After eliminating six acts during the semifinals, “America’s Got Talent” is officially down to a top 10 — and it includes acrobats, aerialists, drones, singers and more.
Here’s a breakdown of the 10 acts competing in the finale for a shot at $1 million and a headlining slot in Las Vegas.
Brent Street
The dance group from Australia received a lot of praise from the judges for their creative dance routine and earned a golden buzzer from “AGT” judge Howie Mandel, advancing the dancers straight to the quarterfinals.
“I thought everything you did was amazing,” Mandel said after the performance, which has more than 2 million views on YouTube.
Learnmore Jonasi
Learnmore Jonasi earned a golden buzzer from “AGT” host Terry Crews to push him straight to the quarterfinals of the competition.
For his audition, the comedian from Zimbabwe — who learned English through watching comedy with his grandfather — performed a stand-up routine about his upbringing in a small village and contrasted it with his experiences being in the U.S. for the first time. The bit earned a massive standing ovation from the audience and judges, and led Simon Cowell to call Jonasi “one of the funniest people we’ve ever had over the years.”
“Stand-up comedy is hard enough as it is, but to come to another country where English isn’t even your first language, not only communicate with everybody but tickle everybody, make everybody laugh, make this a better place, you are truly amazing,” Mandel said.
Richard Goodall
Richard Goodall’s audition for “America’s Got Talent” went viral — as of Friday, it has 24 million views on YouTube. Goodall, who has been a middle school janitor for 23 years, got on a plane for the first time and flew from his home in Indiana to Los Angeles to audition for the show. And the 55-year-old singer had everyone on their feet with his rendition of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
“Richard, you are my hero,” Cowell said. “Because that was special, genuinely special. I think America is going to love you.”
Goodall was visibly overcome with emotion as he heard the audience’s cheers. “AGT” judge Heidi Klum ended up giving Goodall the golden buzzer to send him straight to the quarterfinals.
Roni Sagi & Rhythm
Roni Sagi and her dancing dog, Rhythm, awed the judges with their performance for the “AGT” audition round.
“I really do mean this, and I love Adrian and Hurricane, this was a level up,” Cowell said, citing the dog act that won “AGT” last season. “Genuinely a level up. I’ve never seen anything like this. It was amazing.”
Sky Elements
Sky Elements, a drone act out of Dallas, Texas, earned a golden buzzer from Cowell for a space-themed act that depicted the moon landing.
All of the judges praised the group’s ability to program the drones to tell a story, with Mandel calling the performance “epic.”
Solange Kardinaly
Solange Kardinaly, a quick-change artist from Portugal, impressed the judges with her act to such a high degree that they called her the best quick-change artist they’ve ever had on “AGT.”
“You did it very uniquely, the mixture of magic and your performance made it so much more special,” Mandel said, before all of the judges gave her an enthusiastic “yes” to send her through to the next round.
Airfootworks
Airfootworks, a dance group from Japan, has wowed the “AGT” judges and audience throughout the season with their dance routines — done primarily while hanging on bars.
In a deviation from the typical “AGT” process, the group earned a golden buzzer from two judges at once (Cowell and Mandel) following its quarterfinal performance, allowing the dancers to skip the semifinals and advance straight to the finale.
Dee Dee Simon
Dee Dee Simon, a registered nurse at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center in California who’s been trying to break into the music industry, impressed everyone in the “AGT” theater with her soulful rendition of “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going.” It led Klum — who would later go on to give the singer a golden buzzer during the quarterfinal round — to call Simon one of the best singers of the season.
“You picked one of the hardest songs in the world, and you absolutely nailed it,” Cowell said. “There’s nothing more frustrating than when you’ve got talent and you just can’t be heard, and I promise you, tomorrow, things are just going to be better. I think you’re going to inspire a lot of other people.”
Hakuna Matata Acrobats
Hakuna Matata Acrobats, a group from Tanzania, auditioned with a balancing act that Klum said put her on the edge of her seat and “AGT” judge Sofia Vergara called “heart-stopping.”
Vergara ended up giving the acrobats a golden buzzer during the show’s quarterfinal round, immediately giving the group a spot in the finale.
Sebastian and Sonia
Following Sebastian and Sonia’s high-flying aerialist act, the judges declared that the duo had now set the bar for their expectations regarding similar acts in future “AGT” seasons.
“That is the most spectacular double aerial act I have ever seen,” Mandel said following the pair’s audition.
“You two are mind-blowing,” Klum added. “It’s so dangerous — one wrong move and you would just crash to the floor. … It was so beautiful to watch.”
While rehearsing for the quarterfinals, Sonia fractured her elbow — leading Sebastian to take the stage for a solo act. Cowell praised the aerialists for not giving up and ended up giving the duo a golden buzzer to advance them straight to the finale.
The final performances for the “AGT” top 10 will air Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m. MDT on NBC.
“AGT” will reveal the Season 19 winner during a two-hour finale that starts at 8 p.m. MDT on Sept. 24.
Viewers can vote for their favorite “AGT” act online at agt.vote.nbc.com or through the AGT” mobile app, which is available both in Apple’s app store and Google Play.
Each voting method allows up to 10 votes.