America's Got Talent Review: Shooting out of Nick Cannon

July 25th, 2012 6:16 AM by Radio Blah Blah

 

The final set of 48 original contestants performed on America's Got Talent last night. How did your favorite fare?

David "The Bullet" Smith - I don't understand why David even has to wear a helmet; if things go awry, I doubt it would help things. His act was pre-taped, since it would have been much darker if it was actually 8 p.m. The setup took too long with the cheerleaders, but I credit him for trying to fill 90 seconds. He shot correctly, albeit a little further than the middle of the net.
Grade: B+

All That! - No one is going to remind us that All That (without the exclamation point) has auditioned before and has lost. One of the members used the word "fight scene" and I was cautious. The group looked like the United Colors of Benetton (or an A capella group). Sure they were clean and their formations were great, up until the fight scene. If the group wanted to show masculinity, the fight scene looked gay.
Grade: B

Ulysses - Ulysses lost all his hair, so he got a wig. He was smart enough to get backup dancers, similar to Big Barry. His version of "Bandstand Boogie" was decent; the dancers were decent. Occasionally Ulysses had breathing issues, but I thought he didn't deserve to be X-ed out. He wasn't like Big Barry who was off-key.
Grade: C+

Joe Castillo - Joe had a great story about how his father influenced him. Joe started with the Earth and I was happy to see the use of colors to emphasize each of his animals he made. Anyone who draws pandas also gets extra credit. I love that he uses both hands to draw.
Grade: A-

Sebastien "El Charro de Oro" - Mariachi is beautiful, and culturally amazing, but there's something similar to LionDanceMe where there's a cultural boundary where both acts can't become mainstream. You're either going to accept them or not. Sebastien's lower register hasn't really come in so it sounded weaker than it should. When he hits the high notes, those are amazing. He ended on a very strong high note and it won over everyone.
Grade: A-

Eric Dittelman - Eric shifted from magic to mind reading somewhere in high school and admitted to mind-reading being a bit flawed. He did an act that involved a "Deal or No Deal" and it worked wonders. I loved the drama and interaction that Dittleman did and made a small-scale mental act Vegas-sized.
Grade: A

William Close - William has 15 years of experience behind his belt and it shows. It's smart that he has a band surrounding him because hearing a violin-esque instrument for 90 seconds could be annoying. The spinning drums were also cool and showed development. I'm still not sure where the strings were attached to, but he did everything that he could to fight for a spot.
Grade: A

Unity in Motion - We're reminded that Turf was supposed to be intimidated by Unity in Motion. It seems like the group has two intense Abby Lee Miller-style choreographers. The girls were clean and they remind me a lot of the British winning troupe Spellbound. Unity in Motion had great presentation, didn't show any flaws and maintained their grace.
Grade: A

Eric & Olivia - The music clicked for the two of them instantly in college, Eric's responsible for the arrangements. The two were placed on a difficult night to stand out. Olivia or the band seemed a bit off key in the beginning. In a season of generally weak singers, Olivia's voice is distinctive and has warmth, but she was squeaking at points.
Grade: B-

Lindsey Norton - Lindsey sounds like a stereotypical high school student, but she seems to be mentally prepared for the competition. She used the mirrored effect to emphasize her routine, which isn't uncommon, but shows interesting angles of flexibility. She did some great rolling moves and she upped her game, I wished that she would stop mugging for the camera.
Grade: B+

Horse - Recently on TLC's Strange Sex, there was a guy with a 160-pound scrotum. He claimed it was because he felt a sudden pain and then it started swelling and never stopped. This is now what I imagine for Horse. One day a kick is going to go wrong and he'll have a 160-pound scrotum. At least he has kids already. Horse did a superhero theme, which helped with the pants on TV requirement. Several of the hits were actually thigh shots, but luckily the high jump was a perfect hit. The see-saw slammed into his face and he ended up bleeding in the face.
Grade: B

Olate Dogs - Olate has a great combination of talent and one of those "American Dream" storylines. The dogs were adorable and even with minor mistakes, are you going to fault the dogs? I can't jump a hurdle. The slide was a bit silly until the end with the adorable backwards slide. It was a genius way to end the show.
Grade: A

In the end, I've only eliminated three acts: All That!, Eric & Olivia, and Ulysses. All the other acts have shots of making it into the top three depending on how America votes. Does Unity in Motion have a whole ton of friends that could get them votes? Is there a large Mexican voting sect that I've never seen before? We'll find out.