America’s Got Talent review: Mike Yung, Kechi, Diavolo, Sara & Hero, & live show #3
The one thing we’re hoping for is the non-singing actions to impress after singers dominated much of the first two shows. We’ll be honest about how every does — and we’re accountable in the form of our grades! At the end of the episode, there’ll be a poll for you to vote for your favorites. Be sure to refresh the page live as the show goes on!
Greater Works Choir – The first act of the night. That’s tough, but they have the energy to pull it off. Vocally, this was great, and the performance level was through the roof. Beyond all that, though, here’s the question we wonder: Wouldn’t this have been a week to play more to their religious roots? We wouldn’t have minded a hymn or something traditional over a Grease cover. We don’t love Grease, so we’re probably a little biased. Grade: B+.
Junior & Emily – The conundrum that comes with these two is rather simple: While they are outstanding at what they do, is it outstanding enough to get them to the next round? Probably not. Their issue is that their dance style is pretty specific, and viewers probably won’t pick up the nuance of all of it. We do think that they’ve got a future in dance and on other dance-related shows, but they’re probably not moving forward here. Grade: B.
Final Draft – We do agree in a sense with what Simon Cowell did — they are good singers, but they still struggle with consistency and their interpretations of some of the songs. Do we think that there are some other acts who you could’ve brought back instead? Probably. They’re a very good group, but there are excellent singers around them this season. This won’t be that memorable by the end of the show. Grade: C+.
Oscar Hernandez – Here’s the thing with Oscar: We do think that he’s a ton of fun, and in between the costume and the energy he’s one of a kind. He’s not the greatest dancer that we’ve ever seen but you can tell how badly he wants it. This is the big difference between him and Final Draft: Personality. He’s the best one out of anyone we’ve seen so far on the show tonight. Grade: B-.
Angelina Green – This started out really strong, and we do love “Gravity” as a song choice. Unfortunately, the performance got a little away from her as it went along, there were some flat/sharp notes, and it felt like she tried to make the performance bigger than it needed to be. We would’ve went for something smaller rather than trying to hit those big notes and crescendos. Grade: B-.
Colin Cloud – This was brilliant, and it makes us wonder if the AGT audience just doesn’t have the attention span to take in all of this. We loved Colin more than any other act on the show tonight — it was a bit long and drawn-out at times, but this is a show about the reveal! He claims to be the real-life Sherlock Holmes, and this is precisely what Sherlock would do. Grade: B+.
Mike Yung – This was great. It was his best performance by a mile, mostly because he took a song that is super-current in “Thinking Out Loud” and turned it into this soul/R&B classic. He is so smooth, so sophisticated, but also still so raw and emotional. We loved every single second of his; he legitimately made this song into something unique to him. Grade: A-.
Oskar and Gaspar – We were thrilled to see this act again given that they weren’t at Judge Cuts for some inexplicable reason, and what they do is visually stunning and different than anything we’ve ever seen on the show. The one note that we have is that the models seemed just a little off when it comes to the timing in the early going, and that made us concentrate on that more than the visuals. Of course, Heidi once again criticizes an act for moving too slow. Grade: B.
Sara & Hero – She brought another friend tonight! What was especially remarkable about this performance was the DOG HELPING WITH THE JUMP ROPE. Hero actually holding the rope may be more amazing than any other thing that we saw. Great song choice, a lot of fun from start to finish. We think there’s something about focusing on one or two dogs that really works well here. Grade: A-.
Chase Goehring – One of the few AGT singers who we would actually buy an album from, mostly because he’s both creative and reminiscent of Jason Mraz, one of our favorite artists of all time. He’s done three original performances to date, and all of them have been outstanding. (This song, by the way, is called “Illusion.”) Grade: A.
Diavolo – Another outstanding, creative performance. It’s starting to become clear that AGT tonight is saving some of their best for last. We can easily see these guys doing a full Vegas show with danger, spectacle, and artistry to go along with their acrobatics. They’re probably the most advanced act of this type that we’ve ever seen on the show. Grade: A.
Kechi – Yes, we ended with another singer — which we’ve done in some form every live show. (Technically, Darci Lynne is a singing ventriloquist.) We love Kechi, her story, and her relatability. This song was POWERFUL. The one thing that held her back was the production. We would’ve preferred the background singers to exit stage right — this isn’t The X Factor — since we didn’t get enough of Kechi’s signature voice. Grade: B+.
Who are some of your favorites on the America’s Got Talent live show tonight? Share in the comments below!
Meanwhile, head over to the link here in the event you want to see where we ranked some of these contestants going into the episode. (Photo: NBC.)