Heidi Klum and Nick Cannon pose with the “America’s Got Talent: Season 11” finalists (Photo property of NBC’s Trae Patton)
By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com
This is it!
Tonight, America’s Got Talent awarded its $1,000,000 grand prize to the nation’s next big act at the Dolby Theatre.
Was history made this evening? Did another Golden Buzzer act win? Read on to find out…
After Nick had introduced the Top 10 and the judges, the show took us behind the scenes for finals week preparation and recapped last night. I believe that last night’s Top 10 performances were some of the best finale performances in the show’s history.
Once the final trip to the Dunkin’ Lounge, this season was over, it was time for the first duet of the season! The night’s first duet belonged to Sal Valentinetti and the Cast of Jersey Boys. The quintet sang from Four Seasons’ “Oh! What a Night” and the performance gave me chills. Although, I wished that future Jersey Boys star and friend to the blog, Mark Ballas, performed with the group!
Tape Face brought Jon Dorenbos, Brian Justin Crum, Viktor Kee, and China from Linkin’ Bridge together for an intriguing collaboration. He sat them down and transformed the quartet into a human pretzel. As he took the stools away, Tape Face took a selfie with the guys and gave them back the stools. It was the perfect way to show teamwork between the acts.
Brian Justin Crum revisited the song that got him into the live shows: “Creep.” It was amazing to hear Brian’s vocals one last time, and I hope that this song will be recorded on his debut album. However, I wanted him to perform a duet of “Somebody to Love” with either Adam Lambert, Jordan Smith, or even George Michael because it would have been nice to hear their voices together. What a missed opportunity, AGT!
Laura Bretan, Sofie Dossi, and Viktor Kee joined forces with rising pop-opera group Il Volo to create one of the most illuminating performances of the opera aria “Nessun Dorma.” Il Volo might be our generation’s equivalent of the Three Tenors. Laura and the men sang beautifully, as Sofie Dossi hung in the air. What an excellent performance!
While the show made fun of Howie’s dance moves with the help of dance icon Debbie Allen and Simon’s former sparring partner on both American Idol and X Factor USA, Paula Abdul, we got a huge season recap from the Simon of the Lambs to last night’s finale. Next, Grace revisited “I Don’t Know My Name,” the song that has become a viral sensation. I thought that Grace rushed the performance, but she nicely recovered for the decrescendo. As she exited the stage, Grace introduced her hero, the one and only Stevie Nicks, who performed a special rendition of her hit: “Landslide” as the Top 10’s journeys flashed on the Dolby Theatre stage. As I love Stevie, I wished that she sang with either Brian, Grace, or Linkin’ Bridge.
Linkin’ Bridge joined America’s Got Talent: Season Six runner-ups Silhouettes for an incredible visual performance of Lukas Graham’s “7 Years.” They gave me the chills, and I thought it was a brilliant duet. As the group exited the stage, the Clairvoyants joined forces with Paula Abdul for a lottery. The judges and Paula correctly picked numbers in the lottery (1-50-47-49-2-8) and it magically appeared on a lottery ticket. Meanwhile, the Clairvoyants handed Paula to Jon Dorenbos, and she helped Jon repair the Jack of Spades that Paula accidently ripped up.
As Paula left the stage, it was time to get down to business! Up first, it was time to reveal who made it to the Final Five: Sal Valentinetti, Jon Dorenbos, Grace VanderWaal, the Clairvoyants, and Brian Justin Crum! That meant that Linkin’ Bridge, Tape Face, Laura Bretan, Sofie Dossi, and Viktor Kee were eliminated from the competition.
Next, it was time to reveal the Final Three! Sal Valentinetti finished in fifth place, while Brian Justin Crum finished in fourth place, and then there were 3!
In third place: JON DORENBOS!
The last two standing were Grace VanderWaal and my favorite-the Clairvoyants!
The winner of America’s Got Talent: Season 11 was…Grace VanderWaal.
Congrats to all of the acts! See you in 2017 for “America’s Got Talent: Season 12”!
Next week, Alicia Keys & Miley Cyrus begin a new chapter in “Voice” history as they join show stalwarts Adam Levine & Blake Shelton as coaches for Season 11!
