‘America’s Got Talent’ review: Taylor Williamson, Forte, Cami Bradley top first semi-final

For a semifinal round of “America’s Got Talent,” didn’t you expect there to be more fantastic talent over the course of the night? This was one of the more disappointing nights in the history of the show. We had three acts that we imagine are locks to advance to the next round, and then the rest are a little bit more up in the air and will depend on just what America feels like getting in the final round of the competition.

But first, some programming notes. Our rankings are slightly off given that there were some acts that were not originally announced to appear. Red Panda, who was originally set for last week, came on after the KriStef Brothers suffered an injury as Howie Mandel’s wild-card choice.

Tone the Chiefrocca – We had a feeling that these guys would be first this time, mostly just so that we could get this insanity over with. It’s still somewhat hilarious to watch this, but Tone got a little shouty with his performance tonight. Tone is a great character and that may help his career at some point down the line, but what we really didn’t like here was Howard Stern turning into a complete hypocrite, going from saying this song was amazing to completely barfing all over it tonight.

Red Panda – We’ve liked this sort of act for years, and we say this having seen this sort of performance before (possibly from her, but we can’t remember). It’s crazy what she can do, but at the end of the day there is one major problem with it: There is only so much you can do with it, and she did unfortunately make a mistake again. Given that she did only have a tiny amount of time to prepare, though, it’s hard to be altogether upset about it.

Angela Hoover – Apparently, Arianna Huffington is a funnier impression on “Saturday Night Live” than in this format … though to be honest, most of her voices are just slightly off the original. She did have a few moments in here where we really did laugh, but the problem is that until she actually got to her voices, the comedy was flat. She really needs to go on the road and get some more material.

Duo Resonance – The sad thing here is that this duo is probably not going to get through to the finals, mostly because America loves singers. But really, they are an amazing, emotional strength act that has really worked hard to bring something new, special, and emotional to the table. We really like it.

Collins Key – Meanwhile, we didn’t like this at all. It was too confusing, he was not in control of his audience, and it was really just the same trick he did last time in a different form. We are completely desperate for a good magician on the show, and while the trick itself was interesting, the execution of it was pretty awful.

Innovative Force – We still don’t care for the name, but their small-town story was really pretty charming. But, like many other acts tonight, this just wasn’t perfect. We saw one or two stumbles in the act, the “Too Close” music didn’t quite work, and it was not the best thing that we’ve seen them do. However, we did like the contortion that was thrown into the act this time.

Dave Fenley – Who saw the beat-boxing coming? We certainly didn’t. It was completely random, but surprisingly good. At least the guy did not come out and do another boring ol’ song, which is apparently what Howard Stern wanted him to do. Was this the greatest thing that we’ve ever seen in our lives? Not really, but it was fun, and it is hard to fault the man for having fun.

Taylor Williamson – On a night when Howard is clearly in a bad mood, this guy just came out and killed it. Everything, from his supposedly-innocent set to his rapport with Heidi Klum, was hysterical. It’s clear that this is a guy who has been doing this for a long time, and we’re thrilled to see him really getting this kind of opportunity.

Jonathan Allen – “Bring Him Home” is one of our absolute favorite songs, and this is probably why we were partial to this performance maybe more so than any other he has done on the show. The rub here is that this is a hard song to sing with his register, and it probably wasn’t the right choice. With that being said, we really enjoyed almost every note of it.

Catapult Entertainment – It was basically some sort of “Little Mermaid” love story, but it was something that probably took a little too long to figure out. It was something that would work well in a half-hour set, but you only have 90 seconds here. This is not turning out to be a particularly great night for the show’s much-touted talent.

Cami Bradley – She is consistently a beautiful singer, and we are still confused why she hasn’t been on another singing show already. Overall, this was easily the best solo vocal performance of the night. Soft, emotional, and something that Mel B was completely off about in her critique.

Forte – Finally, we turn to the guys that really have it together vocally. We’re not entirely sure that “Unchained Melody” is the right sort of song, but the voices here are just so cavernous that they are impossible to ignore. Absolutely stunning, and you have to believe that these three guys are huge contenders to become the next big act in Las Vegas.

Who did you like the best on this “America’s Got Talent” episode? Be sure to share your thoughts below!

Photo: NBC