AMERICAS GOT TALENT-The Magic-Off

FOR BRITISH VIEWERS, THIS ARTICLE MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

On Wednesday night, after Brett Daniels became the latest magician to be eliminated in Americas Got Talent, the wildcards for next week's wildcard round were announced. I expected at least one magician to be there, and two have been announced as performing- Landon Swank and Seth Grabel, both of whom ended up on the losing end of judges decisions in their heats. They will be competing for some of the last places in the top 24 in what promises to be the biggest magic battle since Michael Grasso and Murray Sawchuck's magical duel in last years semi-final. But how do they compare against each other?

WHICH ONE IS BETTER?

Landon and Seth are complete opposites. Landon's tricks are tried-and-tested classics with a scaled-back presentation. They also have twists that make them harder to figure out (For example, his folding up an assistant's shadow in the audition). Seth, however, produces big, loud, spectacular and original tricks, but they are too easy to figure out, often due to small mistakes or oversights (For example, the dummy which was loaded into the cannon in his live performance). Due to these differences, it's impossible for me to choose which one I prefer. Therefore, my opinions of them will hinge on their wildcard performances.

WHAT DO THE VIEWERS THINK?

This is also hard to judge, as both finished in the same place in their respective heats. Landon has had more coverage then Seth and seems to be more popular with viewers (In a Facebook poll asking whose live show performance was best, Landon got over two-thirds of the vote). However, some may see the fact that Seth got his 5th place in a far stronger heat as an advantage to him. However, most viewers vote based on an act's most recent performance, so this may only be indicative of their live show performances and probably won't have any bearing on the wildcard round. This means that most viewer's votes will depend on their wildcard performances

WHAT DO THE JUDGES THINK?

All three judges have generally praised Landon and Seth, but, in the liveshows, Howie and Sharon criticized Landon's presentation, which may have led to his failure to get through (Howie's predicted top 4 that week were all put through instead). This will put pressure on Landon to prove them wrong in the wildcard round.

WHAT DO SWANK AND GRABEL NEED TO DO?

LANDON SWANK needs to improve his presentation. As Brett Daniels found out last week, a good trick means absolutely nothing if the presentation is terrible. Doing an original trick would help too, otherwise a trick that is hard to figure out to begin with (Such as Scott Alexander Eclipse trick in Vegas) would work fine

SETH GRABEL needs to avoid mistakes and oversights whilst designing his tricks, because the more viewers that can figure out a trick there and then, the less votes he will get

WHO ARE THE COMPETITION?

In the wildcard round, each judge chooses four acts. Piers voted for Swank in the judges choice in Swank's heat, and Sharon voted for Grabel in his heat, so it's a safe bet that they each chose them.

The 12 competitors (Listed by the judge implied to have chosen them) are:

PIERS

1. Landon Swank
2. Charles Peachock-Like with Swank, Piers supported Peachock in the liveshows against strong critism from Howie and Sharon. The two claimed that his precision juggling in the liveshows was not as spectacular as previous performances, so Peachock needs to mix spectacle and skill this time to win everyone over
3. Summerwind Skippers-This group finished below Grabel, and may have trouble improving their act. Better tricks and less obstructive visuals would help
4. Yellow Design- This group needs more focus when they perform again, and maybe a strong visual gimmick (Matt Wilhelm performed similar tricks to them but with blacklights). They should also avoid mistakes like in their audition and live performance

SHARON

1. Seth Grabel
2. West Springfield dance- This gothic dance crew have good moves, but seem to lack personality. They also need to stand out from better dance acts in the top 24
3. The Knetic King- His last performance failed, so the Knetic King is only in the wildcard round out of pity. But even if his chain reactions work this time, will they impress viewers?
4. Avery and the Calico Hearts- The judges think this trio have potential, but most viewers think that they are too much like the Chipettes to succed

HOWIE

1. Shevonne Phildor- This singer hasn't performed live yet. She has talent, but was only seen briefly in Vegas. Therefore, she goes in as an unknown quantity, but should be encouraged by the fact that, every year since series 3, a wild card originally rejected in Vegas has proved the judges wrong by making the top 10. As this years only wildcard to have been rejected in Vegas, could she continue the trend?
2. The Fiddleheads-This group were disappointing in the live shows, but got a suprisingly high number of votes, only going out in the judges choice. The forecast looks good for them, but every other judges choice loser is in the wildcard round. Therefore, they may have trouble standing out against this competition
3. Those Funny Little People-There is only one reason why they are here. Piers doesn't like them....
4. J. Chris Newberg. This singing comedian is also hated by Piers, and was probably put through for that reason. His audition and Vegas performance were alright, but he lost the respect of many viewers with his terrible live performance. This time, he should put focus on winning over the audience rather than annoying Piers

WHAT ARE LANDON AND SETH'S CHANCES?
The two are both equal in talent, and up against a diverse and exciting batch of opponents. Therfore, they both have moderate chances of advancing at the moment. It all hinges on their wildcard performance.