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HI HI! IT’S TY-TY! Pure AGT Season 12 Live Show #4: Power Rankings

Yay, I’m getting this up before the eleventh hour for once!

This first group of Semi-Finalists was clearly the weaker one on paper, but some of them really upped their game, and I think tonight turned out to be the best live show of the season yet since the first Quarter-Final. I’m noticing there seems to be a fine line that the acts have to toe at this point in the game; they have to keep upping their game with new elements to each successive performance, but by now they’ve all built a “brand” for themselves that the audience recognizes and by changing things up they risk alienating the fanbase they’ve built this far on the show. I think this is why we’ve often seen (and will likely continue to see) singing acts leave en masse during this round; most of them just don’t have the freedom to play around with their act like the variety performers do. With that in mind, let’s see how the votes seem to be falling this week……

1. Darci Lynne Farmer: With the only act of the season that caters to singing and variety fans alike, it’s no wonder Darci is the odds-on favorite to win the grand prize. Even though she seems to be relegated to the “comedy bit followed by a song” format, I like how she combined the two tonight, as opposed to her previous performance when the song started and the connection with the puppet character dropped a bit. Ventriloquism has actually proven to be the mos successful variety act on AGT, with two representatives in the winner circle from the genre. And in two weeks, we’ll get to see if Darci can be the third member of that exclusive club.

2. Sara & Hero: Remember when everyone was ripping the judges a new one for letting them advance through the Judge Cuts and now their Semi-Final performance has been getting the most love from viewers on social media (other than Darci of course)? Clearly they’re well liked if they were in the top 5 of their Quarter-Final episode; I guess I just underestimated how much support they’ve been getting. It’s certainly not undeserved-I think they’ve stepped up their game more than most others have at this point-I think I’m just surprised that one dog act was cut immediately without even getting a shot at the Dunkin’ Save and the other is likely going to sail into the Finale without ever being on the bubble.

3. Preacher Lawson: The shade was real tonight on AGT. Of  course, everyone is talking about Darci lampooning the parade of old ladies who flirted with Simon earlier this season, but I think Preacher took the cake for me with his “HI HI! IT’S TY-TY!” moment in his set (if you don’t know what that was referencing, click on any AGT YouTube channel video from this season and skip to the end until you get a Tyra bumper). Preacher’s style of comedy may not be for everyone, but like last round, being the only one of his genre is probably going to give him a boost. And his personality is just so infectious it’s hard not to root for him. If he doesn’t make top 3 tomorrow night, I think he’s probably a lock to get the Dunkin’ Save.

4. Mike Yung: His performance felt quite stagnant tonight, without a lot of range in expression or tone. It felt like a less powerful version of what the Masqueraders did two weeks ago, and we all know how that ended for them. However, Mike still seems to be a favorite of quite a few people, and he did get the pimp spot this week, which could indicate that he’s been getting a lot of audience support (though I do think that may actually have hurt him a bit, since he had to follow frontrunner Darci). In the end, I’m going to guess Dunkin’ Save territory for him tomorrow night.

5. Chase Goehring: I thought Chase would be close to a lock to advance to the Finals, but I think he might have fallen under the radar this week. Nothing about his segment was particularly memorable, which is arguably more dangerous than being outright bad. Luckily, I think he’s gained enough devoted followers to get enough votes to be in Dunkin’ Save territory.

6. Evie Clair: Evie definitely seemed less nervous this time around, and her confidence came through in her performance. I think being the only act left to incorporate a “live” piano might also help people remember her. Still, I think it’s her story carrying her through the most, and, while absolutely heartbreaking, I really don’t want it to be the main reason she makes the Finale.

7. Johnny Manuel: Johnny got some mixed reviews last night, and it seems like he could be one of the singer casualties of the week. He has his fans-as well as those who appreciated the choice to perform an original song-behind him. However, the judges were pretty hard on him, his running order spot was meh, and the hype surrounding him has died down considerably (I don’t even remember them mentioning him-or, come to think of it, anyone else but Darci-getting the Golden Buzzer tonight). I think at best he has a shot at sneaking into Dunkin’ Save territory.

8. Billy & Emily England: They were actually one of my favorite parts of the episode-I could tell they made a strong effort to show us some tricks we hadn’t seen before-but it seems many viewers have grown tired of the spinning in circles thing, even with the new stuff. Having been top 5 after their last performance they might make it into Dunkin’ Save territory, but I think their only hope of moving forward is the Judges’ Save, if they even get that chance.

9. Eric Jones: Eric without a doubt improved over his previous performance, but I think his “casual” delivery is really going to hurt him this time. The trick was great, but he faded into the woodwork because of his lack of stage presence compared to most of the other acts in this group.

10. Danell Daymon & Greater Works: I liked this performance, but I’m looking around Facebook and Twitter and it doesn’t seem like a lot of people agree with me….

11. Yoli Mayor: There seems to be a trend with singing performances on reality shows. Those who go for the high notes and belting get over-the-top praise, and those who go for something in the lower register are deemed lesser performers or are just plain forgotten about. I think the latter type of song is more suited to Yoli’s voice, but it’s not what the viewers for these kinds of shows tend to remember. She managed to hang on by a thread in the Quarter-Finals, but I don’t see her having that luck tonight.

September 6, 2017 I Written By

I'm obssessed with the entertainment industry, especially offbeat and nerdy things as well as those that involve live performance. The only thing I love more than geeking out over the things that entertain me is sharing in my excitement with others who share the same passions. America may have talent, but Canada has an up-and-coming blogger who is ready to take the internet by storm!

Pure America’s Got Talent Season 12 Auditions Episode 2: Live Blog

It’s time for another fun night of AGT auditions, and I’m back to liveblog for you all! Reminder that I’ll be updating this post throughout the episode with my running commentary, so keep checking back every now and then!

Looks like we’re starting things out with an animal act! What an adorable dog! And apparently she can count too…or maybe not. Oh dear…

Took a little time to get started, but little Mia seems to have found her groove! I especially loved the flashcard trick! Congrats to them for getting through, but I do wonder where they’ll be able to go from here. So for it just seems like a cool party trick, albeit a pretty impressive one.

“Architectural movement”? Sounds pretty cool! I like their name, “Diablo”. I’m very excited to see this one!
EDIT: The group’s name is actually “Diavolo, not “Diablo”. Oops!

I’m in awe with what they’re able to do on a moving platform like that. Really hoping they make it to the live shows because I can only imagine what they could do with a full set and lighting arrangement!

Oh great, a singer with a guitar. Never seen THAT before. Pretty generic until the breakdown, which was actually pretty impressive. Somehow I have a feeling this guy wasn’t the only singer-songwriter to audition this season, after the Great Grace VanderWaal hype train of last summer.

Montage of dancing couples. They look pretty good, but the very fact that they got relegated to this montage tells me most of them won’t make the live shows.

Okay, so is this doll bit part of the act or does this guy have a REAL dance partner who’s going to come out on stage soon?

Oh it’s supposed to be a joke. Okay. Whatever. I’m kind of split here. I agree with Howie and Mel that it was humorous, but I wouldn’t put it through. It was funny once, but the novelty would have worn off quickly.

WTF SIMON ACTUALLY BUZZED A COUPLE OF DANCING KIDS??? I mean, I don’t want to see a bunch of run-of-the-mill dance acts on this show either, but they did pretty well and seemed to be having the time of their lives! Yay for the other judges sending them through, and also for making sure “Barbie Girl” stays in Simon’s head for the next week! HA!

Ooo, a hot science teacher? I’m here for it! And I LOVE the idea of a science-themed Vegas show! There are a lot of ways this could go; I’m excited to see what he does!

The opposite of helium? Hilarious results! And now an onstage explosion? Well, sort of. A foam-like substance will do just fine! Ah, THERE’S the onstage explosion! Wow, this is another act I really hope to see on a grander scale in the live shows. Just incredible. (And wait, he was on Big Brother? I’ll have to check out some clips of him on there.)

European roller skaters! Apparently they were also on Britain’s Got Talent, hmmmm. I’ll have to look into that. But this is certainly a pretty cool act! Definitely worthy of making it through, but I hope they add some variety to their movement in future performances, rather than just spinning around in one small area.

This Angelica girl needs to go on The Voice in a few years, because if she’s this good at age 9 I can’t imagine how amazing she’ll be by the time she’s old enough to audition over there!

Guessing these two brothers are going to do a “strongman” act or something? Oh, I guess it’s a….hammerhead act? I don’t get it. I think it’s supposed to be balancing?

“That’s what I like about this show: you’re not gonna see this anywhere else!” I agree with Simon’s sentiment, but I’m honestly not sure whether or not I’d send this one through.

Oh, it’s the Sherlock Holmes-esque act! This one was posted on YouTube a few days ago; I think the TV audience is going to like it! (On another note, I have to start posting these “sneak peek” auditions here on the blog!)

One more act to go and it’s a singer with a ukelele. Now, they haven’t previewed a Golden Buzzer for tonight but Simon was giving her a lot of praise…

Okay, most of you will probably disagree with this, but while I was amazed by her story and how she can still speak and sing so well despite losing her hearing (and that was such a great song too!)…I wouldn’t have given her the Golden Buzzer, and I’m really tired of it going to singers more often than not. (I also might have ukulele fatigue after last season. 😛 But hopefully I’ll be able to get over that because I know that attitude isn’t fair to Mandy.) Now I definitely would have sent her through to Judge Cuts (and probably the Live Shows from there) but it’s very annoying how singers on this show are treated like the be-all and end-all, while the more unique acts are often passed over from praise that high.

Anyway, I’m going to try to put up a few posts throughout the week about the acts we’ve seen so far. Let me know how you felt about tonight’s show in the comments, and I’ll see you soon!

June 6, 2017 I Written By

I'm obssessed with the entertainment industry, especially offbeat and nerdy things as well as those that involve live performance. The only thing I love more than geeking out over the things that entertain me is sharing in my excitement with others who share the same passions. America may have talent, but Canada has an up-and-coming blogger who is ready to take the internet by storm!