The Judges' Cuts stage of Americas Got Talent is in its third week, with comedian, actor and TV host Marlon Wayans joining Howard, Heidi, Mel B and Howie as the week's "Guest Judge", This week, 20 more acts competed to gain seven more spots in the Live Shows, which will contain 36 acts. Among this group of 20 competitors were two magicians, Comedy Magician Dana Daniels and Mentalist Oz Pearlman.
How Did Dana Daniels Fare?
Dana Daniels, whose audition was not televised, performed a routine involving his pet parrot Luigi, in which he used Howie as a volunteer. Dana begun by getting Howie to sign a $20 bill, then folded it and appeared to place it in a paper beak which he placed over Howie's forehead (Due to bad editing, he wasn't actually shown "placing" the bill in it, but it's highly likely that he used the beak as his alternative to a conventional envelope) . He appeared to make the bill vanish from the beak, before producing an egg from beneath Luigi, making it seem as if the parrot had laid it, and cracking it open to reveal the signed bill inside. Dana's performance was creative enough to justify his presence in the Judges' Cuts round, and there were few major mistakes, but it was nowhere near the high standard that the judges and viewers expect at this point. The judges were critical, with Howard saying that that his act was like a performance at "a kids birthday party", and Marlon saying it wasn't splashy enough, and Dana was unsurprisingly eliminated from the competition.
How Did Oz Pearlman Fare?
After reading the minds of the female judges in his audition, Oz Pearlman chose to focus on the male judges for his Judges' Cuts performance. He began by giving Howard a notebook containing the names of female celebrities, and instructed him to choose one at random, then throw the book away. After this, he gave Howie a second notebook, which contained the names of male movie stars, and told him to choose an actor. Oz then instructed Howie to think of a movie featuring the chosen actor, and wrote down a prediction of both the actor (Tom Cruise) and the movie (Top Gun), which he showed to the audience. He then told Howie to name the actor and movie he had chosen, and both of his predictions turned out to be correct. He then went back to Howard and told him to imagine his chosen celebrity (Oprah Winfrey) and cut a piece of folded paper with scissors. He then opened the paper to reveal a very accurate of cut-out of Oprah's face. I liked the theme, and the way in which Oz revealed both his correct predictions (He showed the Tom Cruise prediction to everyone except Howie, before asking him to reveal his chosen actor) was clever, but Oz has to be compared to AGT's most successful mentalist, Series 7's Eric Dittleman, and although they're both great mentalists, I personally prefer Dittelman's persona. However, the judges loved Oz, with Marlon calling his performance "Really Incredible" and Howard saying it was "A-Plus", and he made it through to the Live Shows. I look forward to seeing what he can do in his next performance, and I hope that he can win over the viewers.
Who Made It Through To The Live Shows?
In addition to Oz Pearlman, six more acts made the Live Shows. They were:
- Dance Quintet Animation Crew
- Singer and Guitarist Benton Blount
- Bluegrass Group Mountain Faith Band
- Ventriloquist Paul Zerdin
- Vocal Trio Triple Threat
- Dancer and Contortionist Vita Radionova
I wish all of them the best of luck in the Live Shows.
Next Week: The last week of Judges Cuts looks like it will be the most competitive, as former AGT judge Piers Morgan joins the panel as the "Guest Judge". The final group of 20 acts competing for the final seven spots in the Live Shows include Magicians Derek Hughes and Xavier Mortimer and "Professional Regurgitator" Stevie Starr.
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