While the four-piece Hakuna Matata Acrobats could take it easy during America’s Got Talent‘s first live results episode on Wednesday night (August 14), it was nail-biting tension for the other 10 acts waiting to see if they’d advanced to the semi-finals.
On Tuesday (August 13), Sofía Vergara used her Golden Buzzer to send Hakuna Matata Acrobats automatically to the finals. That left the 10 other acts at the mercy of the viewers’ votes, including Richard Goodall, the high school janitor who has wowed audiences with performances of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” and Michael Bolton’s “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You.”
In addition to Goodall, the other acts hoping to earn a spot in the semi-finals were Arshiya, Ashes & Arrows, Attraction Juniors, Flewnt & Inkabee, Hypers Kids Africa, LiV Warfield, Los Osos High School, Phillip Lewis, and Roni Sagi & Rhythm.
Thankfully for Goodall, he received enough votes to advance to the semi-finals alongside country-rock band Ashes & Arrows and dog act Roni Sagi & Rhythm, the latter of whom impressed fans on Tuesday with a performance set to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Don’t Stop Me Now.”
Kid contortionist Arshiya was the first elimination of the evening, followed by rap duo Flewnt & Inkabee. Pro dancer and baton twirler Phillip Lewis was next eliminated, followed by R&B singer-songwriter Liv Warfield.
“I think we’ll be seeing each other again,” Simon Cowell told Warfield, offering her some words of encouragement as she left the competition.
Los Osos High School dance troupe was the next act to be eliminated, leaving a Top 5 of Attraction Juniors, Ashes & Arrows, Roni Sagi & Rhythm, Hyper Kids Africa, and Richard Goodall.
Host Terry Crews gathered the five remaining acts on the stage as the tension mounted. He first revealed that Goodall and Ashes & Arrows had advanced to the semi-finals before changing tack and announcing that shadow dance group Attraction Juniors had been eliminated.
It then came down to Roni Sagi & Rhythm and the Ugandan dancing and acrobatics group Hyper Kids Africa, with the former snagging the final spot in the semi-finals.
Next Tuesday, 11 more acts will perform in the hopes of moving onto the next stage of the competition.
