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.
More to come…