Hard to pick: Grace V, the opera singer girl, the magicians(both of them),the trio singers.

I like the magician the best. But I only watched 1/2 the show, I have the rest taped. They are just all too good.

Too many good ones to choose.

There'll be a recap of last night's performances before the results tonight, 8:00/ 7:00 CST.

JoAnn & Lily, the voting is interesting, you can give each contestant up to 10 votes. So you don't have to pick just one. When voting last night, I tried to think about if (and how much) I would pay to see them in their own show. Those I really like got 10 votes from me, some got none, and some got in between. So it's really more like rating them on a scale of 1 to 10.

Rusty

There were 11 performances on last night's show, and only 5 will make it through to the Finals. Some good acts are not going to make it through.

The following comments are based on my opinion only. Your opinion may vary.

Sal Valentinetti -- LOVE this guy and his voice! I could listen to him sing for hours....

The very first time Grace Vanderwaal performed, I thought she was really good. Her two performances since then (one of which was last night) were, to me, underwhelming. Yeah, it's admirable that a 12-year-old is writing her own songs, but she needs to be able to cover other artists' songs and do a good job with them. I couldn't even understand what she was saying/singing half the time in her last two performances.

Simon Cowell's "reputation" when he was on American Idol was that he would always say "mean things" to the folks trying out. But he really was the best judge, because he was honest. Paula Abdul was too gushingly sweet to everyone, even if they sucked eggs... Now, however, Simon has mellowed. He has stated in interviews that he views the contestants differently now that he has a son, because he thinks about what it would be like if it were his son on stage and folks said mean things about him. Because of that, Simon, in my opinion, has moved more towards "Paula Abdul behavior."

Regarding the two magicians --- the first guy, Blake Vogt, should not make it through to the finals. The first trick he did - with the corner of the card ending up in the box, was great. But I am honestly gobsmacked that Simon was so in awe of the "invisible flight to the balcony" bit. Really, Simon? That is probably the most basic trick ever. As soon as Blake raised the "curtain" he stepped off that lift through an opening in the "wall" behind him and another guy -- already wearing the brick camouflage suit -- stepped in and took over, flinging an extra shirt and pair of pants over the curtain to "show" that Blake was undressing and becoming invisible. Meanwhile, Blake was taking a back route to the balcony. When fake-Blake dropped the curtain to "reveal himself" standing on the lift in the brick suit, it was Blake's voice being projected over the speaker system but it wasn't Blake standing there. That's why the brick suit covered the guy's head... The curtain was raised again so the fake-Blake could escape through the opening in the back wall, and the real Blake stepped out onto the balcony by his fiancée.

The second magician to perform, Jon Dorenbos, was GREAT!! I have an idea as to how it was done, but I don't know if I could prove it...

Tape Face -- funny, but he was much funnier in his previous performances. I just don't know if he could sustain a headline act in Las Vegas.

Lori Mae Hernandez won't make it through. She really wasn't too funny last night. Like the judges said to her, she needs to get someone else to write jokes for her, because she just doesn't have enough life experience to continue writing good material.

Malevo -- what can I say? Sexy as all get out.

Laura Bretan -- OMG can this girl sing! She is so far and away better than Grace Vanderwaal.

Deadly Games -- I don't like danger acts. At all.

Edgar -- They're good, but I don't think they're as good as many of the other singers; or as good as the judges think they are.

Musicality -- I love these kids. You can tell that music means so much to them, and I think it's amazing that they practice in the stairwells at school. The coach is amazing and what he has done for these kids is amazing. I don't think they'll win this year, but I certainly do hope that they get signed to a contract because they deserve a chance.

I can see the following not making it through tonight:

Edgar, Musicality, Tape face, Lori Mae Hernandez, Sal, Blake

Just a guess....

Well, I am happy! ! ! Sal is going through! And frankly, if he didn't make it, I would be seriously concerned about what's happening to America. Even if he doesn't win the whole thing, someone, somewhere, is going to latch on to him, he will be going places ! !

Lindsey, looks like we think a lot alike. :>) Actually, I never have seen what everyone else seems to see in Grace V. I was shocked when Howie gave her the Golden Buzzer the first night. I have never been able to understand anything she is singing, her voice just sounds so thin and reedy to me. And her words are unintelligible to my ears. Figure people must be going on her song writing talents, she doesn't seem to have any singing talent, in my opinion, anyway. Wish she would cover a well known song.

I was really surprised that Tape Face made it through. Yes, he's kind of funny. But he's also weird and kind of creepy, especially his eyes. I always have to look away when they show his face.

Last night's performance was not the best that Musicality has done. And AGT, or whoever designs the sets for the acts, did them a great disservice last night. All the stripes and lights and shadows was too distracting. I love to watch their coach, his expressions are just so cute, for lack of a better word. He always looks so genuinely happy! He truly cares about those kids.

One more week of semi-finals, then the finals. Seems like this year's talent is better than ever, but then, it seems that way every year.

Rusty

I was bummed Malevo didn't make the cut.

I have "Train - Soul Sister" on my mp3 player. I think the ukulele and the unique lyrics makes Grace V. a sister act. :0) Here's Soul Sister, sort of like Grace?

Soul Sister was my ringtone quite a few years ago. lol

Lily, the only thing that I can think of as to how Jon would have pulled off his trick would be something like this...

First, as we know, he had already written/created the paper that was folded up in his journal. He had already put the money into the box, with the quarters specifically relating to certain states. The only mystery is how the footballs that the judges spiked/threw ended up on the same states as the states on the quarters and paper.

So, my guess as to how the footballs stuck to the specific states is this --- each football had a magnet inside of it. The footballs were in a "trashed" condition, so a hard lump (the magnet) wouldn't have been noticed by the judge handling it. An "assistant" was standing (sight unseen) behind the board with the states (or perhaps offstage with a remote control), and as each judge spiked/threw their ball, the assistant activated a strong magnet attached to the backside of the state that corresponded to that judge. So, the football had no choice but to head to and stick to the proper state.

The thing that gets in the way of that theory is the fact that Simon's ball ended up between Hawaii and Alaska and Jon allowed him to choose which of the two states he wanted. I don't know what would have happened if Simon had said "Hawaii." But, I did notice that at the end of the act when Jon was talking about the quarters, he said "Hawaii" instead of "Alaska."

That might be the answer, but then I thought that Simon was given a choice and actually picked one state over the other which Jon had no choice in the matter. Maybe Jon did have the bases covered with the Hawaii coin. But how did Blake get the corner of the card in the closed box Mel held? I get now how he got on the balcony.

how did he get on the balcony?

I don't know why I've never been a fan of magic acts. Maybe because I know it's all trickery. When something gets done around here in my house and it wasn't done by me then that's magic! I can appreciate that kind