America’s Got Talent review: Johnny Manuel, the Masquerades compete in audition show #5
In our weekly review, we’re going to be giving our review, complete with grades, of some of the various performances that took place over the course of the night.
Henry Richardson – Our first act of the night, and a worthy one given that he was a talented young kid with the ability to perform magic like most adults. This was a very good start to the show! While we’re not going to say that we’ve never seen these tricks before, he had a ton of charisma for his age and should get better as things go along. Grade: B.
Maxim and Maria Popazova – The two parties are actually competing against each other, even if they are both similar acts from Las Vegas who can do amazing feats with their bodies and in dangerous situations. Of the two, Maxim is a little more circus and Maria’s a little more lyrical. In their own way, both are great. Grade: A-.
The Masqueraders – Here, we’ve got some guys in cowboy hats who’ve been doing their brand of music for longer than many people have been alive. Suffice it to say, they’re great — you can hear the extent of their journey through their notes. Grade: B.
Deuntay Diggs – He actually went viral with a lipsync performance in the past set to Beyoncé’s “Formation.” It’s no surprise that he was invited to the show. The routine started fun, but then got horribly corny really quickly. This will be better known for Mel B dousing Simon Cowell with water at the end of the act. Grade: D.
Sara and Hero – This was just a fun dog act with a lot of really cool tricks, and more than that, a little bit of a story / pirate theme to it with the sword. Dog acts are tricky since there are SO many things that can go wrong, but Hero was very well-trained. Also, Simon Cowell loved him. We don’t honestly know quite what Mel and Howie were on when they didn’t want to put her through. Simon personally pleaded to them to change their mind, and he got Howie to do so. Let’s thank the AGT gods for that since there could be some fun things to come here. Grade: A-.
Johnny Manuel – One of the best Whitney Houston auditions we’ve seen ever. We say this as someone who hates “I Have Nothing” after it’s been over-used over the years. He’s obviously got some professional background, but we don’t mind that. What really matters is that he can sing and he’s deserving of this show now. Grade: A.
Sirqus Alton – They are really corny, but there is something still entertaining about watching them come up on stage and take part in some various hijinks. We’ve seen people play with various elements of the stage before using technology, but there was such a sense of humor here … even if Simon Cowell didn’t get it. Grade: B.
Final Draft – Very good vocal group. The song choice was a little bit dated, but with the right track behind them this could be a sleeper act for the final rounds of the competition. They just need to take another step to really wow us with what they can do creatively. Grade: B-.
Oskar & Gaspar – This is a bizarre 3D mapping / visual act that utilized Heidi Klum in order to serve as a visual model. This proved to be very entertaining and unique, but it’s probably even cooler seeing the lights and the 3D quality of it in person. At home, it was still impressive in an odd / trippy sort of way. Grade: B+.
Vinny Grosso – The trick itself that he did wasn’t all that crazy or shocking. It was the fact that he disrobed in the process of doing it, while forcing Howie Mandel to play along, that made this so memorable and funny. We honestly don’t know where the show goes from here next.
The final act – Read more about him now over here!
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Also, share your thoughts on this episode in the comments. (Photo: NBC.)