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There are ten acts left on America’s Got Talent, fighting it out to make the final five next week. We know a few that will most likely be there for sure, like Neal E. Boyd and Queen Emily, but the others, it’s too close to tell. As much as I like Kaitlyn Maher and think she’s the cutest thing ever, I don’t think she deserves to stay over some of the others. It all depends on how America votes tonight. This week is Heroes week, with all the acts dedicating their acts to people that inspired them, a definite takeoff on American Idol.

Piers Morgan is asked by Jerry Springer if America will be making all the right choices now that the final five will be totally chosen by them without any judges’ choices. He feels we need to make responsible choices with no more sympathy votes or games. The five that move on have to be capable of being a million dollar act in Vegas. Sharon Osbourne thinks America should look for the best new talent in America, as well as remembering the winning act will represent America throughout the entire world. David Hasselhoff is asked what the acts need to do, and he thinks they need to give it their best, and only their best. In other words, none of them told us anything we didn’t know.

Ex-pilot Paul Salos waited a long time for his time in the spotlight. He notes it was the most incredible thing to hear Jerry say his name as part of the final ten. His hero is quit obviously Frank Sinatra. He’s been an inspiration for forty years. He loved everything about him. He’s singing New York, New York tonight, and he’s singing this song for his wife, as it’s her favorite, and she’s the backbone to his act. He has a line of backup dancers that look like Rockettes, and he might be singing a little too far below his register, but he deifnitely embodies Frank. Piers Xes him, but by the end, to me it’s just classic Frank.

Piers promises not to patronize Paul, and tells him he’s done Sinatra proud, with style and charm, and it’s been a pleasure. Yet, he buzzed him as he’s a million dollar guy, but not a million dollar act. Sharon moves right along and says thank God it’s not up to Piers to decide this anymore, but the America public. She thought he was just “something,” but it’s hard to hear over the cheers. David tells Paula it’s a very difficult song to sing, and he nailed it. He sees no reason for him not to make the top five.

Kaitlyn Maher is singing this song for her daddy, as it always brings a smile on his face. “He always tells me, ‘Don’t be scared of the judges. Don’t be scared of the audience.’ My dad is my hero. I love him so much.” Okay, now if that isn’t melting everyone enough, here she is to sing I’ll Be There. She’s making an attempt to move a little more for Sharon. But her singing isn’t as cute or good as always. I’s too difficult for her; she sounds as if she has a frog in her throat. Her dad sits beaming in the audience.

Piers tells Kaitlyn she was pretty good as usual, and for a 4 year old to remember all the words like she does is pretty amazing. He doesn’t critize her as he doesn’t think she’d undesrtand him if he did, but he doesn’t think it’ll be fair to her to put her on a Las Vegas stage. Sharon tells her she looks divine in red and it’s her color. She also loved her song choice. David wants her to know he is extremely happy to be on this journey with her, and it’s made him extremely happy every time he saw her. She’s only 4 and can come back for the next 70 years. Jerry tells her every time she’s on the show, it’s the happiest moment of the show for her. She has a hard time putting two fingers up and just two, and someone buzzzes her, of all the things.

Donald Braswell says to be in the top ten for him is unbelievable. His wife is his strength and pillar and the reason he’s there. He talks about riding a bicycle in 1995, being sideswiped by a car, being told by the doctors singing wouldn’t happen again for him. His wife told him to believe in himself and his dream would still come true. He believes he just has to keep fighting. Tonight, Donald sings a song I’m definitely not familiar with, but he sings it beautifully nonetheless. A quick lyric search on google tells me it’s To Where You Are. That was simply beautiful.

Piers tells Donald his popularity with the audience has been extraordinary since he’s been back in the competition, yet this year there are other extraordinary singers, and he’s not sure if he’s as good as the others. He wonders if he would buy Donald’s album or pay to see his show, and isn’t sure. Sharon wants him to know he is sexy in his trousers. He is fabulous at singing those romantic songs, too. David loves his story and loves how he keeps coming back. He’d buy his album in a minute.

Jessica Price says it feels so good to be in the top ten. A few weeks ago she was working in a factory in Grand Rapids, and now she’s here. She’s singing the song In the Arms of an Angel by Sarah McLaclan. She’s dedicating this to her mom, as she’s been her angel. After her dad left, she felt like she had to put her guitar down and be there to help with her brothers, but her mother was always telling her to follow her dreams. She wants to give her back a piece of what she’s given her. She does have a pretty voice, but I think she needs just a little more training yet to be a million dollar star. Yet, once she does, she’ll be unstoppable, as David is right that the camera loves her. Her mother sobs in the audience while she sings, and David gives her a standing ovation.

Piers tells Jessica every time he’s seen her perform there’s been something missing. It was never all there, but she listened to them, as finally tonight, it all came together. She sang one of the most moving songs, and he felt it tonight. Sharon tells Jessica that if Sarah is watching, she’d love what she delivered, as it was just perfet. The song suits her and suits what she’s about. She finally found a style that fits. David tells her she did it, take all the pain and heartache and channel it right through the song and right to our hearts. He thinks she sang the song as good as anybody and could win the competiton. I didn’t think she had a chance at moving on at the beginning of the night, but now she might.

Joseph Hall says talk about dreams coming true; this is it. He remembers listening to Elvis, his hero, while on road trips with his father. The way he captured his audience, the charisma and stage presence, was amazing. He’s singing A Little Less Conversation, the Remix, tonight, but we never saw Elvis sing the song, so he’s not sure he he’ll pull that off. Yet, it’s now or never. He’s not signing that song though. He’s wearing old Elvis garb again, and the women are going nuts in the audience, then come up onstage to dance, so obviously that was planned. We may have never seen Elvis sing this song, but he definitely pulls it off. If Elvis did sing it in concert, he’d look like this and carry if off just the same. There are girls screaming all over that weren’t even up onstage.

Piers tells Joseph that if judging purely on singing tonight, that was terrible. He sings Elvis like Piers would sing Elvis in a karaoke bar drunk. However, on a positive note, there is something about him that is incredibly entertaining. He’s got the moves, look, and sex appeal of Elvis. The girls go crazy. If he just had the voice, he’d probably go a long ways. Sharon can’t comment on the whole song as she couldn’t hear over the loud screams. Yet, he’s definitley getting more confident, and it’s fun. David doesn’t know what Piers is smoking, as Joseph sounded terrific, and is absolutely on his game. He nailed it and has come so far. Joseph got everyone in the room as well as the girl David’s dating.

Neal E. Boyd is taking a risk tonight, taking a popular song, All By Myself, and putting his own opera spin on it. He was always the fat kid, and that makes you lonely a lot. It’s one of those songs that always made him think he can’t be lonely forever. He’s singing this for his choir director in high school who  heard him singing in the hallway and put him in the choir. After that, people stopped making fun of him. He inspired him to believe in himself, probably the greatest gift. He’s always been the underdoog, but tonight he wants to show America he can win this. Just as Jessica found a way to combine the emotion with her talent, Neal does just that now with these lyrics that mean so much to him. It’s not the best for singing, but to see his heart instead of just his usual tears is amazing.

Piers tells Neal the song was a big risk, but it was like watching a volcano tonight, nothing much for awhile, but then he erupted, and when he does that nothing else can touch him. He’ll come back next week, no question, but if he does, Piese wants to hear opera again. Sharon agrees she wasn’t sure when he first started the song, but once he got to the chorus and she heard the tone and strength of his voice, she got goosebumps. David agrees about the beginning, and says he has to stick with what he kicked it into. David would never buy insurance against Neal losing, as right now he’s the frontrunner.

And for us mothers, Jerry asks Neal what his mother would tell him after he would come home upset from being teased by the other kids at school. She would tell him it was going to be alright. Did he believe her? No. But she was right. Yes! Mothers know best!

The Wright Kids are going to be singing ABC by the Jackson Five. They like them, because they’re a family group like them. Their hero is their music teacher, Sharon. She’s “really nice,” and for some people it might not be fun, but with her, “it’s really, really fun.” This is dedicated to her, as they want to go out there and really make her proud. I’m not so hot on this song, but that older boy has a heck of a voice on him, and knows how to move to the song, unlike his brother and sister. I think he’s the Johnny Bravo of the group.

The older kids descend their big blocks, but the little one is stuck up there with his bass, not being able to get down. Piers tells them he loves them, and if his own kids got up there and did that, he’d be really proud of them. Yet, the competition tonight is ferocious. Either way they did themselves and their family proud. Sharon was worried when she heard they were doing this song, but they did make it their own and it was very well done. David loves them and thought last week was a little bit better than this week, but notes how far they got. He knows they have a long career ahead of them, and wishes them nothing but the best, as they obviously have talent.

Queen Emily is singing And I’m Telling You by her hero, Jennifer Holliday, who she saw singing in church. She’d always share that experience with her grandmother who would always tell her she sure does having something special. Her grandmother was her hero all her life, and told her she can do anythng she wanted to. As she was passing on, she told Emily to believe in herself. She knew she had to do this one thing not just for herself, but for her grandmother as well. And I’m telling you, that she puts her all into this song tonight. Her confidence grows each week, and this is amazing, just as much so as Jennifer Holliday or Jennifer Hudson, for that matter. She is the Queen and proves she deserves a shot at this.

After a standing ovation by the audience and judges, Piers tells Queen Emily her grandmother was right, she is something special. There’s always a moment in the show when somebody comes out and they just rip the stage to pieces. She just did that. And Neal Boyd is back there thinking he has it in the bag. But she just told him and everyone else to get behind her. Sharon tlels her there are many people ther that have brought to the table many talents, but she has the right combiantion, as she has stage presence, and is a born entertainer. She can see her entertaining in Vegas for an hour. David said they needed to see the money players tonight, and she hit it out of the park. And she’s gorgeous too. She’s got it all. He’s going to see her show in Vegas whether she wins or not.

Nuttin By Stringz say when they create songs, the first person they play it for is their mom. She’s a single mother and raised the two of them alone. They were fortunate enough to have that strong foundation; she even bought them their first violin. When they played this first for her, she started crying, and that’s why they’re dedicating it to her tonight. They have some percussionists backing them up tonight, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s the guys from Cadence. These brothers are just amazing. There isn’t much to say about it other than that. They absolutely have talent.

Piers tells Nuttin But Stringz they were pretty brave tonight, as they are that close to winning and they choose their own song. They’re the only non-singing act left. If he asks himself which of all the acts he would pay his own money to see in Vegas, every time it’s them. Sharon says she loves the show so much, but every time someone comes on and you think they have it in the bag, someone else comes on and surprises them. They write and play their own music and learned from Julliard, and Sharon points out their versatility. She wants to meet their mom, too, as she did a helluva job raising them. What David thinks is so amazing, is that every time they come out, they’re fresh. It’s like Led Zeppelin on violins.

Eli Mattson thought he could have done the Alicia Keys song a little better last week. His biggest hero, though, is Elton John. When he got to see him in concert when he was 12 year old, he knew it was his calling. He likes how he works a crowd and think he’s flawless. He’s singing one of his favorite Elton songs tonight, and Sharon thinks he needs to be careful not to end up dong an impersonation. He sings and plays a lesser known Elton hit Sorry Seems To Be the Hardest Word. I can’t even comment. He just pulls me in so much when he plays and sings.

Piers thought last week that Eli held back a little, and to forget the singing tonight, the piano playing was spectacular. His hero Elton John is one of the greatest singing piano men and is currently headlining in Vegas, and if he’s watching, if he gets a cold, he’ll be calling Eli to step in. Sharon has news, and that’s that Elton is watching tonight. She knows he will not be disappointed in that performance, as Eli played with such emotion and passion in his voice and piano playing. David was worried about him following all those people, but he was feeling it for him backstage. There are money players and there are money players, but tonight he really nailed it, throwing the whole competition into disarray.

I think there are four acts tonight that have a lock on making the final 5, Neal E. Boyd, Queen Emily, Nuttin But Stringz, and Eli Mattson. That leaves six of them fighting it out between the last place. I’d put my money on it being either Joseph Hall or Jessica Price. We’ll find out tomorrow night. I feel badly for the other acts, but I think they proved tonight they deserve something for their effort other than just their fifteen minutes.

Photos Courtesy of nbc.com.

For more information on America’s Got Talent, see SirLinksalot: America’s Got Talent.

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