by  Arthur Perkins
 
Last night's one hour show started in New York and then went to Chicago. Almost all less talented acts from new York had been featured in the first show, so it was a pleasure to watch better acts there. Chicago had plenty of lesser acts to retaliate.
 
This week I will reverse the order of presentation and summarize the rejected acts first:
 
Jeffrey Jenkins - 5'3" but bursting with energy, he jumped but not with talent
 
Witches in Shows - here we have the unusual spectacle of Sharon criticizing an act (how often does that happen?) because "you can't sing"; they were pathetic
 
Robert Myers -  a harnessed threesome dance to "Viva Las Vegas"; it stinks
 
Franklin Sane - a 56 yom Detroit court judge who sings - badly
 
The better acts were:
Carol Lugo, 62yof shook her body around in a moonwalk; I didn't think she has any talent, but the judges thought she did
 
Camille - dancing to "Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch" by the Temptations
 
YoYoKing - a young man who made yo-yos do some interesting things
 
Diva League - males age 21 - 44 dancing drag queens
 
Coney Island Chris - eating a light bulb as if it were a hot dog, which shocked the judges but they sent him on to Las Vegas
 
Jay Mattioli - a magician and contortionist whose act started with bending to one side at an impossible 60 degree angle; very impressive
 
Thia Megia - a 14 yof  who can really belt a Jennifer Holliday tune. I bet in future rounds we will hear her do a variety of songs, all of which are ideal for her low mezzo voice.
 
"The Fab 5" - 5 sisters (all mothers) ages 23 to 35 who stepdance with great synchronization
 
Kevin Skinner - a country singer (Garth Brooks style) whose act Piers rated "an emotionally powerful performance"; he will go far even though I personally dislike that style of music.
 
So there were some decent acts tonight. I liked Jay Mattioli the best, with Thia Megia a close second, "The Fab 5" third and Kevin Skinner fourth. They should all do well in the Las Vegas round. The rest are probably not going to survive that.