‘America’s Got Talent’ Auditions Continue with More Dazzle, Drama, and Danger
NBC Reading Time: 5 minutes
After such a strong premiere, America’s Got Talent had a hard act to follow this week, but they managed to deliver with even more wacky and wonderful acts! From impressions to comedy to juggling, this episode had it all. Let’s see what Tyra and the judges thought of this crop of artists.
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Yumbo Dump
The show didn’t even bother easing us into the madness this week; this first act consisted of two men creating various sound effects using only their bodies and basic household items.They got off to a bit of a shaky start, with Mel B hitting her buzzer early on, but the other three judges soon warmed up to the bizzare humor and gave them three yeses, making Yumbo the first act of the night to advance.
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Shawn and Lindsay
This was something we don’t see very often on AGT: a stand-up comedy duo, and a married one at that! Unfortunately, their “old married couple” jokes didn’t land and actually came across as kind of mean-spirited. It really is a shame because stand-up comedy duos aren’t particularly common, so it was disappointing to see a more unique act like this bomb.
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Us the Duo
Married couple Carissa and Michael – known as “Us the Duo” – performed an original song based on their marriage vows. Howie said the it had a “coffeehouse” vibe and gave them a no, but the couple got positive feedback from Simon and Heidi and while it took a little longer for Mel B to be won over, they were ultimately sent through with three yeses.
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Lily Wilker
Lily was able to mimic the sounds of several different animals, including a horse, a dog, and even a dolphin! As a farm girl, it probably shouldn’t have been a surprise that she had come to understand the voices of her animal companions so well, but this act was equally impressive as it was silly. Like Simon said, it’s hard to see where she can go from here in terms of putting the act on a grander scale, but for now it was nice to see her get four yeses from the judges.
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Fratelli Rossi
Balancing acts are always at least a little scary to watch, but the danger factor was raised a bit here, with one of these two brothers being cleared to perform again after an injury only shortly before their audition. Things started out well, with a series of impressive twirling tricks, but they soon lost balance and had to stop the performance. Even though the judges wanted the act to end there, they insisted on continuing on, and finished the performance with some strong aerial moves. Simon made an interesting point that the error in the routine actually made the rest of the act more compelling, probably because it exemplified just how difficult the stunts really were. In the end, the judges gave the brothers four yeses.
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Christina Wells
Before her performance, Christina revealed her struggles of finding a place to perform that accepts her for who she is, so “I Know Where I’ve Been” was a very fitting song choice. It suited her powerhouse voice perfectly and I could feel her emotions and soul from the very first note. Someone get this woman on Broadway, stat!
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Da RepubliK
These dancers came in to audition all the way from the Dominican Republic! They certainly had more personality than the average hip-hop crew we see on AGT, and their love of performing shone through the whole time. They capped it off with a flip off the stage, and were unanimously sent through to the next round.
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Aaron Crow
I’m not one to be hyperbolic, so I don’t say this lightly: this honestly may have been the best America’s Got Talent audition I’ve ever seen. Cutting an apple midair was an impressive start, but when Aaron followed it up by covering his eyes and face in the most dramatic fashion possible, It was clear we were in for something phenomenal. After putting several layers of various materials over his face, he cut through a paper bag of water, broke a board with a nun-chuck, and finished off by chopping a pineapple on Howie’s head. And he did it all without saying a word. This was truly a masterclass of an AGT audition, and he received a resounding four yeses from the judges.
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Alex Hooper
Before this comedian went onstage, he said he wanted to spread positivity, which is why it was so confusing when he got up there and started roasting Tyra in the judges. Each judge pressed their buzzer as he insulted them, sassily twirling his fuzzy blue tail throughout the “performance”. It turned out Simon actually found Alex funny, but the other three judges – particularly Mel B – were less than amused and declined to put him through.
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Mochi
This guy came in all the way from Toyko to perform a type of juggling known as “diabolo” involving string and a spool-like device. That would have been fairly impressive on its own, but having a whole light show to back it up took this from a fun trick to an Vegas-style act that received four yeses from the judges.
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Ganas Con Canas
At first it seemed like we were going to be seeing some sweet and pure dancing from a couple that had been through a lot over the years. Instead, things took a left turn and we got a raunchy routine set to Jason DeRuelo’s “Talk Dirty”, complete with grinding and a little bit of “hanky-panky”. While this act was fun to watch once, I can’t see where they can go with it from here. However I wouldn’t go as far as Mel B, who buzzed the couple and said it made her uncomfortable because of AGT being “a family show”. “Not anymore!” according to Simon, who, along with Howie and Heidi, allowed them to advance.
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Michael Ketterer
This pediatric mental health nurse and father of six came on the show to be an example to his kids by showing them they can achieve their dreams. He gave a pretty nice rendition of the song, but if I’m being honest this didn’t really stand out to me in any particular way. But clearly Simon felt differently, because he ended up using his Golden Buzzer on Michael!
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