“America’s Got Talent” Recap: Live Quarterfinals 1

NBC’s America’s Got Talent has removed most of the bad acts and we’re on to the actual talent.  We’re down to 48 acts and one of them will be winning $1,000,000 courtesy of our votes.  I’m really holding out hope we don’t get yet another singer winning, but that depends on you voting.  Luckily you have a wide array of very, very good variety acts to make you stop thinking about the vocal acts.  I tend to lose interest after the first few auditions, but this is when the show gets great.  The acts get spectacular and the competition becomes intense.  It grows into one of the more exciting and entertaining game shows on television.  Only four of last night’s twelve acts can continue forward.  I’ve got three I’m reasonably sure will, but I’m curious to know what you think the fourth will be.  The live results show is tonight at 9:00PM ET on NBC.

The best act last night, bar none, was David Garibaldi and the CMYKs.  Out of all twelve acts this seemed like one that people would pay to watch in a Las Vegas showroom for longer than 15 minutes.  It’s a unique combination of dance, music, and art.  If one of the three was a flat tire the act would wobble a bit, but the group is good at everything.  The way they paint is equally unique.  It’s just visually exciting and interesting to see.  If this doesn’t go far I’m going to be very disappointed.

The second act I see going forward is the American BMX Stunt Team.  I don’t think people understand how difficult BMX stunts are indoors compared to outdoors.  If you screw up by a foot or two outdoors, sure you’re going to crash but you have room to go.  If you screw up indoors, you’re either going off the stage or crashing into a lighting rig.  They didn’t take it easy, either.  They performed spins, flips, and whips that blew me away for the setting they did it in.  By this point in the show it’s all about who will put together the best live show, not the best segment.  These guys have what it takes.

Finally, despite my boredom with singing acts it’s hard to deny Shanice and Maurice Hayes, the father/daughter singing group, are great.  It’s the kind of act people already line up to see.  However, the father/daughter angle is a great one.  Above all, their singing is great.  Shanice, in particular, has a great future ahead of her.  Shanice’s voice is better than anyone else’s I’ve heard thus far.  I think they’ve got a shot of going a very long way.

I’m stumped about the fourth act, though.  There’s a number of interchangeable ones here and I just see this one being a filler.  Many people were impressed by Edon, the singing and piano-playing 14 year old, but he didn’t do much for me.  None of the dancing acts seemed to do much either.  It’s a tossup.  What do you think?  Do you have any different picks?  The live results show is tonight at 9:00PM ET on NBC.