After nine weeks of auditions, 55 candidates are ready to compete for a place in the final. Eleven competitors will complete each of the five qualifying rounds, two of which will leave the competition at the end of Wednesday’s results.
VOTE: To vote for your favorite number, download the official America’s Got Talent phone app from the Apple Store and Google Play, and/or vote at nbc.com/activate. All voting methods CLOSE Wednesday 7 a.m. ET.
Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara sit on the panel, while Terry Crews hosts.
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Bayley Graham – tap dancer
Bayley’s accent is so thick he could use closed captions. He shouts enthusiastically as he dances. It is good. In this new routine, he works a few steps, before getting the audience to applaud with his tapping. It does a triple screen thing. This act is well staged, we can easily imagine it on a Broadway or Las Vegas stage. More Broadway, though.
Heidi thinks he has charisma and showmanship. Howie agrees. “This stage is lucky to have you. Vote America! Sofia thought it was cool that he danced to Ed Sheeran. Simon calls it ‘disappointing’. Um. He was looking for a great finish. And a bigger staircase. So ok.
Acapop! – Acapella children’s group
These children were discovered by Scott Hoying of Pentatonix. Again, they will sing an original song. Like XOMG Pop, it is a group of young children. But they don’t hurt my teeth. For a group of young people, their vocal styles are mature. This new song is called “Glow”, maybe. Uh. Howie rang them? Why? He will have to explain himself. They should NEVER buzz children. And on the live stage, NO ONE should be buzzed.
Howie says he felt like he was at a school assembly. Definitely. Heidi disagrees and is full of compliments for the post and the solo performances in particular. Sofia liked their audition more, but she realizes that what they are doing is difficult. Simon thought they had improved after the buzz. He didn’t like their style or their choice of song. But he thinks they have a lot of raw talent.
Jannick Holste – Magic and dance
Last time Jannick danced to Heidi’s single making her dancers appear and disappear. It’s a promising and even bigger dance party this time. He dreams of writing a song with Heidi. Hmm. He comes down on stage in a ball of glitter. The act is pretty much what it did before, but with higher production values. I guess dancing combined with magic is an unusual thing? The magic itself is not so impressive.
Are the judges up? Hmm. Heidi calls it “everything…it’s the best magic number…the best dance number…you’re so funny.” Simon compares it to a cream cake. “Too much cream in the cake. The cake is the magic, the dance is the cream. “The dancing was awful.” Howie calls it corny and corny, but thinks Simon needs to lean into it. Sofia says, “You are great.
Lee Collinson- Singer
Lee came from England to sing in America. Her mother is her biggest supporter – the panel called her after her audition last time. He sings “Flowers” by Lauren Spencer-Smith. His interpretation of this song is very raw, almost conversational. His voice falters at times, but it works in this emotional setting. I might prefer this version to Lauren’s because it’s less dramatic and more heartfelt. Lauren tends to chew up the landscape.
Simon likes it, but he doesn’t like it. “It was like reading a letter.” Yes, her conversational singing made the performance more poignant. Howie calls the song choice boring. Heidi liked it. “It was different.” Sofia calls him adorable. But the song was disappointing. I disagree with everyone. His performance was moving.
Jack Williams – ventriloquist
He struggled as a performer until he hit social media. But ventriloquists are supposed to perform live, he says. He has a new puppet this week, named Dale. He’s like a hillbilly… or something like that. Oh, wait a minute. His puppet from the last time is in a corner, causing trouble. “Terry Fator is crying right now.” He does a trick where he and the puppet appear to be talking at the same time. Here’s the thing, technically, Jack is a good ventriloquist. But he needs a partner to help him write his songs. He is confused and weird.
Howie thinks it lacks originality. “I wasn’t blown away, but you’re really good.” Heidi thought the voices sounded mostly alike. Sofia loved it. Simon thought he had stepped up this time. “That was really smart…funny…it was the best act of a mile tonight.” If Jack steps forward and Celia doesn’t, I’ll cut a b.
