(I've been very busy lately, so for the rest of the series, I am going to be providing my posts after the results show. This means that they will all follow the format of my posts for the Judges Cuts rounds, with only the magicians' performances being analysed, and the results being revealed at the end of the article.)
How Did Kadan Bart Rockett Do?
Kadan's sister, Brooklyn Rockett (now officially credited as Kadan's assistant) began the performance by providing the judges with four pairs of "regulation police" handcuffs. After checking these, the judges were instructed to lock the handcuffs around Kadan's wrists. Brooklyn took the keys to the handcuffs and placed them inside a toolbox on a table set up next to the Judges table. This toolbox was full of items which would be needed in case of an emergency, including a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich. After this set-up, it was time for "Kadan's Great Escape" to fully begin.
"Kadan's Great Escape" involved him being placed inside a large shadowbox, with his handcuffed wrists being suspended over his head. The box was lit so that you could see a silhouette of Kadan as he struggled with his restraints, and Brooklyn then revealed a column of chainsaws were pointed towards the box. Brooklyn turned the chainsaws on, and then pulled a rope, causing the column of chainsaws to advance towards Kadan, who seemed unable to escape from his restraints. The lights inside the box went off just seconds before the chainsaws went through it, and the sheet covering the box was then ripped away to reveal that Kadan had vanished from it. A couple of moments later, the toolbox next to the Judges opened and Kadan emerged from inside it. He finished the routine by grabbing the sandwich inside the toolbox and taking a bite from it.
Although only 10 years old, Kadan already has many of the strengths and weaknesses associated with illusionists. The main problem with illusionists is that they generally rely on similar kinds of illusions (there are only so many ways you can make someone vanish from a box), and it is generally easier to figure out how their tricks are done. This means that they are more reliant on showmanship, and have to ensure that their routines seem unique and entertaining. Like the best illusionists, Kadan is really good at making his performances stand out. He is generally a very confident performer (even when he briefly struggled to make himself heard at the very beginning) and the music ("My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark" by Fall Out Boy) was used effectively, making the act seem more energetic. Even if the staging is a little bit amateurish (the "police handcuffs" used looked more like toy handcuffs) the "home-made" look and feel of Kadan's props emphasises how much effort he puts into setting up his illusions. I would also like to praise Brooklyn, who made her lines seem really funny as she showed the Judges the handcuffs and the toolbox. Overall, Kadan is not the best illusionist in this season of AGT, but he's probably the one I enjoy watching the most.
The judges all gave Kadan positive comments. Heidi praised the way he always provided "a surprise for us". Simon called him "A real-life Harry Potter". Howie praised the way Kadan managed to "step it up" and urged viewers to vote for him, whilst Mel B praised "the element of surprise" in his act. Given that Kadan performed early in a really competitive heat, it was a really pleasant surprise to find out that he had received enough votes to advance automatically to the Semifinals. I doubt that he will advance much further, given the high standards set by the other Semifinalists, but I look forward to seeing him once more.
How Did Blake Vogt Do?
As the only act in the Live Shows whose audition went untelevised, Blake Vogt was under considerable pressure to make a name for himself in the Live Shows. In his pre-performance intro, we found out a lot more about Blake. As a child, he found out he had 109 different allergies which left him housebound, and he turned to magic to cope with this. In addition to revealing this back-story, Blake promised that his Live Show performance would be a routine he had "created just for this show". This intro made me look forward to Blake's performance, but I personally found it a little disappointing.
Blake began his performance by getting a random audience member to choose his volunteer for him. After the volunteer was selected, Blake pointed to a box suspended in midair, and promised that, whilst other magicians would make doves appear, he would make any bird name appear. Blake then noted that there were over 9,000 species of birds, and asked the volunteer to name a bird of her choice. She chose a "Blue Jay", and Blake made an egg drop from the box, claiming that it was a Blue Jay egg, and he couldn't provide anything else due to his allergy to birds. Blake then went to the Judges Table, and gave the egg to Simon. He then gave a deck of cards to Howie, and asked him not to touch the deck until the end of the performance. Howie was then told to think of a deck, and choose to remove either the number cards or picture cards. After Howie removed the number cards, Blake asked Mel B to choose the face on the card - she decided it would be a Queen card. Finally, Heidi was asked to choose the suit of the card, and chose to select the Queen of Diamonds. After the Queen of Diamonds had been selected, Howie was asked to open the box of cards, but found out that it was empty, Blake explained that the judges would have expected something to appear in the box, but there was one place where "nobody expects the Queen of Diamonds to be"- the egg. Simon cracked the egg open to reveal that instead of a yolk, there was a folded-up card inside, and Blake opened this card up to reveal that it was the Queen of Diamonds - the Judges' Chosen card. However, Blake was not finished yet. He went back to the box on stage, still suspended in midair, and pulled a rope, causing the box to open up and reveal the bird name chosen at the start of the routine, "Blue Jay", written inside.
I believe that out of all the seven magicians who made it through to the Live Shows this year, Blake is probably one of the weakest. I liked the bird theme, and I find it really interesting that Blake made his allergies into a prominent part of the routine, but I still think he lacks showmanship. His nasal voice means that he sounds pretty annoying when he shouts, although I think that this routine was more suited to his energetic style than the more intimate one he provided at Judges Cuts. However, my biggest problem with Blake's Live Show performance was its generic nature. His tricks were hard to figure out, but his style of magic is no longer special. In the last few years, numerous magicians have performed Card tricks and Mentalism on AGT, so magic acts in these genres have to be truly unique in order to stand out, and I don't think that Blake's routines have been unique enough to impress me.
Nonetheless, this is just my opinion, and the judges were full of praise for Blake. Mel B said that she was "confused" by the routine, but in a good way. Heidi said that she had no idea how the trick was done. Simon admitted that he had previously considered Blake boring, but said that this routine had won him over, as Blake actually had "a great personality". Howie finished by praising Blake's backstory. As this was a very competitive heat, I didn't expect Blake to get through, but he earned enough votes to advance automatically. I wish Blake good luck and hope that he will win me over with his next performance.
Who Else Made It Through?
In addition to Kadan Bart Rockett and Blake Vogt, the following five acts made it through to the Semifinals. They were:
- Pop/Rock Singer Brian Justin Crum
- Family Country Trio Edgar
- Child Singer-Songwriter Grace VanderWaal
- Vocal Quartet Linkin' Bridge
- Drumming/Tap-Dancing Group Malevo
I wish them the best of luck in the Semifinals.
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