‘America’s Got Talent’ rankings: Why Sam Johnson, David Fenley top; Red Panda out

The final “America’s Got Talent” performance show in this round airs on Tuesday night, at least not including a potential wild card show that could be coming up (or if they do that horrible YouTube round again). There are going to be some great acts coming up, and while we don’t imagine that anyone in tonight’s lineup has the potential to win, some could at least make waves in the semifinals.

Before we get into some of the rankings this week, we want to point out a change to the lineup; Red Panda, who had the amazing talent of flicking bowls on her head using only her foot while riding a unicycle, will not perform for undisclosed reasons. Melody Caballero has replaced her in the lineup. We’re sad, but we’ve seen the same act twice along with something very similar at basketball games in the past and there’s never much variation.

12. 2Unique – Biggest talent here comes courtesy of the DJ, who is crazy good for such a young age, but the act as a whole is far too “aww cute” and not enough serious talent. If this was five years from now and they had worked hard that entire time, this could have been a beastly act worthy of making it to the finals. Kids are impatient; this is what we’ve learned.

11. Ruby & Jonas – We have a problem with both of these ballroom acts, mostly in that they were a part of an act that was just on the show last year. Not only that, but they are connected even further back to the Miami All-Stars. Save for Ruby’s personality, there’s nothing we find here to be completely new, and there was a mistake in Vegas that should have cost them a spot.

10. D’Angelo and Amanda – The slightly-stronger pair of these ballroom dancers. Ultimately, though, our suspicion is that they are both going to split the vote, and neither of them will go through to the next round.

9. Duo Resonance – The KriStef Brothers are the more entertaining balancing act this season, but these two do utilize a slightly different muscle in contortionism. If they can really pull off some crazy stunts, they have a chance; the problem is just that they just didn’t have a heck of a lot of screen time before this.

8. Melody Caballero – Helped slightly by her age over Duo Resonance, but the two hurt each other since they are similar acts. She faltered slightly in Vegas Week, but she’s got a lot of experience in this being from a circus family, and so, she will probably be able to pull something decent together for the show.

7. John Wing – Very funny comic with a ton of experience under his belt. This is just a tough environment for people like him to succeed in, though, and with two comedy acts already in the next round, he’ll probably have a hard time getting through unless he delivers a really funny set. He’ll be stuck early in the show.

6. Sprice – He’s a geeky guy who builds cool contraptions. But here’s the problem; this is so much better suited for YouTube than a live performance show, and if one thing goes wrong, you have completely wasted everybody’s time. It’s a very slippery slope when your entire act is based on something like a domino.

5. Selena Mykenzie Gordon – A good signer, and America loves them and often puts them through. At the same time, though, she is not exactly the most memorable singer in the world. We would personally prefer to see someone advance who has a little bit more variety in their arsenal, and to keep the semifinals fresh.

4. VSU Gospel Chorale – This group takes the element of singing, and then adds to it something that America also has a tendency to love very much: Jesus. Expect to see some possible standing ovations here from the judges, and they have a good shot of getting through to the next round. This is not something that is going to become a million-dollar act, but it’s entertaining.

3. Catapult Entertainment – A pretty cool act, largely because they incorporate shadow dancing with acrobatics to give a new trick to what is becoming an old dog. That’s the problem: We’ve seen these shadow acts a few times now, and they don’t have that “wow, that’s original” factor that they once did.

2. Sam Johnson – Sam is a crazy man. But he’s also the most interesting danger act on the show this year, given that he has some charisma, and on the surface doesn’t look like a guy that is going to pour gasoline all over himself and juggle fire. There’s unpredictability, and if voters weren’t so biased, he would have a better chance.

1. David Fenley – He’s got everything you need to do well on this show: He’s a singer with a raspy voice, has a bushy beard, and a story to go along with it. America will want to take him out, make him dessert, and get him involved in some lengthy conversation so that he’s there far longer than he intended to be.

If you want to read some more “America’s Got Talent” news, just be sure to check out the link here. We’ll be back tomorrow with a full review.

Photo: NBC