TVSquad

(S02E09) In case you didn't know, America's Got Talent was renewed for a third season. The cast (Jerry, Piers, the Hoff, and Sharon) will be back. Will Leonide make it to the Top 20 next season?

This week, the field was narrowed to eight contestants. Last week, my choices to be sent packing were Julienne Irwin and Sideswipe. The TV Squad visitors who voted on our America's Got Talent poll predicted that Robert Hatcher and Jason Pritchett would be sent home.

I was hoping, and I'm sure you were, that results would be revealed at the beginning of the episode. But no, instead, they revealed who was safe one by one and each performed after they were told they made it to the Top 8. So we only heard at the end of the show who didn't make it to the Top 8: The Calypso Tumblers and The Duttons. Well, it seems we are bad at predictions! I'm really surprised Sideswipe made it to the Top 8. Even though I didn't predicted The Calypso Tumblers and The Duttons would be sent home this week, I'm not sad. I never really enjoyed The Duttons and The Calypso Tumblers had to go at one point since they seemed to have reached the best they could do at this point.

Tonight is "Heroes night" and all performances are dedicated to people who inspired the contestants. Is it me or there were more commercial breaks than the usual?

Robert Hatcher: The singer performed "Let's Stay Together." It was a very nice change from the type of songs he performed in the previous weeks. Finally a song that fits more his vocal range and style. He tried to be more playful with the audience but it seemed a bit awkward at times as he seemed to be more concentrated on not messing up. I must say that his performance surprised me when comparing to previous weeks. This should allow him to move on to the next show. I hope that next week he sings something even more upbeat so we see him in yet another style.

Julienne Irwin: I guess voters didn't base their choice base solely on last week's performance, which is why she is still in the competition. Another mellow song for her this week. I would like to hear her sing something a bit more joyous, upbeat and fitting her age range more (I actually typed this before Sharon gave her comments, so I'm glad that she agrees with me). She did much better this week. She is at her best in lower notes than higher notes (see last week's performance for an example) so this week's song choice was more fitting. She seemed to be really into the song which showed in her facial expressions. I agree with Piers that Julienne's voice is not 100% there yet. I'm not sure it'll be enough to send her home though... well, it all depends on the other performers. And, as I've said last week, I expect that Julienne gets many votes because she is the youngest.

Terry Fator: Really cool puppet tonight! It's amazing how he can many styles he can do! His pronunciation his really clear and the voices are not only really well done but he is a very good singer. Plus he has a good sense of humor which he uses in his act and even when the judges and Jerry talk to him. He is an incredible performer! How will he be able to top that? For sure he will move on and I hope he'll end up in the Top 3. He is the one I'm rooting for!

Cas Haley: He performed "Easy" by Lionel Ritchie which wasn't a bad song choice in the Bob-Marley style it was performed. I'll have to repeat myself again this week since he's not changing: his dance moves are weird, he needs to open his eyes when he sings and his facial expressions are not really appealing. Other than that, it was an entertaining performance and he sang it well. However, even if he tried something new last week and it failed, he will need to get out of his comfort zone a bit again to show us his range. With tonight's performance, he will move on.

Jason Pritchett: A much better song choice this week; it matched not only his voice range but singing style. It's not my favorite style of music but I can appreciated that he performed it well. I tried to check his facial expressions a bit more tonight to see if he was more into it this week than other weeks and I think so; it looked like he believed more in what he was singing. Compared to the other performers, I don't think he'll win the competition but he may have redeemed himself enough to move on.

The Glamazons: They wore nice little dresses tonight. Again tonight, the first singer starts the song flat and with not enough power. They really need to find who the best singer out of them is and have that person start the songs. Eventually, they got better. Their voices were a bit hidden by the music and the effects. One must agree with Piers that based on vocals, they should be sent packing. But they showed us tonight they can have fun on stage, do some dance moves with dancers, etc. They are entertaining but is it enough? Based on tonight's performances alone, so far they are in the bottom performers.

Butterscotch: Tonight she performed jazz song "My Funny Valentine." She showed us (and I think more than other weeks) that she is can not only do beat box, sing, but also play the piano. It must not be that easy to do all three at once. Tonight was not my favorite performance from her since the lyrics seemed to be lost in the beat boxing and the words were difficult to understand because of it. She did give a fair performance and I agree with the judges that she looked amazing but a perfect performance? I'm not sure. Actually, compared to the other performances so far tonight, she's the one that entertained me less. Nonetheless, I hope she moves on.

Sideswipe: They did try to add some drama in their act tonight with the guys battling for the woman, the dramatic music, etc. They finally added some objects to their act! It was about time but I think they could have done something more spectacular. But you have to give it to them, even if they added people who are not part of the original group, they did bring their act to the next level and it was entertaining. It may be what saves them and allows them to move on.

It's not easy this week to decide who should be voted off. Did I hear correctly that four acts will be sent home (looks like it from the few articles I can find online but even they are not clear)? If so her are my Final Four picks: Terry Fator, Cas Haley, Butterscotch, and... wow the last one is difficult to pick since I see qualities and flaws in all the remaining... I'll say Julienne Irwin will go through to the Top 4. For sure, based on tonight's performance, The Glamazons should be sent packing.

Which act was the weakest tonight? Who do you think will make it to the next round?