see who Nick pressed the Golden Buzzer for, so that should be exciting. But in the meantime, here are the acts they showed this week.

Ryan Beard – Avid AGT fan who is 18 years old from Kansas City, who I thought he was going to be a comedian but turned out to be a singer. Although, he was actually kind of both because the song he performed was all about the struggles of being a homeschooled teenager. The audience gave a standing ovation and the judges were laughing throughout (in a good way).
The Verdict – 4 yes’s.

Then it was MAGICIAN MONTAGE TIME!

The first guy flaunted a very mundane magic trick and got buzzed by Simon. It was also a no for a guy who spent most of his performance licking a lollipop. Last was a husband and wife “escape act” which was really just the husband flailing about while trying to get out of a straitjacket while the wife just stood there. They got two buzzers.

Kadan Bart and Brooklyn Nicole Rockett – 10-year-old magician and 8-year old assistant who were siblings. Brooklyn got into a big cardboard box that said “turning my sister into a princess” (I guess the amateurish set was part of the charm.) Once she was in, Kaden revealed to the audience what the REAL trick was by changing the words “turning my sister into a princess” to “sawing my sister into pieces”. He was handed a chainsaw which used to to “cut the boxes in half” and the feet move in the bottom half once the boxes are open.
The Verdict: 4 yes’s.

After the break we got a montage of animal clips, including acts involving snakes, ducks, and dogs, and the judges hanging out with their own dogs.

Patrick and Ginger – Patrick adopted Ginger who was abused beforehand and Ginger has helped Patrick deal with OCD and anxiety. I believe Ginger is a mixed breed but I could see some collie in her. She was very in tune with Patrick and performed several tricks including standing in a bowl, doing jump rope, and riding a scooter! She also jumped around on two legs and climbed on a rope! Interesting to note that Patrick seems to carry Ginger around everywhere!
The Verdict: 4 yes’s.

After the commercial break they showed a quick clip of a Gospel choir making it through with 4 yes’s!

Raii and Whitney Smith – This act was a gospel singing married couple who work as background vocalists for a lot of famous artists. Both proved to have very lovely soulful voices which complimented each other well. I have to say Whitney’s was clearly stronger, but Raii managed to work well with what he had. The crowd roared in appreciation about halfway through and the judges loved it.
The Verdict: 4 yes’s.

Next came a montage of circus-type acts like juggling and clowns. The latter were fighting an uphill battle since Simon is afraid of clowns and so we got a lot of clips of him looking visibly uncomfortable whenever one was featured in an act.

Richie the Barber – This guy went so far has to have his face tattooed to look like clown make–up. He rapped while juggling and while Howie was entertained, Simon, Mel B, and Heidi all buzzed him and he proceeded to throw what I think was feathers on the judges.
The Verdict: Howie gave an enthusiastic yes but the other 3 said no so he did not make it through.

ThroWings (Annie and Andre) – This was a married couple doing an acrobatics act. Annie was hurt while performing in the past a few years ago when she broke her spine. They were very graceful and the performance seemed effortless. Mel B and Howie looked nervous the entire time (understandably, since there was no net) but the audience went wild!
The Verdict: 4 yes’s.

Next we got YET ANOTHER MONTAGE. This time it was a bunch of gross-out acts, like a professional eater who consumed a dog food burger live onstage which got rejected and Simon said it wasn’t even an act. This was followed by a guy who used his (very long) tongue to paint and got 4 buzzers. Interspersed with various other gross-out moments.

Dan Meyer – Sword swallowing act! Described what he had to do in order to successfully swallow a sword (I’ll spare you the gory details) before performing. Warned everyone he had not attempted this particular feat before and a lot of people looked away. Swallowed a sword and then a 1929 car axel. Called a reluctant Nick out to assist him in swallowing an entire car and then we went to a commercial break. When we came back we found out his plan to attach a 20-inch sword to a vintage car and drag it across the stage without using his hands. Nick sat in the car, jaw agape the entire time, while the judges hid their eyes.
The Verdict: 4 yes’s.

Guess what was next? Another montage. This one didn’t even bother to have a theme. It started with a group of dancing girls who got through with 4 yes’s (one also got a hug from Howie). Next was a married couple who juggled with fire while one sat on the other’s shoulders while riding on a unicycle who also got through. Lastly, we saw a 14-year-old powerhouse singer named Brynley who reminded me of a Disney princess (she was also accepted).

Sofie Dossi – A 14-year-old hand-balancing contortionist who performed on a homemade set. She showed lots of personality while performing (Mel B commented on her stage presence) and did tricks with an apple, including taking a bite of it while posing. Other feats include spinning on a post, doing gymnastics, and shooting a bow and arrow with her feet! Simon’s reaction? “What planet are you from?”
The Verdict: 4 yes’s.

Montage #8677123 featured a group of guys doing a dance performance and clips of various other successful group acts interspersed with clips of…

Christopher whose last name wasn’t mentioned – A 54-year-old man from Las Vegas who’d always dreamed of performing in a music group but never found anyone to be in one with. After claiming he had been working on this act for 30 years, he walked backstage, returning with a contraption using himself and 4 full-body puppets resembling the Village People and performed a dance to YMCA. The Audience claps along enthusiastically and the judges were impressed.
The Verdict: 4 yes’s, followed by a mini-encore with Nick joining in the fun!

Brian Justin Crum – Last up was a 28-year-old Californian singer who performed “Somebody to Love” as a tribute to his mom for getting him through tough times growing up. The crowd went wild as he belted the song out. “You took us to church and back!” said Mel B after the song was over.
The Verdict: 4 yes’s.

There were a few too many montages for me this week, since I like seeing more of each act we’re shown, but I appreciated that there was a wider variety of performances than we’ve seen so far this season. I think next week is the last week of auditions, so comment below with who your favorites are so far and let us know if you have a guess as to what sort of act Nick’s Golden Buzzer might be!