Season three is similar to Season two in the audition process, except that the auditions were held in large theaters, there were three more audition episodes, and two more audition sites. The season also carried over the Las Vegas boot camp, but acts were divided into more groups, such as ventriloquists, male singers, female singers, opera, instrumental music, bands, and other variety acts. There were forty acts that passed through, instead of twenty. The semi-final process consisted of shows on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Ten of the top forty acts performed each of the shows for four weeks. Five were eliminated each show by public vote during the "Top 40" episodes. However, the contestants that come in fifth and sixth place faced the judges' decision. The panel was able to eliminate the act they wished not to put through. Afterward, the Top 40 was narrowed down to a Top 20.
Following the Top 20, the American viewing audience was given the chance to eliminate ten acts from this group, creating a Top 10. The Top 10 then trimmed to a Top 5 after the American viewing audience voted. Afterward, The Top Five performed in a two-part, two-week finale, that concluded the season.
In Season 3, when all three judges pressed their X's to terminate a performance in the semi-finals, the act was allowed to continue, but must end early.
Aired on June 17, 2008, 2 hours. Auditions from New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles were shown.
Acts that were eliminated include:
Serious Mysterious Bill Curlee sang and danced to "It's Not Unusual" by Tom Jones.
Nick Afanasiev, a teenager with a flexible tongue
Lady “J” Huston, a dancer/trumpeter
The Quiddlers, a puppet act with puppets that look like dwarfs or little people
Ed Jacques, a guy who hummed on his hand
Adam Ace, a comedian who put a shower cap over his face.
Mary Bly, 80-year-old tap dancer
Chay Vang, Siamese electric guitar player
Terry Christiansen, songwriter
Singing Santa Claus, a Santa-singer
Stumblebum Brass, a jazz/punk street trio
Dallas Dance Company, group of dance teachers
The Renegades, dance group performed to Michael Jackson's "Thriller"
Daniel Burton, a hip hop dancer
The M&M Twinz, a pair of twin dancers
Daisy Taste, an elderly woman on roller skates
Aired on June 24, 2008, 2 hours. Auditions from New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles were shown.
Acts that were eliminated include:
Victoria, the Singing Fairy sang "When You Wish Upon a Star"
Daniel Avila - singer/songwriter
Ken Butler - one man band
Polina Nikiforova - played cymbals and trombone while in a Groucho mask.
Michael Droll, the "Ozzman", Ozzy Osbourne impersonator sang "Crazy Train"
Drumtasia - cacophonous drum act
Johnny Olshavsky - magician
Dan "the Magic Man" Stapleton - magician
Dorian - magician
Dennis Keith - self "levitating" magician
Becky Blaney - magician
Bizarro - flame throwing magician
Rob Caudill - Rod Stewart impersonator
CJ King - Cyndi Lauper impersonator
John Morgan - George W. Bush impersonator
Steve Richards - Elton John impersonator
Tasha Long - Dionne Warwick impersonator
Aired on July 1, 2008, 2 Hours. Auditions from Dallas, Chicago and Atlanta.
Acts that were eliminated include:
Corky Duke - line dancer danced to "Cotton-Eyed Joe"
The Rodeo Rhythm Kings - bluegrass trio, Morgan commented that the violinist "Should be charged with possession of an offensive weapon"
Nolan Leach - trick roping on a horse
Juli Blue - singer and banjo player
Jacque Kendall - hoop dancing
Smithfield - painting pot-bellied pig
Diana Ross and Twinkle - dancing lady and dog
Sean Paul & Julianne - trained monkey act
The Busy Bee Dogs - trained dog act, left a dog on-stage after being X'd out by the judges.
Zane & Stephanie - married singers, sang "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers
Alistair McQueen - male burlesque dancer
Coburn Hartsell - stripper
Gravity Plays Favorites - pole dancers
Scandalesque - burlesque fire dance
The Hollywood Men - strippers
Busty Heart - crushed things with her breasts
Aired on July 8, 2008, 1 hour. Auditions from Atlanta, and New York.
Acts that were eliminated include:
Billy Dodson - countertenor that was told to "sing like a man"
Polka Today - polka dancers that performed a number set to "Walking on Sunshine", which was described by Hasselhoff as "dancing in a blender", Sharon saying it was silly dancing, and Piers noting that "there was nothing today about what you were doing. It was like polka 50 years ago."
Philip Weiner - singer
Peter McIntosh - ventriloquist who did not close his mouth.
Ursula Knudson - singer
Rachel Star - read poetry while standing barefoot on broken glass
Debra Weiner - singer. She did not stop singing when X'ed by all three judges, and had to be escorted off the stage by Hasselhoff.
Aired on July 15, 2008, 1 hour. Auditions from Atlanta, and Dallas.
Acts that were eliminated include:
Michelle Wallace - sang "All by Myself" by Celine Dion.
Barry Collier - barnyard animal noises
Nance Upchurch - singer
The Freak Show - dance troupe
Music Makes the World Go Round - accordion duo. Morgan commented that the only thing worse than one accordion is two accordions.
Mac Jay - dancer
Fancy Ray McCloney - Little Richard impersonator
Aired on July 22, 2008, 1 hour. Auditions from New York, and Los Angeles.
Acts that were eliminated include:
Perry Zanett - Read Shakespeare; insulted Hasselhoff off stage after his audition
The Inflatable Theater - stunts in an inflatable costume
Sweet-Lou Fusco - sang "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" by Michael Jackson
The Power Team' - fire and ice stunts
Seed & Feed Marching Abominable - huge, cacophonous group
Anita Aloha - twirler
The Snake Kissers - Robert & Daryl Ackerman, snake charmers, performed the "Kiss of Death"
Aired on July 29, 2008, 1 hour. Auditions from Myspace And Facebook .
Acts that were eliminated include:
Michael Trixx - rock and roll magician performed tricks such as turning a feather into a wand, making a handkerchief and an umbrella appear out of thin air, using flames to make two bandanas appear, and then using those bandanas to make a candle disappear to "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" by Judas Priest.
Diva Boy and the Sexplosion Dancers - glam-rock dancers
Eloy Rendon - motivational speaker.
Del Hampton - nine-time "cluck-off" champion. Chicken impersonator. Morgan told him to "cluck-off".
David Deeble - Said he would set off fireworks in his pants. He was X'ed out before he even began his performance.
Suzy Trunquist - rock singer.
Cary Trivanovich - funny faces.
Sweetones - mother/daughter whistling duo.
Part 1 of the Las Vegas callbacks was broadcast on August 5, 2008 as a 2-hour episode.
Part 2 of the Las Vegas callbacks was broadcast on August 7, 2008 as a 90-minute episode.
A total of 113 acts made it to the Las Vegas callbacks. 19 of these acts were eliminated without even being given a chance to perform. The remaining 94 acts were trimmed down to a short list of 60 acts in the first of the two callback episodes, and the remaining acts were further trimmed to a Top 40 group in the second episode.
Acts that were eliminated without being given a second performance:
Chellena Black-Harris
Preliminaries, Week 2: singer, sang "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke.
Tropidanza
Preliminaries, Week 5: salsa dance troupe
Acts that did not make it to the top 60:
Lynn Ruth Miller
Preliminaries: Passed Through. Comedian. Was one of the top 4 comedians who auditioned, only shown briefly in a montage.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Did 90 seconds of one-liners about the senior condition, her message was that "truth is often funnier than fiction."
David Martin
Preliminaries, Week 1: an illusionist
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performed the Shadow Vision illusion. Martin appeared to make several mistakes during his performance. He claimed they were intentional, and that he was playing mind games with the judges, but the judges did not appear to be convinced.
Cafidia Stuart
Preliminaries, Week 1: 15-year-old sang Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing"
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown, but was shown being eliminated.
Kevin "Big K" Taylor
Preliminaries, Week 2: martial arts brick breaking act. Broke 100 flaming cement bricks in less than 20 seconds with his fists. At one point in the performance, his hand was caught on fire.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Broke more bricks, including breaking several stacks with his head.
Holly Hardin
Preliminaries, Week 3: sang "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" by Jessica Simpson
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Sang "When God-Fearin' Women Get the Blues" by Martina McBride.
Shakes
Preliminaries, Week 6: 10-year-old dancer
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Danced to "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer.
Mia Boostrom(Also seen in season 4)
Preliminaries, Shown in clip form: Sang "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green Passed Through
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Sang "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys while playing the piano.
Cat Williams
Preliminaries, Not Shown: Passed Through
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Sang "Let The Good Times Roll" by Ray Charles.
Randy Hanson
Preliminaries, Week 7: Ozzy Osbourne impersonator. Sharon commented that the only way she could tell him from her husband was if he "dropped his trousers so she could take a look at the goods." Sang "Paranoid".
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Only shown briefly in a montage.
Acts that made it to the top 60, but not the top 40:
Sheila-Sheila of The Jungle, Salsa Singer (Sheila Korsi)
Preliminaries, Week 1: sang "Cucala" by Celia Cruz, only shown briefly in a montage.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): sang "I Will Survive," Salsa style, by Gloria Gaynor.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Eliminated after making it to the top 60. Piers Morgan told her that "she was a lot of fun."
David Militello
Preliminaries, Week 3: 9-year-old sang "Ben" by Michael Jackson
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): sang "If We Hold On Together" by Diana Ross Passed through.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Eliminated
The Southern Belles
Preliminaries, Week 3: cloggersPerformed to "Are you gonna be my girl" by Jet.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown. Only shown briefly in a montage.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Eliminated
Holly Stone
Preliminaries, Week 7: sang "A Broken Wing" by Martina McBride.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown. Passed through.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Eliminated
Sterling Silver
Preliminaries, Week 1: clog dancing troupe
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Eliminated.
Russian Bar Trio
Preliminaries, Week 2: acrobatic act, with a lady performing aerial acrobatics on a 4-inch-wide (100 mm) Russian Bar held by the other two members.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Only shown briefly in a montage. Passed through.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Passed through to the Top 40, but were forced to resign from the competition due to injury. This opened up a Wild Card slot in the Top 40.
Acts that were eliminated at an unknown stage of the Las Vegas callbacks:
Scott Land
Preliminaries, Week 1: a puppeteer that created an unusual marionette, an uncooked chicken, that danced, laid an egg and picked up a flag. The act is named "The Amazing Sal Monella"
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Not shown, but did not make the Top 40, so presumed eliminated by the judges.
Jazmin
Preliminaries, Week 1: quartet of female singers
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Not shown, but did not make the Top 40, so presumed eliminated by the judges.
Polina Volchek(Also seen in Season 5)
Preliminaries, Week 1: woman hula-hooper
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Not shown, but did not make the Top 40, so presumed eliminated by the judges.
Next II None (N2N)
Preliminaries, Week 2: family boy band performed "Bye Bye Bye" by 'N Sync
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Not shown, but did not make the Top 40, so presumed eliminated by the judges.
The Pendragons
Preliminaries, Week 2: 54-year-old husband and wife magicians. Performed their Guinness world record holding version of the metamorphosis illusion.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Not shown, but did not make the Top 40, so presumed eliminated by the judges.
Duo Genesis
Preliminaries, Week 3: hand balancers
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Not shown, but did not make the Top 40, so presumed eliminated by the judges.
Shaolin Warriors of Chinatown
Preliminaries, Week 3: martial arts performers
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Not shown, but did not make the Top 40, so presumed eliminated by the judges.
Paul West and Tucker
Preliminaries, Week 3: Frisbee catching dog act
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Not shown, but did not make the Top 40, so presumed eliminated by the judges.
Nichole
Preliminaries, Week 4: Pole dancer
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Not shown, but did not make the Top 40, so presumed eliminated by the judges.
Giwayen Mata
Preliminaries, Week 4: African dancers
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Not shown, but did not make the Top 40, so presumed eliminated by the judges.
SQ Entertainment (Also in the season 4)
Preliminaries, Week 4: family hip-hop dance troop
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Not shown, but did not make the Top 40, so presumed eliminated by the judges.
Fast Wally
Preliminaries, Week 5: juggler
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Not shown, but did not make the Top 40, so presumed eliminated by the judges.
Fun with Hand Shadows
Preliminaries, Week 6: hand shadows of various historical figures
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Only shown briefly in a montage. They did not know why they should win, when asked by Morgan.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Not shown, but did not make the Top 40, so presumed eliminated by the judges.
XL (Xavier Lewis)
Preliminaries, Week 6: 25-year-old Xavier Lewis sang "Ordinary People" by John Legend
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Not shown, but did not make the Top 40, so presumed eliminated by the judges.
The Awakening
Preliminaries, Week 6: dance troupe
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Not shown, but did not make the Top 40, so presumed eliminated by the judges.
Georgia Force
Preliminaries, Week 6: Dance team for the Georgia Force Arena Football team
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Not shown, but did not make the Top 40, so presumed eliminated by the judges.
Michael Harrison
Preliminaries, Week 6: ventriloquist, used an audience member as a human puppet.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Not shown, but did not make the Top 40, so presumed eliminated by the judges.
The Lasalle Brothers
Preliminaries, Week 7: jugglers
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Not shown, but did not make the Top 40, so presumed eliminated by the judges.
Plastic Musik
Preliminaries, Week 1: Stomp-like performers with trash cans and colorful batons
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Not shown, but did make it to the top 40.
Lewis Warren, Jr.
Preliminaries, Week 3: 11-year-old pianist
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Not shown, but did not make the Top 40, so presumed eliminated by the judges.
By My Side
Preliminaries, week 3: Mother and daughter duo singers.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Not shown, but did not make the Top 40, so presumed eliminated by the judges.
After the filming of the callbacks, one of the members of the Russian Bar Trio named Kristine was seriously injured. This opened up a slot in the Top 40 group. The judges selected eight acts, all of which had been eliminated during the callbacks. Viewers voted from among the eight, and selected Donald Braswell II to return to the competition, leaving the remaining seven acts eliminated.
Miss Pussykatt
Preliminaries, Week 2: grinding act, pressed an angle grinder onto metal plates that had been affixed to various parts of her clothing to send sparks flying.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Only shown briefly in a montage. Performed her grinding act while sitting in an aerial hoop. Passed through.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Eliminated (Judges Wild Card)
Semifinals (Part 1): Eliminated again, did not get the Wildcard slot.
Junior & Emily
Preliminaries, Week 3: brother-and-sister salsa dance duo
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown. Passed through.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Eliminated (Judges Wild Card)
Semifinals (Part 1): Eliminated again, did not get the Wildcard slot.
Dan Meyer
Preliminaries, Week 3: sword swallower, swallowed a medium sword, a long sword, 7 swords at once, and threw a sword into the floor.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Swallowed a flaming sword, a curved sword, and juggled 6 clubs while a sword was whipped from his mouth with a whip. Passed through.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Eliminated (Judges Wild Card)
Semifinals (Part 1): Eliminated again, did not get the Wildcard slot.
Kyle Rifkin
Preliminaries, Week 4: R&B singer. Sang "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" by The Temptations
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): sang Boyz II Men's "I'll Make Love To You" Passed through.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Eliminated (Judges Wild Card)
Semifinals (Part 1): Eliminated again, did not get the Wildcard slot.
Lil Countrie and Page 1ne
Preliminaries, Week 2: street dancers/tumblers
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Performance was not shown.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Eliminated (Judges Wild Card)
Semifinals (Part 1): Eliminated again, did not get the Wildcard slot.
Xclusive - Kenneth Parrio
Preliminaries, Week 5: robotic miming to a self-mixed sound effect track.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): Danced to the theme of Inspector Gadget. Passed Through.
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 2): Eliminated (Judges Wild card)
Semifinals (Part 1): Eliminated again, did not get the Wildcard slot.
Victoria Jacoby
Preliminaries, Week 4: 11-year-old contortionist
Las Vegas Callbacks (Part 1): More contortionism, this time on a slowly spinning horizontal bar. Eliminated. (Judges Wild Card)
Semifinals (Part 1): Eliminated again, did not get the Wildcard slot.
The Top 40 acts performed in four episodes over four weeks. In the next episode following each performance episode, the results were revealed. First, the acts were presented in pairs, one from the top four of the previous episode, one from the bottom four. It was then revealed which of the pair had been eliminated, and which of them remained in the competition. After the top four and the bottom four were fully revealed, the acts in fifth and sixth place were all that remained. At this point these remaining two acts were put to the judges to decide which of them would remain, and which would be eliminated.
The first episode of the Top 40 performance semifinals was broadcast from Los Angeles, California on August 26, 2008, following a break for the 2008 Summer Olympics .
Acts that were eliminated include:
Derrick Barry
General: Male Britney Spears impersonator
Preliminaries, Week 1: Performed to "Toxic".
Las Vegas Callbacks: Performed to "Gimme More." Passed through
Top 40: Performed to "...Baby One More Time", received an X from Morgan for not "wowing" him Eliminated
Ronny B
General: Ron Belala, singer and dancer
Preliminaries, Week 6: Danced and sang to "All Night Long" by Lionel Richie. Hasselhoff disliked his performance, saying "This is a talent show, not a freak show."
Las Vegas Callbacks: Performance was not shown. Passed through
Top 40: Performed "She Bangs" by Ricky Martin. Hasselhoff said in an interview he had "0" talent. Eliminated
Shimshi
General: magician
Preliminaries, Week 7: Performed a clear box version of the classic "Sawing a woman in half" illusion.
Las Vegas Callbacks: Performance was not shown. Passed through
Top 40: Performed a trick where he had an audience member pick a card from a deck of playing cards, ripping a corner out of that card, and then kicking a group of cards hanging eight feet so that the ripped card stuck to his foot. He was criticized by Hasselhoff and Morgan for not having a more elaborate trick. Eliminated
The DC Cowboys
General: Cowboy-male dance troupe
Preliminaries, Week 2: danced to "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" by Big & Rich.
Las Vegas Callbacks: Performance was not shown. Passed through
Top 40: Performed to "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins, received an X from Morgan for inability to be a successful dance group. Eliminated
Elite
General: Alexandra Pyles, a 10-year-old martial artist
Preliminaries, Week 4: Beat up her dad.
Las Vegas Callbacks: Shown briefly in a montage fighting multiple opponents. Passed through
Top 40: Performed a pirate themed martial arts exhibition, including a slow motion flip, a fight versus a pirate sword, and a short set with a spinning staff. Judges Choice, Eliminated in favor of The James Gang.
^1 Because both Osbourne and Morgan voted for the James Gang, Hasselhoff's voting intention was not revealed.
The second episode of the Top 40 performance semifinals was broadcast from Los Angeles, California on August 27, 2008.
Acts that were eliminated include:
Slippery Kittens
General: A burlesque dance group who are mothers.
Preliminaries, Week 1: Passed through
Las Vegas Callbacks: Performance was not shown. Passed through
Top 40: Performed to "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" by The Andrews Sisters. Received an X from Morgan for strip teasing and unprofessional tattos. Eliminated.
Jonathan Arons
General: Trombonist and dancer
Preliminaries, Week 1: Performed to "Bad Girls" by Donna Summer.
Las Vegas Callbacks: Performed to "Car Wash" by Rose Royce. Passed through
Top 40: Danced and performed to "Let's Groove", "Boogie Wonderland", and "September" by Earth, Wind and Fire. Eliminated.
George "the Giant" McArthur
General: 7' 3" carnival sideshow style performer.
Preliminaries, Week 3: Drank milk through a long bendy straw that went through his nasal passage and around an audience volunteer, and then set off firecrackers on his chest.
Las Vegas Callbacks: Only shown briefly in a montage. Lay on a bed of nails. Passed through
Top 40: Human Pinata act. Escaped chains while being held upside down and children were beating him with baseball bats. At a point in the performance, he dropped candy onto the floor. He received an X from both Morgan and Osbourne. The judges felt this is not an act. Eliminated.
Kazual
General: A cappella barbershop quartet style group
Preliminaries, Week 7: Passed through
Las Vegas Callbacks: Performance was not shown. Passed through
Top 40: Sang "Can You Feel It" by The Jacksons. Received an X from Morgan. They were heavily criticized that, besides the main lead singer, the others did not have solo quality voices and the group should stick to the other three backing up and harmonizing with the lead singer. Eliminated.
Beyond Belief Dance Company
General: 22 member dance troupe from Mesquite, Texas.
Preliminaries, Week 3: Danced to "Fashionista" by Jimmy James. Morgan said that the group's outfits and makeup were horrendous, but loved their performance.
Las Vegas Callbacks: Danced to "Don't Stop the Music" by Rihanna. Passed through
Top 40: Performed to "When I Grow Up" by the Pussycat Dolls. Eliminated in favor of the ZOOperstars!. Morgan voted for BBDC, while Osbourne and Hasselhoff voted for the ZOOperstars!, with Hasselhoff saying that he had confidence that BBDC would go far.
Italics indicate the act was a wild card. Order indicates when the act performed during the performance episode.
The third episode of the Top 40 performance semifinals was broadcast from Los Angeles, California on September 2, 2008.
Acts that were eliminated include:
Texas State Strutters
General: precision dance team from Texas State University.
Preliminaries, Week 6: Performed to "September" as made famous by Earth, Wind, and Fire.
Las Vegas Callbacks: Performance was not shown. Passed through
Top 40: Performed to "Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind & Fire. They were X'ed by all three judges, and was criticized for being boring, inability and amateur to make it to the Top 20, being out of sync, and for having the dance routine off-balanced. Eliminated
Michael Strelo-Smith
General: Former professional opera singer who appeared on America's Got Talent, Season 2, however, was not passed through to the live shows for one reason, the judges felt he wasn't ready.
Preliminaries, Not Shown: Passed through.
Las Vegas Callbacks: sang "Somewhere" from the musical West Side Story. Passed through
Top 40: Sang "I Am What I Am". Was X'ed by Morgan and Osbourne for being, as Morgan put it, "karaoke" and Sharon put it, "music teacher. Judges' choice, eliminated in favor of Sick Step
Bruce Block
General: Magician/general performer. Appeared in the previous season of the show as well, but was not passed through to the live shows.
Preliminaries, Week 5: Block lay on a bed of nails and held a board on top of himself for his assistant to dance on and sing "Anything Goes". Hasselhoff then asked to stand on Block as well, to establish that the bed of nails was indeed real.
Las Vegas Callbacks: escaped from a straitjacket. Passed through
Top 40: Performed an act where he transformed a divided pantomime horse into a small living pony, with around a half dozen little people around him as various additional characters in the act. He was criticized by Morgan for doing a version of the "oldest trick in the book", and by Hasselhoff for creating confusion with the large number of assistants he used. He did not attend the results show the next day due to illness. Eliminated
Shequida Hall
General: Female impersonator and operatic singer. Able to sing both in a very low bass range and an extremely high tenor range, sounding both male and female in a single performance.
Preliminaries, Not Shown: Passed through.
Las Vegas Callbacks: Passed through. Passed through
Top 40: Sang "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor, completely in falsetto. Eliminated
Matthew Piazzi
General: impressionist
Preliminaries, Week 7: Passed through
Las Vegas Callbacks: Performance was not shown. Passed through
Top 40: Did impressions of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jack Nicholson, Vince Vaughn, and George Clooney. Using the impressions, played the piano and sang a version of "Great Balls of Fire". He was criticized by Morgan for having poor material. Eliminated
Italics indicate the act was a wild card. Order indicates when the act performed during the performance episode.
The fourth episode of the Top 40 performance semifinals was broadcast from Los Angeles, California on September 3, 2008.
Acts that were eliminated include:
Dallas Desperados Dancers
General: Cheerleading dance team of the Dallas Desperados Arena Football team.
Preliminaries, Week 5: Passed through
Las Vegas Callbacks: Performance was not shown. Passed through
Top 40: Performed to "Lose Control" by Missy Elliott. Received X'es from Morgan and Osbourne. Eliminated
Bryan Cheatham
General: Singer, a former Chippendale dancer and R&B singer
Preliminaries, Week 5: Sang "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith.
Las Vegas Callbacks: Sang "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge. Passed through
Top 40: Sang "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" by Barry White. Judges' choice, eliminated in favor of The Tapping Dads.
Flambeaux
General: Fire breather
Preliminaries, Week 4: Passed through
Las Vegas Callbacks: Only shown briefly in a montage. Passed through
Top 40: Performed an act which consisted of a robe he was wearing being enveloped in flames, fire spitting, and wearing an object lit on fire. Received 3 X's from the judges, who complained his act this time was boring, his timing was slow, and that in general his act was too scary. Eliminated
Dorae Saunders
General: Tina Turner impersonator
Preliminaries, Week 5: Lip-synced and danced to "Proud Mary".
Las Vegas Callbacks: Performed to "The Best". Passed through
Top 40: Performed to "Disco Inferno". After being criticized by Morgan for lip-syncing, Saunders responded that she was an actress and a dancer, not a singer. Eliminated
Indiggo
General: Twin singing sisters Mihaela and Gabriela Modorcea
Preliminaries, Week 1: Sang "New York, New York" by Frank Sinatra
Las Vegas Callbacks: Montage shown singing "Viva Las Vegas". Passed through
Top 40: Sang an original song titled "I Don't Need No Georgie Clooney". Half of the audience were booing at Indiggo and Morgan called them "the worst dancers and the worst singers in the entire competition." Eliminated
Italics indicate the act was a wild card. Order indicates when the act performed during the performance episode.
The first episode of the Top 20 performance semifinals was broadcast from Los Angeles, California on September 9, 2008.
Terry Fator, the winner of the previous season, made a brief appearance to announce that he would perform the following night, and to announce that the Las Vegas headline show by the winner of the current season would be on October 17.
Acts that were eliminated include:
The Cadence
General: Stomp-style percussion group made up mostly of college students.
Preliminaries, Week 7: Passed through
Las Vegas Callbacks: Performance was not shown. Passed through
Top 40: Performed to "Beat It" as made famous by Michael Jackson. Passed through.
Top 20: Performed to "You Really Got Me" by The Kinks. Eliminated
The James Gang
General: Dressed as newsies, this hip-hop rap quartet mixed lots of old fashioned style into their routine.
Preliminaries, Week 4: Passed through
Las Vegas Callbacks: Performance was not shown. Passed through
Top 40: Performed in 1920s-style tuxedos, adding a few elements of magic to their act. They were criticized by the judges for trying to do too much. Judges Choice, chosen to remain in the competition in favor over Elite. The judges commented in passing them through that they felt that they had not seen the best of The James Gang.
Top 20: Performed "Hit the Road Jack" by Ray Charles. Eliminated
Daniel Jens
General: Singer/guitarist who had just returned from active duty in Iraq.
Preliminaries, Week 7: Performed "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain.
Las Vegas Callbacks: sang "Home" by Michael Bublé. Forgot his lyrics halfway through. Passed through
Top 40: Sang "Every Breath You Take" by The Police. Passed through.
Top 20: Sang "I'm Already There" by Lonestar. Morgan buzzed him and thinking that Jens should go back and serve his country Iraq. Eliminated by judges who were in favor of Jessica Price.
ZOOperstars!
General: Oversized animal mascot versions of various sports celebrities, already a popular pre-game and halftime act at various sporting events.
Preliminaries, Week 5: Performed to "Tootsee Roll".
Las Vegas Callbacks: Performance was not shown. Passed through
Top 40: Performed to "Macho Man" and "Y.M.C.A." by The Village People, including having one of the members swallow a second performer into the costume. During the performance, one of the members accidentally fell off the stage. Morgan commented that he would like to take five arrows and harpoon them. Judges Choice (chosen instead of Beyond Belief Dance Company). Osbourne said that "this competition needs a bit of wackiness."
Top 20: Performed to "Gonna Make You Sweat" by C+C Music Factory. The routine consisted of feats such as members of the group pretending to sing, somersaults, dropping to the floor from the ceiling, and an attempt to walk a tightrope. Hasselhoff commented that the act didn't come together as a group. Eliminated
Extreme Dance FX
General: Contemporary modern clog team from West Covina, California.
Preliminaries, Week 1: Passed through. Morgan disliked their outfits but he voted them through to the next round.
Las Vegas Callbacks: Performance was not shown. Passed through
Top 40: Performed to "Push It by Salt-n-Pepa". Passed through.
Top 20: Performed to "Let’s Get It Started" by The Black Eyed Peas. Eliminated Hasselhoff commented that their performance was "too cutsey".
Italics indicate the act was a wild card. Order indicates when the act performed during the performance episode.
The second episode of the Top 20 performance semifinals was broadcast from Los Angeles, California on September 10, 2008.
The episode included a special guest performance from Terry Fator, the winner of the previous season. Fator had Winston the Turtle sing "Let's Get It On", and Elvis impersonator Maynard Thompkins sing "Viva Las Vegas".
Acts that were eliminated include:
SickStep
General: hip hop dance crew.
Preliminaries, Week 1: Passed through
Las Vegas Callbacks: Performance was not shown. Passed through
Top 40: Performed to "Get Up Offa That Thing" by James Brown.Hasselhoff commented that they were "sick". Judges' choice, passed through (chosen over Michael Strelo-Smith).
Top 20: Performed to "Blame It on the Boogie" as made famous by The Jackson 5. They received an X from Morgan and were criticized by Morgan and Osbourne that they have to be better in order to be ready for a headline show at Vegas. Eliminated
The Taubl Family
General: Family performing group. Singers and miscellaneous instruments
Preliminaries, Week 2: Performed "The Sound of Music" from the musical "The Sound of Music".
Las Vegas Callbacks: Performance was not shown. Passed through
Top 40: Sang and performed to "Umbrella" by Rihanna. Passed through
Top 20: Performed "When You Believe" by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. Eliminated
Sarah Lenore
General: 19-year-old singer and musician
Preliminaries, Week 4: Sang "Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood
Las Vegas Callbacks: Sang "Teardrops On My Guitar" by Taylor Swift. Passed through
Top 40: Sang "Not Ready to Make Nice" by the Dixie Chicks. Passed through
Top 20: Sang "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis. Eliminated
The Tapping Dads
General: A large group of tap dancing dads.
Preliminaries, Week 7: Passed through
Las Vegas Callbacks: Performance was not shown. Passed through
Top 40: Performed to "Puttin' on the Ritz" by Rufus Wainwright. Judges' choice, passed through (chosen over Bryan Cheatham)
Top 20: Performed to "Sing Sing Sing" by the Benny Goodman Orchestra. Eliminated
Jonathan Burkin
General: Baton twirler
Preliminaries, Week 1: Passed through
Las Vegas Callbacks: Only shown briefly in a montage. Passed through
Top 40: Performed to "I'm Still Standing" by Elton John. His performance included large amounts of flames, a sequence with him spinning flaming batons around his neck, and a more traditional juggling sequence with the batons. Passed through
Top 20: Performed to "Pinball Wizard" by The Who. Eliminated by judges who were in favor of Joseph Hall for feeling that Burkin couldn't perform any better than he already had.
Italics indicate the act was a wild card. Order indicates when the act performed during the performance episode.
The results show for the Top 20 performances was broadcast from Los Angeles, California on September 11, 2008.
The Top 10 episode was broadcast from Los Angeles, California on September 17, 2008.
Acts that were eliminated include:
Paul Salos
General: Frank Sinatra style singer/performer.
Preliminaries, Week 3: Sang "Fly Me to the Moon"
Las Vegas Callbacks: Performance was not shown. Passed through
Top 40: Sang "My Way". Passed through.
Top 20: Sang "Come Fly With Me". Passed through.
Top 10: Sang "New York, New York". Buzzed by Morgan, because he thought he wasn't a million dollar act. Eliminated.
Kaitlyn Maher
General: four-year-old singer.
Preliminaries, Week 1: Sang "Somewhere Out There" by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram
Las Vegas Callbacks: Sang "When You Wish Upon A Star" from Pinocchio. Passed through
Top 40: Sang "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong. Passed through
Top 20: Sang "Beauty and the Beast" from Beauty and the Beast. Passed through.
Top 10: Sang "I'll Be There" by The Jackson 5. Eliminated.
Jessica Price
General: 24-year-old singer.
Preliminaries, Week 3: Sang "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt
Las Vegas Callbacks: Sang "Teardrops On My Guitar" by Taylor Swift. Passed through
Top 40: Sang "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper. Passed through.
Top 20: Sang "Bubbly" by Colbie Caillat. Passed through in judges favor over Daniel Jens
Top 10: Sang "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan. Eliminated.
Joseph Hall
General: "young Elvis" impersonator.
Preliminaries, Week 2: Sang "Hound Dog".
Las Vegas Callbacks: Sang "Heartbreak Hotel" Passed through
Top 40: Sang "Jailhouse Rock" with the video dropping into black and white several times. Passed through
Top 20: Sang "Suspicious Minds". Passed through in judges favor over Jonathan Burkin
Top 10: Sang "A Little Less Conversation". Eliminated.
The Wright Kids
General: Bluegrass trio made up of three siblings. Twelve-year-old Sage plays mandolin, nine-year-old Baruch plays guitar and is usually the lead singer, and six-year-old Levi plays the upright bass.
Preliminaries: Performance was not televised
Las Vegas Callbacks: Only shown briefly in a montage. Passed through
Top 40: Sang "Daydream Believer" by The Monkees. Passed through.
Top 20: Sang "Rockin Robin" by Bobby Day. Passed through.
Top 10: Sang "ABC" by The Jackson 5. Eliminated.
Italics indicate the act was a wild card. Order indicates when the act performed during the performance episode.
The results show for the Top 10 performances was broadcast from Los Angeles, California on September 18, 2008.
The episode included a guest performance by Natasha Bedingfield of her new song "Angel". This time there were no more "Judges Choice" eliminations, and all acts that were eliminated or continued through did so on the audience vote totals.
The Top 5 performance episode was broadcast from Los Angeles, California on September 24, 2008.
The finale was broadcast from Los Angeles, California on October 1, 2008.
Queen Emily
General: Emily David, singer from Stockton, California.
Preliminaries, Week 6: Sang "Chain of Fools" by Aretha Franklin
Las Vegas Callbacks: Sang "I'm Every Woman" by Chaka Khan. Passed through
Top 40: Sang "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Diana Ross. Passed through.
Top 20: Sang "Hero" by Mariah Carey. Passed through.
Top 10: Sang "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" by Jennifer Holliday. Passed through.
Top 5: Sang "One Moment in Time," as performed by Whitney Houston.
Donald Braswell II
General: Former professional opera singer from San Antonio, Texas; he suffered severe damage to the soft tissues of his throat in 1995. He was told by doctors he might never speak normally again, let alone sing.
Preliminaries, Week 5: sang "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban. The first half was booed by the audience, but in the end, they loved it.
Las Vegas Callbacks: Sang "Lost" by Michael Bublé. Eliminated but was in the Judges wildcard
Semifinals (Part 1): Won the Wildcard slot and returned to the competition.
Top 40: Sang "Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha. Morgan said that America was right for bringing Braswell back. Osbourne compared Braswell to Robert Goulet, but wondered if there was a place for someone like Goulet in today's industry. Passed through
Top 20: Sang "The Music of the Night" from The Phantom of the Opera. Passed through.
Top 10: Sang "To Where You Are" by Josh Groban. Passed through.
Top 5: Sang "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban again, this time with choral accompaniment.
Nuttin' But Stringz
General: Sibling violinists Tourie and Damien Escobar. They combine classical music with hip-hop. All the songs that they have performed are their own original compositions, many from their 2006 album Struggle from the Subway to the Charts.
Preliminaries, Week 1: Performed "Thunder". Passed through
Las Vegas Callbacks: Performance was not shown. Passed through
Top 40: Performed "Broken Sorrow". Their performance earned a standing ovation, including the judges. Passed through
Top 20: Performed "Thunder Remix" Passed through.
Top 10: Performed an original piece titled "Winner". Passed through.
Top 5: Performed "Thunder" again. Morgan said that they are the most likely act to win the competition.
Eli Mattson
General: Singer and pianist.
Preliminaries, Week 2: Performed "Walking in Memphis" by Marc Cohn.
Las Vegas Callbacks: Sang "Your Song" by Elton John. Passed Through.
Top 40: Sang "Nobody Knows" by Tony Rich. Osbourne commented "No dancers, no fire, no backing tracks, just talent." Passed through
Top 20: Sang "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys. Passed through.
Top 10: Sang "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" by Elton John. Passed through.
Top 5: Sang "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" by Phil Collins.
Neal E. Boyd
General: 32-year-old insurance salesman and opera singer.
Preliminaries, Week 1: Sang "Nessun dorma" from the opera Turandot.
Las Vegas Callbacks: Sang "Unchained Melody" in Italian. Passed through
Top 40: Sang "Somewhere" from the musical West Side Story. He was declared the "Michael Phelps" of the competition, and the man to beat. Passed through.
Top 20: Sang "Mama" by Il Divo. Passed through.
Top 10: Sang "All by Myself" by Eric Carmen. Passed through.
Top 5: Sang "Nessun dorma" from the opera Turandot again.
Michael Strelo-Smith competed in season 2 but didn't make it past judgment week.