America's Got Talent

With one of the best personal stories in show history, along with one of the smoothest voices, Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. is your 2011 America's Got Talent champion!

The jazz singer surprised many by overcoming the favorites, Team iLuminate, who only finished in third place. Did you see Sharon Osbourne's face when that result was announced?

Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr. and Patti Labelle

Said the shocked crooner, who says he'll use the $1 million to "invest" in his "kids' future," immediately after the results were announced:

"Thank you so much for supporting me and believing in me, and helping me believe in myself on national television, in front of the whole world... This has been a long, hard journey. I been busting my butt out here doing this for so long, ever since I was a kid, and it's finally paying off."

So, you tell us: Did the right act win?

After weeks of competition, it's officially on, folks! The America's Got Talent finals kicked off last night, with four acts competing for the grand prize. Let's take a look at how each  performed...

Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. - The car washer has been humble throughout the competition and his big dreams were backed by velvety vocals. Here he ended with "My Way," which made a lot of sense. Not only was the song vocally challenging, but you knew he meant every word he said. I liked how he tried to move around the small circle the producers forced him on. Some of his singing was drowned out by clapping in the middle, but his ending had power and was clean. My Grade: A

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There was no March Madness-type upset on America's Got Talent last night, as the four acts favored throughout the season advanced to the final four. Did you agree with the results? We run them down below...

Eliminations Part 1 - Smage Bros. Riding Shows, Team iLuminate - Smage continued to go up the ramp of difficulty, but they were a bit sloppy last night. As long as they had a partner who continued to risk his life for the team. Team iLuminate, on the other hand, has been consistently growing and evolving their shapes of dance from their first performance. It was pretty bad when the Smage brothers pointed to iLumuinate as the group that would make it through; they knew that iLuminate was the team to beat.

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We're down to 10 acts on America's Got Talent, 10 performers who are mere days away from fulfilling their dream. Who bombed? Who rose to the occasion? Who ought to advance? The answers await...

Miami All-Stars - Had the disadvantage of going first in a very important week. I didn’t understand the football/cheerleader theme and the dancing was too frantic. The group gets extra points for the big dancing chicken. The whole performance lacked direction and the music transition was executed really sloppy. My Grade: C+

Lys Agnes Performance

Lys Agnes - Was aiming for a rock/opera hybrid that the vocal coach didn't like. I wouldn't listen to her because she sabotaged several of the kid acts this year. Lys reminded me a bit of Des'ree in the beginning, her lower range sounds like Cher, which Sharon noted as bad. I appreciated the increased production value and the epic ending, but did it take too long to get to the end? My Grade: B+

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What five acts advanced to the America's Got Talent finals to take on Poplyfe, West Springfield Dance Team, Team iLuminate, Miami All-Stars and Lys Agnes? Let's find out...

Eliminations Part 1: Gymkana, Steven Retchless, The Silhouettes - After Gymkana caught on fire, you knew their chances were over. Steven may have been overshadowed by all the extra dancers and the tension that Piers generated. The Silhouettes may not have been praised by the judges, but they had a creative opening and strong use of colors. It seemed obvious that the Silhouettes would make it through.

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A night that started with Nick Cannon dangling from a rope concluded with one two semifinal acts earning an A. Read on for a rundown of last night's America's Got Talent performance show...

Landon Swank on America's Got Talent

The Kinetic King - The second time was the charm for The Kinetic King. The best part about watching him was the hope that he'd mess up again. He claimed that he had a new "gadget." He ditched the backup dancers permanently and forced everyone to wear goggles. There was ping pong balls and candy flying everywhere. The whole routine was shorter than before, but visually epic. My Grade: B+

Fatally Unique - The small town dance crew is now against the West Springfield Dance Team that has professional choreographers. The opening was similar to WSDT with the insane dancers. Unfortunately, the gate didn't correctly close for them and it was distracting. I liked the improvement in the theme. The lifts were a bit sloppy, but the transition into faster music was interesting. After not being a fan of West Springfield, I prefer WSDT more. My Grade: B

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While America's Got Talent contestants vie for this year's title, we can confirm the acts that will be taking the stage on the final set of results show over the next few weeks. (Demi Lovato, seen here, performed last night.)

Demi Lovato on America's Got Talent

As first reported by AOL TV, viewers can look forward to the following artists:

• Tony Bennett (with Queen Latifah)
• Susan BoyleIl Divo
• David Guetta (with Nicki Minaj and Flo Rida)
• Def Leppard
• Jackie Evancho
• Michael Grimm

Explained executive producer Jason Raff: "We want the results show to be more than the results. We want it to feel like the variety shows that America used to watch."

Look up, THG readers. Look way, way up. See the bar? It's difficult these days on America's Got Talent because it continues to get raised on a weekly basis. Below, we recount the latest performance show, which included a series of high grades...

Zuma Zuma on America's Got Talent

Zuma Zuma - The group has a tragic story that was glazed over by their enthusiastic nature. The intro took long, but I appreciated several tricks happening at the same time. The pyramids were the highlight, but they depended on the trick too much with the only variation was when they turned in a circle. My Grade: B+

Beth Ann Robinson - A great dancer, but she's against the odds as a soloist. Beth Ann had a great smile, but I wasn't sure if choosing a slower song was the most engaging routine. The use of the mirrors was smart to fill up the stage, except for the fact that she kept her back to the audience. My Grade: A-

Sandou Trio Russian Bar - Isn't it ironic that the "Russian Bar" is part of their name and they decided to drop the Russian Bar? The singing was weak, but watching a piano rotating wasn't that bad. I'm expecting a real singing/piano act try that next year. The whole thing was sleepy. My Grade: D-

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Ouch! Four acts advanced last night on America's Got Talent, but none came from the group of Wild Cards selected the evening before by Howie Mandell. There's always next year, buddy...

Eliminations Part 1 - Shevonne, Yellow Design Stunt Team, West Springfield Dance Team - WSDT made it through. I hope that the team's choreographer doesn't kill them trying to create a more dynamic routine. It made me wonder if WSDT was ranked fourth last week and the judges went with the fifth-ranked Beth Ann Robinson.

Eliminations Part 2 - Avery and the Calico Hearts, Charles Peachock, Those Funny Little People, The Kinetic King - I love Avery and the Calico Hearts, but it wasn't their night. They need a manager so they can end up on a children’s show. Charles messed up his final juggling sequence and blew it.

Those Funny Little People raised the entertainment level, but it's still mascots dancing around. The Kinetic King finally had a routine that worked perfectly, but did people forget him because he performed first? Fortunately, no, viewers rewarded a trick that went well.

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Piers Morgan has a heart. Who knew?!? This conclusion was drawn after the America's Got Talent judge selected Kinetic King as a Wild Card last night, one of four picks he made throughout the episode...

The Kinetic King - (Piers' Choice) - After bombing on live television, The Kinetic King blamed everything including fungus. In a smart move, The Kinetic King decided to pull the chord and this time the trick went off without a hitch. The only problem was that the camera shots were horrible. I liked the raising bars, the chain, and how the balloons worked. The trash cans at the end showed that he could play with scale. My Grade: A

Those Funny Little People - (Howie's Choice) - We got a montage of elves falling and with toilet paper. The Istanbul theme was a better visual and the use of the weird camel and the three little people right next to the judges for no reason was interesting. Extra credit for the nun. The belly dancing was a good change, though it showed their lack of arm movements. My Grade: B

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