Hey, guys. It's finally here. The Semi-finals!! This week, the best acts from the Quarter-finals have made their mark and have been given a second chance by America (or the judges by way of the Judges’ Save) to take their talent higher or go home one step closer to the top, but have to go back down because they started lacking. Also, some acts come back as Wild Card picks, and thanks to the judges having the brains(?) to realize actually good talent (depends on the judge) and make this competition more exciting. Let’s see what happens during this week’s review.
Speaking of the Wild Card Picks, while only the Two How’s make some actual picks that are worth staying in the competition, Mel B and Heidi chose some very, very mixed acts, and both of them involved hot guys close to tearing their shirts off or having them off anyway.
One of them the first act returning is Flight Crew Jump Rope. Although I liked this one a bit, I felt that this act was on the same level of talent and similarity to their last performance. There were some differences, including the intricate act in the middle, but the feeling is still there.
The judges were very divided on the act. Both Mel and Heidi loved it and Howie and Howard thought it had sameness to it.
Mara Justine is up next, singing “Breakaway” by Kelly Clarkson.
I don’t know what to say about this girl. I know this girl can sing, but her voice is puzzling. It sounds like a black girl at choir practice (not a bad thing), and her breathing control is terrible (that’s a bad thing). If she can fix that, then I’ll like her more. So, yeah, she did a great job.
(And on a side note, if Howard Stern gives a standing ovation for you, you KNOW you’re gonna go far; never mind the other judges, just him.)
Bad Boys of Ballet is another Wild-Card choice. They were really mixed last time, and were told by Howie to put more “Bad” in their act, which would be a good thing. And they did up the “Bad”, which helped them a bit. They guys got better in personality (The jean jackets don’t count) and the dancing was a little better. The girl is terrible. She stands there a couple times while the boys do more. I know she’s now really the main part, but that just sticks out to me. She did better last time.
Later on Paul Ieti plays classic Backstreet Boys by singing “I Want it That Way”.
He has a nice calm, soothing voice, but I think this song wasn’t the best for him to use. A major clue being that song was sung by 5 GUYS. Also, I heard pitchiness in a lot of places and the high points didn’t sit well with me.
Mel said that if he played it back, that he would be disappointed at what he hears, Howie was blunt when he said that Mara (a 12-YEAR-OLD girl vs. a GROWN MAN) is better than him; I definitely agree.
And now, Howard’s WC pick, Mike Super. If he seems unfamiliar, it because he previously was in a duo with Desmond. All I can say is “Oh Shit! This was really good.” The suspense in the box, the amazing transferring via a string from the box to the platform and the reveal of the symbol in his hand (Howard randomly chose a Triangle) was just astounding.
All 4 judges loved the act (Howard said getting rid of “that dumb dead [idiot] Desman” really did the trick) and so did I.
Andrey Morau the hand balancer returns for another round. This time the stakes can’t be any higher, mostly because his act is the same, yet has to be different, and must need the votes to go to the finals. And it was...really good. I enjoyed it a lot. He seems like an act made for Vegas. (Also to my readers, I apologize for incorrectly naming Andrey as “Audrey”, because his name looks very identical to the female name. Again, my apologies.)
Miguel Dakota sang The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army”.
I like this rendition a lot. And his voice is great. Just like his change-up of “Come Together”, he’ll take a classic song, put his own spin on it (or have the music man on this show make it the way he wants it), and not only make it his own, but it’ll sound great. He’s the male singer that gonna go far in the competition. And not just on looks.
Next, Sons of Serendip performed “Don’t You Worry Child” by Swedish House Mafia. This was more slower and soothing than the ear-splitting original, and this was amazing. The string-work never fails me and their voices was just as astonishing. And it almost made me cry. Okay, I teared up a little, but they were still really good.
David and Leeman were back for more magic and humor. This time, the act involves a sharp metal nail on a block of wood with a red X on it, and this was placed in one of 5 bags by random. The trick was to press the others without hitting the nail button. It was questionable that they pressed three buzzers anyway, but that was part of the trick. I felt less bored than last time, and felt more on-the-edge-of-my-seat, but I was a little more confused though (that’s not a stretch). Thank God neither of them hit the nail button, though.
Dan Naturman is BACK. UGH. First off, the songs that play before he makes his act set are really unnecessary and unfunny. Don’t worry, though, he got better this time. And he dropped the awkward sound in his voice. The one where his relatives asked him if he found a woman with “chemitry” was a really good one. I think he deserved to at least come back this week.
Later, Arial Animation did another sight for sore eyes in animation and acrobatics. This time, though...it just bored me. Like “almost to death” bored me. Not much here excites me; Just her riding a Pegasus, getting shot down by ducks, fighting off star-shaped arrows from bright constellations and flying on balloons. That’s it. That was so under so-so.
And finally, the sexy and sultry Emily West singing Queen’s “Who Wants to Live Forever”. Her voice was just astounding. I think she’s the best singer this season, hands down. Hearing it just bring a smile to my face. I think this was just as great as when she sung “Chandelier”, if not better. She just makes everyone happy with her voice.
And now, a Random Thought about this week:
It’s pretty clear that Mel & Heidi are incredibly pleasing and fangirl-like, while the 2 Hows were cranky and serious. The girls just shower praise [which annoyed me] except when the act is truly bad (and that only happened ONCE) and the guys were brutally truthful about their opinions except when the act is at least really good (and their opinions are really accurate, I even thought Howie was on point in most parts, and he’s the straight-up goofball judge).
But I thought most of the critiques were really deserving this week.
Best Act of the Week: Mike Super & Emily West
(Special Mention: Flight Crew Jump Rope)
Worst Act of the Week: Paul Ieti
(Special Mention: Bad Boys of Ballet)
And now, elimination time.
Moving on to The Finals is:
--Mara Justine (the Snapple Save; a save thanks to voting on Google[makes more sense to call it the Google Save])
--Mike Super (Much better without that dumb, dead Desmond)
--Miguel Dakota (Cool rockin’ voice)
--Sons of Serendip (Just pure music; such nice fingering)
--David and Leeman (they need to make their act more exciting [or a little more intense])-and…
--Emily West (Very well-deserved)
Leaving and Going Home are:
-Flight Crew Jump Rope (why Mel wanted them back is beyond me…)
-Bad Boys of Ballet (why Heidi wanted them back is beyond me…oh yeah)
-Paul Ieti (He’s just terrible; no more words)
-Andrey Morau (I liked this one, but understood why he was eliminated; his act was just the same thing over)
-Dan Naturman (Still not a million-dollar act, still awkward)-and…
-Arial Animation (It just wasn’t there like last time).
And that’s it. That’s the review for now. All the better acts of this week have moved on to the finals, and many more will get a chance to make it there too, next week. Tune in next Thursday for the review. Goodbye, everyone.
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