Hey guys, it looks like we have another episode of America’s Got Talent.  Last night ended terribly, but I’m hoping this will be much better, let’s get started.

CHEER SF was our first contestant of the night. Now…seriously, cheerleaders are cool and everything, but would I see them in Las Vegas? I’ll tell you right now the answer is no. But we’ll see how they do. Okay.  I’ll be honest, they did alright, a little off at parts, but I did phase out.  Piers agrees with me.

Our second contestant of the night was Precious’s mom in real life, ALICE.  I think she is a pretty good singer, actually.  Does she deserve the ultimate prize? I’ll say no, but I think she should definitely be recognized. The judges loved her.

Our next group was the Bollywood dance crew MONA SAMPATH DANCE COMPANY.  What I liked about this performance was it “felt” like an opening act.  It’s not what’s I’m really looking for, but was alright.  It didn’t wow Howie. Piers loved it, and Sharon said it was exciting to watch.

IRON HORSE was up next…who the heck is Iron Horse? I think they skipped them in the auditions…okay, I’m going to be forward. They suck. Well Piers called them a good bar band…I wouldn’t even say that, he also dogged on his singing capability.  Then Sharon said stop making tricks, and focus on the music, Howie said the complete opposite

THE STRONG MAN was up next.  I like the strong man, I always love watching feats of strength. Of course Piers is never impressed, but the man tossed a car. Sharon wants him to eat metal, and Howie is fascinated.

RONITH was up next, this guy is great, but he’s great because he is awful.  I had my doubts the first time I saw him, but I got some insight into his personality in the second performance.  He’s an actor like myself, but can’t take criticism very well, because he changed the whole process.  I honestly can guarantee he won’t win, but he is fun to watch regardless. He went back to his original performance. Howie was trying to say that it is bad impressions, so it’s funny, but Ronith says it’s just funny, and it’s good. As always, Piers doesn’t get it.

HANNIBAL MEANS is our next contestant, and even though he is a singer, I am still afraid he is going to eat me. HE SANG LION KING??? Now that was a surprise, never heard that kind of rendition, and it was his worst.  You can’t butcher Disney like that. Wrong song, man, wrong song. Piers said “Underneath the madness, there is an incredible singer in there” Sharon loves his voice, but wanted a hat.  Howie wanted to know what planet he was from.

WRECKLESS was our next act.  They are a great dance group from what I remember.  We’ll see how they do tonight though. I’ll be honest. I wasn’t as impressed tonight as I was with their audition.  It seemed more like a group going crazy.  Now there were parts in the dance that was like, oh…yeah that’s good, but otherwise…Sharon really enjoyed it, Howie pretty much agreed with me, and Piers sided with Sharon.

LIL CHRIS would be our next singer to take the stage.  Now I’ve seen him perform before, but unfortunately I have seen much much better than him. Like Piers said, you got to have the right song choice, which is a tough thing to accomplish, especially if you’re at his young age. I did like the song he chose, but I don’t think it matched his age…then again I don’t really know much that would.  At that age, it’s hard to find great talent. Howie did say he is talented for his age, but is raw.  Piers agreed with Howie. Sharon said he held his own for 12 years of age.

ASCENDANCE was our next act of the night.  Well, I really respect this team, because I haven’t seen anything so unique on the show as what these people do.  They dance while rock climbing, how obscure is that?  The first performance was spectacular, and their second didn’t do as well, but we’ll see how number 3 goes. Well I think it did amazingly, it worked so fantastically tonight, and Piers really enjoyed it. Sharon loved it. Howie said sensational.

ANTONIO RESTIVO was act number 11.  I respect this guy, and I think he would put on a great show, but I honestly think he won’t win this contest. Well again, he did his usual routine of fire and magic, and it was entertaining, it was, but I wouldn’t watch those hours on end.

MICHAEL GRIMM was our final performer of the night.  Now I like this guy, but I firmly believe there is absolutely no reason why he shouldn’t try out for American Idol, there are singers in this competition that just don’t qualify for American Idol, but this one totally does…I don’t get it. Howie said he is his favorite singer in the competition. Piers and Sharon both thought he was amazing, but needed to work on his confidence.

Well last night, we saw the first 12 of the top 48 perform their acts, and tonight, we get to see who was good enough, and who will receive the boot. I am anxious to find out! So let’s go ahead and get started. So here’s how it works, America picked the top 3 in the competition, and the judges will pick the final contestant going through to the next level. Howie said he believes he saw an act that will make it to the end, and Piers said he misses Hasselhoff.

So Nick brought three performers on stage, which were Airpocalypse, Sally Cohn, and Nathaniel Kenyon.  Now one of these acts will stay, while the others are sent home.  So who could it be…If I had to choose, I would most likely say Airpocalypse based on their talent level last night, but if he weren’t sick, I would definitely say Nathaniel Kenyon. And the winner is…NATHANIEL! I think he deserved it. Good job, America.

After the annoying popcorn commercial, we moved on to Selena Gomez performing her song, “Round & Round” At least she didn’t lip sync, at least I don’t think she did, heard some spitting sounds.  It wasn’t terrible, but I’m not a Gomez fan, I think she still needs to develop her voice.

After yet another popcorn commercial, we moved on to group 2, which consisted of Nick Pike, Kung Fu Heroes, and Defying Gravity. So here we have a few decent acts, but I think this one is blatantly obvious. Defying Gravity is going to win.  I mean anything can happen, but I’m pretty sure, let’s see. yep

Group 3 were up next right away with Christina & Alley, Maricar, and the Hot Shot Tap Dancers. Am I the only one beginning to wonder why everyone is wearing the same thing they wore yesterday? They aren’t performing, so it is really not needed at all.  Anyway, now this is a complicated set.  I like all of these.  Christina and Alley were cute, but not perfect, and Maricar changed her routine a little.  I think the winners will be Hot Shots. But America might still feel sorry for Christina & Alley because of their sad story. Let’s see. Yep, they still feel sorry for the gals.  Now I think they are sweet girls, and their story is inspiring, but are they really that talented?

This leaves RNG, Paul Safy Jr, and Future Funk for the last group, but first! The Rock of Ages performs on stage. (It should be noted that they sing ‘Don’t Stop Believing’)  While they do their thing, let’s think about who will take the last place tonight.  Remember, its judge’s choice at this point.  If it were me, I would personally pick RNG, I thought they were incredible last night, but from what I can recall, the judges liked Future Funk best.  I just hope they pick RNG! Let’s see. Apparently America voted Paul Safy Jr out of the competition, which leaves the kiddos.  CRAP, Future Funk… RNG was 3000 times better, Howie Sucks.

Tonight was the first live show for America’s Got Talent this season.  They are showing the first 12 contestants in the top 48.  I haven’t watched America’s Got Talent in long time, but since this was Howie’s first year, I thought I’d give it another try, and I have seen every episode so far. 4 people will survive tonight’s episode, so goodbye to 8!

The first group going up was Kung Fu Heroes.  Their previous acts were more dangerous, and had more interaction, and this one I thought of as more of a dance routine, showing off their skills while twirling around weapons.  Now the judges thought of it more as a practicing routine in martial arts classes.  I don’t think so…it was similar, but like I said, I thought it was closer to showing up while dancing to a fast beat song.

Christina and Alley were up next, the two girls that have the tear jerking story of their disability, Cystic Fibrosis.  Listen, it is a nice story, but I’m all about talent, and yeah they are talented, but I see others as more talented. I’m also not very super about singers in the competition…just go to The X Factor or American Idol. Anyways, they sang “God Bless the Broken Road.”  They did okay, and they are nice girls, but it was pitchy in parts…so I don’t know.  Sharon said she could give a negative review, but she doesn’t want to, and liked the honesty in the performance.  Howie and Pierce also liked them.

Airpocalypse was the next “band” to take the stage.  Now I don’t know how I really feel about them.  Sure they are entertaining…but in the top 48? I don’t really get it…they are playing fake instruments.  Can they really win a headline show?  Tonight’s episode really was their best performance in my opinion. Howie is ever so impressed on how much they can do with absolutely nothing. Pierre also loved it, and Sharon loved the acting involved.

The Hot Shot Tap Dancers were the fourth team up.  Now, I have nothing against tap dancing, but I really wouldn’t decide to watch a tap dancing foursome in Las Vegas…I would personally rather see a magician…but who knows, maybe they will do a great job. I must say, these four did a great job dancing like pros, I really loved the set…not exactly sure what the scene was trying to tell us, but I’m not sure it really mattered. Pierce suggested it needed more oomph, and was too safe. Sharon, on the other hand loved it. Howie thought they focused too much on the set and story.

Up next was Frank Sinatra….OH I’m sorry Frank Safy Jr. Obviously, this guy sings just like Frank Sinatra, if I were to believe in reincarnation, I’d believe in it now, with FRANK Safy Jr.  He sang “Cry Me A River.” I did blank out for a second…did Sharon and Howie call him cheesy? I agree.  Then Pierce said relax.

Future Funk was our next performance group.  Now I like this group, a couple of young kids dancing.  They have talent beyond their years, and it is really entertaining to watch. They are still really talented, but there were a few problems that happened tonight.  The younger one had a few…wardrobe malfunctions, which I think in the end, affected his ability to perform. The crowd did love them though. Howie said “Deal.” Sharon thought it was amazing, and I guess Pierce liked it too.

Sally Cohn was up next…you know her right? She’s the crypt keeper that whistles with her hands…yah, and she made it this far. Well she did her thing, cracked a few jokes and whistled “Hero” by Mariah Carey…not super impressive, but to each his own right?  Well Pierce thought it was the best rendition of that song ever performed. What can I say, the judges loved her…okay then.

Nick Pike was up next.  Now I really like this guy, and I believe he really fits into the “Talent” category.  He started out on a cruise ship, but he really does belong in this completion I believe. He was actually brought back into the competition because the scariest group, who put drills into their mouth and nail their tongues to wood, had to drop out…I, wonder why.  One of them probably died.  Anyways, here we go. This guy juggled fire, jumped through fire, and set himself ON fire, Pierce did buzz him, and I understood why, it wasn’t all too impressive as it should have been.

RNG was up next, which is another group I really like.  A team of five young girl dancers.  They are actually very talented, it’s hard to find a group of such young dancers dance so well with each other, but this is one of the few. According to the video, they’ve been really struggling with a certain flip, which in the real performance, never happened.  I loved this performance, so far, it was my favorite of the night, it had a certain Michael Jackson dancing routine similarity with the dancing zombies and everything, great one.

Maricar was our next act, now I’m not sure how I feel about this one.  I think she’s pretty cool, she dresses up, and paints three different paintings, which overlap into one mega painting, which is definitely talent, but how in the world do you do that in Las Vegas for an hour? But apparently she is stepping it up tonight, by doing it underwater! She didn’t do her usual routine, but what she did was pretty enticing.  Needless to say, the judges agreed with me.

Fighting Gravity was up next, and I really like this group it is very impressive, it’s very unique, and fun to watch. I can’t explain how much I love the choreography, they are very talented, and the judges love them.  The concept isn’t very hard to understand, but it really is incredible once the lights turn out.

Nathaniel Kenyon was our last performer of the night. Nice guy, very nice voice, but more American Idol style then AGT. Well, he is sick this week, and hoping he doesn’t blow it.  He sang “Lips of an Angel” and the sickness really rang out, the crowd really did like him, but it was starting to hurt my ears hearing him. Howie was worried about himself, but thought under the circumstances, he did a good job, but did make a Justin Bieber called and wants his hair back, but Nathaniel just came back with “Mr. Clean just called.” The rest of the judges thought he had something, and would like to see him on top of his game

Turns out 47+ million votes came in last night. When Ryan sat down and spoke to the contestants, Casey told him he never expected to go very far in the show, well…you did, but not as far as the top 2…I don’t think of course.  The questions then went on…and on….and on.

We then saw Casey’s going home videos where girls were freaking out over him, including a flirty anchor woman. He went to the hospital to visit the people who saved his life….at some point in time when be had short brown hair.

Then some guy named Travis Garland sung a song. Supposedly better than Justin Timberlake, but that’s a load of crap…he wasn’t really that great.

We then go to Ohio to the home of Crystal Bowersox. There she went to an event called Bowerstock. Then Lee went home to Chicago. Where he teared up at his old school and job.

After the break, I skipped Justin Bieber, because he is pretty much Aaron Kelly: The Human Turd. Anyways, onto the results.  After recalling all the songs that were sung and how the judges reacted, we learn the first person safe is Lee Dewyze. Then Crystal Bowersox found out a few seconds later that she was also safe, just as I suspected.

Casey James was up first with “Ok, it’s alright with me”, which was his choice.  So the show started off with a song I’ve never heard for, nor really cared about, not exactly a way to start off with a bang.  He did an alright job for me. Not exactly idol-worthy though…3.5/5

• Randy said it was just alright for him too.
• Ellen said this is the moment, live or die…she felt the same way, she wished he would have brought it.
• Kara said it is hard to pick a song that everybody knows, and when he picks a song that is a first listen for a lot of people, it won’t go very well.
• Simon said he hopes there is something more substantial better later, because if this was the only song of the night, it would be a dud.

Crystal Bowersox was up next with her choice of song, which was “Come to My Window.” It would seem like the second song of the night is another song I don’t know, but it’s more popular than the previous performance, and overall she did a way better job.  I could see her doing this song professionally for her own concert, which is pretty good, not amazing, but not bad. 4/5

• Randy said YO, SO LISTEN, I didn’t love the arrangement, but I did love the vocal on it, saying it all worked out in the end.
• Ellen said it was a good song choice, and it was great.
• Kara said it was a good vocal, but she is capable of so much more.
• Simon agreed with everyone, saying it could have been better, but he has respect for her for never compromising herself as an artist.

It was Lee Dewyze’s turn to choose a song, which was “Simple Man”.  Yet again, a third song I’ve never heard before, but maybe I should have, not only because it is a good song, but because it is by the Skynyrd man. I think this is the only song of the three idol-chosen songs that fit best, and was the best…I don’t know, could be wrong…4.5/5

• Randy said he sounded amazing, and in the winning zone
• Ellen compared him to an animal or something
• Kara said he did exactly what everyone should do tonight, and round 1 goes to Lee.
• Simon said it was absolutely on the money.

It is now time for the judges to pick songs for the contestants, and to see everyone’s time in their hometown, Casey James was up first with “Daughters”, picked by Randy and Kara. The first song of the night that I actually recognize.  Definitely a better song choice then his own earlier in the episode, and I think he did a great job with it.  Though it did feel a little sleepy, we’ll see how the judges react.  4/5

• Randy said it fit him like a glove
• Ellen thought it was beautiful, and liked it a lot.
• Kara said this showed the more artistic side of him, and it is really where he shines.
• Simon said it was a much better song choice then the first time, but it was a little bit of a lazy assortment, but he sounded very very good with it.

Next up was Crystal Bowersox with Ellen’s choice, “Maybe I’m Amazed”.  Apparently she chose the song to show Crystal’s range, and to surprise everyone.  I do know this song, and I think she did a great job with it, maybe a few problems here and there, but I think better than Lee’s first choice song, other than Crystal going on about how she might be a man…4.5/5

• Randy said great song, great vocals, and somebody else in it, to win it.
• Ellen said she couldn’t have asked for more
• Kara said she didn’t change it up so much, but she said she heard more from her than they’ve ever heard before.
• Simon said he was surprised at first about the song choice, but now he gets it, and it proves that she has soul, and after next week, she may be thanking Ellen for putting her in the final.

Simon picked the last song of the night for Lee Dewyze, which was “Hallelujah”, which has been done a lot in the show previously, but whenever it is done, it is done amazingly.  So I can’t expect anything less than a 5/5.

• Randy  said he was waiting the whole season for…that, and he thinks this was his biggest moment, and was unbelievable.
• Ellen said there was nothing more to be said, that it was just stunning.
• Kara said Lee is what the show is all about, and is the heart of the season.
• Simon said with that performance he proved he is a fantastic singer, and a great person.

So what is my prediction for who is going to make the top 2? Obviously Lee and Crystal, but the overall winner is a tough choice.  I think I would still go for Crystal.

So yeah, Casey,  we’ve had enough of you , go home.

Alright, its results night on American Idol.  Last night, my predictions stated Casey James was the one that is going to leave tonight, with Big Mike in 3^rd place.  We’ll see how it turns out tonight. Fantasia was the first singer to take the stage tonight. I  sure hope it’s not another night filled with random singers. “Put the Message in the Box” was the new Ford Music Video

So next week is the week where the top three get to go home for a day and see their family and supporting town, always fun.  So the results begin, Ryan talked about the duets first, and they found Casey safe! Casey wasn’t that great, guys! Just okay.

Daughtry was up on the stage next doing a little ditty.

Big Mike was up next for judgment, or never mind, cause we moved right along to Lee Dewyze and Crystal, reminding us of what they sang and how they were judged, then Lee was sent to safety with the phrase “Lee, you’re heading back to Chicago.” So Crystal or Big Mike? Duh? Big Mike is going home.

Bon Jovi was up on the stage next doing a little ditty as well.

Back to the final results, and random people on the couch. I’m pretty much sure Big Mike’s going to go home, I’d die if it was Crystal.  And 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, yup. Crystal is in, Big Mike = gone.

Well, I am confused, because Lee Dewyze was the first one out, singing “Kissed by a Rose” with…no one.  I thought this was duets…I don’t know whatever. Anyways, a great song to sing, not as great as last week, but still fun song. 4/5

• Randy said he did nothing with the song, and was just OK.
• Ellen loved it
• Kara said it was one of the most difficult songs to sing, and having the arrangement the way it was, there was issues, but can’t take away from the fact that he is still great.
• Simon said he was Randy with this.

Big Mike was up next with Michael Jackson’s “Will You Be There”. Hard to impress me when it is a MJ song.  I think he did a good job.  But not anywhere near MJ.  4/5

• Randy didn’t love this either
• Ellen said it was predictable
• Kara said she didn’t feel that from him, and wanted more.
• Simon couldn’t understand how the song was connected to a movie about a whale with the name “Willy”

Lee and Crystal sang one of my all-time songs sung in a movie, “Falling Slowly” from Once.  They pretty much stayed true to the original, the duet part was a tad different then the film, but still pretty darn good, 5/5.

• Randy – said it was a great song, and loved it.
• Ellen said it was great
• Kara said it was one of her favorite moments of the entire season
• Simon said it was a fantastic song.

Casey James was next with “Mrs. Robinson.” A song I’ve never heard before. I am not so sure what I think about this one…I don’t think it’s anything special. I’m going to give him a low score for this one 3.5/5

• Randy said it was just a cool laid back version of the song, and he wasn’t going anywhere with it.
• Ellen liked how he changed it up.
• Kara said it was a good choice
• Simon didn’t think the song or performance had the substance needed.

Crystal Bowersock was up next with “I’m alright” Another song I’ve never heard before, but I think she did a good job with it.  I actually enjoyed it, so I’ll give her a….4.5/5

• Ellen said she took the song and made it better.
• Kara completely agreed with Ellen
• Simon said after the performance, she is back in the game.

Casey James and Big Mike sang a duet next with “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman”. Yet another song I’ve never heard, either that, or only heard it once when I was really young, and just forgot I’ve ever heard it.  Regardless, the song for me was just okay. 4/5

• Randy said it was really great.
• Ellen said as a matter of fact, she really has loved a woman
• Kara the duets tonight were incredible.
• Simon said it was done really well, and they deserve Jamie Fox’s shirts.