Of the four magic acts to make it into the live shows this year, close-up magician Colins Key was the only one to make the Semifinals. But did he continue to impress?
How Did Colins Key Do?
Colins Key did another mentalism trick, utilising the whole audience this time. First, he had them tweet the name of a New York location, then he asked a woman chosen from the audience to come down onto the stage. Before she arrived on stage, Colins had the judges choose Fashion items at random by drawing a ball out of a bag. Howie chose a hairstyle, Mel B chose a dress, Heidi chose shoes, and Howard chose a miscellaneous item (A "Wildcard") . The woman finally came down onto the stage, and Colins revealed that the clothes she was wearing matched those chosen by the judges (The "Wildcard" chosen by Howard, Polka Dots, were on the Woman's iPhone). He then finished by revealing the location chosen by the audience (Central Park) correctly predicted on his arm. As the above description indicates, it was a pretty elaborate trick. However, there were two big problems. The first of these was pacing. As Leon Etienne and Romy Low found out to their cost a few weeks ago, A magician must not lose the attention of the audience. Colins struggled to keep the audience under control, and took too long to get to the point. The second, equally major, problem is apparent from a quick look at the "Comments" section of the video of the performance on Youtube. A large number of viewers believe that the trick was "fake" and that the girl was an actor. Colins did prove some theories wrong (The balls in the bags were all different), but failed to completely invalidate most of the Skeptic's claims. This will likely cost Colins a lot of votes. In short, his trick was actually very strong, but Colins' lacked the polish and showmanship needed to amaze the viewers and silence the critics. It was not his best performance.
What Did the Judges Say?
As usual, Howie and Heidi were highly positive, with Heidi in particular praising the use of the audience. Mel B was also impressed, but noted that she was torn between believing in the magic and trying to figure it out. Howard, however, was critical, saying that Colins squeezed too much into a small time frame. Personally, I think that Howard has a point. Colins would have been better off removing the choice of location and the red slips that helped him choose a woman in the audience, using the extra time to make the trick more convincing.
What was the Competition like?
On paper, the first semifinal looked highly competitive, but turned out to be a disappointment. One act can be ruled out instantly though- Tone The Chiefrocca sang "B-Double-O-T-Y" again and proved to be a total and utter waste of a wildcard spot. Red Panda, drafted in during the morning as a last-minute replacement for the KriStef Brothers, did OK with her rice bowl juggling act, especially with the little time she was given, but she made mistakes. Balancing Duo Duo Resonance had some good tricks, but they are a little boring. Innovative Force, another acrobatics act, lack the edge needed to compete. I personally found Angela Hoover very funny, but she doesn't seem like she can go much further. Taylor Williamson seems to be more popular, but I dislike his blend of awkwardness and blue humour. Catapult Entertainment, a Silhouette performance act, are excellent, but their underwater-themed performance was not their best. The singers have a better chance of getting through: Dave Fenley had an unusual song choice ("Say You'll be There" by the Spice Girls), but did a decent job. Cami Bradley has a nice voice, but is a bit bland. Johnathan Allen has talent, but was probably overshadowed by his rivals Forte, another act who performed below capacity. Only two acts (Taylor and Forte) received complete and unconditional praise from all four judges.
What are Colins' Chances?
Fortunately for Colins (And also many of the other competitors), Six acts are going through. Colins wasn't at his best, but, due to his large teen fanbase and the weak opposition, he has a good chance of making it to at least the judge's vote by default.
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