TVSquad

(S02E07) After last week's performance show, I was expecting about anything and everything this week (especially since some fan favorites, like Kevin James, performed poorly when others did better than during auditions).

Tonight, I was mainly looking forward to Boy Shakira's performance in order to understand why he ended up in the Top 20 (maybe he does have more talent than the other episodes showed us? Not!). I also wanted to know how well I predicted who from last week's show would end up in the Top 10.

The 2nd Story Guys: I have been rooting for these guys from the start because their act is highly original and not that easy to perform. They were entertaining, charismatic and energetic tonight. The judges loved the performance a lot and it looks like the audience did too. The guys improved their act since their audition and it's a safe bet that they'll work a lot to keep wowing the audience. They should definitely move to the Top 10.

Southern Girl: Somehow, I didn't really notice them during the previous rounds. So I had no expectations at all tonight. They were not too pitchy, the harmonics were nice, they had some stage presence, etc. I must agree with the judges that they need one singer to stand out here and there and not always sing all three at once. They remind me of the group En Vogue who also did that sort of songs on their albums. I think they should move on.

The Popovich Comedy Pet Theater: This act has been entertaining from the start of the show weeks ago. It's always fun to watch animals perform fun and cool acts. Tonight, the act had a great setting and the storyline was amusing. However, there was not enough action and I was about to tune out when Piers Xed the act. I would like them to move on as I know they can do better but tonight, they let me down a bit because there wasn't enough actions with the animals. They didn't go through for the acting of the lead guy but for the animals performing acts. I'm not sure they'll move on.

Cas Haley: Even though he is not a bad singer, Cas Haley has never been one of my favorites. I guess it's because I'm not a huge fan of the type of music he plays and his dance moves, if we can call them that, and facial expressions are slightly getting on my nerves (does he ever open his eyes while singing?). Tonight's performance was no different for me. However, I can admit that he sang the song properly and he was entertaining. I don't agree with Piers that this was the best performance so far but it was good. Even though he is not my cup of tea, I think he'll move on.

Terry Fator: Very few ventriloquist make it in the grown up world. Fator may be one of the few. It was an unusual choice to use a turtle to sing "What a Wonderful World". I would have expected a human puppet so kudos for him trying to be original. It was nice to see Fator try to imitate the original singer when singing as himself (and not the turtle). Piers is right that Fator is a good singer, a good ventriloquist, a good comedian, etc. I'm not sure he'll win the competition though. I'm not even sure he'll make it to the next round because the competition is rather fierce tonight.

The Fault Line: Sadly for them, the sound when they performed wasn't best. I thought they reverted back to their audition mode: the background sounds and vocals were too loud compared to the lead singer. They were entertaining and they didn't do too bad but they still need to work out the nuances between the lead and the background. Piers is right that the song was a bit weak tonight and they needed something that fit their personality more. I'm not sure they'll move on.

Boy Shakira/Britney: Finally, the moment most of us were waiting for. It was unexpected to see him without his wig and makeup in the interview shown before his act. Boy Britney!!! At least the guy probably knew that he wasn't going to win if he kept doing Shakira since he couldn't do much more so he risked changing his act. He did not do much better as Britney but he was entertaining. At least now, he had a choreography! The Hoff is right, the others are on meds or something to say that Boy Shakira is a good performer and deserves to move on. America, please do NOT let him move on. He does not deserve a million dollar.

Jason Pritchett: I don't recall much his previous performances. He didn't start too well tonight. He was pitchy and didn't own the song much... He didn't do justice to the original. It was almost like he was thinking "let's get this over with" and that's it. Not much emotions in there. Sharon is wrong saying that he performed the song well tonight. He needs to go back to his previous style if he moves on. I don't think he'll move on.

The Calypso Tumblers: The group took their act to another level by adding objects, a bike, etc. The music was fun and lively; it fit their group's name. At times, some moves were held too long but they made up for it by performing somewhat risky moves. They do have energy as Piers say. I agree with him that there should be a bit more tumbling and moves. They performed well but again, due to the good performances tonight, it'll be difficult to predict if they'll move through.

The Duttons: I'm glad they ditched the youngsters as it made their act stronger and we can take them more seriously now. The singer performed really poorly, especially for a song that is not that difficult to sing properly. The ladies were not better singers. The band (the musicians) had loads of energy and they showed they have skills. It was a poor song choice because they were not able to sing properly and there was too much going on. I would like to see them move on because I know they can do better. However, if voters take only tonight into account, they may not make it.

My Top 5 tonight is, in order of appearance: The 2nd Story Guys, Southern Girl, Cas Haley, Terry Fator, The Fault Line. I'm not sure about The Fault Line but I needed to pick a fifth performance. What is yours?

Last week, I said that the five performers I wanted to move to the Top 10 were: Julienne Irwin, Kevin James, Johnny Come Lately, Butterscotch, and The Glamazons. America's Top 5 from last week consists of: Julienne Irwin, Butterscotch, The Glamazons, Robert Hatcher, and Sidewipe. Three out of five ain't bad. It seems that America gave a lot of weight to last week's performances compared to previous performances since James and Johnny Come Lately didn't move on. I'm happy with America's choices. Are you? These five acts will move on to the next round, the Top 10.

Feel free to let us know what you thought of tonight's performances by replying to this post.