For the America’s Got Talent Season 21 semifinals, the 12 acts that won over America during the quarterfinals take the stage once more to earn a spot in the Sept. 22 finale. Judges Howie Mandel, Mel B, Sofia Vergara, and Simon Cowell take a back seat during the live shows, allowing the public vote to determine who advances.
During the quarterfinals, four acts were chosen by the judges to advance straight to the finale by receiving Live Golden Buzzers. They are: Korean magician group Hundred Fingers, teenage singer Lai Noelle, Thai guitarist Nene Royal, and Chinese robot dance group Unitree.
Taking the stage for America’s semifinals vote are: dancing dog act Acro Canine Crew, Portuguese comedy singer Cesar Dias, Korean dance group Come Here, stand-up comedian Daniel Alvarez, magician Geno Ploeger, Canadian magician Kameron Marshall, rapper Luke Taleno, dog act Olivia Befus, light-up dance group Royal Lasers, singer Travis Garland, aerialist Veronika Goroshkova, and English magic duo Young & Strange.
Read on for our performance recap of America’s Got Talent Semifinals, which aired Sept. 15 on NBC.
With the final just one week away, Terry Crews announces that only six of the 12 acts will advance based on the overnight vote with no Live Golden Buzzer available. Once again Simon’s seat is empty as he continues to recover at home.
Let’s get into the performances!
Acro Canine Crew
Starting the competition with a Golden Buzzer from Terry during the auditions, the team-based dog act looks to make their dream a reality with a sleepover themed performance set to “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.”
Judges’ comments: “So fun, so exciting, your dogs are brilliant,” started Mel B. Both Sofia and Howie liked them as well, calling out that “everybody loves dogs” and that it’s a “unique way to have a dog show.”
Kameron Marshall
Drawing from a love for tattoos as inspiration for his next act, Kameron’s latest set used random drawings from random members of the audience and deliberate selections from the judges in order to demonstrate “inception” as magic.
Judges’ comments: “You really keep getting better and better and better,” Sofia said. “And that is a commitment to tattoo it.” Howie agrees that Kameron has gotten better with each performance and Mel called the act “slick.”
Cesar Dias
The admittedly “clumsy” singer from Lisbon stumbled his way through the Louis Armstrong classic “What a Wonderful World.”
Judges’ comments: Howie acknowledged that the surprise aspect of what Cesar does may be gone, but the joy hasn’t stopped, pointing out that Sofia smiles throughout his performances. Sofia said that it’s the “silly, simple” things that make the audience want to laugh. Mel drew back a little by asking that he chooses better tracks and steps it up in terms of the bad things that happen to him on stage.
Veronika Goroshkova
Veronika recalls that the final drop she completed in her quarterfinal act “almost took it too far,” but because she accomplished it she knew that she’d have to work even harder to make it bigger tonight.
Judges’ comments: Sure enough, Sofia said that the act has gotten “more and more challenging” even when Veronika makes it look so easy. Mel added “elegant” and “effortless” to the acclaim with Howie noting the height and speed that she achieves as the reason it’s so impressive.
Luke Taleno
From Cuba to a Golden Buzzer in the audition round, Luke is realizing two dreams at once: becoming a U.S. citizen and gaining notoriety on the American stage with a new rap that immortalizes his journey.
Judges’ comments: “You are the American dream,” said Howie, emphasizing how he’s made his own dream come true throughout the process. “I love what you do.” Mel thought he performed “with so much passion and heart,” calling it a brilliant song that will take him far. Sofia thinks he’s a superstar already.
Royal Lasers
The dancers of Royal Lasers have a school of children that they teach back home looking up to them as they bring another multimedia extravaganza to the stage.
Judges’ comments: Mel thinks the crew is brilliant with “on point” choreography, Howie emphasizes the amount of technology development that goes into what they create, and Sofia thinks they “know how to put on a show.”
Olivia Befus
The different personalities of Olivia’s dogs presents a specific challenge for their performances, but through a unique approach to each she’s able to coach them through a new tennis-themed showcase.
Judges’ comments: Sofia says that her favorite thing about their act is how apparent it is that the dogs love Olivia. Howie acknowledged that Olivia is up against Acro Canine Crew and that she will inevitably be compared to them in the vote, but Mel points out that it’s only her by herself which raises the difficulty level.
Young & Strange
With 16 years under their belt on the circuit, it’s still a dream for the duo from Oxford that they get their own Vegas show and they see AGT as their only way of getting there. For tonight’s performance they brought two young kids from the audience on stage to direct them through performing the illusions themselves.
Judges’ comments: Sofia thought that this act was “more comedy than magic” while Mel was a bit harsher, saying that “it did not cut it for me.” Howie disagreed, thinking that the children made it all “more adorable” and enjoyed the comedic element of it because it delivered entertainment.
Come Here
Though they’re from South Korea, the leader of the group appreciates the difference in style of American contemporary and so they found a way to bridge the cultures. Tonight they choreographed to Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire.”
Judges’ comments: Mel says that their energy reverberates from the stage and she notices all the different styles of dance that they bring into a single performance. Sofia calls them “mesmerizing” and “unique” in one of her favorite categories of the competition. Howie qualified his compliment by saying that they’re his favorite “human” dance group, even if they still move as perfectly as robots do.
Daniel Alvarez
In a conversation with family members, Daniel’s life story of making the world laugh from birth to present is unraveled. His set of jokes tonight once again center around his disability and touch on his current competition in this round of the show, like why none of the three magic acts have fixed his legs yet.
Judges’ comments: Howie declares that because Daniel shows so much of his personality, not only does the audience love him but all of America does. He says it feels like “spending a couple minutes with a great friend.” Mel thought he “started off a bit wobbly” before finding it halfway through and Sofia refers to comedy as “so challenging” because they constantly have to find new material for each round of the show.
Geno Ploeger
The final magician of three performing tonight declares that AGT is his chance to create his own story instead of the assistant and apprenticeship work he did with alum Mat Franco. In his performance tonight, Geno used cards and close up magic to wow the judges with a sports hat that had stitching to match decisions they made in real time.
Judges’ comments: Sofia reiterated that she’s glad she’s not in charge of selecting the best acts of the night because she thinks they’ve all been so good. Howie loves Geno’s magic and his personality, but Mel one-upped him by calling Geno her favorite act of the night. “This is the most superb magic I’ve ever seen,” she said.
Travis Garland
Like many of the other acts, it’s been a longtime coming for Travis to get the break he needs to take his art to the next level. Tonight he took Billie Eilish’s ballad “when the party’s over” and made it his own in hopes of getting to the next round.
Judges’ comments: Mel appreciates that Travis takes risks with his performances, but thought that it started off weaker than it finished. She wishes he would have chosen a different song that would have allowed his voice to explode more. Sofia liked it, saying that his voice gives her chills.
On Wednesday night, six of the 12 acts will be revealed as America’s favorites to advance to the finale on Sept. 22.