'AGT' gave it's viewers a lot of déjà vu this week

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Wait, haven't I seen that act before?

That's what you might have said to yourself if you were watching this week's episode of America's Got Talent. The reason, two former acts featured on Britain's Got Talent took their abilities across the pond and auditioned for the judges here in the U.S.

Over the years, NBC's hit talent competition has featured a few contestants who first auditioned on Britain's version of AGT. Two acts from last year's competition, mentalist Colin Cloud and dance group Light Balance, found themselves back on the talent circuit after failing to win it all in England in 2012 and 2014 respectively.

However, the most interesting aspect of this is famed talent judge Simon Cowell currently has a spot on the judging panel on both America's Got Talent and Britain's Got Talent. This means, as of 2016, any act that auditions for AGT that also auditioned for BGT in the past has already been seen by Cowell. The funny thing is, when Colin Cloud and Light Balance auditioned on AGT, Simon Cowell didn't acknowledge that they had performed for him in a similar situation before.

There's two possibilities for why Cowell might not have mentioned Cloud and Light Balance's past. One, maybe Cowell just didn't remember them. Two, maybe the producers didn't want him to say they were on BGT because there's always the possibility that both were scouted for AGT. In other words, the producers saw Cloud and Light Balance on Britain's Got Talent and thought they would be perfect for America's Got Talent, so they tracked them down and had them audition. Of course, there's the chance that Cowell did mention it, but the footage was not used for the aired auditions.

Whatever the case may be, a similar occurrence happened on this week's episode of AGT. Two former BGT contenders stood on the giant X in front of Simon Cowell and company. The first was a dance company called UDI dance, who use lighting effects and technology to create a dazzling dance display.

However, unlike previously, Cowell actually acknowledged that they had met before on Britain's Got Talent. UDI Dance were on BGT back in 2015 and actually made it all the way to the finale. They finished in 10th place.

Making it to the finale on Britain's Got Talent is a monumental accomplishment. However, the road to the finale is less of an adventure than on America's Got Talent as there are currently two less rounds of competition on BGT compared to AGT.

UDI Dance received a standing ovation, from Cowell, as well as fellow judges Howie Mandel, Mel B and Heidi Klum. Once the performance ended, this was when Cowell explained that he had seen UDI Dance before on Britain's Got Talent. What he failed to mention, however, was that their AGT audition was a rendition of the exact same performance they gave on BGT three years ago. There were some differences, but overall, the story line was the same.

However, the Got Talent similarities continue for UDI Dance. Not only were they on Britain's Got Talent, but the act is basically a copy-cat version of one of AGT's most famous acts. Back in 2010, a glow-in-the-dark dance group called Fighting Gravity took America by storm with their amazing performance. They made it all the way to the finale and finished in third place.

While UDI Dance is fantastic at what they do, it is technically not a unique America's Got Talent act as Fighting Gravity first introduced the concept eight years ago.

The déjà vu doesn't stop there. Last night, another Britain's Got Talent alum got his chance on the American stage. His name is Wes-P.

So basically, Wes-P's act is described as a traditional Japanese tablecloth performance. However, there is nothing traditional about his act. Wes-P proceeds to do the typical "pull the tablecloth out from underneath" trick just without clothes on and with the use of a portable fan. As expected, Simon Cowell hated it and gave him an X, and received X's from Mel and Heidi as well. Unfortunately, with only one yes from Howie, Wes-P did not make it into the next round.

The same can't be said about his time in England. Across the pond, Wes-P went under the name Mr. Uekusa and gave, more or less, the same performance. Although Simon did give him a buzz and a no, Mr. Uekusa received the necessary three yeses and advanced in the competition. In fact, he made it to the live semi-finals.

What's interesting about this whole situation is that Mr. Uekusa was actually on the most recent season of Britain's Got Talent. His audition in front of the judges took place sometime between January and February of 2018. The auditions for this season of America's Got Talent were taped in March of 2018, which means that Simon witnessed the act on two different shows in two different countries within as little as one month's time.

The most likely reason why Simon didn't mention that he knew Wes-P from Britain's Got Talent is because the BGT auditions had not begun airing yet. The funny thing is, even though Simon might not have been allowed to say that he had seen Wes-P perform before, it didn't even seem like he knew who Wes-P was at all. Simon asked questions like whether this 'traditional performance' was well-known in Japan and why did he decide to audition for America's Got Talent?

Maybe this was just a way to make it seem like he had no idea who this guy was or what the act was, but along with his reactions after the act was over, it genuinely felt like Simon was watching this for the first time when in fact he wasn't. I guess that's what you call the magic of television ... or just good bluffing.

While those two acts were the BGT déjà vu performances from the week four auditions, there was a déjà vu act of another kind that also aired this week.

So-called mentalist Lioz Shem Tov auditioned for the judges and promised to move things with his mind. It turned out, Shem Tov just used some everyday objects to perform a comedy routine, despite not wanting to use the term 'comedy' to describe his act.

It's a genius "magic" routine, even though some might say it is stupid. However, long-time America's Got Talent fans might remember a guy by the name of Chipps Cooney. Back in 2010, this so-called magician auditioned for Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel in New York City. By watching Cooney's audition you can see that Shem Tov's routine is very much similar to the one featured on AGT eight years ago.

Even though Shem Tov basically used Cooney's act for his own success, he still deserves to be on the show because he is a great showman. However, it would be nice to give some recognition to those who debuted the act on the show before you. In fact, one act this season, who was inspired by an alumni act, did give the proper credit.

During the week three auditions, quick change duo Sixto and Lucia took the stage to dazzle the judges.

Quick change acts on America's Got Talent go way back to season one, and while talking to the judges Sixto and Lucia mentioned that the reason why they were auditioning and even doing quick change is that they were inspired by a duo named David and Dania. Back in 2006, David and Dania introduced America to their spectacular act and made it all the way to the finale. Sixto and Lucia graciously acknowledged that if it wasn't for watching David and Dania 12 years ago, they wouldn't be standing on the big red X.

For loyal fans of the Got Talent franchise, it's easy to spot out who has made the travel from Britain to America in hopes of winning a version of the show. Plus, after watching 12 complete seasons that feature hundreds and hundreds of different acts, it's easy to spot which acts decided to 'borrow' from past performers. Both scenarios are in no way cheating, but it's safe to say that season 13 of America's Got Talent is the year of déjà vu.

What do you think of the repeat acts on America's Got Talent? Should rules be in place for competing on both sides of the pond? What about borrowing from acts from years past without crediting them? Is that okay? Tell us below!

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