Four more acts advanced in America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 16: Michael Grimm, AscenDance, Alice Tan Ridley, and Antonio Restivo. Tonight 12 more acts perform: Harmonica Pierre, The South Philly Vikings, CJ Dippa, Polina Volchek, The Strange Familiar, Haspop, Luigi, Chipps Cooney, Kaya and Sadie, Jeremy Vanschoonhoven, Debra Romer, and Studio One Young Beast Society.
The South Philly Vikings usually perform in a parade. Piers gets in there with his first buzzer of the evening, calling them overgrown schoolchildren in robot costumes. Sharon apologizes for him. Howie’s confused what category they’re supposed to be in. They don’t seem to know either.
CJ Dippa is a good young rapper with a lot of confidence, although he’s not a dancer even if he’s convinced himself otherwise. He hopes to show people that he can write about what he feels. Piers couldn’t understand a word he said, but he can’t understand any rap songs anyway.
Harmonica Pierre owns more than 150 harmonicas, but he can’t play five of them at the same time. Rather than his usual classical music, he plays Hey, Soul Sister by Train. Howie felt like he was in his doctor’s office. Piers calls him one of the best harmonica players.
Polina Volchek is a hula hooper who started gymnastics at age 7. Well, at least I thought we’d see some hoops anyway. Rather, she’s got a rope. Piers buzzes. He was bored. Sharon appreciates the movement and could watch that for hours.
I had assumed that The Strange Familiar was just a band that unfortunately selected the same name as an existing band that has already released an album, but it seems that it is indeed the same group that had a song featured in The Biggest Loser and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. They’re talented enough that I’d say one of their originals beats this cover of Time after Time. Sharon’s not sure. Bad song choice, in spite of the voice, and they seem confused about their direction. Howie says that, strangely, this was just so familiar. Piers wants her to dump the band, including her husband.
Haspop left his family in France to pursue this dream. That is wow. Piers thinks it’s worth the sacrifice, and that was the performance of the night.
Luigi is back with his guitar singing This Love by Maroon 5. Not quite what I remember his audition being. Piers buzzes. Good but not good enough.
Chipps Cooney is tonight’s waste of time, a “magician” with very lame tricks. It gets worse. This time he starts stripping. That’s worth three X’s. Piers calls him the greatest trainwreck in the history of the show.
Kaya and Sadie are The Belly Dancing Duo. Howie doesn’t know. He was just watching.
Jeremy Vanschoonhoven is doing some more bike riding. For part of the routine, he will be blindfolded. This is not Piers’ cup of tea, but he’s slowly making it his cup of tea. Sharon calls him the new Evil Knievel. Howie thinks this would be a great live show in Vegas.
Debra Romer sings Dreams by Fleetwood Mac. Not as good a singer as Kira Leyden of The Strange Familiar, but the performance goes over much better. Howie’s not so sure about her vulnerability being a good thing, which Piers calls a load of something British, saying she’s a star.
Studio One Young Beast Society wins the competition of coming up with the longest name. Howie calls that the best dance group so far. Piers says the show has ended on a brilliant note.
Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of America’s Got Talent Season 5 Episode 18, which airs Wednesday at 9/8c on NBC.