The Miami All Stars, dance group: This is one of the acts that did not have to perform in Vegas and was sent straight through to Vegas. Sadly for the dancers, they had to tweak their song choice as they couldn’t use one due to legal reasons. Despite that obstacle, Miami All Stars offered an energetic, coordinated, and entertaining routine. The ladies were sexy and all smiles, while the men were, as Sharon put it, “dancing like real men.” It was muy caliente! All three judges loved it.
Dezmond Meeks, singer/piano player: Dezmond rocked the house with his interpretation of “Satisfaction.” I didn’t really enjoy his arrangement as his voice was a tad too high for this song. Despite Howie saying it was too cheesy, we have to admit that Dezmond and his beautiful and sexy dancers were entertaining and owned the stage. See for yourself in the clip below.
Those Funny Little People, variety act: I still don’t get why this act is in the Top 48. Yes, they are cute and fun, but is it really a million dollar talent? After all, their dancing is even more basic than what Sam B does, and they lipsynch. Even though they changed the theme this week to rain — the soundtrack was of “Singing in the Rain” and “It’s Raining Men” — their overall performance was just… meh…. not that amusing. I’m sure I’m not the only one, besides Piers, who doesn’t get this act. However, Those Funny Little People might get a few extra votes because they went inside Piers trailer and left him a gnome. And, thanks to Howie, they were able to continue to annoy Piers during the post-performance comments.
The Fearless Flores Family, globe of death stunt act: This amazing family raised up the bar as they promised after their audition. This week, three of them rode motorcycles while dad was standing in the middle of the globe. The lighting effects, their cool glow-in-the-dark costumes, and the fact the globe was actually on stage this time around, made this act even more impressive. One word can sum up their performance: WOW! Mom and the kids were incredibly in sync throughout the performance.
Squonk Opera, opera: We haven’t seen much of this act in previous rounds and let’s hope we won’t see more of them later on. Their performance was bizarre, and the singing was off key at times and we couldn’t make out the words, so it was difficult to make sense of what we were seeing. Piers says that the piano player missed one note out of three but I didn’t catch that. Actually, the piano playing was what I liked most about this performance. Piers and Sharon both Xed the act and Howie can thisclose to pushing his X button too but then came the cherub! Oh, the cherub! Howie so much liked it that not only did it mean that he didn’t X the act but he actually put the cherub costume on at the end of the show so to annoy Piers some more!!!
J. Chris Newberg, comedian: Don’t know about you, but the footage of Chris in the bathtub in the pre-performance segment creeped me out. This didn’t help me welcome the performer on stage — especially since I didn’t find him funny in the previous rounds. This week, he did make some funny jokes but some were rather awkward too, like the one about testing the urban legend about covering your body with peanut butter to see if your dog will… you can Google to find the rest of the legend. The glee club of kids dressed as Chris was cute but, as Piers pointed out, it mostly helped mask the fact that Chris’ jokes were not that fun. Howie, as expected, loved the performance and said he would buy a ticket to one of Chris’ shows. Sharon hated the song but liked the act. Chris was yet another act that annoyed Piers, especially when he (Chris) said that the kids did everything right, including annoying Piers! It won’t surprise you to learn that Piers Xed Chris (I would have too).
Snap Boogie, dancer: Snap wasn’t as impressive as in previous rounds this week, which was probably due to the fact he injured himself during rehearsals. No matter, he offered a slick, current, and cool performance with some backup dancers. As Howie said it, Snap Boogie’s performance was fantastic because he was able to bring street dancing and offer it in a stage version. Sadly, the psychadelic background in the first half of his act was too distracting.
Echo of Animal Gardens, talking parrot: Animal Gardens is getting a lot of free press, no? Thanks to the presence of his girlfriend Blinky, Echo was quite talkative in his Top 48 performance, he was funny, and had a good singing voice. Not only did he make some noises and said a few words, but he sang part of “Jingle Bells” and “Over the Rainbow.” Howie said in comments that he isn’t sure if this is a million dolar act or just a really good birthday party trick. The crowed booed him but, think about it, would you pay the big bucks to see Echo perform in Vegas? Piers said that Echo was quite funny and implied he was even funnier than Chris!
The Fiddleheads, bluegrass band: Song choice is key when it’s time for America to vote. The group decided to perform their version of Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean.” This is a good song choice because it will resonate with America. However, as the judges pointed out, it is also a bad choice because the song was too big for them. Howie probably put it best: “Billy Jean” and Michael Jackson are synonymous of performance and dance. Two things that the Fiddleheads failed to offer this week as they barely moved around the stage and, when they did move or made some attempts at owning the stage, they seemed uncomfortable. That said, despite this not so great performance, the group can have a promising future. Afterall, if The Lost Fingers can do well with their own versions of hit songs, The Fiddleheads could live off their music too.
Duo Aero, trapeze act: The judges were not impressed with the duo’s performance. Piers said he got bored, which is why he Xed them. Sharon said that their previous performances were sexy, modern, and dangerous, but, this time, they turned into an old-time aerial act. Howie was disappointed as it was not exciting. Nonetheless, Duo Aero did do some nifty tricks, especially some of the position changes between the two, but it will surely not be enough to give them a spot in the next round.
Anna Graceman, singer/piano player: Anna won over the crowd and the judges by singing her own version of “It’s a Wonderful World.” It was a risky song choice considering that Anna doesn’t have a deep and rich voice such as Louis Armstrong’s. The arrangement she chose to perform was perfect for her voice range and highlighted not only her strenght as a singer but also her piano skills. Howie even went as far as saying that AGT now stood for “Anna’s Got Talent.” To add icing on the cake, Anna has a great personality, is humble, and just simply rocks! Watch her amazing performance below and watch until the end as her ending of the song is powerful.
Sandou Trio Russian Bar, Russian bar acrobatics act: After their Vegas performance where they added fire elements to their act, everyone wondered where they could go next. The answer: a bed of nails. Wait, even more: a bed of nails set on fire! Is it dangerous enough for you?! This is one of the most daring and dangerous acts this season. Not only was the setting for their Top 48 performance daring, the lady jumped higher and was flawless. This is the only act tonight that got a standing ovation from all three judges. I’m not sure it’s an headliner type of act but the performances are so breath taking that they deserve to at least move on to the next round.
Twelve acts performed, but only four are moving on. My four picks for tonight are: Dezmond Meeks, Fearless Flores Family, Anna Graceman, and Sandou Trio Russian Bar. What are yours?
Clacked by Isabelle Carreau 
on Jul 13, 2011 @ 23:00 EST5EDT
I can’t find anywhere to say this right now and I absolutely need to express just how much of an ASS Piers Morgan is!!!!!!