Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-5598112-20190829012320/@comment-43560933-20190904230645

My take on the show;

The only lock to go straight through IMO is Kodi Lee, he did in my opinion his best performance so far, he got really positive treatment, and didn't really do anything to change his win chances in anyway, he is still there in the fight. We need to see what his rival V.Unbeatable does next week but I still don't see the win coming from outside these two.

Out of the rest, there are acts I feel are more likely than others to go straight through but no one can be discounted from falling into the yellow zone. I'd say the most likely to go through is Tyler Butler-Figueroa, considering his support, he had a positive edit especially with the cancer survivors in his act, but I don't think its impossible that a poor draw or comparisons to Brian King Joseph could drop him into the yellow zone, but he will likely advance either way, no way will the judges want to lose him.

I'd say the final act to automatically advance is between Light Balance Kids and Benicio Bryant, both had the final two spots and positive edits, despite Julianne's comment. My guess is LBK will just scrape it and get that last spot due to the fact the semis are always a struggle for singers and seeing comments that despite being labelled a potential winner, they weren't as moved by Benicio's performance, although it isn't impossible it could be the other way round. Still Benicio's edit and even being labelled a potential winner shows they want him to do well.

This then moves to the yellow zone. If any of Tyler, LBK and Benicio are in alongside a 'disposable' act, they will likely advance. If two of them are there, there are possibly two spoilers in the pack for producers. The first one being Ansley Burns. She has a powerful fanbase as proven in her quarter final when she beat the hyped Sophie Pecora despite being initially behind in the Dunkin' Save. Her fanbase could get her to the yellow zone, and if she is there, she could be unstoppable.

The other spoiler in the pack is Eric Chien, the prime example of a hatchet job on a Cowell show. However as We Three proved last year, if you have a previous fanbase that can get you quite far in a vote despite a weak performance. However if they have the opportunity to get rid of him they likely will. My guess is he performed better than anticipated in the vote last week enough to alarm producers.

In terms of the rest, Ndlovu Youth Choir opened the show well, but the fact they didn't immediately advance despite a pimp slot and clear producer favour in their quarter final doesn't bode well for them although it isn't impossible they may make the yellow zone, but their VT showing how the show has changed their life seemed like end of journey treatment. Same went for Greg Morton. Messoudi Brothers had a poor draw and were kind of lost in the shuffle, Jackie Fabulous had poor treatment and comparisons to Ryan Niemiller will likely see him out, whilst Robert Finley is likely to fall victim to the annual singer massacre of the semi finals.

In terms of what I think will happen, my guess is;

Advancing immediately; Kodi Lee, Tyler Butler-Figueroa and Light Balance Kids

Yellow zone will be; Benicio Bryant, Ansley Burns and Eric Chien

Ansley Burns will win the Dunkin' Save, whilst Benicio Bryant will win the judges vote.

We will also find out who the wildcard is in the result show. I wouldn't read too much into the reports Joseph Allen is wildcard, we don't know the context of the picture. I'd say the wildcard is between Sophie Pecora and Bir Khalsa. I've always said Sophie is a hot tip for this since her elimination, but Benicio's treatment may indicate the singer/songwriting baton has been passed down. But her social media popularity may make producers feel they could get her far. If they don't, Bir Khalsa would be a logical choice for the sake of variety, we don't really have a danger act in the semi finals, so they have their niche to themselves.