It was a night of precision as each act strived to be perfect for America. Who came out on top?
12) Chicago Boyz - The Chicago Boyz may have been fun to watch, but they weren't without mistakes. There were several jump rope fumbles and the one guy that flipped incorrectly landed. It didn't help that he was one of the last people you saw. I was more concerned by his injury as he hobbled for the last few seconds of the group's performance. While they have a touching story and a cute little kid in their group, I think they had their exposure and can now leave my TV. My Grade: C-
11) David "The Cobra Kid" Weathers - If I had to explain to a friend what The Cobra Kid's act was it would be like this: A guy plays with a dangerous snake in a pen. I didn't see the appeal of him tempting fate with a snake, but to make it less interesting, the snake wasn't as dynamic as it was previously. Watching it pop a balloon at least showed that it was somewhat deadly. My Grade: C
10) Illusionist Leon Ettiene & Romy Low - There was too much time set up with shoving sticks into holes. I get that they wanted to do something creative with the virtual audience, but I also didn't understand why we'd want to see a "behind the scenes" version when all they did was a similar act if it was forwards. Nick Cannon popping up was a nice touch, but it was a little too late. My Grade: C
9) Brandon & Savannah - This act needed to either pick a song that better suited them or have a better charisma on stage. They should be ranked lower, but I think their mediocre performance did better than the three listed above. Their act wasn't one of the ones people would be talking about the next day. My Grade: B-
8) Kelsey & Bailey - My appreciation for Kelsey & Bailey would be higher if it weren't for the fact that Olate Dogs won AGT last season and Ashleigh and Pudsey won Britain's Got Talent in 2012. The act was decent and Bailey was well trained, but it may have been too much of "dog goes between girl's legs" for my tastes. My Grade: B+
7) Deanna DellaCioppa - If this were week one or two, I think that Deanna would have sailed right through, probably taking either Anna Christine or Marty Brown's spot. Unfortunately for her, she was in a week that not only had strong singers, but other variety acts that were clean and visually impressive. This was my favorite performance from Deanna and she sang it well. I also appreciate the candle-visuals that she either chose or was given. I just don't think she'll get enough votes to make it through. My Grade: B+
6) Aerosphere Aerial Balloon Show - The performance was great to see, but it felt too short. The performance was a fresh take on the circus high-wire act of the 1800s and had the right amount of danger. I wished the man helping would have done more tricks before he got to the woman, but her spinning with just a neckpiece was truly amazing to watch The next step for this group is for them to figure out digital mapping on an inflatable sphere; the technology is already out there: watch Tokyo DisneySeas' Fantasmic one day. My Grade: B+
5) Jim Meskimen - For a person who's been practicing all his life (and has an amazing mom like Marion Ross) I thought the act was well-calculated. It's not hard to practice impersonations with a topic (this time being Ben Franklin); it's all about executing it on the fly. Knowing that he's already done a Robin Williams voice prior didn't hinder my judgment. I thought his tempo was much better than Angela Hoover last week and would love to see the two face off. My Grade: B+
4) The American Military Spouses Choir - I came in a bit jaded with this group. They are good singers with a story that's fit for television. They managed to pull off an inspirational song with great visuals and the sashes that had the branch of the army their loved ones were in was genius. They closed the show on a high note and should sail through to the next round. My Grade: A-
3) Jonathan Allen - We've seen Forte and Branden James before and all three groups should just form a mega opera-tenor group and call it a day. I personally like Jonathan Allen a bit more, but it may be because he's adorable and his story didn't end with acceptance like Branden James did. If he makes it through, there will clearly be too many opera acts and all three may suffer a split vote from America, but I hope Jonathan can push through and prove he's just as good, if not better than, Forte and Brandon My Grade: A
2) Kenichi Ebina - After weeks of using screen technology to mixed reviews of the judges, Kenichi Ebina came out of left field and not only correctly used it, but used it perfectly. I didn't expect his act to be as good as it was but it was epic to watch. Then to find out that he was also the belly dancer in the video? That's beyond creative. He feels like that perfect definition of the American Dream. My Grade: A
1) Mitsi School of Dancing - This group felt almost like watching the Chinese Rockettes. Their movements were so subtle and yet so stunning that I couldn't keep my eyes off of them. I was so happy to see that the producers kept a one camera shot for most of the performance to really see the nuances of the performance. The performance was clean and I hope the next time we can see a variation on the costuming and color to help evolve this performance. My Grade: A