The World’s Best review: TNT Boys, Vonnie Lopez, Nina Conti, and more!
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Shaolin Yanze vs. Duo Nigretai – This was the battle of the super-entertaining, super-unusual acts from different parts of the world. We think that this really comes down to personal preference. We think that Shaolin Yanze probably has a better technical presentation, but what Duo Nigretai does is so precise and artistic in its own right. There is a great deal to love about the two of them! What the Wall of the World decided was that Shaolin Yanze was just a hair better, and it really was that close. The American judges had actually tied it up going into the vote! Shaolin Yanze advances.
Liliac Band vs. Vonnie Lopez – We didn’t see a lot of the Liliac Band’s first performance, and while they certainly do rock, we don’t know just how memorable they’re going to be after the fact with this show. Vonnie’s performance of “Amazing Race,” meanwhile, brought you some of that power and spirit you saw from the first performance. America loves gospel but does the Wall of the World? We thought that Vonnie had this in the bag after this performance. We cannot exactly claim that the end vote was much of a surprise. Vonnie advances.
The Championships
How will this work? All of the individual categories are facing off, and the winner of each will win $50,000 and a chance to compete in the finale. We’re kicking things off here Solo Variety.
Justin Flom – What he did pulling this string out of James Corden was truly disgusting — basically, he created a rather bloody effect with Corden’s skin. It was cool but probably too gross for this crowd.
Li Wei – What he does balancing and as a superhero circus act (that was literally the theme here) is all sorts of super-cool. Of course, we do also think that there’s so much more that he could do! The short run-times here for acts don’t do him any favors.
Nina Conti – We still don’t like the ugly masks all that much, but there’s no denying that she’s brilliant at doing improvisational crowd-work. It’s a skill that we haven’t really seen with many other ventriloquists on other shows, and it does help her stand out from the pack a little bit.
Nina was the winner, but it was really close between her and Justin! Clearly, the Wall of the World wasn’t anywhere near as grossed out by some of this stuff as we imagined that they would be.
Vocal Group
Naturally 7 – The percussive/acapella group came out and NAILED a cover of “Fix You” by Coldplay tonight, which shouldn’t be a surprise given that they had the talent and the potential to do this. Still, it did somehow manage to blow us away with its constant, consistent power.
Vonnie Lopez – We got to see her twice in one episode! That’s always a treat, and there wasn’t too much at fault about this performance. The problem for us is that she came on after Naturally 7 delivered their best performance of the season.
TNT Boys – Phenomenal. They delivered all of the same power and musicality that you would have expected from them, and they really needed to in order to properly compete tonight. We were incredibly impressed with their continued stage presence, their harmonies, and often their individual notes! Sometimes, groups don’t have that individual strength.
As for the result …. what happened? Despite the judges favoring the TNT Boys, the Wall of the World chose Naturally 7. Both were outstanding — we probably preferred TNT Boys overall, so the end result certainly boggles our mind a little.
What did you think about tonight’s The World’s Best episode overall? Be sure to share right now in the comments! (Photo: CBS.)