AMERICAS GOT TALENT- Can Landon Swank make the grand final?

FOR BRITISH VIEWERS,THIS ARTICLE MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS

For the second straight year, Americas Got Talent has a magician in the top 10.

Landon Swank will compete in the top 10 on Tuesday night, and will compete for a place in next week's grand finale. Last year, Michael Grasso reached this stage, but failed to make the final round, despite recieving praise for his top 10 performance

Landon has been through a strangely similar journey to Grasso (Getting into the top 10 via the wildcard round, Knocking out another magician on the way), so he will be hoping that history doesn't repeat itself. . Landon has the ability to make it to the final. His tricks have been excellent, and the presentation amazing. Furthermore, Landon has upped his game tremendously, changing his approach from simple but clever magic to exciting and dangerous tricks that appear to be taking a leaf out of Australia's got Talent runner-up Paul Cosentino's book.

However, Swank has three things to do if he wants to better Michael Grasso and make the final round.

1. GIVE A FLAWLESS PERFORMANCE- Landon's last trick was excellent, but there was one problem with it. Many online commentators felt it was a little easy to figure out, due to some minor flaws in the execution of the trick (1. Why is the box shaking? and 2.Why does he have goggles when he gets out but not in the video?). It was still a good performance, but minor mistakes like that can make a big difference in the top 10. Therefore, Landon will need to be on his guard to avoid this, and give a trick that is exciting, original, and hard to figure out
2. CONVINCE THE SKEPTICS- This is the stage where large fanbases or sob stories alone are no longer enough to help acts. They have to put on the best performances they physically can to appeal to the largest and most important group of voters-The neutrals who vote solely on the quality of the latest performance. Therefore, avoiding mistakes will be more important then ever. Furthermore, there are some people who are unconvinced that someone other then a singer or dancer will win. Can Landon change their minds?
3. BEAT THE COMPETITON-Landon has some excellent competition. The Sinatra-voiced Landau Murphy Jr., The inventive TEAM ILuminate and opera singer Lys Agnes are the ones to beat. Young acts Anna Graceman, POPLYFE and the Shilouettes are very impressive for their age (Especially POPLYFE), but some viewers may be uncomfortable about the idea of kids performing in Vegas. Meanwhile, The horror-influenced West Springfield Dance, The classic-Hollywood dance act Miami All-Stars and the Stunt motorcyclists The Smage Brothers seem like filler, but are still very strong acts.

As usual, Landon's chances depend on his next performance, but judging by his showmanship, his illusions, and the way he has upped his game throughout the contest (Something Sharon Osbourne brought up in the semifinal round), he should hopefully give an excellent performance.