The August 15 edition of "America's Got Talent" highlighted everything that this competition does correctly. The first hour featured a tightly edited recap of the 12 acts selected from the online YouTube/Snapple submissions. Unlike Tuesday's overlong two-hour broadcast, the recap was fast and informative.
The second hour contained the results, revealing the four acts that will be moving on to the next round. After all was said and done, there were no real surprises in the selections.
Olympic and online star power on "America's Got Talent"
In a last, lingering nod to the Olympics, Gabby Douglas, a star from the London games, joined host Nick Cannon on stage for several segments. The young athlete evidently has aspirations other than gymnastics, demonstrating her hosting abilities in front of the camera.
Karmin, the musical duo who became an Internet sensation in 2011, also appeared and performed two songs. If anything, Karmin's appearance underscored the power of the Internet since their videos have received more than 30,000,000 hits.
Randall, another online sensation whose comedic nature videos have gone viral (You know the honey badger!), came on during the last part of the show. Instead of animals, Randall created a nature video featuring the current judges of "America's Got Talent."
"YouTube has given me a superb platform for me to have a voice for the animals, animals who can't speak for themselves. And if I can do it through humor and education, my mission is accomplished," Randall explained.
No real surprises during the "America's Got Talent" eliminations
Viewers sent Academy of Villains, the breakout group from Tuesday night's show, to the semi-final round while masked musician Cast in Bronze and rockers Reverse Order were sent home.
"I am delighted here because talent was rewarded," Howard Stern said. "We saw something interesting with YouTube last night. I think a lot of people go on YouTube, post a video, and get millions of hits. But you know as well as I do that to come up on a stage and be successful is way different."
As expected, singer Bria Kelly advanced to the semi-finals while the dance team of 7 in Unison and illusionist Rudy Coby left with some career advice from the judges. "You all had great courage to come up here with a moment's notice from YouTube to come here and perform for us. And you all did your best," Sharon Osbourne said.
The Magic of Puck received a semi-final nod as comedienne Melinda Hill and inventive performance artist Eric Buss left the competition. "I'm very happy because I think Puck deserves this," Osbourne enthused.
The judges decide the last semi-finalist
Romeo Dance Cheetah, an air guitarist, was quickly sent home as young singer Drew Erwin and Clint Carvalho plead their cases before the judges. Because they ranked 4th and 5th in the audience voting, the judges selected the act that would go on to the semi-finals.
In the end, Erwin's lack of experience and polish sent him home while Carvalho and his extreme parrots moved forward. "Drew, I told you last night, with time and experience, perhaps you would become a seasoned performer," Stern advised the young performer.
Next week, "America's Got Talent" brings back 12 wildcard acts for one final shot at the million-dollar payout. A quick montage showed several popular acts, including opera singer Andrew De Leon and mariachi singer Sebastien De La Cruz.
