‘America’s Got Talent’ finale review: Why Kenichi Ebina, Taylor Williamson, or Forte should win

“America’s Got Talent” wrapped up the performance-show portion of the season tonight with an episode that really did not have to be two hours long. Basically, you could have cut the entire first half of the show, where the acts performed something that they have done before with a twist, and we would have been more than okay with it.

Regardless of the format, we do think that this show really helped to cement just who is going to be in contention of actually winning the competition, and who is really lucky to get this far in the first place.

Round One – Repeats

Jimmy Rose – This was vintage Jimmy Rose, which is neither good nor bad. If you enjoyed the original performance, then you’d probably enjoy this one too. It’s not going to make him any new fans.

Kenichi Ebina – It was smart for Kenichi to reinvent his original audition, since it’s the one few people will remember. While it wasn’t as electrifying as what we saw in the past from him, it’s hard to deny that the man has talent.

Cami Bradley – Really, we feel the same way about this performance of Cher’s “Believe.” It’s still lovely, but it’s hard to do anything original when you are a musician and the crowd has heard the song before.

Collins Key – Ironically, this was probably Collins’ best performance in the live rounds. He seemed completely comfortable on the stage for the first time, and the trick was something a little different than we have seen before.

Forte – This was a nice little change-up to have the group performing with the crowd at their back. We’re sure that it was not as fun for the audience, but it was a very cool effect watching at home, even if all of those glow-sticks were clearly handed out by production.

Taylor Williamson – Considering that he basically had to do a set using the same jokes, we actually think that he navigated it pretty well. Plus, his joke to Heidi Klum about Seal was hilarious.

Round two – Originals

Cami Bradley – “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was a surprising choice in song, but she made it work. With that being said, it’s not a finale-night performance. There’s just nothing special about it, save for that it was pleasant.

Collins Key – Another pretty good trick, but we feel the same way tonight that we have for weeks. He basically does the same sort of thing in every trick predicting the future. It’s cool once or twice, but a good magician needs variety. He’s still too green to be the winner.

Jimmy Rose – A very good, but very generic, country performance. We hope that this show allows him to do a few more gigs here and there, but we can’t see him becoming a star. That market is just way too crowded.

Taylor Williamson – What we especially love about Taylor and the talent that he possesses is simply that he’s funniest when he is not even doing his set. He’s just so spontaneously and weird and quirky that he’s perfect for this show.

Kenichi Ebina – Sadly, we have learned over the years that America is a very fickle bunch, and we worry about whether or not Mel B’s comments here hurt Kenichi’s chances at winning. We’re not going to say that it was our favorite performance of the year, but it was still outstanding. You also have to consider that the man has a week to come up with this stuff, and the time it takes him to produce and create everything you are seeing far surpasses almost anything that any other act is doing. If you look at his overall body of work, this is a man that has to win this season. He is easily our favorite act on the show since Terry Fator.

Forte – After tonight we think the opera group will probably win the show, and we cannot really be too upset about it given that they are fantastic at what they do. Regardless of what happens tonight, they’re still going to go on and have a huge career. If you vote for any of these final three acts, there’s not really a loser in the bunch.

Who was your favorite on tonight’s “America’s Got Talent” finale? In addition to sharing your thoughts below, be sure to visit the link here if you want to see where we ranked some of the contestants going into this.

Photo: NBC