Last night, two magic acts, Piff the Magic Dragon and The Professional Regurgitator, were among the eleven acts competing in the Second Semifinal of Americas Got Talent. With only five places remaining in next week's Grand Final, and two magicians (Derek Hughes and Oz Pearlman) already through, they were under a lot of pressure to impress.
What Did Piff the Magic Dragon Do?
After being criticised for the overly ostentatious nature of his previous performance, Piff the Magic Dragon began by shutting down a lavish into, then provided a routine which allowed him to return to the approach of his first two performances, as he brought out his signature magic table and performed a series of card tricks for the judges. He begun by getting Howie to put two pieces of toast into a toaster, then told Mel B, Heidi and Howard to select a card each. When the toast popped out of the toaster, Piff told Mel B to reveal her chosen card (The Three of Hearts), before, with the name burnt onto one slice and the suit burnt onto the other. Piff then put the two pieces of toast together and bit into them to reveal Howard's Chosen Card (The Ace of Clubs) between the pieces. Piff then promised that his dog Mr. Piffles, who had been shown on a nearby TV screen throughout the trick (He was apparently watching the performance on a deckchair in Las Vegas), would find Heidi's chosen card. He then threw the cards at the TV screen, with one of them getting stuck inside the screen. When Mr Piffles failed to take the card, Piff ran out of the theatre, appeared on the TV screen, and peeled Heidi's Chosen Card (The Seven of Diamonds) off the camera, before returning to the studio with Mr. Piffles. This was easily Piff's best performance to date, as he provided not one, but three creative card tricks, and performed them well, with no visible errors. He also managed to squeeze in a few smaller tricks, such making a small sponge hare appear on Howie's shoulder, and producing a bouquet of flowers when he returned to the judge's table at the end of the performance. Overall, it was a highly enjoyable performance, demonstrating that Piff is every bit as good as his fellow magicians.
What Did the Judges Say?
Howard, Heidi and Howard gave Piff the Magic Dragon standing ovations. Howie told Piff that he "[made] us laugh" and "[left] us in wonder" Howard said that he was the second act of the night he wanted to see in the Grand Final (after Stand-Up Comedian Gary Vider) and "got back to business after his previous performance. Heidi finished by saying that Piff was a "Crowd favourite" and looked "Super Sexy" in his dragon costume. Throughout the Judges Comments, Piff poured a large jar of sugar into his cup of coffee. This was not quite as funny as his previous habit of eating after the performance, but it was still amusing to watch.
What Did The Professional Regurgitator Do?
The main problem with The Professional Regurgitator has always been the disgusting nature of his act, so he chose to address this by performing a set of regurgitations that were actually quite beautiful to watch. He began by swallowing (Or rather drinking) smoke, washing-up liquid and water, then regurgitated bubbles made up of the washing-up liquid and water. The Professional Regurgitator then created a giant bubble between his hands and regurgitated more smaller bubbles into it, before filling another large bubble with regurgitated smoke. However, there was still some smoke in The Professional Regurgitator's stomach, so he swallowed a raw egg whole, displacing the remaining smoke, then regurgitated the egg, completely undamaged. I don't think that this was as impressive as The Professional Regurgitator's other performances, but it was easier to watch, and therefore more likely of appealing to viewers (Although, to be fair, The Professional Regurgitator is doing a great job of appealing to viewers already).
What Did The Judges Say?
All four judges gave The Professional Regurgitator standing ovations. Heidi called him "My absolute favourite this entire season". Mel B described him as "Incredible". Howie said that The Professional Regurgitator was "Wonderfully disgusting". Howard finished by calling The Professional Regurgitator "The Most Original Act" and saying that he should join Gary and Piff in the Grand Final.
What Was The Competition Like?
The standard was very high this week, with the majority of acts giving their best performance to date. 3 Shades of Blue placed more emphasis on their instruments, with their lead singer doing a good job of controlling his rock vocal. Gary Vider told more jokes than usual, with some being amusing, but for the second performance in a row, his climactic joke was the weakest of the routine. Alondra Santos confirmed her focus on Latin Pop, but was overshadowed by her backing band. Freelusion Dance Company introduced robots to their act, but made this change work due to some incredible visuals. Alicia Michilli started slowly, but did a surprisingly good job of controlling her high notes in the second half of her performance. Daniella Mass provided an unusual song choice (A Spanish version of the Roy Orbinson classic "Crying") but emphasised a lower, more powerful, operatic voice. Uzeyer Novruzov's performance started well, but he failed to pull off a critical move and ended up falling off his giant ladder. Sharon Irving sang "Imagine", demonstrating what an expressive and powerful signer she was. Finally, Paul Zerdin used Howie as a "Living Dummy" and got him to dance on stage, proving that his technical skill and showmanship are what make him stand out as a great ventriloquist.
Verdict
Both Piff the Magic Dragon and The Professional Regurgitator have a Very Good chance of making it to the Grand Final. Both acts provided strong Semifinal performances, and have been highly popular with the judges and viewers. Therefore, it is not a surprise that Howard singled them out as acts who deserved to make it through.
It is hard to believe and in our day and age America’s Got Talent would not only allow Sharon Irving to sing such a religiophobic song but would praise her to no end for doing so.
ReplyDelete