“America’s Got Talent” continued the final phase of season 16 on Tuesday with the first of two semifinal performance shows and on Wednesday with the results of that show based on audience votes. In this semi-finals round, 11 acts per night perform in front of judges Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara.
Of the 11 acts on the August 31 live show, only five of them will advance to the “AGT” finals. These 11 acts include two singled out for the Golden Buzzer: Sofia’s choice, singer Jimmie Herrod and host Terry Crews‘ pick, World Taekwondo Demonstration Team Martial Arts Group.
Also in the hunt are three other solo singers — Madilyn Bailey, Peter Rosalita and Tory Vagasy — plus the vocal group Korean Soul, stand-up comedian Gina Brillon, aerialist Aidan Bryant, magician Dustin Tavella and voice artist Michael Winslow. The wild card was Beyond Belief Dance Company, who were eliminated in quarterfinals 1 when Madilyn broke the judges tie by winning the public vote.
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Below, follow along as we recap America’s Got Talent” Season 16 Episode 16 and give you the September 1 semifinal results in our live blog.
8:00 p.m. – As always, the results show kicked off with a recap of the performance episode that included unseen footage of the judges at their dais during and between acts. The recap reminded us how much they loved Aidan and that the night was hit or miss when it came to positive feedback for more of the semifinalists. Howie was particular harsh when it came to Korean Soul, Madilyn and Tory’s vocal performances.
8:09 p.m. – With the 11 acts on stage, Terry revealed the acts that scored 4th, 5th and 6th in the public vote and are in danger of elimination: Jimmie Herrod, Michael Winslow, and World Taekwondo Demonstration Team. Of these three, only two will remain within the top 5 and advance to the finals: one as the Instant Save and another as the Judges’ Save. Immediately Jimmie jumped out to a 45% lead in the live vote with Michael trailing at 30% and World Taekwondo running in third at 25%.
8:13 p.m. – Ahead of more results, Ben Platt came to the stage to perform the song “You Will Be Found” from the new film “Dear Evan Hansen.” It was surely an inspirational performance for the artists from this season, and many of the past ones, that dream of being on a Broadway stage. Chorale groups will have also loved it for the large ensemble moments that came halfway in, a masterclass in staging a group of singers to hit emotional beats.
8:19 p.m. – Next, Terry brought forward Beyond Belief Dance Company, Gina Brillon and Tory Vagasy to hear their results. Of the three, the only act that advanced to the finals is Gina Brillon!
8:26 p.m. – Ten year old Shoji‘s audition from earlier this season has over 60 million views so as a special treat to him the show brought in champion Shin Lim so that he could meet and see one of his idols at work. What made it really special is that it all happened on his birthday!
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8:30 p.m. – Another alum, comedian Preacher Lawson, that will be at the AGT Vegas Live show (as host!!), stopped by for a live set tonight as well. Tonight he ran through a whole set of jokes centered around his name and how often people get confused by him not actually being a preacher in a church. His ability to fly through the stories with such fluidity is impressive and shows how much growth he’s had since being on the show in his original season.
8:39 p.m. – For the next set of results, Terry pulled Aidan Bryant, Madilyn Bailey and Korean Soul forward. In that group, the only act to advance to the finals is Aidan Bryant!
8:42 p.m. – That left Peter Rosalita and Dustin Tavella as the last remains acts to hear their fate. Between the two, Dustin Tavella will be in the finals!
8:49 p.m. – The fourth act to make the finals was determined by the Instant Save vote. The act that earned that distinction this week was Jimmie Herrod!
8:58 p.m. – With Jimmie’s entrance into the finals, World Taekwondo and Michael Winslow’s fate was left to the judges themselves. Heidi’s vote went to World Taekwondo. Sofia’s vote also went to World Taekwondo. Simon closed it out by giving World Taekwondo the majority and the fifth spot in the finals!
