150 contestants will perform for 20 remaining spots in New Jersey.
Magic is up first:
Hawley Magic, who does a double levitation. Howard wasn't impressed. Giani is a mentalist. He wrote down his "predictions" of what the three judges would say, but wrote "Bilan" instead of "Milan" for Sharon's place. "There's no place called Bilan," Sharon tells him. Touche.
Jarrett & Raja consider themselves the next Siegfried & Roy. They do large-scale illusions, and for their Vegas performance, they bring out an entire orchestra from a tiny red box. Very effective and the other magicians were intimidated.
The next category is Bands. Boy rockers, The All Ways tell us they "go crazy" when they perform, but this is not credible. Wordspit, the Illest! take a play on "New York, New York". The Hillbenders were cute. Dillon Havins and Friends was annoying but fresh.
The Emily Anne Band was quite talented. The Distinguished Men of Brass were again a real treat.
The danger standbys category is next. LionDanceMe is up first, and nobody jumped on anyone's head or fell. Cliff's Demo Team beat the crap out of Cliff, which I won't deny enjoying, and Kota Sports almost made razor scooters cool. Then there's this guy with the cobra who puts scorpions in his mouth. Serengeti Steve had cockroaches in his mouth, just for effect, then he took the snake out of the basket and threw it around.
Lil Starr, made up a whole new tap dance. Danielle Stallings is quite good. The Cos Fam danced, and that act can only last so long before it's creepy. Tevin McGuire was good, as was Danielle Stallings.
Unity in Motion was quite exciting to watch, with their acro dancing, despite a couple mistakes. The Williams Bruthuz have stepped up their game a bit, but is it a million dollar act. They admitted that not everything went as well as they'd hoped.
There is an entire category for Aerial Acts. Summer Lacy is up first, and she switched to aerial hoop, after doing well on aerial chains in her audition. She's quite likeable, so I want her to do well. That girl is STRONG. I mean, damn, the things she can do! The other aerialists give her props, because hanging by just your neck is difficult to do.
The Benn Mendoza Circus has a lot going on. Less dancing and more aerial stuff would have improved this act. Donovan & Rebecca are the ones to beat in this category. This time they're doing an aerial rope act, and it's got a lot of danger, plus it's thrilling to watch. He spun her around on the rope; she held on with one hand. Very dangerous!
There's also an entire rap category. I can already tell you that my least favorite act in this category is the cocky The Rhymatist. For his audition, he was dressed like he was applying for a job at Target. Burton Crane is in this group, for some reason, but so is Granny G, so they can be together in their insult to the art form. Rob Hayes was understandably not excited to see them in his category.
The Rhymatist was boring, Svet played the fiddle/violin as well but Burton couldn't understand him. Granny G had a special surprise for the judges that did not go over well. She ripped her dress off to reveal a burlesque outfit. On an 80 year old woman that was not a good move. Whatcha gonna do, Burton Crane? He’s going to use the identical music but in a different key.
Battle Born, a breakdance group from Vegas performs first, followed by Old Shoes, New Shoes. Old tappers got it goin' on. The Lisa Clark Dancers were just strange. The Scott Brothers were the better, more entertaining, grown-up version of the Williams Bruthuz.
Inspire the Fire is a dance group, and also a show choir. They're dressed for The Sing-Off. A guy missed his flight, a girl twisted her ankle, and another girl threw up, but here they are. They're not the best dancers or singers, but they do both so that's something. Howie loves them, of course. He can bring them back for the Wild Card show.
Finally, the novelty category! No one has any idea what anyone else in this category is doing. I really enjoy Dave Girabaldi and His CMYK dance-painters. They created an Elvis portrait, and it was awesome.
John Pizzi, virtual ventriloquist, was far less funny this time around. Michael Nejad plays unexpected objects, like a shovel! Very different.
Rock Star Juggler Mike Price, was as exciting as juggling can get, but The Two Bits did too. Big Barry's thing is that he's short, he wears a white suit, and he is a bad singer. If he gets through you have to wonder which judges have NO ability to spot talent of lack thereof.
Dancers Turf and Stepz make it clear how badly they each want that next round. Linsey Norton has a very similar routine to the last one. Turf notes that Stepz is using too many props and not dancing enough, but once Stepz started really dancing, it's pretty neat. Turf’s bone-breaking style is remarkable.
It's time for the judges to decide. Many children are eliminated, but not Lil Starr, Danielle Stallings, or Unity in Motion. Lindsey Norton and Elusive are moving on, along with Dave Girabaldi and His CMYKs, and Michael Nejad. Two more magic acts move forward.
Many of my favorite bands were eliminated, but The All Thats, Wordspit, the Illest!, and the Distinguished Men of Brass will move forward. Inspire the Fire is moving on, but the ventriloquist and the Two Bits are eliminated. Cobra-kisser, the karate kids, and the razor scooter guys are eliminated, but LionDanceMe is in. LCD - Lisa Clark Dancers, and the Scott Brothers are going to New York. The old people rappers are not. Thank god.
The other three rappers, Summer Lacy (what?), and The Benn Mendoza Circus are ending their journey here. I'm so glad that Donovan & Rebecca are going to New York, though. They deserve it, out of anyone left in this standby group. Big Barry is moving forward because the judges cannot discern talent and Big Barry’s lack of it.
Only Stepz and Turf remain, and it will almost certainly be Turf, the star of this entire two hours. Stepz is eliminated, and Turf is moving on as our hero. Because he wants it so much! We have to like someone who wants this so much that it completely crumbles them.