Americas Got Talent 10 - The Grand Final

(Disclaimer: I'm sorry that I took so long to get this post up. I couldn't finish it in time for the results, and decided to wait until I had a free moment, As I've been busy, this free moment took over 8 months to arrive. 

On the plus side, I have finished it in time for the new Series of Americas Got Talent, which starts on 31st May. I hope the magicians competing can equal or better Oz Pearlman's success in reaching Third Place. Even if they can't, I hope they provide some great tricks)

(For British Viewers, The Following May Contain Spoilers)

Yesterday, the ten remaining acts in Americas Got Talent performed for one last time in the Grand Final, competing for the traditional million-dollar prize and headlining show in Las Vegas. These ten acts included a record FOUR magicians: Mentalist Oz Pearlman, Comedic Magicians Piff the Magic Dragon and Derek Hughes, and The Professional Regurgitator.

How Did Oz Pearlman Do?

Oz Pearlman was the first act to perform in the Grand Final, so he was under considerable pressure to stand out. Fortunately, he managed to provide a memorable and spectacular opening routine. He began his performance by stating that "The only reasonable explanation is that the judges must be in on it". He then eliminated this possibility by getting the judges to each think of someone who mattered to them, and swear on their chosen names (Bianca for Howard, Jennifer for Heidi, Stefan for Mel B and Angel for Howie) that they were not in on the secret. The judges were then invited to join Oz on stage, where they were told to each pick one of four covered chairs and sit on it. They were then told to swap chairs if they wished (Mel B and Heidi did so). After this, the judges were each told to choose one of five envelopes, leaving Oz with the remaining one. The envelopes were opened to reveal that the judges had colored pieces of paper with X's on the front, whilst Oz had a photograph of himself. The covers were then removed from the chairs, revealing that the colors on them matched the colors on the back of the X for each judge (Mel B had a red paper and a red chair, Howard a blue paper and a blue chair, Howie's paper and chair were both green, and Heidi's were both yellow ). Oz finished his performance by unfolding his photograph to show a correct prediction of each judges chosen chair and the name they chose to swear on at the start of the performance. As you can tell from the long description , this was an incredibly elaborate performance, blending two strong mentalism tricks (predicting the chosen names and getting the judges to pick matching colored chairs and envelopes) into a single routine. Like Oz's other performances, it required a very long set-up, but the climax was impressive enough to make it worthwhile.

What Did The Judges Say?

Howie said that Oz was "Amazing" and had got the Grand Final "off to a super start". Heidi described the performance as "incredible" and told Oz "This act has been your best yet". Mel B said that she was "in shock" and also noted that Oz "would make the best husband".

How Did Piff the Magic Draon Do?

Piff the Magic Dragon began his performance by asking Howie for eight dollars, and receiving a twenty-dollar bill instead. He instructed Howie to sign the bill, then turned it into a voucher for "One Free Magic Trick". He then got an assistant to bring his pet chihuahua Mr Piffles onto the stage, claiming that Mr. Piffles would perform a trick in order to win back "his most treasured possession", which was inside a small bag held by Heidi throughout the routine. After putting "The good luck charm of Heidi" (Her ring) onto Mr. Piffles' costume, Piff placed the dog inside a cannon, promising that when the cannon was fired, Mr. Piffles would bounce off the "Trampoline of Happiness" and do a triple somersault, before getting caught by Piff using "The Baseball Glove of Love". However, Mr Piffles was fired through the trampoline, landing some distance away. He was then replaced by an obvious toy dog, who appeared to come to life and turn upside down. Piff then put a sheet over this dog and transformed it into Mr. Piffles, who was still wearing Heidi's ring. As Mr. Piffles had failed to pull off the stunt, he did not regain his "most treasured possession" which was revealed to be two nutshells ("Mr. Piffle's Nuts"). Heidi was told to open her bag and choose one of the nutshells. Piff cracked the chosen nutshell open, and revealed that it contained Howie's signed £20 note. Overall, whilst this routine was creative, it was affected by two major problems. The first was the over-complicated nature of the routine, with Piff performing a total of five tricks (transforming the money, firing Mr. Piffles from the cannon, making the toy dog come to life, replacing him with Mr. Piffles, and making the money appear in the chosen nutshell) when he should have focused on a few especially impressive ones. The second problem occurred when Piff transformed the toy dog into Mr. Piffles -it was embarrassingly obvious when the switch was made. It is impossible for the live audience and judges to notice this error, but eagle-eyed viewers watching on TV or online certainly did, and it's unforgivable for a magician as talented as Piff to make mistakes at such a critical stage. Although there were some funny moments, this routine was generally a disappointment.

What Did The Judges Say?

Piff the Magic Dragon was the only magician of the night to receive comments from all four judges, but their opinions were mixed. Mel B praised Piff's "dry sense of humour" and the way that the act    "[came] together". Howard was more critical, saying that whilst Piff was "consistently great", his previous performances had been better. He claimed that "At some points, I got a bit confused". Howie stated that Piff was "very funny", but wondered if he could emerge as the best in "a night of comedy". Finally, Heidi described Piff as a "sarcastic English bloke" who had won over America. During the Judges Comments, Piff finished his signature running gag by eating an old donut, and the contrast between the lavish nature of his routine and the very ordinary snack was pretty amusing.

How Did Derek Hughes Do?

Whilst the other magicians competing in the final have placed a significant amount of emphasis on providing new and creative tricks, Derek Hughes has instead relied almost entirely on showmanship to make his rather conventional magic stand out. Derek took this emphasis on performance to new heights with his final performance,. After tying a square knot in a line of rope, then transforming this rope into a solid square, Derek promised to provide a "Sneak peek of what the first three minutes of my Las Vegas show will look like". He introduced viewers to a DJ playing in the background (Who he cut off at several key points in the routine) and two blonde backing dancers, before performing a reversed version of the equal-unequal ropes, also known as The Professor's Nightmare. Derek showed the audience three pieces of rope that were an equal length, then appeared to transform them into one medium rope, one large one, and one small one, by covering two of the ropes at a certain point with his left hand. Derek revealed this secret to Howie, then, in order to please him, transformed the ropes into three pieces of genuinely different length, before restoring them to their original state. He then finished by taking a different piece of rope and cutting it in two, before joining the two halves together using quick arm movements. Overall, whilst the presentation was slick, the staging was too distracting - the dancers and DJ added nothing, and merely demonstrated that Derek is a style-over-substance magician. Rope tricks have never really been performed on Americas Got Talent at any stage, let alone in the Grand Final, because they are too simple for such a big show. Derek really needed to provide some incredible rope tricks in order to stand out, and as he failed to do so, his performance was a disappointment.

What Did The Judges Say?

Derek Hughes received negative comments from the judges. Although Howard noted that "You don't get this far without having talent", he said that Derek's final performance had been "somewhat underwhelming". Howie agreed, criticizing the "long and drawn out" presentation. Mel B concluded by saying that the performance "really fell flat" and adding that she was more focused on the backing dancers.

How Did The Professional Regurgitator Do?

For his final performance, The Professional Regurgitator performed two tricks. The first of these was a throwback to his earlier performances, as he swallowed five thumb-tacks and a small magnet. He then asked the judges to tell him how many thumb-tacks he should attach to the magnet inside his stomach. When they said they wanted four thumb-tacks attached to the magnet, The Professional Regurgitator regurgitated the magnet with four of the thumb-tacks attached, before regurgitating the fifth one separately. For his second trick, The Professional Regurgitator swallowed lighter fluid from an aerosol canister. After getting Nick Cannon to wave a lighted torch in his mouth to prove that all the lighter fluid had been swallowed, he regurgitated some of it, appearing to breathe fire as Nick held the torch in front of The Professional Regurgitator's mouth. The Professional Regurgitator then put a mixture of water and washing-up liquid in his hands, creating a giant bubble from it as he had in the Semifinals. He regurgitated the remainder of the lighter fluid into the bubble, and when Nick ignited it, it created a fireball that burned briefly, but was very bright. Overall, this was a strong performance, as it emphasized The Professional Regurigitator's personality, which helps him stand out from other "freak-show" acts, and demonstrated the full range of his abilities. I wouldn't say that I'm a fan of The Professional Regurgitator, but I enjoyed watching him progress through the competition.

What Did The Judges Say?

All four judges gave The Professional Regurgitator a standing ovation. However, due to time constraints, only Heidi and Mel B were able to provide comments. They were both full of praise for The Professional Regurgitator, with Heidi saying that "There is nobody in the world who can do what you can do" and describing him as "a million dollar act". Mel B described The Professional Regurgitator as "a guaranteed show-stopper".

What Was The Competition Like?

The other six acts all provided very strong performances. Although the judges felt that Uzeyer Novruzov's routine was not spectacular enough, I personally found it very enjoyable, and liked the increased emphasis on acrobatic skills over danger. Benton Blount sang the One Direction hit "Story of My Life" and sounded flat at points, but managed to control his voice very well, and was good at conveying emotion.  Gary Vider told six jokes, and was funnier than usual, finally managing to finish with a strong joke. Paul Zerdin showed off all his puppets in a very creative routine, but I disliked his reliance on toilet humor. The CraigLewis Band sang "Beggin" and their energetic performance style and strong harmonies made up for moments where they were trying too hard. Finally, Drew Lynch provided some funny jokes, and his showmanship was as strong as usual, but his decision to finish with a reference to Gary Vider's Semifinal routine was a mistake, especially as Drew is probably the stronger of the two stand-up comedians overall.

Verdict

Of the four magic acts in the final, The Professional Regurgitator stands the best chance of winning, as he blended the best elements of his previous performances into an impressive new routine. Oz Pearlman was impressive, but his early performance slot could work against him. Piff The Magic Dragon disappointed, and Derek Hughes will gain the least votes, having received the worst reviews from the judges.