AGT 5th Judge Shocker: America Blows It by Sending Home Best Act of the Night

After packing our results shows with all kinds of guest stars and filler content, “America’s Got Talent” only brought back two acts to entertain us tonight -- and then they combined them into one performance!

Do they really think we want to sit through an hour of dramatic music and Terry pausing long enough to run off and use the restroom before announcing each advancing act? We will say that America at least kept the night interesting by immediately throwing two of the absolute best acts of the week into danger.

They then threw their support behind an act that had one of the biggest and most obvious mistakes of the night. So maybe America wasn’t watching the same cut of the live show that we were or maybe you all just misdialed the numbers … a lot.

Duo Transcend and Deadly Games were the acts who returned to the stage, not coincidentally also two of the acts that will be joining the winner in the Luxor “AGT” headline show in Las Vegas.

But who will be joining them? Next week reveals all, but tonight was about rounding out that Top 10. Did you do a great job and match our picks perfectly? You absolutely did not -- so the question becomes, how much did you screw it all up?

Duo Transcend was mostly what we’ve seen from them before, though it’s always exciting for first-time viewers, while it felt like most of what Deadly Games delivered was even more dangerous and exciting. There was one dropped knife, but he more than made up for it with tight shots between leg and lips, and that cell phone shot. We loved that the two acts came together for a final harrowing moment that could have injured both ladies, but of course came off perfectly. It was an unusual pairing, but fun to watch.

The judges played a game where they tried to identify acts just by hearing them, to see how well they remembered the season they just sat through. But these weren’t singing acts, or acts that would be obvious to remember. This was acts like the guy trying to set a world record for crushing the most nuts with his butt, or Heidi pulling a toilet plunger off of Howie’s head. It was actually pretty challenging to play along, but as fillers go, we’ve seen better.

Just like last week, the 4th, 5th and 6th place finishers have to do it all over again, vying for America’s “Instant Save” vote -- but without the benefit of actually performing again. Two of these acts will advance, one from America’s vote and one from the judges.

In our initial rankings we had Brooke Simpson, Chapkidz and Rialcris in our 4/5/6 slots, but we had a feeling America would go a different direction. While Brooke and Chapkidz might be here, we suspected our top finisher, UniCircle Flow would join them.

Were were close at all? Well, we were right that America put our favorite act in their 4/5/6 slots, but they did so with our second-to-least favorite act, Léa Kyle. Rounding out the three acts was our second favorite act of the night, Victor Brinker. So once again, we’re left to wonder what you’re doing, America, when you put the top two acts in this group with one of the weakest?

Should we be worried who you put in your Top 3?

While some of our favorite acts were sweating it out backstage, it was time to figure out which three acts actually scored enough votes to sail straight into next week’s finale. No time to celebrate, though, as they’ve got less than a week to build the performance of their lives.

Well, maybe a little time to celebrate.

The first grouping created by Terry included Northwell Health Nurse Choir and 1aChord. Now, based on their whole journey and the artistry of the acts, we’d give it to 1aChord. But, based on America voting and 1aChord not really blowing us away, we were feeling positive the healthcare workers were moving forward.

We had neither act in our Top 5 acts, but we know how sentimental America can be. And they didn’t surprise us on this one, sending Northwell Health Nurse Choir straight into the finals so they can inspire us all for at least one more week. Could they actually win?

Next to face the firing squad were Kabir Singh, and Rialcris. This one had us scratching our heads, as we didn’t think either act would advance. We had RIalcris just missing out in our rankings, and didn’t think America would support them, but Kabir hasn’t blown us away at all this season -- it’s just too much interlude and not enough meat for our comedy taste.

It was an odd mismatch, so could Terry actually pull a fakeout and tell us neither of them are advancing? It’s been done before. Well, that’s exactly what happened as neither act advanced. We agree with the decision, but we definitely don’t like this particular fakeout as it just seems overly cruel.

That left four acts vying for two slots, with Brooke Simpson and Chapkidz getting called out next. We had Brooke in our Top 3 acts, but America sent two of those acts into “Instant Save” danger, so we’ve no idea what you thought of Brooke. We had Chapkids in our 5th place slot, so we were ready for both to advance, but only one could.

If we had to pick one, it would be Brooke because she’s just singing at another level compared to most of the other musical acts on this show. The Chapkidz are great, but this week was the first time their act looked crowded and underwhelmed. America must have agreed, as Brooke Simpson sailed right through. She absolutely deserves every bit of this.

Simon was so upset about Chapkidz going, he declared right there on live television, “I think we should have a Wild Card.” Will it happen? He does have some pull when it comes to these things.

While we were left to speculate on that, Josh Blue came up to stand next to Peter Antoniou, who totally blew it last night. Josh, meanwhile, was rock solid. And with Kabir heading home, we need more comedy in the finals. No brainer, right? Of course Josh Blue advanced.

Victory Brinker had the slightest edge in America’s vote when we first checked in on it, but it was a dead heat between her and Léa Kyle later in the show. Poor UniCircle Flow seemed to always be about ten points behind both of the other acts, worrying us more and more that our favorite act of the week may not advance at all.

Based on the progression of the voting as we watched it through the night, we had a feeling that Léa Kyle was actually going to score America’s vote tonight, despite an obvious mistake in her performance and it being way too clear she was just layering outfits on top of one another. What would be amazing would be going from a bikini to an evening gown or a parka!

Nevertheless, it was feeling like it was going to be her night as we waited to hear the results, and that’s exactly what happened. Léa Kyle picked up America’s vote, and we couldn’t be more frustrated. America voted her in twice this week and we just aren’t seeing it. Maybe she’ll dazzle us in the finale, but it’s just getting too obvious for us.

That also left Victory Brinker and UniCircle Flow, which moved us one step closer to frustration as we couldn’t fathom the judges not giving their support to a nine-year-old opera virtuoso. Even if UniCircle is something we’ve literally never seen before on this show … she’s a cute, talented kid singer. “AGT” has a reputation to uphold.

On top of that, UniCircle Flow has been in this position before, which might lead the judges to think they’ve already saved the ladies once, so why save them again? Heidi set the pace for a victory march, with Sofia echoing her sentiment.

Howie threw his support behind UniCircle Flow, in a nod for originality, noting that Jackie Evancho did the kid opera singer thing. But with time running out, Simon sent Victory Brinker into the finale. We always wonder if they ever make these decisions because time is running out so there’s no time to go to America’s vote. We doubt it, but it always runs right up to time.

We are devastated to see our favorite act leaving the competition after giving their best performance yet -- and one of the most unique acts ever on what’s supposed to be a variety show -- but at the same time, it was never supposed to come down to our TOP TWO acts battling it out for the last spot.

You need to do better next week, America. Our heart can’t take this kind of stress.

We also can’t help but wonder if Simon was setting the stage for an actual Wild Card contestant to return next week in Chapkidz? We’d argue they make it two and bring back UniCircle Flow, as well, but there’s a very real chance he was just talking. We shall see if it was idle chatter or an audible next Tuesday.

“America’s Got Talent” heads into its big finale next Tuesday 8 p.m. ET and Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.