Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-37691073-20190912011403/@comment-1650307-20190914195441

It took me long enough. I put it off as much as I can. Now I am going to talk about the Top 10 and their likelihood of winning!

First off, we have our current obvious frontrunner, Kodi Lee. There are a lot of reasons why this guy is the one that most people want to win. His story is inspirational, but his beyond belief voice and his ability to retain that voice quality despite his obvious hardships is inspirational and very appealing. He, unlike a large number of acts on AGT, brings people to tears, myself included and he is also so gosh-darned likeable to boot. The only real problem I have is that a lot of people are really sick to death of singers winning, and honestly I see where people are coming from here, and undoubtedly another singer winning would be unfortunate, but I think in this case, if any singer was to win this year, it would be Kodi and I think most people would be okay with that. He is a frontrunner for a reason and I think has the likeliest chance of winning.

However he isn't a 100% shoe-in, because he has massive competition in the form of V.Unbeatable. They also have achieved frontrunner status and their push to win is the most appealing, especially since no dance group, or frankly any group of more than two people, have ever won AGT which is shocking especially since we are in the shows fourteenth season. These guys are technically impressive and amazing every single time they step on the stage and I think if they truly blaze it come Tuesday night, then their win could be in the bag and they could easily stand a chance. Can V.Unbeatable live up to their name? Well, we are just gonna have to wait and see.

Benicio Bryant has I think an edge in this competition. There are no other singer-songwriters who sing their own originals in competition any more, and this I think could be really appealing to a number of voters. It also helps that the originals that he did perform on the show are technically some of the best OGs we have ever heard on the show and could easily stand up for themselves as songs you would hear on the radio (and would arguably be even better than 90% of the stuff you would hear on the radio, but I digress). He also has the benefit of being young, which has helped Grace VanderWaal and Darci Lynne Farmer in the past, as I think that could really appeal to the young voting demographic as they could easily relate to him.

And then there's also Tyler Butler-Figueroa. There are some people who have compared him unfavourably to Brian King Joseph, and while I do agree that Brian is a technically better violinist than Tyler, I still think that Tyler is pretty damn good for his age and he has a story that could really help him get votes. That being said, I am not sure 100% if he has what it takes to win the whole thing. It would be nice since no instrumentalist has ever won (though Nuttin' But Stringz and William Close came as "close", pun intended, as anyone ever has) and I know this is just kind of a niche thing, but it would be cool to have a winner of AGT share my first name. Honestly, I think that if Tyler knocks it out of the park, the highest he could place is an easy third.

The Voices of Service has the benefit of being nationalistic to the core, which would appeal to the likeminded demographic a lot. That being said, I am not sure if they really stand a chance of making the Top 5, especially with so much competition from so many singing acts this year. I fear they will be lost in the shuffle. Still, I think that if the stars align and they really slay it, maybe they could place 5th, but honestly that's the highest I could see them placing.

This year, we don't have one, but two choirs making the finals for the first time ever. Detroit Youth Choir and Ndlovu Youth Choir. Both are similar in the way that they are choirs who put their own spin and familiar songs, one incorporates a rap flare to them and the other incorporates an African influence. Now because these two acts are so similar, I think there could be vote splitting that could occur between the two and it's really arguable who is the better group. Detroit has the benefit of never being in the Dunkin' Save/Judges' Choice, and Ndlovu has been saved by the judges twice before, so it would stand to reason that DYC has the upper hand but I am not so sure about that. Ndlovu in my mind is the "little act that could" and could appeal to more people if they pull out all the stops for the finale. Could that mean that they break through to the Top 5... eh, I dunno. Again, this is something we are just gonna have to wait and see.

Every year or two, another light-up multimedia act auditions and this year is no exception. Light Balance Kids has the benefit of the name brand recognition of simply one of the best light-up acts the show has ever had with Light Balance, who along with Fighting Gravity and Team iLuminate has come the closest that any of these acts ever had to winning. These kinds of acts are easy crowd pleasers because of how technically impressive they are on the dance and on the technology. That being said, I have seen a fair number of people compare this act unfavourably to LB and there's also the fact that kind of have this stigma of being a sort of Light Balance Lite with their performances not quite striking a core especially in comparison to a lot of other acts this year. They also have an uphill battle since they needed the help of the Dunkin' Save to advance and outside of Sal Valentinetti and Samuel J. Comroe, no DS act has ever appeared in the Top 5 and unfortunately I think that is the fate for LBK. It would be so awesome to have an act like this finally win a Got Talent show of any kind, but I don't think that trend is going to change this year.

In my humble opinion, I think that Ryan Niemiller has an edge. He is the only comedian left and the only comedic act of any kind left in the competition, and this I think is a good thing. This helps him to stand out from the crowd and could garner him some extra votes. There is the fact that he needed the Dunkin' Save to receive a slot in the Finale, but if Samuel J. Comroe taught us anything, it's that if he truly knocks it out of the park, then it's not completely outside the realm of possibility that Ryan could make an appearance in the Top 5. He is also technically one of the funniest comics the show has ever had, and while I am not sure if he really stands a chance to win, we could see him in the Top 5 if he plays his cards right.

And last, but not least, we have Emmane Beasha. While I haven't exactly been singing the praises of her like the majority of people have, I still admit that she is technically a marvel. She's likeable, she is young, she is impressive. She checks all the boxes and could've easily been a frontrunner to take the whole crown. There's just one problem... her appearing in the Judges' Choice is problematic. Let's remember that no DS/JS contestant has ever won the whole thing and only two DS acts have made the Top 5 since the rules change in Season 10. This means that Emmane has a huge mountain to climb, but I think that of all four of the Dunkin' Save/Judges' Choice contestants that are left in the competition, Emanne has the strongest chance of anyone of actuality appearing in the Top 5. I could even see her possibly if the planets align making it in the Top 3, but again she has to battle against the titans that are Kodi Lee and V.Unbeatable to claim her prize and I am not sure if she has what it takes, but again we are gonna have to wait and see.

My Final, Final, Final Predictions
 * 1) Kodi Lee
 * 2) V.Unbeatable
 * 3) Tyler Butler-Figueroa
 * 4) Benicio Bryant
 * 5) Emanne Beasha
 * 6) Ryan Niemiller
 * 7) Detroit Youth Choir
 * 8) Voices of Service
 * 9) Light Balance Kids
 * 10) Ndlovu Youth Choir