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:
- The "Bowl-O-Rama" where Leon made a bowling ball appear from a sketchpad. Previously done by Nathan Burton in series 1
- A trick where Leon made Romy appear from a cage. Hawley Magic did this in their audition last year.
- A Quick-Change. David and Dania's speciality.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
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