Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-5598112-20160908020023/@comment-26288837-20160914060144

The show just finished on the West Coast, so here's my two cents:

Sal Valentinetti: Another dynamite performance from Sal. Great song choice, great production, great trip down memory lane.

Sofie Dossi: Just as brilliant as her disco ball routine, plus backflips! She really switched it up and pulled out all the stops.

Linkin' Bridge: They have been inconsistent all season, and tonight was no exception. A real let down after their brilliant semifinals performance.

Laura Bretan: She just wasn't up to the task of this song or this moment. Her voice cracked several times. Her timing was off a couple of times. That dress and the stage were amazing though.

The Clairvoyants: I have to admit that they were very impressive tonight. Unlike their previous performances, I was actually amazed and perplexed. Like Howie, I found myself asking How the heck did they do that?

Brian Justin Crum: I loved his song choice. Man in the Mirror is my favorite MJ song, but I simply do not like Crum's arrangements, and I don't find his performances entertaining. That said, he's a helluva good singer.

Tape Face: This guy is so original, so creative, and so goofy, that he gets major props just for keeping it interesting. You never know what he's going to do next. He's brilliant.

Viktor Kee: In case there was any doubt, this performance is absolute proof that Viktor really is a master juggler. I've opined in the past that his juggling wasn't that impressive, but he just blew me away with this act. He made one mistake in the middle when he was doing something really simple, but he nailed all of the really difficult parts of his routine. I'm beginning to think that he either makes those little mistakes on purpose, or that he is so focused on the hard stuff that he lets his guard down when doing the easier stuff. Kind of like a really good sports team that doesn't take a bad team seriously, thinking that it'll be an easy win. Viktor juggled blindfolded, he juggled behind his back, he juggled a flaming ball. It was incredible.

Jon Dorenbos: I think that using the 2's of the deck was Jon's way of acknowledging that he's basically competing for 2nd place in this competition, which he might not make with this underwhelming card trick. Once again, it was pretty obvious how he did it, and I've seen the same trick done much better by other magicians. The name on the "black board" was a bit of wireless electronic gimmickry, and not all that impressive. As for his inspirational banter during the trick, I found it to be annoying and distracting. I can't believe Heidi blurted out "I hope you win!" (To which Sal replies, "Thanks a lot, Heidi!"), and Simon said that Jon could very well end up winning. What a bunch of bollocks. If Jon wins, I'm done with this show.

And last but not least--GRACE VANDERWAAL!!!!!!!!: What can I say? She absolutely nailed it. Yes, her voice is shot at this point, but so is Bob Dylan's. Does that mean Bob Dylan isn't a genius of a songwriter? People who dislike Grace, fail to understand that her talent isn't singing, it's songwriting. It's unfortunate that she might not be the best choice of person to sing her songs, but how else is she supposed to showcase her talent and compete on the show? If you judge her based just on her singing, then obviously she's not the winner of this competition. But this isn't a singing competition, it's a talent competition, and her amazing songwriting talent makes her the best out of all the very talented people on this show. And if she doesn't win, it won't matter because she is going to be the biggest star to emerge from this season.