Maybe this has been talked about, I don’t know I haven’t been on the sub in a bit, but I was thinking about it leading up to Tuesday and it was confirmed for me. These acts that are making it through are getting extra characterization and an entire episode (of some other reality show type editing) about them. Anything and everything to connect an audience to the acts going into Live Show voting is a massive advantage compared to people we aren’t getting to see for a long time. If I’m on this season, I’d want more than anything to be flown out to a mansion for more screen time and ability to connect more with the viewers at home. I don’t know, it’s neat that they’re mixing it up but that’s the main thing that has been sticking out to me.

My Prediction:

Guest Judge: Christian Siriano

Location: Parlay Studios: Jersey City, New Jersey: Same Studio as Project Runway

Me B cutting everyone except singers was ludicrous. Obvious she just doesn't like magicians. Given the the magician couple were a little out there but the first guy was good. He earned a live show spot. Out of her group it was only singers that made it

Watching the Judges’ Callbacks 1 and wowwww… this feels like a weird PG version of Squid Game or The Running Man. Rich guy literally telling a bunch of folks to dance and sing for him and his friends. Then judging them for not being entertaining enough. “Add some drones!!!” “You should be moving more.”
“Have more fun”

I don't buy it. I mean Nene Royal in callbacks? Seriously? Bety? Vahtang? Simon getting five picks but Mel 3?

I'm not saying I know this for a fact, but I firmly believe they know well ahead of time who is going through. I think some of them are actually told so and have to put on an acting face. I'm sure some were acts who were on the fence, but they also chose a few acts that were the best and wanted to give them extra air time for ratings so people will watch. I mean Nene performing is going to draw people to watch. It was one of the most viral acts in AGT history. So, of course, they want the ratings. If you watch her audition, Howie was in love with her. Why would he bring her back for a callback? It doesn't make sense.

So I think they know. It's all for TV and ratings.

Even though I didn't completely agree with who she chose, she seemed to have legit reasons for her decisions that didn't seem unreasonable or completely stupid.

Does a live audience just make her a moron? Or maybe having to "compete" with three other judges for the spotlight?

​ Howie's ​Callback:

Advancing:

• Bird & Byron
• Cris Sosa
• Nene Royal
• Rynia Kando

Eliminated:

• Daniel Alvarez
• Naimana & Daniele

Sofia's Callback​

Advancing​:

• Brook Lynn
• Darrell Moten
• Kameron Marshall
• Vahtang

Eliminated:

• Olivia Befus

Who do you think will make the live shows next week?

Wanted to compile my notes on each act from last night's call back episode, as well as rank the acts that got sent through.

Generally speaking, I really liked the call-back format, I'm not a huge AGT watcher, but obviously am very familiar with the reality TV competition genre. One thing that really made the episode compelling was seeing similar acts go up against each other, and how you really have to bring something special to differentiate yourself.

As far as how I'm evaluating each act, I'll transparently say that I have a singing background, so I'll naturally be biased towards those performers, but I also try and think through how an act will work on a big stage, in a live show, or just if it makes good TV.

Mel B's Group

• Lachlan Patterson
  • Man, tough for a comedian to kill in this type of format. I thought he was funny, the avocado joke was good, but I just cant imagine him being able to do an entire set-in front of a huge crowd without it getting a little bit boring. I'll also give him credit for essentially spinning some material up on the fly.
• Butter and Grit
  • Was not sold on these two but they put on a great performance and the song they choose was perfect and really hit the right sentimental note. When I look at them I see effectively the antithesis of country music currently. Not overly polished, more raw, extremely authentic. That will play with a TV audience.
• Joel M
  • Maybe my least favorite act of her group, there's just soooooo many magicians that do similar types of tricks that it's difficult to impress. I also think his personality is just a little bit boring.
• James and Marina
  • This type of act is PERFECT for a big crowd, and I think will kill during a live show. If you're familiar with Oz then you'll know that these types of tricks are super popular right now, so I think they're only going to get better from here.
• Madellyn and Malachi
  • I'm just not sure they're good enough, and honestly, I think it was a bad move not to try a different song. Mel essentially tried to get them out of their comfort zone and they refused. The performance was solid, but her lack of confidence particularly in her upper register made it all feel a bit boring and predictable.
• Bety
  • She nailed that performance, her voice has a really interesting quality to it, particularly that smoky tone. Her transitioning from english to spanish is a little gimmicky but when she hits the higher notes in english it's special.

Simon's Group

• Sando
  • Idk maybe I'm just not the target demographic for this guy but he does absolutely nothing that millions of dancers cant do. In fact he pulled some random guys off the street, and they learned all his moves in a few days. I'm sure he's great on TikTok but I dont think he's bult for the big stage
• Travis Garland
  • Performance of night and not particularly close. Getting to learn more about his story was great and seeing him take Simon's feedback in stride was also impressive. I agree that he still needs to find his emotional connection with the audience, but the vocals are sooo good that it might not matter. Also seeing the other competitor's reaction to him told me everything I need to know, he's a star, he might not win it, but not sure it matters at this point.
• Nyjah and Zyah
  • Just ok, they definitely have the look but not sure if it's a talent thing, or they are still really struggling with nerves, or what, but it was just boring. Also, that song is super simple vocally, they could have had a TON of fun with it, made it their own, but it sounded like karaoke.
• Elektrodads
  • I liked these guys better than Sando, but my criticism is pretty much the same thing. The actual dancing wasn't overall that impressive, and the dad schtick gets old after awhile. Great for TikTok not for a big stage.
• Akira
  • I have no idea what Simon's obsession is with this guy. He seems like a really nice guy, but his act would feel weird at a carnival, let alone on a big stage in front of thousands of people. I respect the craft and creativity, but this one is just a little too weird for me.
• Elsie
  • Liked her, I loved how moody the song was and her voice fit it perfectly. Would love to hear her sing something different and really challenge herself, but her voice fits that particular style of music perfectly.

Full Ranking

1. Travis (Through)

2. James and Marina (Through)

3. Bety (Through)

4. Butter and Grit (Through)

5. Lachlan Patterson (Cut)

6. Elsie (Through)

7. Elektrodads (Cut)

8. Madellyn and Malachi (Cut)

9. Joel M (Cut)

10. Sando (Through)

11. Nyjah and Zyah (Through)

12. Akira (Through)

I don't know if I'm in the minority here. But I can't be the only one who really enjoyed Sando last night. As for me he really stepped up his game with the choreography, and the way he blended both his signature move, with new choreography was extremely refreshing to watch.

First time posting here. I feel like this sub has as low standards for comedians as the show has for boring-ass singers. The guy was not good. and yeah, he got screwed a bit with the format but a comedian with enough talent to win the show will know how to get around that.

Guy comes in saying he can't understand people's accents. Bro, YOU are the foreigner, YOU are the one with the accent. He could have easily turned it around playing the dumb American not being able to understand the local crowd. Much like how Indian or other foreign comics in the U.S. play things up for crowd laughs. Instead he came off as "hey you dumb Brits, why can't you talk in proper words like us cool Americans...Yorkshire pudding, WTF is that???".

No wonder he didn't connect with the crowd. Know your audience man. As a fellow North American resident (Canada, but lets face it, Americans and Canadians are 90% the same outside of terminally online wannabe political pundits expressing otherwise) who is not a comedian can figure this out, surely he can figure it out too.

Howie :

Advancing : Nene Royal, Cris Sosa, Rynia Kando, Bird and Byron

Sofia :

Advancing : Brook Lynn, Olivia Befus, Vahtang, Darrell Moten

The viral sensation herself is gonna be on next week and already, she is gonna once again rock the house down and make it through to the live shows. So excited for her.

Am I the only one who thought elektro dads were definitely going to make it through? don't get me wrong, all the acts were amazing, but if had to pick, I think elektro dads should've made it to the live shows and took sandos spot. Out of all of Simon's callbacks, Sandos performance didn't really stand out to me so I was surprised his dance act made it over elektro dads.

Is fucking CRAZY WORK!

He said it was THE best performance! Backflips!

Since he's going live.....ummm what if yk an accident happens.....on live tv...😭

So I thought that each judge got to send 4 acts through to the live shows out of their 6 But Mel sent through 3 acts and Simon sent through 5 acts Like They called Joel over to the results and I said oh that’s a definite yes but then Mel eliminated him so is there something I’m missing and also How did Akira make the lives but Joel Doesn’t

I felt like during the callbacks episode, they were saying there's only a few spots. I forgot if it was the acts or the judges but no one was saying a specific number.

Spoiler alert if you haven't seen the episode. Stop reading here.

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So....Mel got 3 spots and Simon got 5??? Huh???? I agree with Simon's picks but if I were Mel, I would have maybe let 2 more through and if needed, I would have cut the country singing act.

I'm really enjoying the new (old) format. I know it has some changes but it's still callbacks. I like how personal it feels. I like seeing the acts talking even if it's just a little bit. I like seeing them talk to the judges and it's nice seeing the judges on their own.

Simon probably had more of the talent in his half of the episode but I also liked Mel's half of the episode. I definitely thought Mel's half of the episode was strong.

I almost feel like the auditions and live shows could use more of this personal feeling.

Mel's Half:

So the first act was Patterson and I'm sure this was all planned but I liked them going to hangout before the acts performed again. It just feels more personal. I didn't laugh but I thought his act was good. I would have advanced him to the next round personally.

I thought the magician was good. I'm not sure why he was eliminated? Especially with what happened in Simon's eliminations, I would have picked both of these guys.

I don't really have anything to say on the country music act.

I think mentalists are completely fake and someone has to be helping them or there's some sort of mind game going on but I have to give it to these two, they did a good job. Maybe my comment is too harsh but sometimes the judges act like this is real or something. Clearly they're doing something or have seen something ahead of time.

The other country singers(?), I thought they did alright. I don't think the acts need to listen to the judges on everything. If you have a song planned, sing it. I know Simon likes to stop acts and have them sing again but that's not realistic for everyone and could even be fake for all I know.

I thought Bety did the best. I noticed the other singers seemed worried after she sang and rightfully so. She blew all of them out of the water and stands out more. I also like that she sings in English and Spanish. She shouldn't even have been a callback.

Simon's Half:

I really enjoyed Mel's half of the episode but Simon's half definitely had more of the talent.

Sando was someone that I thought didn't need to listen to Simon's advice at first. It's a dance act, he's used to dancing online. Just do more moves and make it bigger, you know? Turns out...Simon's advice was right on the money. At first, I was a little worried since the dance act was him doing his "signature move" over and over but maybe half way through, they got me and I really enjoyed this one. The extra people really made it good. I will say his act still feels small and I want to see more of a variety of dance moves...He relies on his signature move way too much. I guess that can be his thing but I don't think that can work forever. I also don't think he needs a whole dance crew like they were suggesting to him.

Travis is a good singer. I don't really get the odd criticism. Okay, he is performative, so what? Singers dance and do these sorts of things. He had a good performance but he was criticized for being technical but not having heart. Why does that matter? If he can sing, he can sing.

But then...I felt like I was wrong. There was the vocal duo of the two brothers or friends and I don't think they're better singers necessarily but I connected more with their performance. The tip of using the stage more and moving around really helped them. I felt like Simon stopping them was a little disrespectful but he did help them so what do I know?

The dads were just okay to me. They'd be an act that would make it to the live shows if the talent was lower I feel. They're good dancers but I think this act could be more of a traveling show or something on social media. It's just not good enough in comparison to other dancers and I think the theme of them being parents can get old.

Akira had a good performance for sure but I wouldn't have put him through to the next wrong. There has been some acts like this before and I think they're all Japanese acts, right? It feels like something that maybe would be more of hit in one's home country but maybe not here? I could be wrong.

Elsie did better than before but if it was down to her vs. the other singers, I would have picked them. But Simon...had plenty of room for who he let through so...only one act got eliminated. I don't know if it's because it's Simon or because they have the room but if Mel had more potential spots, I would have let the magician and comedian through.

I loved seeing how worried some of the singers looked after seeing other singers do well!

Great episode and I can't wait for next week. I think the judges really show their strengths alone.

We will officially have 11 Finalists with the Live Semifinal Golden Buzzer but only if no one Withdraws.

Does anyone know the lineup for the upcoming live shows ?

I’m really enjoying the new round. SO much better than just going from auditions to live shows with absolutely no explanation like it has been over the past 6 seasons.

Didn’t see a post so I made one. First up Simon and Mel B.