The second week of auditions for Season 9 of “America’s Got Talent” gave viewers a glimpse of some acts with real potential, and a couple that just made the judges’ jaws drop.
- The Willis Clan, a band made up of 12 family members from age 3 to 21, sang “My Favorite Things,” doing a country version of it. The little 3-year-old did a very cute clog dance. The audience loved it. Howard Stern said they reminded him of the Osmonds “but so much more talented.” Howie Mandel felt there was a need for a group like them. Mel B. advised them to use more harmonies. Heidi Klum loved it, saying, “I thought you guys were fantastic.” Four obvious yeses.
- Two magicians, David and Leeman, dressed in three-piece suits, claimed they were going to do a demonstration of pseudo-science and asked Howie to be their volunteer. One of them donned a glove and pressed parts on his head to supposedly remove different abilities, such as the ability to read a card. They held up the word “Comedian” and asked him to read it, but he couldn’t. He also couldn’t read “Germophobe” and “Howie Mandel.” Pretty slick. They obviously had some way to alter what he saw on a specific card. Howard loved the illusion, “Or Howie’s a moron; I don’t know what it was.” He also liked that they made Howie look like a jackass. Heidi volunteered to help them next time. Mel B. also loved how stupid they made Howie look. Four yeses.
- Julia Goodwin, a fresh-faced 15-year-old, sang a very jazzy version of Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind,” putting a lot of emotion into it. She had an adult command of phrasing. Mel B. praised her control. Howard said, “You have the sophistication of a much older person.” He called her a tremendous talent. Heidi said she was unbelievable. Howie praised her passion. Four yeses, of course.
- Sean and Luke, teenage dancers wearing high school letter jackets, jeans and baseball hats, mixed hip-hop moves with tap dancing for a wild, funny, creative routine to medley of classic hip-hop tracks, including “Bust a Move” and “The Humpty Dance.” Heidi liked their personality, especially their facial expressions, and Howard joked that she was flirting with them, since they weren’t much younger than her boyfriend. Mel B. said they were very talented and the girls would go crazy for them. Howie liked how they mixed up their moves. Howard called them talented but wasn’t convinced he needed to see them again. Mel. B, Heidi and Howie voted yes, but Howard voted no.
- Grandmaster Qi Feilong, a purported Kung Fu master, did a series of tricks that seemed more like magic tricks than actual demonstrations of martial arts skills. First, he claimed he could make the second hand of a clock stop whenever he wanted with his energy. Then he brought up Howie and had him and Nick hold some chop sticks. The Kung Fu master then danced around crazy with a $20 bill and broke the chop sticks with it (though possibly mostly with his hand or a finger). Then he had Nick kick him in the nuts several times. Mel. B said she was voting yes because she didn’t want any bad ju-ju. Howie said yes. Howard said no, and so did Heidi. This was not enough to put him through.
- Real Encounter are a group of stunt motorcyclists who travel the country, also preaching. They did their act outside, where they made some impressive jumps and flips. Howard said it was the most death-defying act he’s seen in his time on the show. Heidi said it made her heart stop. Mel B. told them they took danger to a whole new level. Howie, who said he’s seen it all, said he’d never been so close to something so dangerous, “but it was so thrilling.” Four yeses.
- This was followed by a montage of danger acts, including pogo sticks and stunt basketball.
- An adorable group of 8-year-old triplets (two boys and a girl), Dom the Bom’s Triple Threat, had been inspired by a previous AGT act. One of the boys threw cards while the others were his assistants. With cards, he chopped celery , popped balloons, and made it stick into Styrofoam, held by his brother and sister. He even threw a card all the way up into the balcony. Then the kid who threw the cards asked Howie, “Deal or no deal?” He replied, “If I know anything about talent, deal.” Mel B. found it scary. Heidi was amazed by the way he threw a card a long distance. Howard liked that kids would watch him and get inspired. Four yeses.
- A montage of really bad magic acts followed, leading up to a featured audition, magician Mad Jack. He asked Howard to come up onstage to assist. His trick was to then put the cards down the back of his pants and to have Howard’s card end up in his butt crack! He had Howie pull the card out with a pair of tongs. The producers had to blur it out using a “AGT” logo! As you might expect, germophobic Howie didn’t like the presentation. Heidi said she would have given him a yes to see what else he could do, but it was a no from Mel B., which automatically meant he didn’t go through.
- Miguel Dakota, 21, a good-looking young guy with a guitar, got members of the audience screaming for his emotional rendition of “Too Close” by Alex Clare. He used his phrasing to draw attention to key lyrics and had some impressive raw talent. Heidi praised his passion. Mel B. called his a sexy voice and “you don’t look bad.” Howie said he had the complete package. Howard predicted he would go “real far” in this competition. He got a good start, with four yeses.
- Then there was a very inventive act, Aerial Animation, that used back projection and silks to put a 33-year-old teacher and acrobat into a story of nature, animals and the elements. Mel B. said the act had mesmerized her. Howie praised her for her uniqueness. Heidi liked the surprise of it. Howard liked how she’d used imagination. No surprise: four yeses.
- Ballroom dancers John and Andrew stood out by taking the unusual approach of having two men dance together. The judges loved it, and after praising their performance, Howie and Howard both got up onstage and took their turn dancing with the dancers (very silly). The dancing duo made it through with four yeses.
