‘America’s Got Talent’ rankings: KriStef brothers cleared after injury; Kenichi Ebina tops

Tomorrow night, the top 24 round of “America’s Got Talent” will be upon us, and we are going to have an opportunity to check out even more of the acts that were deemed worthy to make it this far. Are some of them pretty great? Definitely, and there are a few in here with a chance of winning the competition. Then, you have three or four that are mostly just fodder, and some others that could make it to the finale, but are not going to emerge victorious in the process.

As per always, we are basing our picks on a few simple things: Overall performance quality, past results, and also a little bit of voting history (i.e. whether or not America tends to support said act) and our own personal preference.

12. Marty Brown – The producers clearly knew what they were doing in forcing him to perform on the same night as Jimmy Rose. There was a certain level of you-know-what when this guy managed to survive for another week based on his previous performance, and we know that NBC doesn’t want two country singers in the next round if they can help it.

11. Anna Christine – She really did not deserve to be put through, and we’re not saying that to be mean. She, like Marty, just folded under the Radio City Music Hall lights. We really don’t want to see singers go through just because they are singers, they are a certain age, or they sing a specific genre; let’s hope for something different this week.

10. Leon Etienne & Romy Low – We like great magic, and they may have that within them. America just hasn’t seen it yet, and Howard Stern is asking a lot with this wild card act to come out here and deliver something memorable enough that voters will instantly fall for them. We’re skeptical, but we will cheer very loud if they pull it off.

9. John Wing – We did not find him hilarious the last time he was on the show, but he made it through after we already have Taylor Williamson there. He needed the judges just to make it this far, and that is always a sign of possible trouble.

8. Timber Brown – This is really where things get very difficult to pin down. We really think that he is absolutely phenomenal at what he does, but acrobats in general tend to have some difficulty doing well at this point in the competition. For whatever reason, America just does not always give them the right amount of love.

7. D’Angelo and Amanda – We want to put it like this when it comes to this ballroom twosome. We could easily see them advance, but there is no way that a kid ballroom act is winning this show. Whether it is now or later, there will be a time when they are eliminated. The acts ranked above them here just have more potential.

6. Chicago Boyz – Ironically, that injury that we saw on the show last time could actually help. Their tricks are great, but it’s another emotional story that helps America become more attached to groups. The more people you have, the harder it is to win this competition. This is at least what we have learned from watching this show over the years.

5. Branden James – If we continue to play the “who typically advances?” game, opera singers tend to do very well. Branden will have to compete against Forte next week, but with six acts getting through, he’s one of the safer bets given that there is a little more of a margin of error for singers than other acts.

4. American Military Spouses’ Choir – We don’t love them as much as others do, but we do believe that they will get through yet again. They have some very good singers in their mix, and it also does very much help them that there is such a touching story to back it up.

3. KriStef Brothers – They are able to perform this week, thanks to the breaking news that Kris has been cleared from doctors. Now that this has happened, we stress what we said last week that this is the funniest strength act that we have ever seen, and also one of the best. They are in their prime and ready to do a great performance.

2. Jimmy Rose – You may as well put Jimmy through to the finale based just on his story alone. America laps up country singers, especially ones who have emotional stories somewhat similar to what Jimmy has. His voice is not amazing, but he has a serious Kevin Skinner vibe going here and is not going to be done this week, even if he performs early.

1. Kenichi Ebina – This may be a sentimental pick or just a hopeful one, but as a lifelong gamer we felt like his last performance was a love letter to everyone out there who loves games and who grew up playing them. He has his work cut out for him trying to top what he did, but he seems to be both smart and talented enough to do it.

Who is your favorite, and who do you expect to see going home soon? Be sure to share some of your thoughts below! We will be back tomorrow night with a full review of the episode, so check back soon for more on that.

Photo: NBC