AGT 8: The Final-Collins Key

FOR BRITISH VIEWERS, THIS ARTICLE MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

This year, all six finalists gave two performances, A "Repeat" performance, and a final new performance. For the sake of convenience, We will cover the "Repeat" and final performance separately, and follow each with an outline of the judges comments and the competition.

THE REPEAT PERFORMANCE

What Did Collins Key Do?

Being a magician, Collins chose not to openly repeat any of his previous tricks  Instead, he chose to "Go Full circle" and do the close-up magic that got him into the Live Shows in the first place. This time, he did a card trick utilising the two female judges, Heidi and Mel B. He had the two judges each sign a chosen card, and lined them up together. He then got them to put the two cards between their teeth (Heidi's was biting down on one end of the pair, and Mel B on the other). After some banter about this arrangement, Collins "Melted" the two cards together whilst they were still held between the judges' teeth. The two cards became one, with the signed face of  Heidi's card on one side, and the signed face of Mel B's card on the other. It wasn't one of Collins' best performances, but it was better then his previous two. The trick itself was possibly the most creative trick Collins has done to date, and it was simple enough to be performed without running too far over the time limit. Unfortunately, there was a little too much of the annoying banter from the judges (mostly revolving around the prospect of Heidi and Mel B being within a few centimetres from kissing each other) that marred Collins' Top 12 performance, and he stumbled at a couple of points, in particular when he paused to line up the two cards.Furthermore, from a technical perspective, it was a fairly simple trick, relying on a number of common card sleights. However, the judges were full of praise. Howard noted his lack of experience, but felt that he did a good job. Mel B called it his best performance to date, and Howie and Heidi were as impressed with Collins as ever.

What was the competition like?

The other five competitors all gave  "Repeat"  performances that showcased their strengths. Jimmy Rose chose to give another performance of his self-penned song "Coal Keeps the Lights On". Kenchini Ebina added lasers to the Matrix-themed routine he performed in his audition, whilst Cami Bradley repeated the performance of Cher's "Believe" that turned her from another generic female singer into this year's Dark Horse. Forte did a powerful version of "The Prayer", which they previously sang in the Vegas rounds, and Taylor Williamson added special effects to his semifinal routine, after a number of comments poking fun at the fact he had to repeat material.

The Final Performance

What Did Collins Key Do?

For his Final performance, Collins went back to the on-line theme of his first Live Performance, and the Audience participation of his Semi Final performance. For this trick, Collins had 26 audience members come on stage, each holding a piece of paper with a random Hashtag written on it. He then  got Howie, Heidi and Mel B to each choose a photo each from a set of photos of the volunteers holding their chosen hashtags (Taken when they arrived in the theatre). When they had each chosen a photo, Colins played a video of a prediction he had made the previous day, which predicted both the volunteers (Who were identified by the clothes they wore) and the Hashtags they were holding up. As the grand finale, he revealed that all the sheets of paper had a different letter on their back, and the letters on the back of the sheets held by the volunteers spelt out his surname.  It was probably Collins' best performance to date. The delivery was slick and energetic. Collins kept it short, but managed to address (if not completely disprove) the allegations that he was using actors. The multiple reveals added to the trick instead of complicating it, and the trick was original and spectacular. The judges loved the performance. Mel B and Heidi gave it a standing ovation, and Howard and Howie praised the clarity and coherence of the trick.

What was the competition like?

Overall, the second round of performances wasn't as good as the first. Cami Bradley turned the Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand" into a power ballad. Jimmy Rose played it safe with a cover of a Garth Brooks song. Taylor Williamson did a routine about his love life, with a central joke (About Heidi leaving her lederhosen in his room) ripped off from Series 4 finalist Grandma Lee. Kenchini Ebina incorporated a large number of characters (All played by himself, as usual) in a precision dance routine similar to those of Mitsi Dance School from earlier in the series, but wasted too much time establishing the characters. Finally, Forte sang "Caruso" , their voices as powerful as ever.

Verdict

In my opinion, Collins managed to prove that he deserved to be in the final. He listened to the criticism of the judges and viewers, and delivered two energetic and creative performances. His chances  of winning are moderate. He has the obsessive support of his teen fanbase, but acts like Taylor Williamson and Kenchini Ebina seem to be more popular. Furthermore, Collins' inexperience has probably turned off a lot of viewers. However, his successes have probably inspired a large number of fans to take up magic as a hobby- Hopefully, we shall see some of them follow in his footsteps next year.

AGT Grand Final - The Preview

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Americas Got Talent has reached the Grand Final. Six acts are left, and one of them is the teen magician Colins Key. Despite struggling with nerves, time constraints, skeptics and uncooperative volunteers, Colins has became the first magician since David and Dania in Series 1 to make the grand final (But Michael Grasso from series 5 and Landon Swank from Series 6 would have made the final if there were 6 finalists in those seasons instead of four). He is one performance away from the million dollar prize and show in Las Vegas, but can he deliver?

What does Colins have to do?

In his Top 12 performance, Colins responded to the criticism he had received in the Semifinals by performing a simpler trick with a cleaner delivery. Unfortunately, his performance went over the time limit again, due to the Howie Mandel and Heidi Klum's inability to read the time of the former's watch at the climax of the trick. Volunteers are integral to the close-up magic and mentalism that Colins specialises in, therefore the best advice for him is to use more reliable ones. Furthermore, many viewers believed that his last trick was too easy to figure out, due to its familiarity, and Colins took several short cuts (For example, using only three bags, and not numbering any of them) which made the problem worse. Colins has to figure out how to keep the length of his performance down without compromising on quality.

Apart from those two worries, the advice for Colins is the same as ever. He needs to maintain the vocal support he gets on Twitter, but also win over undecided voters, who will probably include a large number of skeptics. He needs to up his game, but avoid making things too complex, as he did in the semifinals. To put it simply, Colins has to give a completely professional performance, as he needs to convince viewers that he can rub shoulders with the greats of magic in Vegas.


What is the Competition like?

The five acts that stand between Colins and the million dollar prize are:

• Kenchini Ebina - Kenchini Ebina is creative, unique, and above all, a brilliant dancer. Many viewers hope that he will win, but safer, blander acts tend to triumph on AGT. Can Kenchini break the trend?
• Cami Bradley - Only shown briefly during the early rounds, Cami Bradley emerged as a serious contender during the live shows, and has kept up the momentum with soulful spins on a wide range of classic songs. She looks like a Dark Horse, but appears to lack the obsessive fanbase of her rivals. Can she convince viewers to rally behind her?
• Forte - Operatic trio Forte are the strongest singing act still in the competition, and are unique enough to avoid criticism from viewers who don't want to see another singer win . But can they beat rivals who have more vocal support?
• Taylor Williamson - There is no doubt that Taylor Williamson is a naturally gifted comedian, but I personally don't find his material very funny. That said, his performance in the Top 12 was his best to date.Taylor has the support of the so-called "Taylords" on Twitter, but he is up against two acts (Cami Bradley and Jimmy Rose) who finished above him in his heat. Can he surpass them this time around?
• Jimmy Rose - He's from Kentucky, he plays the guitar, and he has a decent level of talent. That alone could be enough to secure Jimmy Rose victory. Voters from the south are fanatical in their support of country singers, but equally, viewers from the rest of America  are sick of seeing them win constantly on shows like The Voice and American Idol . (Another Country singer, Kevin Skinner, won Series 4 of AGT) Will the widespread opposition to Jimmy cost him?

Predictions

Colins Key is going into the final as an outsider, and his last performance is absolutely critical. If he can correct his previous mistakes and deliver a confident, streamlined performance, then he could win. If not, then even the support of the "Keypers" won't help him.

AGT 8; The Final 12 - Colins Key

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How Did Colins Key Do?

For his Top 12 trick, Colins Key did a spike-in-cup type mentalism effect. For it, he borrowed Nick Cannon's $250,000 watch, and put it in one of three paper bags. He put cheap watches in the other two, and shuffled the bags, inviting the female judges to pick one each. He then took a hammer to the two chosen bags, destroying the watches inside. Meanwhile, he had Howie Mandel set his watch to a random time. He then revealed that Nick's watch was inside the remaining bag, completely unharmed and set to the chosen time. All things considered, It was better then his last performance, but sadly, not by much. The trick was easy to follow, and Colins himself didn't make any major errors. However, he relied too much on an uncooperative audience (again). At the point when Howie was supposed to read the time on his watch (To the nearest minute), he was unable to, and it was a while before Mel B read the time off correctly. This resulted in Colins going over the 90-second time limit for the second consecutive performance. Howard Stern correctly stated that he needed to "speed things up". This claim was highlighted by the fact that Howie and Heidi were unable to give their verdicts due to time constraints (but it is likely that they would have been all praise). Colins Keys performance was inferior to the final performances of Michael Grasso and Landon Swank, the last two magicians to make it this far, but this time, there are more spots in the final (6 instead of 4) and a less competitive lineup, which is good for Colins.




What are his Chances?

Due to his online fanbase and weak competition, Colins has a moderate chance of making it through to the grand final, but, unless he ups his game drastically, he has no chance of winning.

Americas Got Talent 8: The Finals- Colins Key

FOR BRITISH VIEWERS, THIS ARTICLE MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.

Americas Got Talent is entering its final stages, and twelve acts remain in the competition. One of them is the Magician Colins Key. But can he make it to next week's grand final?


Is Colins a favorite?

Colins Key is the third magic act in four years to make the final stages, after Michael Grasso from Series 5 and Landon Swank from Series 6 (Though it is likely that Eric Dittelman would have made the final stages last year if ten acts had gone through and not six). He is just as good, if not better then his predecessors, and has some key advantages over them. The first of these is his status as a teen idol, the "Justin Bieber of magic" as he puts it. This has attracted a large and vocal (Mostly female) fan base, referred to as "Keypers" on the internet. It is thanks to these "Keypers" that Colins made it through after his sub-par semifinal performance. Vocal fanbases are key to an acts success - That is why more safer and inferior acts (Such as Kevin Skinner  or Olate Dogs) tend to beat more exciting and creative acts (Such as Recycled Percussion and William Close). Colins can be considered as both a safe bet and an exciting act. He has the charisma and creativity that casual viewers of AGT love, but, on the other hand, he has the unwavering support that really matters..

What Does Colins need to do?

As mentioned earlier, Colins' semifinal performance was a disappointment. His performance was too elaborate, and a number of viewers accused him of "Staging" the trick by using an actress as the randomly chosen volunteer on stage. In fact, Colins may already be aware of this. After Nick Cannon announced that he had made it through, Colins revealed that the volunteer already had a boyfriend. This possibly indicated that Colins knew that many audience members were suspicious of the fact that he managed to get a young, beautiful woman as his guest, and wanted to show that she wan't the "perfect" choice many skeptics suggested she was. More to the point, Colins later claimed on Twitter that he had expected to go home. Given the fact that most viewers knew he would go through due to the poor quality of the competition, Colins lack of confidence on the night shows that he wasn't proud of his performance. But how can he make things better?

Given that his tricks have increased in scale from the street magic of his audition to a semifinal performance that utilized the entire audience at Radio City Music Hall., it is possible that Colins will try and get the audience at home involved in his next trick. On paper, this is a great idea, but tricks done for an audience of millions can be very tricky to pull off. A smart bet would be to do a street magic trick utilizing viewer participation (The best of both worlds). If the trick is executed cleanly and flawlessly, it will be a hit.

Colins' second problem is his lack of experience on the big stage. In his past performances, he has struggled to control his audience. In the Live Heats, he confused Heidi Klum with his vague directions, and in the Semi Finals, he wasted time trying to find the volunteer in the audience. He cannot afford to let his nerves take him over again, even momentarily.


What is the competition like?

This year, the final twelve are very strong indeed. However, some acts are stronger then others . The twelve, Colins included, can be divided into three categories: The Favorites, the Dark Horses, and the Outsiders.

The Favorites

• Forte
• Jimmy Rose 
• Kenchini Ebina 

The Dark Horses

• Cami Bradley
• Colins Key
• The KriStef Brothers
• Taylor Williamson

The Outsiders

• Branden James
• The Chicago Boyz
• Catapult Entertainment
• D'Angelo and Amanda
• Innovative Force

What are Colins' chances?

If Colins' performance is a success, then he has a good chance of making it through. He is something of a dark horse, and has the talent, creativity and support needed to be able to upset the favorites.

AGT 8 Semifinal 2- Leon Etienne and Romy Low

FOR BRITISH VIEWERS, THIS ARTICLE MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

How Did Leon & Romy Do?

Leon & Romy needed to do something incredible to prove themselves to the viewers, and sadly they didn't. In a bid to compensate for the slow nature of their performance in the third heat, they went into overdrive, and did five (Or seven if you count the final trick as three separate ones) tricks in the 90-second time limit. Which would have been brilliant if those tricks hadn't been seen before on the AGT stage. The tricks were:

1. The "Bowl-O-Rama" where Leon made a bowling ball appear from a sketchpad. Previously done by Nathan Burton in series 1
2. A trick where Leon made Romy appear from a cage. Hawley Magic did this in their audition last year.
3. A Quick-Change. David and Dania's speciality.
4. A trick where Leon & Romy made two girls appear from a shadow box (Which was hinged so people could see inside). Seth Grabel used a similar prop in his Vegas performance in Series 6.
5. Leon & Romy finished with a three-part trick. Romy got into a box with a compressible interior and Leon compressed the interior and showed that Romy had vanished. He then opened the interior to reveal another woman in the box, then turned to show that Romy had appeared on the balcony. Murray Sawchuck did the same basic routine (Or at least the simplified version) in his audition for series 5. Leon & Romy did a more elaborate version of the trick, but Murray's presentation was more unique and interesting. 

There's a reason most of the above tricks have been seen at the auditions. They are cheap and generic, impressive enough to get three "Yeses", but not impressive enough to actually wow an audience. Magicians have to do something creative and spectacular in the semi-final stage, especially if they are a "Wildcard" who doesn't deserve to be there. Hans Klok and JC Sum, the masters of Quick-fire magic, can get away with using derivative illusions because they have a some unique and inventive ones among the collection, and because they are more unique in their presentation and better performers. The only thing about Leon & Romy's performance that I really enjoyed was the music (An instrumental of Lenny Kravitz's "Are You Gonna Go My Way"). In fact, I preferred their previous performance- It was much more creative and unusual, as a magician on AGT should be.

However, the judges were generally full of praise, with only Howard noting the familiarity of the tricks. Howie said that Leon & Romy were the best of the wildcards (They were, albeit by default, due to the poor quality of the other three), which led to him and Howard kissing. Come next week, that is going to be the only thing that viewers will remember about this performance.

What was the competition like?

If last week's semifinal was a disappointment, this week, the competitors, for the most part, exceeded expectations. The only one that was a real disappointment was Timber Brown, whose rope-and-water themed routine was messy and confusing. D'Angelo and Amanda did a moody and exciting routine, but might be overshadowed by their opponents. John Wing did an amusing and truthful Stand-up routine about marriage. The two country singers, Marty Brown and Jimmy Rose, delivered solid and emotional, if generic, performances. It's hard to pick a winner out of the two, but Jimmy seems to be more popular. The KriStef Brothers emphasized the comedy, but the two big stunts they did were spectacular. Branden James chose a curious song choice ("Alone" by Heart) but sang it very well. The American Military Spouses Choir were pleasant to listen to, but a bit boring. Anna Christine and The Chicago Boyz were the most improved acts of the night. The former sang a powerful version of the Rolling Stones song "Wild Horses", and the latter did some unique and impressive stunts with their Jump ropes. For the second time in a row, however, Kenchini Ebina stole the show, engaging in a dance-off against his reflection (It's much, much cooler than it sounds).

What are Leon & Romy's Chances of going through?

With their mediocre performance and far superior opposition, Leon & Romy's chances of going through are very small. The praise of the judges and the large number of places could work in their favor, but I have a feeling that Colins Key will be the only performer representing magic in the top 12.

Americas Got Talent 8- Leon Etienne & Romy Low are Wildcards

FOR BRITISH VIEWERS, THIS ARTICLE MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.

On Americas Got Talent's results show last week, there was good news for magic fans all over America First of all, Colins Key made it automatically through to the top 12, surpassing such fan favorites as Catapult Entertainment, Dave Fenley and Johnathan Allen in the vote. This was followed by a major revelation from Howard Stern. This year, each judge got to pick a previously eliminated act to compete in the semifinals, and Howard chose illusionists Leon Etienne & Romy Low.

Was This a Good Choice?

Don't get me wrong, Leon & Romy are a very good magic act, and I'm happy to see them in the semifinals. But the fact is that their previous performance was a disappointment, and there are a large number of acts that should have been chosen instead (Such as Ciana Pelekai, American Hitmen and Hype). The fact that Leon & Romy were put through in spite of their failure has left a negative taste in the mouth for a number of viewers, who have probably written them off as a waste of space. However, Leon & Romy have one major advantage- Unlike this year's other wildcard acts (Tone the Chiefrocca, Red Panda and Duo Resonance), who were notable for their lack of range, they have the capacity to bounce back and improve heavily on their previous performances.  However, unless they do something truly amazing, they are unlikely to emulate AGT's two great Wild Card magicians, Michael Grasso and Landon Swank, and turn from seat fillers into serious favorites.


What Should Leon & Romy Do?

Leon & Romy's trick in the Third Live Show, shown above, was a version of Lance Burton's classic "Backstage" illusion. It was actually pretty good if you were watching closely. To explain it without the "Showing you from behind" patter, Leon walked from the box to the table, then vanished from beneath the table to reappear inside the box. The main problem was the fact that "Backstage" is a fairly slow routine, in the sense that it is not clear what the surprise is supposed to be until the very end. AGT's audience demands instant gratification- They want to have an idea of what is happening from the beginning, and don't want a protracted build-up. For that reason, Leon & Romy should try and keep their Semifinal performance as simple as possible. Whilst Colins Key got away with doing an over-elaborate trick last week, Leon & Romy can't afford to make that mistake again due to their lack of exposure, smaller fan base and their status as a wild card.

The two other things that Leon & Romy need to do have been mentioned in earlier posts. They need to do something that the majority of AGT's audience hasn't seen before, and they need to do something spectacular. Colins Key has raised the bar incredibly high, and Leon & Romy will need to give it everything they've got if they want to join him in the next round.

What is the competition like?

Last week, Colins Key benefited immensely from the below-par performances of many of his rivals. This week, however, the standard appears to be very high. Leon & Romy will be facing:

1. The KriStef Brothers- It's still uncertain whether or not The KriStef Brothers will be able to perform, due to the neck injury that kept them out of last week's show. That said, If they do perform, I can't wait to see them. They are great acrobats and very amusing. Their main problem is the fact that they will be up against two other excellent acrobatics acts, who we will get to later.
2. Branden James - Branden James is a very good opera singer, but the very similar Johnathan Allen failed to make it through last week. Granted, Johnathan was up against the superior Forte, but it could be a sign that voters are tiring of opera singers, or rallying behind Forte.
3. Anna Christine - Anna Christine is a very talented and mature singer for her age, but she scraped through the last round by the narrowest of margins after a weak performance. Furthermore, the prize for winning, a show at Las Vegas, is too big for a ten-year-old, so viewers will not vote for her unless she does something Spectacular.
4. Marty Brown - Marty Brown shouldn't be here. His previous performance was a disaster, and the fact that he went through despite it upset a large number of viewers. If he gives another performance like that, his legion of fans may desert him. But even if he gives a good performance, he has hostile viewers and an immediate rival to contend with
5. The American Military Spouses Choir - The AMSC are decent singers, but the main reason they have advanced this far is due to support for their cause. They need to give a knockout performance to prove that they deserve to go further in the competition.
6. Kenchini Ebina - Two weeks ago, Kenchini Ebina was unquestionably the favorite to win, until he was upstaged by Catapult Entertainment. However, last week, Catapult Entertainment disappointed and barely made it through as a judges choice. This means that Kenchini is in a good position to reclaim his status as the act to beat, but he needs to give a performance even better then his last one- certainly a tricky task.
7. The Chicago Boyz - The Chicago Boyz are exciting and energetic, but they are the weakest of the three acrobatics acts performing this week, and the fact that they lost a member to injury leaves them at a further disadvantage.
8. Jimmy Rose- Marty Brown's aforementioned rival, Jimmy Rose is another Kentucky-based country singer. He is probably more talented overall and unlike Marty, earned his place in the semifinals, but Marty has more experience and an obsessive fan base gained from years of performing. Which of the two makes it through depends on the quality of their performance on the night.
9. Timber Brown -Aerialist Timber Brown is energetic, strong and graceful- everything a performer of his kind should be. Unfortunately, he is up against a number of safer, more appealing acts. There is a real risk that he will become this year's Donovan and Rebecca- A brilliant acrobat who doesn't get the support he deserves from AGT's voters.
10. D'Angelo and Amanda - Child Dance acts have always fared well on AGT, and D'Angelo and Amanda are likely to continue that trend. D'Angelo is a former member of The Untouchables, one of last year's finalists, and he and Amanda have been performing together for years. Their previous performance was undeniably impressive, but can they keep the momentum up?
11. John Wing - In contrast to Taylor Williamson's awkward personality and un-PC material, John Wing is a safer, more old-fashioned type of stand-up comedian. I personally prefer him to Taylor, but I worry that voters will find him boring by comparison.

Predictions

Leon & Romy's chances of making it through are very slim. As mentioned earlier, many viewers probably resent the fact that they were chosen as wildcards ahead of more deserving acts. Their opponents are very strong (And include three acts from Leon & Romy's heat) , and a better magician, Colins Key, has aleady got through. Leon & Romy need to do something amazing if the want to beat the odds and get through, and the more likely scenario is that they will redeem themselves, but not enough to get though.