S09.E11: Quarter Finals Week 1: Results

[maraleia]

 

After a performance recap, the first five acts advance to the semifinals.

 

[Maverick]

Two singers, a magic act that fumbled their way through their set, a Last Comic Standing reject and a 50 member dance team.  Yeah, that's worth all that build up of months of auditions and weeks of reruns.

[MizStaken]

Seriously, those 2 singers. Guess I must be missing something there because I don't see them as spectacular talents.

[theatremouse]

The lighting and camera work on this one didn't bother me nearly as much as the sound. I mean, I know Radio City is designed for hearing in person, not on TV so I imagine doing the audio is a nightmare, but I felt like I couldn't properly hear any of the singers in any of the acts. Whether they had instruments or just backing tracks, the music completely drowned out all the singing. Don't ask me to judge the singers; I didn't hear 'em.

[Shermie]

I missed the results show - who got through?

Do I understand from the above post that neither the fan girls nor the jump rope team got through? The hell?

[Diana Berry]

Young male singer, chandelier singer,salsa dance troupe, comedienne, Collins keys magicians redux made it.

Bottom 2 were salsa dancers and jump ropes.

Felt bad for fan dancers and jump ropers.

[Lava VaVoom]

48 acts (looking forward to seeing the Bollywood dancers who won the Today show competition).  That means we have 11 more of these to go through before they winnow the final 12 to the final four?  This show will end in October?  Of 2015?

[peggy06]

I cannot believe the magicians made it through, after that travesty the other night. It should have been Flight Crew in their spot. As for the salsa dancers, they don't do it for me, but the judges have been all over them, so no huge surprise there. They are definitely the flashier act if that's what AGT is looking for.

 

I was sad for Jasmine Flower. Sometimes there's an act you root for and want to do well - that's what they were for me. But last night's performance didn't have the same visual pop as the first one. Still hoped they would pull it out, but between that and a couple of the judges' comments, I wasn't completely shocked. Well, I wasn't shocked at all given the acts in their group; obviously Emily West was going through.

 

Still can't believe so many people voted for Leeman and David. Their first trick wasn't all that amazing either.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Rarely has Ameriker got it so wrong, so early.  Wow.

 

Failed trick = magician's advance?  SInce when?  

 

The season started so well and now it is headed towards a combo train wreck on an iceberg.

[bluepiano]

I disqualify myself from being able to impartially judge Miguel Dakota, because living in Seattle I am constantly surrounded by obnoxious hipsters and I hate hate hate that hat he wears. Why would you wear that unless you're prematurely losing your hair? It is such a dumb look.

 

Dan the comedian is like a cross between Jon Lovitz and Ray Romano. I don't find anything original about him. Or particularly funny. I think it's hard to do comedy in such a tight time frame, but a really good comedian should be able to do more than just be likeable, which is the main thing he has going for him.

 

Baila Conmigo going through was a given, after the response they got in Radio City and the judges' continued enthusiasm. But as others have pointed out, there should be more to salsa dancing than just high energy. And although these kids are more a part of the act than the kids in the Willis Clan, I still believe they are primarily there because the cuteness factor gets vote. I'd like to see what the grown-up dancers can do, without more or less hiding (literally) behind the kids.

 

Still wondering why the judges were so forgiving of Leeman and David after all the issues they had with their trick. Having to prompt Howie not just once, but twice, to give them the pre-selected word, completely destroyed the illusion. They judges have been much harder on other magicians in the past. It just makes it so obvious which acts they want to go through.

Edited July 31, 2014 by bluepiano

[backformore]

Two singers, a magic act that fumbled their way through their set, a Last Comic Standing reject and a 50 member dance team.  Yeah, that's worth all that build up of months of auditions and weeks of reruns.

thank you for saving me some time.  Off to delete the DVR recording.

 

The magic guys were very talented -  at taking a basic "pick a card"  trick, dressing it up with selfies and tweets, and selling it as something else.   

 

The only thing worse would be if "steroid guy who breaks stuff with his head"  got through.

[Kromm]

Two singers, a magic act that fumbled their way through their set, a Last Comic Standing reject and a 50 member dance team.  Yeah, that's worth all that build up of months of auditions and weeks of reruns.

Wait. Seriously?

 

I have this results show recorded but may not bother knowing America got this so wrong. I can give on the Comedian, 'cause at least he's funny. I suppose the singers were inevitable (and were actually far better than this show usually has actually), but letting those magicians through is ridiculous based on how badly they mangled that trick, and 50 members has to be the Salsa dancers, right?  And of the two dance troupes they were the FAR inferior one, IMO.

[datazoid1701]

I think it's amusing the judges picked the salsa group to go through, yet only one of them (Howard, I believe) actually said their name correctly. Big fans, I see. 

[parrotlover]

No one I liked made it through and I don't care for any of the acts who did. I really wish Jasmine Flower would have gone through and I liked the jump rope group. Jasmine Flower's performance may not have been as good as their first one but I thought it was still better than the salsa flash mob with lots of cute kids in the front, to distract from what's going on in the back. That one little boy with the ponytail or whatever you call it haircut who kept mugging for the camera before and after they got the results was annoying to say the least.

 

The poor excuse for magicians duo making it through was a travesty. And the comedian guy seriously annoys me so I don't even find him that funny. He overdoes the awkward nebbish bit way too much for my taste. I just can't with the singers. Too many singing competition shows on television already,

 

On a positive note, the big guy who sort of breaks some things and the musical Duggars didn't go through, so there's that. These judges are ridiculous. At this point, Mel B is the only one I can tolerate. I can't believe even Howard didn't call the magicians out on that trick. Pathetic.

Edited July 31, 2014 by parrotlover

[DrLar]

Yup I don't know what the magicians are doing here so the salsa group, I would have liked Jump rope and Jasmine Flowers instead of those 2

[PepperMonkey]

So the Jump Rope guys were totally robbed. They were the only act that night that made me feel happy besides Jasmine Flowers, who I was pretty sure were not going through, sadly. Re: David and Leeman... they should have picked HowARD, not HowIE to pick a word off the page cause IMHO, Howie is a total idjit. I'm not surprised he picked wrong as the longest word, then when prompted, picked an even shorter word, ffs. David and Leeman should not have moved on, though, based on how loooooong it took them to even get to the point. I channel surfed and came back and they were still not there. I also don't get the Miguel Dakota is the next coming of Bob Dylan judges' reaction, but I think Emily West has a beautiful voice. I'm just opposed to singers in this competition in general. There are 47 singing shows out there: try out for those.

[gaPeach]

I cannot believe the jump rope group did not go through......Maybe they will be a judge's pick/wildcard.

[Kromm]

Has social media even mention David and Leeman's screw up?  

 

EDIT - Okay, this is interesting.  Here's yet another article lauding D&L's lame performance.  If you scroll down below the article they include David and Leman's own tweet about the performance.

 

David and Leeman @davidandleeman

CAMERA-READY on @nbcagt with @HowardStern @heidiklum @howiemandel @OfficialMelB #CameraReady #VoteDavidAndLeeman pic.twitter.com/pyBiVAtnlS

But some reply tweets are also linked and shown and around the "how did you guys do that!" type tweets, we get some that thankfully actually address the screw up.

 

JR Boogerd @karatechopmastr

Follow
But didn't Howie pick the word "wrong"? You made him change it? @davidandleeman @nbcagt @HowardStern @howiemandel @OfficialMelB #AGT #nbcagt

Clyde Donovan @mrclydedonovan
Follow
@davidandleeman good thing you didn't let howie keep the word wrong because you would have been wrong
10:59 PM - 29 Jul 2014

Edited July 31, 2014 by Kromm

[A Boston Gal]

I said this in the performance thread, but meant to put it here: I think Jasmine Flowers got done in by the act's  blindingly bright light display and other producer-driven distractions. I can't think how the speedy-salsa dancers could be considered better than those young ladies.

Of course, this wouldn't be the first time show-runners had a hand tipping the scales by being overly involved in an act's production.

[peggy06]

Has social media even mention David and Leeman's screw up?

I'm flummoxed. it's as if the judges - AT THE SAME TABLE - didn't pick up on it. And it wasn't a case of a physical miscue, where you might miss it if you were looking from the wrong angle. Anyone who was paying attention, has two brain cells to rub together and has ever seen a magic act would have realized that the trick failed when they started fishing for a particular word.

[PepperMonkey]

Just read the posted article praising D and L; wow, did they pay for that? And wasn't Collin Key's act fairly similar to theirs last year? Credit where it's due: I thought their first trick with Howie not being able to read was hilarious and very well done. But as of Monday night, I haven't seen anything to convince me they deserved to stay or that we should vote to keep them in their next round.

[daughtersofanarchy]

Well, bah, humbug!

 

Glad for Emily, but that's it.

 

I can't fathom the reasoning behind this voting.  Are there that many people who would vote for lousy acts because that's who the judges told them to vote for?  Obviously, yes, yes there are.

 

Hey, folks, watch America's Got Talent!  First, take out your brain and put it in a glass of water on your bedside table, then watch our show and the judges will let you know who to cast your votes for.  Doesn't that sound heavenly?

[DrLar]

..... and put your sunglasses on!

[daughtersofanarchy]

DrLar: hee hee

[marketdoctor]

I was happy for Emily West, though I spent half the episode wondering if she was the same Emily West who was my favorite part of Larry The Cable Guy's Christmas Spectacular (and according to IMDB, also on The Apprentice and a writer for Britain's Got Talent, which explains a lot.)   I like country, but her voice seems better at what she's doing now. (Emily West (V) if you were curious.)

 

The magic guys demonstrate a problem--some parts of live TV are easier than others.  If you are a good singer but have an off night, it can stilll sound OK--magic is more binary (the illusion works or it didn't.)  The magic guys might be hurt that WB is now showing "Fool Us with Penn & Teller", which had several amazing magicians on it in addition to the legendary hosts.

 

 

 

[Miss Scarlet]

I'm really tired of the judges talking about how awesome the singers on this show are and how they're unique. Every singer we've seen this season whose style they've praised has sounded exactly like other singers that are already out there (except for maybe Emily West). They do this especially for "quirky" or "indie" sounding artists, who are actually really similar to Feist, Regina Spektor, etc. Miguel Dakota also sounds like a lot of soul artists. Also, I'm sure he's a nice guy and all that, but I wasn't that into him after his audition simply because I knew everyone would crap their pants over him. It's just so cliche, the good-looking guy who is "sensitive" and takes care of his mom. 

[Kromm]

I'm flummoxed. it's as if the judges - AT THE SAME TABLE - didn't pick up on it. And it wasn't a case of a physical miscue, where you might miss it if you were looking from the wrong angle. Anyone who was paying attention, has two brain cells to rub together and has ever seen a magic act would have realized that the trick failed when they started fishing for a particular word.

And yet nobody at Radio City, and seemingly nobody in any media reporting on the show seems to have noticed.  Just us here, and a handful of people tweeting (among a much larger group simply blindly tweeting amazement at the trick).  Oh, and enough home viewers to put these guys mysteriously in the top 5 vote getters.  I can't say I've been this stymied by a public reaction in a while.  Do people WANT to be fooled so strongly that most people will overlook ANYTHING?

The magic guys might be hurt that WB is now showing "Fool Us with Penn & Teller", which had several amazing magicians on it in addition to the legendary hosts.

Hah! I'm sure Jonathan Ross is flattered at being called legendary! (or as he might say, fwatahed!)

Edited July 31, 2014 by Kromm

[helenamonster]

Happy for Emily West and Dan Naturman, but the other three are wtf.

 

Miguel Dakota didn't even really look like he wanted to be there. Maybe it was just shock but he didn't look the least bit excited to be voted through. He didn't even seem to react when he got the loudest cheer out of everybody. Methinks someone is getting better offers he has to turn down because of his AGT contract.

 

David and Leeman? Seriously? So dumb, America. (/SNL's Bronx Beat) My criteria for a magic act being good is that I shouldn't be able to tell how they did it. Guess what? I could tell how they did this trick. They switched in the planted page during the counting (possibly hitting Mel's buzzer as a distraction) and then coached Howie into picking the correct word. That's a failed magic act in my book and they have no business being in the semi-finals.

 

And then there's Baila Conmigo (is conmigo really that difficult of a word to say?). Between them and Flight Crew Jump Rope, the judges went with them? Ay yi yi. Also, I find the small children crying their tears of joy to be incredibly fake. Do children that young cry because of happiness? It seems like they feel like that's what they should be doing because they've seen others do it and just force tears out, or rub their eyes to make it look like they're crying. Another thing I noticed was that the girl who messed up during Judgement Week isn't part of the group anymore, at least not from what I saw.

 

I feel bad for Jasmine Flowers and Flight Crew. I hope they go on to other awesome things.

[Kromm]

David and Leeman? Seriously? So dumb, America. (/SNL's Bronx Beat) My criteria for a magic act being good is that I shouldn't be able to tell how they did it. Guess what? I could tell how they did this trick. They switched in the planted page during the counting (possibly hitting Mel's buzzer as a distraction) and then coached Howie into picking the correct word. That's a failed magic act in my book and they have no business being in the semi-finals.

I didn't notice it myself (and erased the recording), but I've also read tweets now with people claiming they saw the hand movements where they switched their nametags as well.

[JeanneH]

Two singers, a magic act that fumbled their way through their set, a Last Comic Standing reject and a 50 member dance team.  Yeah, that's worth all that build up of months of auditions and weeks of reruns.

 

I don't think the build-up was just for the 1st episode of the quarter-final round, where they cut from 12 acts (out of 48) to 5.  ^_-

 

Young male singer, chandelier singer,salsa dance troupe, comedienne, Collins keys magicians redux made it.

Bottom 2 were salsa dancers and jump ropes.

Felt bad for fan dancers and jump ropers.

 

I didn't quite catch what all was going on, but the salsa dancers and jump ropes would not have been the bottom 2 acts in the vote.  It's more likely they were both in the top 6 based on the viewer vote (likely positions 5 and 6, unless the producers were using DWTS's "not necessarily the bottom 2" elimination tension builder). Viewers picked 4, the judges picked the 5th. They wouldn't have picked from the bottom 2 vote getters for this episode's 5th act to go through to the semi-finals.

 

48 acts (looking forward to seeing the Bollywood dancers who won the Today show competition).  That means we have 11 more of these to go through before they winnow the final 12 to the final four?  This show will end in October?  Of 2015?

No, 3 more rounds of quarter-finals - each cutting from 12 to 5, leaving a 20 act semi-final. Semi-final, in normal usage, imples the 2 rounds before the final (at least it does in sports).  So that's a cut from 20 to 10 in the semifinals, and then a 10 act final. 6 performance episodes. Or maybe they'll cut from 20 to 4 - 2 shows each with a cut from 10 acts to 2. That's a cut of 8 acts, not much more than what they're doing in the quarterfinals (cutting 7 acts in each show).

 

I'm sure they'll find some way to stretch it out longer. (Here's the final - part 1, part 2, part 3......)

Edited August 1, 2014 by JeanneH

[bluepiano]

I can't believe even Howard didn't call the magicians out on that trick. Pathetic.

 

His only critical comment was that the set-up was too long, which to be fair, wasn't really their fault, because the judges were making their jokes about the other judges' books. (Although David and Leeman should've known that was going to happen, especially with Howard getting Heidi's picture book). But the Howard of old would've reamed them for how poorly planned and executed that trick was. "Pick a compound word." Really?? I have never seen a magic trick of this type (as someone posted, basically "pick a card") in which such leading instructions were given, which totally destroys the critical illusion that the magician isn't manipulating the results.

 

I suspect that the live audience had zoned out and wasn't paying much attention, as they do when there are 50 salsa dancers on the stage.  Or maybe it's just that they are obediently following instructions to wildly cheer every act. But what's the point of having judges if they don't actually judge? When every one of the four launced into their "OMG, that was amazing, how did you do it" spiel, my jaw hit the floor.

Edited August 1, 2014 by bluepiano

[Kromm]

For me the David and Leeman performance has wandered into The Emperor Has No Clothes territory.  Or maybe it's "These are not the Droids you are looking for" territory, and the only people who can see them are the ones with enough of the Force in them or something like that. 

[Indy]

I'm really bummed the Jump Rope group didn't get through.  I would have traded them for any of the acts that made the semi-finals.  I also wish Jasmine Flowers would have made it, but I guess I can see how they weren't everyone's cup of tea.  I'm very surprised David & Leeman went through...it was awkward, boring, and a screw up but apparently that's what people like? I think Emily has a great voice, but I loathed her arrangement of Chandelier.  I'm glad she got through, though, looking forward to her singing better stuff. 

 

I'm not at all surprised that Miguel made it....he benefited from them giving him a back-up band, but even without that he's a semi-cute young guy with an annoying hat so he's probably going to win the whole damned thing.  In fact, at this point, I think he's guaranteed a spot in the finals unless he forgets the words to a song and awkwardly dances across the stage Ashley Simpson-style.  

[LoneHaranguer]

 

And then there's Baila Conmigo (is conmigo really that difficult of a word to say?). Between them and Flight Crew Jump Rope, the judges went with them?

The producers classify acts and jump ropers would not have been in the same category as a dance group. Stacked against the other available talent, Flight Crew must have been considered more expendable. Their classification system could use some work. Contestants who don't fall neatly into simple slots like "singer" or "dance group" often get a raw deal. They must not have many prospects for their magic category to have talked up David & Leeman. Not only did their trick fail, but Howard should have been all over them for not stepping it up.

[gaPeach]

The judges voting seemed so staged.  I know it probably is most of the time (if not all) but I think the jump ropers did not have a chance against dancing kids.  Even though the jump ropers were ten times better and more interesting to watch.  I hope they pick up some good paying gigs after appearing on AGT.

 

And to whoever said it earlier about the fake crying kids. Yeah rubbing your eyes does not mean you are crying.  I didn't buy it one bit.  I think they were told to look all sad and scared they might not make it to the semi finals.  Why the judges like them so much I do not understand. 

[Shermie]

Miguel Dakota didn't even really look like he wanted to be there. Maybe it was just shock but he didn't look the least bit excited to be voted through. He didn't even seem to react when he got the loudest cheer out of everybody. Methinks someone is getting better offers he has to turn down because of his AGT contract.

 

Assuming this is true - which I doubt - that's his problem. If he's getting other offers, it's because of AGT. There would be NO offers without AGT; it's a chance they take. If he's lucky, he won't make it to the final and then he can take advantage of whatever more lucrative offers await. Assuming they exist.

 

Is there any chance the jump rope group can come back with a wild card or judge's save or something? 

[Kromm]

Have they even mentioned Wild cards this year?  It sounds to me like the combination of the "Golden Buzzer" and the wacky Today show thing took that place (as well as the thing the judges have had for a few years--being able to pick between the "bottom 2" among the top 6)

[Kromm]

BTW: anyone else think that Reddi-Whip is the oddest "backstage sponsor" yet?  Beyond slightly disturbing shots of people squirting canned whipped cream into each other's mouth, they were kind of at a loss as to how to present this on the show.

[DrLar]

I'd love to play with whipped cream with Heidi and Mel B...

(if we can do the "German roll" would be better)

[A Boston Gal]

BTW: anyone else think that Reddi-Whip is the oddest "backstage sponsor" yet?  Beyond slightly disturbing shots of people squirting canned whipped cream into each other's mouth, they were kind of at a loss as to how to present this on the show.

Wasn't it last week where Nick was dressed disturbingly like a giant can of Reddi-Whip, with his red suit and white turtleneck? That's one way to incorporate a sponsor's product in the show, I guess.

Edited August 7, 2014 by CuriousParker

[Rambler]

This is the first season I am watching this show. Can someone tell me what would have happened if Howard had preferred the jump ropers? If the judges are tied 2 to 2, how is it decided which act goes through?

[theatremouse]

In the earliest seasons there were only 3 judges so there couldn't be a tie. My understanding of the current 4-judge rules is that you still need a majority. So a tie is a "no".

Edited August 2, 2014 by theatremouse

[Sarnia]

At this stage of the competition (with public vote), in case of a judge tie, wouldn't it be the act with the most votes that go through?

[MPF54]

At this stage of the competition (with public vote), in case of a judge tie, wouldn't it be the act with the most votes that go through?

That's what they did last season.

[Miss Scarlet]

 

Dan the comedian is like a cross between Jon Lovitz and Ray Romano. I don't find anything original about him. Or particularly funny. I think it's hard to do comedy in such a tight time frame, but a really good comedian should be able to do more than just be likeable, which is the main thing he has going for him.

I feel like there's something wrong with me, because I never find the comedians on AGT funny. They just seem so unoriginal. They all tell jokes that I've heard before, from people who aren't even comedians. Or they have comedians who make really old and unoriginal jokes, but that's the whole point of their act, they're being "ironic", like Taylor Williamson. If that's all it took to be a comedian then pretty much anyone would be able to do it.