Episode #3.6

Jerry Springer tells us the show is in the Big Apple (New York City) for the very last time. We meet our three judges Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne and David Hasselhoff and it's time to begin Perry Zanett: We learn Zanett thinks he is "among the greatest actors the country has ever had," a claim difficult to believe given that he's dressed like King Friday from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Zanett launches into some "Richard II" and is greeted almost instantly by a buzzer. Piers thinks the thespian is a "complete waste of space" and Sharon and David, for the most part, agree. The Vote: NO After Zanett is run off stage we go right into a . . . Vignette of "NO" -- Animator Inflatable Theater, essentially a guy inside a strange Q*bert-looking cube costume (you had to be there) is first, and isn't allowed more than a few seconds into his dance thingy. Next is Sweet-Lou Fusco, and one hopes Sweet-Lou is better at inspecting pharmaceuticals than he is at singing Michael Jackson. For David, it was "one of the weirdest things I've seen in three years." The Power Team is described to us as Youth Motivational Speakers, which apparently translates to large men braking things which are either frozen or on fire. "You're all completely bonkers, aren't you?" comes the response from a confused Piers. Seed and Feed is a (and I quote) 'Marching Abominable' which basically means 60 people in Mardi Gras costumes pranced around on stage with no discernible organization. Sixty-two-year-old performer Anita Aloha spins a few things around and flails on the ground before being thoroughly buzzered. Fun With Shadows : The monotony of the vignette format is broken by two pleasant-looking middle aged fellows who appear to have driven straight from their cubicles to the show. "I do hand shadows," one tells Piers. But as buzzerrific as that sounds, renditions of three presidents and a pontiff go over swimmingly with the judges. David's "You've taken shadow puppetry to a whole new level," is the most memorable bit of what was unanimously positive feedback. The Vote: YES X.L.: Over soft piano music we're told the $1 million prize will provide this 25-year-old warehouse assistant a chance to provide his wife and baby son a better life. X.L. performs some rock-solid John Legend, and the swaying arms of the audience are all we need to see. "I actually prefer your version to Johns Legend's," says Piers and the other two agree. The Vote: YES Texas State Strutters: Los Angeles is the finals stop of the tour and our first contestants are a "precision dance team" from Texas State in San Marcos. The 20 or so female college students give us essentially a Rockettes routine which David thinks is a "good act". Peirs doesn't think the Strutters immediately translate to a Vegas act, but found them "fun." Fortunately for the girls, Sharon is the lone 'no' vote. The Vote: YES Vignette of "YES" -- Too-cute 10-year-old hip hop dancer Shakes was a shoo-in from the word go. The bit of dance troupe we see from The Awakening looks like a pretty straight-forward up-temp routine, solid enough to get a "definite yes" from Sharon. Georgia Force (the Strutters with tighter outfits) is put through as well, mauling Jerry with glee before exiting the stage. Ronny B.: The choice of Lionel Richie probably should have proven unlucky here, but somehow the atrocious Ronny gets way too much love from the judges with his thoroughly creepy "All Night Long" rendition. "The worst act I've seen" says David correctly, while Piers and Sharon inexplicably put him through based on some affinity for kitsch. The Vote: YES The Snake Kissers: We're told this will be the most dangerous act in the history of the show. The father/son pair performs the "Kiss of Death," during which son holds a cobra's tail while father kisses (licks, really) it on the head. Dangerous or not none of the judges are impressed. Piers humorously points out the act would only have been entertaining had the snake killed one of the two men. The Vote: NO Michael Harrison: More soft piano music as we take a look back at Season 2 winner Terry Fator, who we're told has signed a contract making him the most successful ventriloquist in the world. This leads into the 42-year-old Harrison, who is trying to follow in Fator's hand-up-a-dummy footsteps. Harrison's act is easily the most polished of the last few weeks, even getting a "he's very good" from Jerry. All three judges emphatically concur and Harrison is through. The Vote: YES Queen Emily: If you were wondering when NBC was going to try and make us cry, I give you Queen Emily. As a single mother caring for her children, the 40-year-old tells us through tears that she never had time to pursue a life-long dream of singing. To the delight of the crowd, judges and Jerry, Emily knocks "Chain of Fools" out of the park. "You were awesome" says David, before thanking Emily for coming on the show. Sharon wonders where Emily has been hiding and Piers tells her she has "a great chance of winning America's Got Talent." The Vote: YES