America's Got Talent: Season 5 - Top 48 (Group 3)

Before I get to this week's performance episode commentary, here is a recap of last week's results show:

• Mona Sampath Dance Company, AscenDance & Ronith are up first:
• AscenDance - Advancing to Semifinals [1/1]
• Mona Sampath Dance Company - Eliminated
• Ronith - Eliminated
• Ka by Cirque du Soleil performs
• Cheer SF, Iron Horse & Alice Tan Ridley are up next:
• Alice Tan Ridley - Advancing to Semifinals [2/2]
• Cheer SF - Eliminated
• Iron Horse - Eliminated
• Michael Grimm, Lil Chris, & The Strong Man are up next:
• Michael Grimm - Advancing to Semifinals [3/3]
• Lil Chris - Eliminated
• The Strong Man - Eliminated
• Train performs "Hey, Soul Sister"
• Wreckless, Hannibal Means, & Antonio Restivo are the last group:
• Hannibal Means - Eliminated
• Judge's Choice:
• Howie-Antonio Restivo
• Piers-Wreckless
• Sharon-Antonio Restivo
• Antonio Restivo - Advancing to Semifinals [3/4]
• My Predictions: I got three out of four correct.

America's Got Talent Season 5: Top 48 (Group 3)

Airdate: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 [9-11pm]

1. The South Philly Vikings [Dancers]: This is just another generic dance group with no standout moments. It seems like they have these elaborate costumes to mask that obvious fact.
2. CJ Dippa [12 year old rapper]: Once again, he's cocky and has such a huge ego, and if you have that at such a young age, I hate to see what he's going to be like as an adult. The song was stupid, and it's obvious that he's in it for the fame and fortune and not for the craft.
3. Harmonica Pierre [Harmonica player; performed Train's "Hey Soul Sister"]: Even though he won't win, he is excellent at what he does. And doing a modern song put such a unique twist on it (and a risk that worked). He definitely deserves to stay in the competition for now.
4. Polina Volchek [Gymnast]: I would have buzzed her like Piers did, because there wasn't much gymnastics, just moving her body in some fluid motions around on the stage, with a rope.
5. The Strange Familiar [Band (Female lead); performed "Time After Time"]: I agree with Sharon that it was the wrong song choice, because it didn't fit this band. And the female lead was pitchy many times throughout. I didn't like her voice in the auditions, and she didn't deliver this time either.
6. Haspop [Dancer]: He is no doubt very talented, but I do have some criticisms: while most of it was great, there were a couple moments where he went into cheesy dance moves that took away from how great he really is. And the songs changed so many times that it seemed a little disjointed. But like I said, he is very talented (one of the best tonight), and deserves to move on.
7. Luigi [Singer; performed "This Love"]: Right from the first note, I wasn't impressed. His voice is very weak, and the song showed that.
8. Chipps Cooney ["Magician"]: He should not have gotten past the first round, because it's just so pointless and he's wasting airtime. Just when I didn't think it could get any worse, he does by spending most of the time doing a strip tease that had nothing to do with magic.
9. Kaya and Sadie [Belly Dancers]: This act cannot sustain an hour-long show, because the belly dancing is just on a loop with nothing new. (On a side note, Kaya has the scariest smile).
10. Jeremy VanSchoonhoven [Bike Tricks]: As someone who doesn't really like this kind of act, I have to say I really enjoyed it. He added a lot of danger to it, which made it exciting.
11. Debra Romer [Singer]: In previous rounds, the focus was on her nerves. With that out of the way, the focus can be back on her voice. The honest truth is that she has a weak voice. While it's hard to dislike her and I do see potential in her, I can't get over the fact that she has a limited range.
12. Studio One Young Beast Society [Dance Group]: At this point, I want to say that I'm getting bored by just about every dance group. But I have to say that this group has changed my mind for once. At first, I thought they would be just another dance group, but they did do some impressive moves, which, combined with the pimp spot, will earn them a spot in the next round.

Favorite Performances: Harmonica Pierre

My Votes: Harmonica Pierre [10 votes by phone; 10 votes online]

Predictions to Advance: Harmonica Pierre / Haspop / Jeremy VanSchoonhoven / Studio One Young Beast Society

My Season 5 Vote Tracker:

Fighting Gravity: 20 votes

Harmonica Pierre: 20 votes

Michael Grimm: 10 votes

Alice Tan Ridley: 10 votes

Total: 60 votes cast so far

I almost did not vote for anyone, because I don't see anyone in this third group that has the potential to win. But I ended up voting for Harmonica Pierre only because I felt he was the only one that was perfect and didn't have anything going against him in my eyes. So I believe he will definitely be advancing. I've said many times before that I don't usually enjoy dance acts, but Haspop and Studio One Young Beast Society were two of the best acts this week, and they both should be in the Semifinals. The last spot could be one of two people: either Jeremy VanSchoonhoven or Debra Romer. I ultimately am predicting Jeremy, mainly because I didn't really find anything wrong with his performance, while I found things to criticize about Debra's performance. But I think there are many voters who are on Debra's side and will vote for her. With her nerves out of the way, many voters may vote for her because she is breaking out of her shell. But if this is the case, it shows that people don't always vote based on actual talent. So, it could really go either way with these two.

Tonight, four more acts will advance into the next round. And we will see guest performances by the Jabbawockeez (I read online that they had auditioned for AGT one year and didn't make it), and Mike Posner. See ya then...