User blog:TheFoxyRiolu/Season 13 Quarterfinals Week 1 Recap

The Judge Cuts seem to have almost flown by this year. Compared to last year, which felt like it took a decade to get through, this year’s Judge Cuts were, surprisingly consistently good. And it helps that the round segues right into my favorite round of every season, the live shows, where the at-home audience finally gets a genuine look as to whether or not the Top 36 acts have an actual shot at winning the whole thing.

So, let’s kick this first week of Quarterfinals off with a bang! With such a seriously stacked lineup ahead of us, who will exceed expectations? Who will fall apart? And who will be headed to the Semifinals? Let’s find out!

Mochi
Everyone’s favorite diaboloist is kicking off the show, which sounds like a bad idea on paper, but trust me, kicking off the FIRST live show in the entire live shows is a recipe for Top 7. Ask Siro-A, Jayna Brown, and Christian Guardino, who all had different levels of actual performance quality, but consistently managed to make it to the semifinals at least.

So, what does Mochi do this time? It’s another multimedia diabolo performance, but he somehow manages to make every performance feel different. I really digged the slow-motion parts of the performance, it was really fresh and interesting. It was visually amazing as usual, but the SECOND he brought out the firecracker was when the performance went from great to fantastic. That was legitimately such a cool addition that I really didn’t expect, and I applaud him for continuing to find new ways to make this act interesting.

Overall, my favorite performance from this guy so far and a fantastic way to start the show.

Score: 9.5/10

Human Fountains
Probably the most entirely questionable Quarterfinals wildcard pick to date, the Human Fountains have successfully managed to split this wiki in half: either it’s disgusting, or its modern art.

What they do this time is...if I’m being honest, not super different from last time. It started with the regular fountain shtick, and then progressed to the hot dog, which, I must say, had more layers to it than any of the other performances they’ve done so far. That said, I think it may be a little TOO gross for the show, and Simon clearly agrees with me. I love their act and their concept, but eventually, we have to slow down and realize what acts should be in the Semifinals. And this is the last thing we should be seeing there.

That said, I’m glad they’re exiting with a bang.

Score: 5/10

Angel City Chorale
Choirs have never done well on this show. It’s not even an opinion at this point, it’s literally historical fact. We only had a choir in the Semifinals last year because their Quarterfinals week was actual garbage. Now, can the consistently best choir we’ve seen in a while succeed on such a stacked night of performers?

Let’s just get this out of the way: the performance did not translate to television well AT ALL. If I were there live, sitting in the audience, then I’m sure it would sound phenomenal. Sitting here at home, though, it just doesn’t sound as amazing as we all want them to. It just doesn’t translate well. Not helping is the fact that their song choice is...questionable.

That said, they bring so much energy to each performance, and it’s never just a straightforward performance: the addition of the marching band performers, plus the inclusion of the audience members, was a very pleasant touch, if not somewhat cheesy. Plus, I do think they sounded good overall, even though it probably sounds AMAZING live.

I have no idea how voting is gonna go for these guys, I really don’t. We’ll see tomorrow.

Score: 6/10