Episode #3.12

Last week: Five finalists were determined, five were sent home and 10 more awaited their fate. The 10 performers from Wednesday's show were the first to find out if their journey toward the $1 million prize would end or continue. Four voted by America and one voted by the judges would continue on the path to the big prize. After a quick recap of all 10 acts, the performers were asked to step to the front of the stage in pairs. The acts continuing with America's votes were: Frank Sinatra impersonator Paul Salos (over the Slippery Kittens); The Wright Kids (over trombonist Jonathan Arons); Daniel Jens (over George the Giant); and Queen Emily (over R&B quartet Kazual). That left the judges to decide who would continue between Beyond Belief Dance Company and he Zooperstars, who came fifth and sixth in the public vote. Piers went with Beyond Belief Dance Company and Sharon, after some hesitation and admitting that "every show needs silliness," voted for the Zooperstars. That left the deciding vote to The Hoff, who went with the Zooperstars, leaving the 21 girls in Beyond Belief Dance Company to congratulate five inflatable mascots. Best of the night: Baton twirler Jonathan Burkin put on quite the pyrotechnic display, twirling as many as three batons with flames on their ends at one time and putting on some impressive flips and acrobatic displays in between tosses. Piers said Jonathan was the kinds of act, "like Terry Fator last year" who nobody thinks can win until they do. The Taubl Family did a wild nine-part harmony to Rhianna's "Umbrella" to try to prove they aren't as old-fashioned as folks might have thought they were. Piers said, "it works." Sharon said it was "all looking very grim tonight until you lot came on." Worst of the night: The Texas State Strutters got buzzed by all three judges, but the performance didn't immediately stop. The choreography was a bit off, and just Piers Morgan said "it was boring." Judge Sharon Osbourne wondered what they could do to sustain a whole 90-minute show and The Hoff said he just said goodbye to some dancers that he thought were better. Magician Bruce Block said he'd put his life's savings into Tuesday's performance. Bruce made a pony appear in a box that didn't appear to have come from anywhere. Piers, who buzzed Bruce, called it "the oldest trick in the book." The Hoff called it "very confusing" and said it "just didn't come together." Impressionist Matthew Piazzi had a tough mountain to climb as Piers declared that "to get into the finals as an impersonator, you can't just be good, you've got to be great." The judges wanted Matthew to do more than impressions and he offered up a bit that included takes on George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vince Vaughn and others into a piano-inflused "Great Balls of Fire." It fell apart at the piano section, which Piers noted, saying that as soon as Matthew went to the piano, the audience went dead. The Hoff loved it. On the bubble: Michael Strelo-Smith, the big competition to Neal E. Boyd for the mini-battle as "America's Favorite Opera Singer." Strelo-Smith, who gave up his teaching job to sing full-time, got buzzed by Piers and Sharon. Piers said Michael seemed "karaoke," and Michael fired back, telling Piers he was "sorry" that he couldn't see "what's inside and what drives me." Sharon told Michael, "It's not good to answer back." She said his performance "screamed to me: music teacher." He again talked back, saying being a music teacher was an admirable thing, and she again told him to be quiet. The Hoff liked about Michael that he never gave up. Shequida, the drag queen opera singer, tried her hand at an operatic version of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" and didn't. Piers buzzed her, and that the extent of the buzzer use. Piers called it a "very, very, very high-pitched noise." Sharon said Shequida looked stunning, which is never a good sign. The Hoff said it seemed campy because Shequida didn't show the different levels of her voice. Sarah Lenore, a singer and acoustic guitarist competing with Jessica Price for that title, was excited about performing for her father, who was in the audience. She took a chance on the Dixie Chicks' "I'm Not Ready to Make Nice," which might split her heartland votes -- not to mention the fact that she didn't sing it very well. Piers said it started rough, but picked up toward the end. The Hoff said her daddy should be really proud and predicted she'd be in the top 10. SickStep, a 10-piece dance crew, put on a decent display. Piers praised the choreography and said they've proven to him "that they are more than street entertainers." Joseph Hall, the young Elvis impersonator, got another chance to feed off the crowd. It didn't work. He tried a rendition of "Jailhouse Rock" with the assistance of black and white TV effects that had the crowd split. He didn't get buzzed, but the performance seemed like less of a tribute to Elvis and more like some Disney Channel-esque take on The King. Piers told him to relax and Sharon empathized with the difficulty in singing and dancing at the same time. She asked him to bring back the naughtiness.