Last week, Derek Hughes managed to join Piff the Magic Dragon in the Semifinals of America's Got Talent. Tonight, two more magic acts, Mentalist Oz Pearlman and "Professional Regurgitator" Stevie Starr, will be among the 12 acts competing in the third and final heat before the Semifinals.
What Should Oz Pearlman Do?
Oz Pearlman is not the first mentalist to appear on AGT. In Series 7, Eric Dittelman amazed the public with his mindreading tricks, and was the most successful of six magicians who competed in the Live Shows that year. Oz Pearlman is probably even better than Dittelman, as his tricks rely on a more impressive build up and a stronger climax. However. Oz lacks Dittelman's likeability, with an overly confident persona that contrasts sharply with Dittelman's geekier approach. Oz needs to tone down his style if he wants to appeal to viewers, and it is possible to do this without diminishing the power of his tricks. Dittelman made it through to the Semifinals as a Judges Choice, which sounds disappointing until you find out that the three acts above him all made the Final that year. With a less impressive set of opponents and seven places in the next round instead of four, Oz should make it through easily.
What Should Stevie Starr Do?
As I have stated before, I'm not sure if Stevie Starr should be considered a magic act. "Professional Regurgitation", which involves swallowing and regurgitating a wide variety of edible and non-edible items, has more in common with sideshow stunts like Sword Swallowing than magic. However, regurgitation is a skill frequently used by escapologists, and Stevie's act shares enough similarity with magic acts for me to include him on this blog. The reason why I liken Stevie to sword swallowers is because, like them, his act requires years of practise and the ability to control the muscles of the oesophagus. Unfortunately, Stevie suffers from the main problem that defines sword swallowing acts on AGT - his act is not pleasant to watch. A handful of sword-swallowers have competed on AGT's live shows, but none of them have made it through to the Semifinals because no-one was willing to vote for them. Furthermore, Stevie's act is very limited. In both his audition and his Judges Cuts performance, he did tricks which involved swallowing five coins and regurgitating them in an order chosen by the judges. Both tricks were different enough for the second to feel like an improvement, but this recycling of ideas highlights the fact that there are only so many items which can be swallowed and regurgitated. None of these criticisms should detract from the fact that Stevie's act is totally unique and requires a considerable amount of time, effort and skill. However, fans should not be surprised if Stevie does not make it through. Stevie Starr's appearances on numerous international versions of AGT, such as Britian's Got Talent and Incroyable Talent, indicate that he is the sort of act the Got Talent producers want the viewers to see, but that does not necessarily mean that an American audience want to see him on AGT.
What Is The Competition Like?
The other ten acts competing tonight are:
Alicia Michilli (Soul Singer) - Two other female soul singers, Samantha Johnson and Sharon Irving, have already made it through to the Semifinals in the last two weeks, and both were better than Alicia Michilli. Alicia is still a good singer in her own right, with a wonderfully sultry voice, but her vocals turn screechy at higher notes, and she seems to place too much emphasis on those instead of playing to her strengths. Furthermore, her song choices have been very conventional so far. Alicia needs to change her strategy if she wants to be able to match her rivals.
Benjamin Yonnatan (Blind, Teenage Contemporary Dancer) - Like Stuttering Comedian Drew Lynch, Benjamin Yonnatan is performing his craft in spite of suffering from a condition that should render it impossible to do so. Benjamin is 98% blind, and as judge Mel B noticed in the Judges Cuts, this makes it far harder for him to pull off traditional ballet moves such as spins and jumps. Therefore, the fact that he is even on the AGT stage at all is remarkable. However, superior dancers have already been eliminated, and in spite of his ability at expressing emotions through his performance. Benjamin might not be skilled enough to compete for victory.
Chaplin Dance Family (Dance Crew) - After DM Nation were eliminated last week, Chapkis Dance Family are the only Dance Crew still competing on AGT. They are fast and precise, and in contrast to DM Nation (who were criticised for using the same style and moves over and over again) provided two distinctly different performances during the Auditions and Judges Cuts, However, DM Nation were probably the better of the two Dance Crews, as they had a more appealing approach and more creative moves. DM Nation's failure to make it through ensures that I'm not enthusiastic about Chapkis Dance Family's chances of making it any further.
DADitude! (Middle-aged Dance Quintet) - DADitude! were initially eliminated at the Judges Cuts, but were chosen as a wildcard when Trapeze artists Duo Volta dropped out. Though DADitude! are just about good enough to deserve a place in the Live Shows, there are still several acts eliminated at Judges Cuts who were superior to them. They are entertaining to watch, but it is hard to overlook the fact that there are three better dance acts in this heat alone.
Daniella Mass (Opera Singer) - Opera Singers always fare well on AGT, and two female opera singers (Barabara Padilla from Series 4 and Lys Agnes from Series 6) have made the finals. This ensures that Daniella Mass is likely to make it far in the competition, and she is a technically gifted singer who can hold a high note for a very long amount of time. However, Daniella's voice is very high pitched, and this means that she is not always pleasant to listen to. Daniella is the sort of act that AGT viewers expect to make it far on the show, but that will mean nothing if she cannot prove that she deserves to do so.
Freelusion Dance Company (Videomapping Dance Trio) - After Freckled Sky's shock exit last week, their rivals, Freelusion Dance Company, are under considerable pressure to prove that ballet-inspired Videmapping acts can win over the viewers. The members of Freelusion are excellent dancers, and some of their effects are incredible, but the focus on storytelling that has defined the act so far could be a problem if it detracts from the performance (In fact, Freckled Sky's elimination was partly due to their desicion to prioritise their story over their dance moves). Therefore, they need to prove that they can provide a coherent narrative without reducing the emphasis on the dance, which is probably the most important part of the act
Gary Vider (Stand-Up Comedian) - Stand-Up Comedians rarely make me laugh, so Gary Vider deserves credit for winning me over at the Judges Cuts with a genuinely funny bit about asking his parents for money through a ransom note. However, Gary's style of comedy seems to be more dry and observational than laugh-out-loud funny. as Myq Kaplan found out to his cost last week, Comedians on AGT can only succeed if they make the audience at Radio City Music Hall laugh throughout their performance. Therefore, Gary needs to elicit a greater reaction from the audience whilst maintaining his signature truthful approach.
Metal Mulisha Fitz's Army (Motorcross Stunt Bikers) - There have been a number of Stunt Bikers on the AGT Live Shows in the past, with the most successful (such as Jeremy VanSchoonhoven from Series 5 and The Smage Brothers from Series 6) performing a wide range of tricks. Bikers who have relied solely on jumps (such as Yellow Design Stunt Team from Series 6) have never made it to the Semifinals, with the limited nature of their acts and the high risk of mistakes putting viewers off. Therefore, I doubt that Metal Mulisha will make it very far. They are very skilled, doing a number of terrifying stunts during some very long jumps , but their stunts are probably not as impressive to watch on TV, and I doubt that they can sustain the hour-long show that AGT's winners are expected to provide.
Mountain Faith Band (Bluegrass Band) - I enjoyed Mountain Faith Band's performance at the Judges Cuts, but in hindsight, I'm not sure if their song choice (A bluegrass version of the Rock Anthem "I Believe in a Thing Called Love") was a wise one. As AGT's male judges have been quick to point out. bluegrass is not the most appealing genre of music, so Mountain Faith Band need a more serious and contemporary song choice if they want to appeal to AGT viewers.
Selected of God Choir (Gospel Choir) - The last Gospel Choir to make the Live Shows on AGT were VSU Gospel Chorale from Series 8. In spite of featuring some incredible lead vocalists, they didn't make the Semifinals, probably because the Gospel genre is not mainstream enough. However, Selected of God Choir have worked very hard to make their act appeal to a wide audience, relying on songs that are both familiar to most viewers and suit the gospel style very well. Furthermore, they are very powerful singers and are great at working the crowd. That said, I think Selected of God Choir are better when singing as a group than they are when they sing individually, so they need to focus on their harmonies if they want to continue use winning over the viewers.
Predictions
As mentioned above, Oz Pearlman is all but garunteed a place in the next round, provided his Live Show performance goes to plan. Stevie Starr has a moderate chance of making it through, given the high number of spots in the next round and the mediocre line-up, but I think he will probably go through as a Judges Choice or Dunkin' Save
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