America's Got Talent - The Top Five Perform (Episode 319)

Nuttin But The Winners?

I was ready and kind of looking forward to seeing the five performers who America thinks have enough talent to perform in Vegas for a one-off show (because my favorite competitior, Frank Sinatra impersonator Paul Salos, was eliminated last week and I'm looking for a new act to root for) but at 9pm, instead of seeing some talent, I saw our doofus of a president telling us that our economy is in the toilet. So, fifteen minutes later, I don't feel much better about our country, but it's time for talent! Sadly, we get an abbreviated "America's Got Talent" tonight, because we can't pre-empt the first quarter of "Lipstick Jungle", now can we?

Of course, there's still time for some time-filling montages, the first featuring the performers talking about what winning means to them. Queen Emily never thought she'd be living a life like she's seen on TV. Donald Braswell has faced incredible challenges and says it's incredible that he's made it to where he is right now. Nuttin But Stringz were two kids playing in the subway and they could sooon see their name up in lights. Eli Mattson says this last perfornace is a "big deal" to him. Neal E. Boyd says there's been a lot of "proving" to get to where he is now. He came from nothing and now he's in the finals. He's come here to win and fulfill his lifelong dream.

After the acts threw out as many showbiz cliches as they could, it's time to see if they were going to put their money where their mouths are. The first act to perform tonight is Nuttin But Stringz. They say that they're performing one of the "greatest songs" they've ever composed. It's special because it represents the journey of their lives (it's the first song they composed while performing in the subway.) Piers is hoping they can pull something new and exciting out of the bag. The boys know tonight's their last chance and have no aspirations of heading back to the subways of New York. The boys grabbed the audience from the moment they took the stage. As they kicked their performance into high gear, a bunch of male dancers holding umbrellas descended from the rafters - and all I could think of was "It's Raining Men." These guys are always so good, and tonight they again failed to disappoint, I'm kind of hoping they win, because they're the only actual variety act to make it to the finals. Piers hoped President Dorkus was still watcing the show because, although there's a lot wrong with the country, these guys represent what's right about America and called their performance "incredible." He added that the winner of the show should be the act that has "the most unique talent, creativity and dynamism" and, that being said, he's looking at the winners of the show. Sharon asked the boys exactly how many original songs they had composed and they said "a little bit too much, obviously." She "doubles" Piers' sentiments. Hoff kept it short but sweet and screamed "Nuttin But Vegas!"

The next performer is accident survivor/possible boomstick owner Donald Braswell. Being in the finals is a dream come true for him. He decides to sing the song he was singing when we were first introduced to him at the auditions, Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up," which Donald says tells the story of his life. Sharon doesn't think he's got enough talent to win. Donald is going to do his best to win this. Can he? He's still pretty damned handsome, but he just can't compete with the violin boys (or even Neal "the singing frontrunner" Boyd.) Sharon keeps saying how "nice" Donald is, but she doesn't see a great personality - it doesn't match his voice. She still thinks he belongs in musical theater, where he can "act as somebody else." Hoff disagreed, saying Donald had charisma and connected with the audience. Again he screamed, "I'm ready to go back to church! You raise me up!" Piers thought his last note was a bit "over-excited" and he's done himself proud for proving the judges wrong.   

An opera singer whose journey to the finals has been filled with "tears and triumph," Neal E. Boyd, takes the stage. Neal says he sings with "every ounce of my heart" and he acknowledges that he made a "risky" song choice last week. Sharon thought so too, saying, "Oh dear, what did he do?" Piers says that for Neal, there can be no greater pressure. It's his last chance. He's waited his whole life for this moment. Blah...blah...blah....can they come up with some fresh stuff for next season? Let's just hope Neal sings opera again. He does, and he showcases his beautiful voice perfectly. I could definitely listen to him for 90 minutes. Sharon appeared transfixed during his performance. Hoff says he was "honored" to be on the journey with him because he was "what this show is all about." (Well, at least he's altering between that and "you nailed it!") He also admired his humility. Piers found himself in a "strange and uncomfortable position" - he totally agreed with Hoff. Sharon says this proves that Neal "brings people together." She said she has heard the aria he performed a million times before, but no one sang it quite like him - his performance was beautiful and sensational. I think all we lost from the presidential interruption was incessant judge babbling and cliche spewing.

It's time to revisit the only (unofficial) tribute act left in the game, singer Eli Mattson. Eli is ready to put up a fight and win this. He's singing "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins, which is a very meaningful song to him. His life was falling apart and he was lost before he appeared on the show. Hoff thinks he's the "dark horse" of the competition. I love a man who can play piano and sing, but Eli sounds so much like Elton John, that if I don't look at the screen, I would swear Sir Elton was singing (not that it's a bad thing.) And I'm glad he aced the newsboy cap. He's much cuter without it - and would have cleaned up on "American Idol." Just like Donald, Eli just can't compete with powerhouse acts like Neal and Nuttin But Stringz. Piers was also glad Eli skipped the hat, saying that tonight his female fan base has multipled. He admired the way he could take "plastic songs" and give them his own interpretation with his "unique" voice (I guess on this show, "unique"="sounding eerily like Elton John.") Sharon said it was a tough competition this year but he has a great voice (and writes his own material) and she thinks he's "fabulous." She adds that he'd be an amazing winner to represent the show in America and around the world. Hoff says he's got class and is "so real." He tells Eli he can confidently look in the mirror and say "Take a look at me now!" Hoff is "Captain Catchphrase" tonight!    

Jer-ry had enough time to hawk tickets for the winner's Vegas revue on October 17 (get your tickets now!) before introducing the only lady in the top five, Queen Emily. The journey for her has been so hard and she almost gave up. She's so glad that she didn't. She then has to take a moment to shed some (more) tears. If this show was called "America's Got Tears," she and Neal would tie for the winning spot. Sharon said Emily could win, but wondered if she could top last week's performance. Her song tonight is "One Moment in Time" by Whitney Houston. I love her voice and especially love that she doesn't "over-sing" - like so many divas do (like that god awful rendition of the National Anthem by Kat De Luna a few weeks ago.) She delivered another strong performance, but she still hasn't topped her "And I Am Telling You" from a few weeks ago in my book. Piers thought she sang with "emotion and passion" and tonight she delivered her best peformance of the competition. He did admit that she's going to struggle to win against Nuttin But Stringz but she gave it her best shot. Sharon said she was a diva (Mrs.!) and borrowed Hoff's pet expression and said she "nailed it." Hoff teasingly said to Emily, "You look more like a princess to me." He said that regardless of the outcome of the show that she's got an amazing career ahead of her.  

So who's it's going to be? Obviously it's either going to be Neal E. Boyd or Nuttin But Stringz. We'll find out next week on the season finale which promises lots of surprises and "one of the world's biggest singing stars." Who could that be? Bianca Ryan?