America’s Got Talent is always a rollercoaster ride of amazing performers at its peak and can’t-look-away-train-wreck-performances at its trough. While the train wrecks are entertaining, the finale week of AGT is the one to watch out for. Tuesday’s show did not disappoint; Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr. kicked it off with Sinatra’s “My Way” showing America he is more than a crooner and has a remarkable range. Team iLuminate seemed to get better and better each week and stayed on this track for the finale with tight choreography, dazzling lights and an intriguing storyline. Poplyfe performed an emotional mash-up of Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and “We are the Champions”, unfortunately not up to par with the other contestants. It is debatable if they should have beat Landon Swank for the fourth spot in the finale; they won many people over with a rocking performance of “Come Together”, but were not able to top that. Silhouettes ended the night with a beautiful story played out on screen to “What a Wonderful World”. They have consistently been a favorite of America’s and with that adorable little girl, how could they not be?
The acts that made it into the top four were so fundamentally different that it was hard to predict who would win. Landau had the true American Dream, a car-washer who croons like Sinatra; Team iLuminate came onto the stage during the auditions with something no one had ever seen before, as did Silhouettes and Poplyfe was the underdog with likeable kids who showed great promise. Piers told the contestants that making it to the top four was just like winning and for these four acts that all deserved to be there, that was more than true. It is an unfortunate fact that only one act could have a show in Vegas because all four have something wonderful to offer the world.
Cut to tonight’s finale: Silhouettes took second place and Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr. won. Landau absolutely deserved to win and his victory is a true testament to the American Dream in everyone’s heart. While the bad performances keep us riveted, at the end of the day, we all enjoy seeing someone rise up from nothing to achieve stardom. Landau never had a bad performance and, in fact, became a better, more confident singer with each passing week. His will be the show to see when visiting Las Vegas.