Virginia Sherwood/NBC(NEW YORK) — Wednesday night’s installment of NBC’s America’s Got Talent saw seven of the 12 acts that performed on Tuesday’s show learning that they had been chosen to advance to the semifinals. The other five acts were sent home.
The show also debuted the “Dunkin’ Save.” Viewers got to vote live to save an act in danger of elimination. They were instructed to search “Dunkin’ Save” on Google and select one of the three acts with the lowest vote totals that they wanted to see in the finals.
Magician Piff the Magic Dragon, singers Benton Blount and Samantha Johnson, dance troupe Siro-A, ventriloquist Paul Zerdin, Drew Lynch and mariachi singer Alondra Santos all advanced to the finals.
Boy band Triple Threat, dancer teams Craig and Micheline and The Gentlemen, contortionist Vita Radionova, and gymnastics crew Showproject were sent home.
Judges Howard Stern, Heidi Klum, Mel B and Howie Mandel, along with host Nick Cannon, were on hand for the live event from New York’s Radio City Music Hall to learn which acts America had selected to advance for a chance at the $1 million top prize.
Cannon also announced that auditions for next season’s America’s Got Talent will start up soon in Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas, plus other cities to be announced at a later date. Auditions can also be submitted online.
Here’s a rundown of Wednesday’s action:
Magician Piff the Magic Dragon and boy band Triple Threat were the first acts to learn their fate. Piff advanced to the semifinals. Mandel was pleased with the vote and urged Piff to “stay the course.”
Contortionist Vita Radionova and singer Benton Blount were the next two acts called to the front of the stage. Blount moves on to the semifinals. Heidi thought America got it right, noting the singer “brings so much emotion” to his songs and “wears his heart on his sleeve.”
Multimedia dance troupe Siro-A and acrobatic dance team Craig and Micheline were the next acts to learn their fates. Siro-A advances to the semifinals. Howard thought the victory was well deserved, noting the group is “always original” and “never rest on their laurels.”
Comedian Drew Lynch, ventriloquist Paul Zerdin and gymnastic team Showproject were the next three names called. Zerdin moves on to the next round. He promised America that he had “so much more” to show them. Mel B thought America got it right, noting Zerdin is “a true pro” and on top of that he’s humble, nice and his puppet is “lovely.”
Cannon told Showproject and Lynch to remain on the stage and revealed that Drew advanced to the semifinals. Mandel told the comedian he loves everything he stands for and everything he does.
Earlier in the show, Cannon revealed that singers Samantha Johnson and Alondra Santos and dance team The Gentlemen were the acts with the three lowest vote totals and gave viewers a chance to save one of them with the “Dunkin’ Save.” America picked Samantha to advance to the finals. An emotional Johnson declared she “has a lot to share” with her fans. Stern also thanked America, declaring the singer was “genius brilliant” on Tuesday.
The judges then got to decide which of the remaining two acts would advance. Klum and Mel B chose Santos and Mandel picked The Gentlemen. That left it up to Stern, who voted for Alondra, sending her to the semifinals.
The evening also included a performance by Omi performing his hit, “Cheerleader,” and Season-9 AGTchamp, magician Matt Franco.
America’s Got Talent continues Tuesday at 8 p.m. Eastern time on NBC.
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