TVSquad

Last week, the Simon Cowell twist was revealed: the America's Got Talent judges overlooked very good performers and Simon wants them to bring back eight wild cards. Fans rejoiced at the announcement because fan favorites Ciana, Kari and Tallan were sent back home while they should have moved on to the performance shows.

During the first performance show, Nick told us that The Diva League and Lake Houston Dance were two of these wild cards but didn't say who else was coming on board. I kept my eyes opened for a press release from NBC but either missed it or the network never sent one. TV Squad visitor berry4040 let me know in comments that NBC posted the pictures and bios of the eight wild cards on their contestants page.

Did Ciana, Kari and Tallan make the wild card cut?

(S04E11) "We can only put the best of the best through." - The Hoff

With the auditions finally over, it's time for the judges to get down to business and select the Top 40 acts amongst those -- 160 amazing, good, bad, and WTF? acts -- they let through to the "Vegas Verdicts" week. What the performers who were told they were going to Vegas didn't know is that the judges would be making cuts even before the performers could make their final plea to Sharon, Piers and David, for a chance to make it to the Top 40.

The performers were broken down into four groups. Groups A, C and D were told they would go through to the next round of judging. As expected, some people that didn't show real talent got through while Group B, which included acts such as guitarist Tallan Noble Latz, 8-year-old singer Ciana, singer Kari Callin and the Lake Houseton Performing Arts dance troupe, is going home.

What Groups A, C and D didn't know is that the judges would be making their final decision without them having to perform a second time...

(S04E08) "They will let anybody on this show. Why?" - Nick after seeing a bad act

Haven't you watched the show before, Nick? Didn't your agent tell you what the series was all about before you signed on the dotted line? America's Got Talent is all about everyday people showcasing their talents. And, as it is the case for American Idol, anyone and everyone can audition, meaning that the audition episodes will be filled with bad acts performed by people who should have stayed home.

Tonight's installment featured an excerpt of Mariah Carey's new music video for the song "Obsessed." The song is not too bad, but I miss "Vision of Love" Mariah with the bigger vocals and usage of her full and impressive voice range. The clip, even if we didn't see it in its entirety (it may have aired fully in your area), seemed to be entertaining enough to air a million times on MTV in the next month. In case you missed the announcement, Mariah, aka AGT's host Nick Cannon's wife, will perform live on the show during the August 5 result episode.

Now onto comments about tonight's acts, including links to see more from some of the performers!