‘America’s Got Talent: The Champions’ recap: Which acts advanced in Week 4?
America’s Got Talent: The Champions continued this week with its best show of the season thus far. 10 more acts from around the world competed to earn a spot in the semifinals but only four would advance.
Judge Alesha Dixon was in charge of the Golden Buzzer this week and had the power to chose one act to advance straight into the finals. Without further ado, here’s a recap of what went down in the fourth week of competition.
Christian & Percy
The animal act was up first after first appearing with his dog Scooby on America’s Got Talent in 2014. Christian explained to the judges that he no longer performs with Scooby since the fur baby retired. So now he performs with Percy. The two performed a hand-balancing act that was pretty cool.
With that said, it was basically the same exact act that he’s performed over the years. It didn’t scream “next level” to me but at least the act has been successful following their time on the show.
Voices of Service
One of my favorite acts from Season 14 of America’s Got Talent made their triumphant return to the stage and delivered an emotional performance in honor of fallen soldiers.
The quartet sang a beautiful rendition of “Brother” by Kodaline. The performance didn’t leave a dry eye in the house as they earned a standing ovation from all four judges and the audience. It was early, but they were one of my top picks of the night.
JJ Pantano
The pint-sized comedian was a semifinalist on Australia’s Got Talent 2019 and made his American debut as he roasted judges Howie Mandel, Alesha, Heidi Klum, and Simon Cowell and host Terry Crews.
While the act was cute, it wasn’t anything special to me. In fact, he performed the exact same set as he did in Australia. It was good, but not great. For AGT Champions, you need to be great. So it’s a ‘no’ from me.
Emil Rengle
By far, this is one of the worst acts in AGT Champions history. The winner of Romania’s Got Talent channeled his inner Britney Spears and did some pretty awful dancing on stage. It got a big red X from both Simon and Howie. I’d rather have Hans back, y’all. If this guy won in Romania, that country must be desperate for anything.
The Silhouettes
The original shadow dance act made its return to the AGT stage after making the finals on America’s Got Talent in 2011. The group put together a moving dance to tell a story about a dog and its owner, conveying the important role animals play in our lives.
The performance moved everyone, including Alesha, who hit her Golden Buzzer to send the group straight into the finals. The act was deserving of the Golden Buzzer and I was truly happy to see them make it through.
Brian King Joseph
Without a doubt, one of my top five acts to ever compete on AGT came up next. Brian King Joseph finished third on America’s Got Talent in 2018 and his life has changed since then. He now has health insurance and was able to repair the nerve endings in his hands so he can play without any pain. It’s truly amazing what can happen as a result of this show
Brian performed an AMAZING piece that honestly sounded like it could be part of a movie score; it was so good. He was my favorite performance of the night and *spoiler alert* I was LIVID when he did not make it to the semifinals. More on that later.
Connie Talbot
The runner up from Britain’s Got Talent 2007 graced the stage in America for the very first time. She is not only humble and kind but a beautiful young woman with an amazing voice.
Connie sang her original song, “I Would”, beautifully. Her tone is one of the best I’ve heard on AGT in a long time, especially from someone her age. Simon commented that he wanted Connie to show her music to an American audience and it seems it has paid off.
Sandou Trio Russian Bar
The danger act from America’s Got Talent 2011 was next up and was determined to redeem themselves from a massive mistake they made during their season. Back then, they stopped the danger act and performed a song on an upside-down piano. However, this time they reassured everyone that no singing would take place.
The trio performed their death-defying balancing trick blindfolded and it truly brought the house down. Although, I’ll say what I did back then: just how far can this act go realistically? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Bars and Melody
After competing on Britain’s Got Talent in 2014 and BGT Champions in 2019, the boys made their way across the pond to try to impress America. However, judging by the reaction to their performance, it doesn’t seem like that’ll happen.
Both Howie and Simon buzzed the boys, saying it was not enough to live up to AGT Champions standard. I’d have to agree as the performance was pretty awful from start to finish.
Strauss Serpent
The final act of the night was the contortionist who won Africa’s Got Talent. I don’t think anyone was ready for what was about to happen. I’ve seen this act twice and it’s still pretty revolting.
He nearly turned his head around his body, mimicked a spider walking down to the judges’ desk and made his bones pop in some pretty gross ways. I hope no one was eating a snack while watching this guy. While he was good, it didn’t scream “next round” to me.
The Results
Following all the acts performances, Terry returned with the results. He revealed that Strauss Serpent and Sandou Trio Russian Bar had advanced. The judges voted in JJ Pantano into the semifinals in what is likely the worst ever judges decision in AGT history. Yes, I’m talking worse than Howie’s odd Golden Buzzer choices over the years. This was bad.
The Semifinals kick off next week with Alexa Lauenburger, Angelina Jordan, Boogie Storm, Dania Diaz, Duo Destiny, Duo Transcend, Hans, JJ Pantano, Marc Spelmann, Marcelito Pomoy, Ryan Niemiller, Sandau Trio Russian Bar, Silhouettes, Strauss Serpent, Tyler Butler-Figueroa and V. Unbeatable all competing to earn a place in the finals.
What did you make of the results? Let me know in the comments below!
America’s Got Talent: The Champions airs Mondays at 8/7c on NBC.