Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-5598112-20160905195102/@comment-25150955-20160907141222

Chrissh wrote: These are the acts that I think deserve to go through based on their performance:

1. Jayna Brown--Technically flawless singing performance, though not thrilled with the outfit/makeover nor the stage lighting.

2. Kadan & Brooklyn Rockett--Yes, their prop did not stay up on its own, but they recovered nicely, without skipping a beat, and they were able to complete the trick with a flourish. They were very professional and composed throughout, and as always, owned the stage.

3. Linkin' Bridge--By far their best performance. They really stepped it up and brought it. I didn't have much hope for these guys going into tonight, but they made a believer out of me.

4. Sofie Dossi--To be honest, I had written her off before tonight, but she really wowed me with her aerial acrobatics. So glad she left the bow and arrow at home.

5. Brian Justin Crum--Another powerhouse performance. This guy has a serious set of pipes and amazing lung capacity. Not a fan of his arrangements, though.

Here are my thoughts on the rest of the field:

Kadie Lynn Roberson--I'm not a fan of country music, but I appreciate it when it's done well or is a catchy tune. Unfortunately for Kadie, her performance was neither.

Viktor Kee--Unlike some of the other acts tonight, Viktor Kee met my low expectations of him. He didn't do anything new or different. He's done.

The Passing Zone--They are a novelty act suitable for warming up the crowd, but not a headliner. They spend too much time building up to the juggling, and then spend 20 seconds actually juggling. It's a no for me.

Calysta Bevier--The biggest disappointment of the night. I don't know if it was nerves, a physical ailment, or what, but she really performed poorly tonight. Off-key, out of tune, not loud enough, no big notes. A complete disaster.

Steven Brundage--What the heck was that? After wowing us with his speed solving skills yet again, Steven went on to demonstrate exactly why he isn't ready for the big time. First there was the very obvious card force trick with Nick. Next, he had the judges mix up their cubes, making a big point of taking them away with tongs, and never handling them off camera, but all for nothing. It was completely pointless. And to top it all off, he turns his picture frame full of 204 rubik cube puzzles around to reveal what is obviously a completely different set of 204 Rubik's cube puzzles prearranged to kinda sorta look like Brad Pitt. Huh? smh.

The Clairvoyants--The producers obviously want this act to make it to the finals. Their act had the best production values of the night. They got the most amount of time to do their act, the same as Jon Dorenbos, in fact. And, the judges couldn't praise them enough. It's really unfortuate that none of the judges know anything about magic. Those of us who do, know exactly how they're doing it, and it isn't that amazing. I'm not even entertained by the act at this point. And anyone can do what they do if they have the same equipment they are using. My biggest problem with them, though is that they aren't even Americans. I'm sorry, but this isn't Austria's Got Talent.

Having said all of that (and thank you if you have read this far), despite my personal preferences, my predictions for who will make it into the finals are:

Top Three: Jayna Brown, Brian Justin Crum, The Clairvoyants

Dunkin' Save: Kadan Bart Rockett

Judges' Choice Winner: Sophie Dossi or Linkin' Bridge

Judges' Choice Loser: Sophie Dossi or Linkin' Bridge

America will be shocked by the elimination of Steven Brundage and Calysta Bevier. SHOCKED.
 * 1) Putting Kadan Bart Rockett and Linkin' Bridge through over Clairvoyants and Brundage? Aha, no. Who cares if you know how it's done, it's so damn impressive that they can put on a show like that in the first place, which is what the show is about. Kadan had a terrible trick, and yet you put him in the Top 5 when his performance had the same problems you say the Clairvoyants have.
 * 2) Who cares if The Clairvoyants are Austrian? We've had a Japanese AND a British winner, so birthcountry shouldn't matter.