America's Got Talent

And then there were six on America's Got Talent.

In case you missed last night's unusual Thursday results show for President Obama's DNC speech or the MTV Video Music Awards, read on for the rundown of who remains and who was sent packing...

Eliminations One - Shanice & Maurice, All That!, Lightwire Theater
In this group, Shanice & Maurice were the non-entity. They were okay, but easily forgettable. All That! did advance its visual appeal with fire and water, but I still find flaws. They are kind of like ugly Chippendales, where only a few people are willing to show a little bit of chest to win over the women's and gay men's vote.

They were also first and quickly forgotten by the fourth act performed. Lightwire Theater only had two effects I really liked: the egg break and the Matrix-style spins. It was definitely enough to overtake the other two acts.

Moving On: Lightwire Theater

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Last week's America's Got Talent semifinals were difficult to call, with people such as Joe Castillo becoming the dark horse art act that inched his way past a ventriloquist.

Last night, however, the contestants were clearly split. Five have a great shot at making it into the finals; the other seven should just be happy to be performing in front of such a large audience...

All That! - The solo opening, with just their shoes tapping was a great idea. Setting their shoes on fire was also a great touch, though I wished all of the members used fire instead of half. The water element reminded me of Blue Man Group, which helped show that All That! has been trying. It was a strong opening routine that was still memorable for the fire/water by the end of the show.
Grade: B+

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America's Got Talent narrowed its semifinalists down to three last night, with the top pair of vote-getting receiving an automatic pass and the judges then deciding the remaining act.

Did you agree with the results? Follow our rundown below and then sound off on who remains and who was forced home...

Eliminations One: Joe Castillo, Turf, The Scott Brothers
When I saw that Turf was against The Scott Brothers I knew both of their fan bases canceled each other out. There were too many dance acts doing variations of hip-hop that any dance fan would split the vote. It automatically set up that Joe Castillo, who is pretty much this year's Silhouettes, would advance from this group. I just hope he could add a bit more speed in the finals.

Top Four: Joe Castillo

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We're down to six on America's Got Talent, as the NBC hit reformatted its concluding rounds this year.

Which act stood out? Which do we think could be remaining on the finale? Read on for a rundown of the latest moves, shakes, notes, impressions and grades...

Andrew De Leon - Andrew seemed destined to make it to the semifinals even with his inexperience because of that underdog sob story. There seems to be a disconnect between his falsetto with his lower notes and he continues to lack any charisma whatsoever. He still was a strong opening to the show and hit his high note correctly.
Grade: B

Todd Oliver – After a second chance, I continue to question Todd’s material. The stage was “The Todd Oliver Show,” and while the Prince Harry joke was topical, I felt as though some of the jokes sounded familiar. The dog-based quips can only go so far for me and I’ve hit my threshold.
Grade: B-

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Why do we even have the Wild Card round? No Wild Card has ever made the finals.

Think about it: the acts didn't succeed beating more successful acts the first time and it's an uphill battle to win over America a second time. The only contestants that have a real shot are the Vegas acts that got cut before the country could vote.

Rant over, let's get to the eliminations and the announced semifinalists...

Eliminations One - BandBaz Brothers, Ben Blaque and Sebastien "El Charro de Oro" - Among the three acts, I could see either Ben Blaque or Sebastien make it through. Sebastien expanded his repertoire outside of the boxed-in mariachi category with his song choice and if he advanced, I hope he continues to pick more accessible music.

As for Ben Blaque, he did all that he could to move on. I've seen bulls-eye alignment shots before, so I'm not sure how much further he can go. Either way, the BandBaz Brothers were the obvious elimination of this group, since they peaked with a very short trick.
Advanced: Sebastien

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Following a questionable YouTube round, the Wild Cards were faced an extra challenge in order to prove they were worth a second chance.

It seemed like the judges were lenient as they gave their reviews to the contestants, less critical of this group than the previous one. Let's give each act a grade, shall we?

Spencer Horsman - Spencer was smart enough to listen to Howard's suggestion of being front and center instead of inside a bag. The steampunk visuals were a great touch as the quick cement filled up. There was something disappointing knowing he starts with a lock pick in hand, but he was efficient. It hysterical watching Spencer's dad telling the crew to keep dumping cement on his son. The act had a better level of danger than ever before.
Grade: A-

All That! - Sharon wanted All That! but with less clothes. They started off with a song that I believe that Team iLuminate may have used. The shadows were awful; they shouldn't try being Peter Pan. Who wants to look at the shadows when there are real people in front of us? Less bad acting, more precise dancing. The shirt rip was not as effective as it could have been either. Are the rest of All That! concerned about their man boobs?
Grade: C+

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It was Bring Your Olympian to Work Day on the America's Got Talent results show this week, as Gabby Douglas tried to cover up the levels of YouTube poop with her big smile and effervescent attitude.

Other than that highlight, though, there was no reason for the four acts chosen to continue on to the next round. Three of them seem destined to be eliminated as quickly as we've known them...

Eliminations One: Reverse Order, Cast in Bronze, Academy of Villains
This first group up for eliminations was a no brainer. Reverse Order didn't choose the right song to showcase their lead singer. Cast in Bronze may have gotten more votes if he performed "Tubular Bells" and went all alien/lasers with his performance. The clear frontrunner was Academy of Villains which reminds me of a more mature West Springfield Dance Team from last season.

Advanced: Academy of Villains

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Following an Olympic hiatus and controversy from Sharon Osbourne, America's Got Talent returned last night and gave the viewers what they were after: competition.

Read on for a rundown of each contestant...

Clint Carvalho & His Extreme Parrots - I was nervous that we'd have to listen to a talking Parrot, but getting a diving bird sounded amazing. After a really long explanation and asking an obvious question of "Is it raining?" we watched a bird fly from a building to the stage while listening to a guy saying "Here kitty kitty kitty" a billion times. I would rather see a hawk trying to eat a field mouse on Animal Planet.
Grade: D

Reverse Order - Reverse Order sounded like a "we're sorry" to New Jersey after calling the performances "New York" so much. They sounded similar to The All Ways with the same exact plan of attack: rock out to a pop song originally performed by a woman. It was okay, but if The All Ways didn't make it through, I don't see what makes Reverse Order special. The lead singer couldn't even hit his falsettos. Why did they pick Katy Perry if the lead can't falsetto?
Grade: C-

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NBC brought Howard Stern on board America's Got Talent this summer.

But who would have guessed it would be fellow judge Sharon Osbourne who would cause the most controversy for the show and the network?

In an exclusive interview with The New York Post, the panelist says she is leaving the series after this season due to the way NBC mishandled her son Jack, his participation on the show Stars Earn Stripes and his recent multiple sclerosis diagnosis.

Osbourne alleges that Jack had a deal in place to appear on the the aforementioned program - which pits celebrities against one another in military training exercises - only for producers to fire him two days prior to filming, not long after he went public with his disease.

"It’s discrimination, and it was badly handled," Osbourne tells the newspaper.

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Heading into an extended break for the Summer Olympics, America's Got Talent advanced four acts to the next round last night. Did you agree with the selections?

Eliminations Part One - Ulysses, David "The Bullet" Smith, Olate Dogs
Ulysses is a nice person but he was clearly out of his league. If he was up against weird instrument player Michael Nejad and sleep-inducing Nikki Jensen back in week one, he wouldn't have been the bottom of the barrel.

David "The bullet" Smith is exactly like Professor Splash last year: all he can do is go farther. I understand that lots of people die trying to blast themselves out of cannons, but that doesn't make successful human cannonballs automatic Vegas acts. Olate Dogs was the clear frontrunner of the night, especially the "we can do better than Britain" comment that Sharon provided. Funny that Sharon is an American citizen.

Eliminated: Ulysses, David "The Bullet" Smith
Advanced: Olate Dogs

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