In one week, “America’s Got Talent” will crown its latest winner. But first, the Top 10 acts have to compete to get to the finale.

The Top 10 acts this season are singers Anna Graceman, Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr., Lys Agnes, and PopLyfe, magician Landon Swank, dance groups Miami All Stars, Silhouettes, Team iLuminate, and West Springfield Dance Team, and motorcycle act Smage Brothers Riding Show.

Last year, the finals consisted of four acts. However, Piers Morgan mentioned in passing last week that the finals would have five acts. Since the format on America’s Got Talent changes every year, it would not surprise me if there are five acts this season. However, if an act doesn’t bring its A-game to the stage tonight, it won’t matter how many acts go through, cause they won’t be one of them.

I will be blogging the performances live after the jump.

After an opening credits sequence that shows us all of our Top 10 acts, Nick Cannon comes out from behind the screen trying to get his swag on, a word I have never used before and one I will never use again. I hope.

Before introducing the judges to us, Nick tells us that there is no Judges’ Pick this week, meaning that America will be solely responsible for the acts that make it through this week. If Nick mentioned whether there will be four or five acts in the Finale, I didn’t hear it.

We see the judges interacting with the Top 10 at a swank pool party. After that, last year’s winner, Michael Grimm, takes the stage to perform his new single, “Stay with me (Baby).” It’s a great performance, and I’m always happy to see previous contestants and winners, but he doesn’t belong on a performance show. Instead of filling up the time with acts, they should give the extra time to the contestants, either in pre-performance video or in performance time.

After Michael performs, Nick mentions that there will be four acts in the Finale. He also indicates that the Top 10 will finally take the stage after the commercial. I hope so, because we’ll be about 15 minutes into the show by then. There is no reason why an act shouldn’t have already taken the stage.

First to perform tonight is the Miami All Stars. One of four dance groups in the Top 10, they have their work cut out for them against the likes of Silhouettes and Team iLuminate. It’s a baseball theme tonight, with the guys all dressed up as ball players and the women dressed up as high-heeled cheerleaders. There is even a bird mascot on stage with them. Piers buzzes about halfway through the routine, and I don’t completely blame him. The dancing is a little on the chaos side and not as together as they normally are. It’s still a high energy routine, but it sort of lacks focus. I don’t see them making the finale.

Piers explains that he buzzed them because he felt they became a cheerleading act. Sharon says she didn’t get the theme either. The lead guy of the troupe simply won’t shut his mouth. He’s not being disrespectful, but seems to feel that he has to say “we appreciate your opinion” after each judge speaks. Ugh. Get over yourself.

Lys Agnes is the next act to take the stage. In the pre-performance video, we see Lys say she is doing something nontraditional. Even the trainer helping her wonders if she is making a mistake. Once the music starts, we realize that she is taking on Aerosmith’s “Dream On.” She starts off in an extremely low voice, where she stays for most of the show. She does go up into her upper register a couple of times, including a very off-key final note. I get what she was trying to do, but it doesn’t work. Almost makes me miss Danny Gokey’s version of the song a couple of seasons ago on American Idol. Almost. I don’t see her making it through to the finale.

Next up is Landon Swank. I’m excited to see what trick he does for us tonight, especially after his last two performances. He starts with a simple hand illusion trick by producing a Goldfish cracker, that he puts into his mouth and spits out into a glass as a real goldfish. He then takes off his tie, rolls up his sleeves, then cleans off the glass on an aquarium. He picks up the goldfish out of the glass, pushes his hand through the aquarium, and opens it, revealing the goldfish is gone. It’s a simple, quiet illusion that works solely because of his charisma. Piers asked him if it worked the way it was suppose to work, and he says that it’s actually the first time it worked the way it’s suppose to. Great job, Landon.

11-year-old Anna Graceman is up next. In her pre-performance video, we find that she will not be playing the piano tonight, which both she and the trainer says will be a risk. She’s singing “True Colors” tonight and does a pretty good job with it. There are some rough edges with it, however. Her phrasing is off, taking breaths in some places where she shouldn’t have. And she misses a few notes, all while singing in her lower register. But there are also parts of it where she really shines. She still needs another couple of years in my opinion to really get to where she needs to be, and I don’t see her making the finale. Of course, I didn’t see her making it this far, so what do I know?

The halfway point act tonight is Silhouettes. The sob story card is playing during the pre-performance video, as we find out that one of the younger members is going blind. That will get them some extra votes tonight. Their performance starts with a couple of them “graduating,” which eventually dissolves into them forming the White House. Some more dancing around eventually dissolves into an image of the Space Shuttle taking off, which dissolves into seeing the man on the moon. The moral of the performance is that you can reach your dream if you just put your mind to it. An amazing performance that should guarantee them a Finale spot. If they don’t make it, I will hunt down each and every one of you.

Starting off the second half of the show is the Smage Brothers Riding Shows. The first part of their pre-performance video focuses on Troy Smalls, the third guy in the group. He’s the one that is usually lying down on the floor and getting jumped over. It’s about time he gets some recognition, especially since he’s putting his life on the line again tonight. He’s being jumped over from every conceivable angle on every single prop on the stage. And he gets hit in the head by a motorcycle wheel. It’s insane. Ummm, why is his legs spread open while lying on the floor? Oh, it’s because one of the guys is landing the front tire of his bike RIGHT NEXT TO THE KID’S BALLS! YIKES! It’s an amazing performance.

Piers, of course, doesn’t like it. Go figure.

PopLyfe is the next to take the stage. The pre-performance video shows the lead singer’s sob story. They say they are taking a big risk tonight. And it’s a big risk indeed! They are taking on a Jackson 5 medley. The song works so long as the lead singer is the only one singing. When the others try to do the limited backup singing required by this song, it falls apart as they aren’t together, nor are they on key. It’s an upbeat performance though that has them all rocking out as hard as they can. Howie and Sharon give them a standing ovation, as does Piers once the kids beg him to. I don’t know that the song was worth a standing ovation, but it was certainly entertaining. And it may be enough to get them through to the next round.

Taking the stage now is West Springfield Dance Team. In the pre-performance video, they say tonight’s performance will be gothic and scary. Their past performances have been scary already, though from the fact that they don’t usually seem to be able to dance in sync with each other. Tonight, however, the group members do seem to be in sync with each other. But that’s because they choreographed themselves an easy routine. It’s slow, painfully slow. Piers buzzes about two-thirds the way into the routine. And I don’t blame him. If they had put as much time and heart into the routine as they did the makeup and costume, they could have had a shot at the finale. As it is, they should simply take the plane home tonight.

Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr. is the next to last act of the night. He performs on stage with a brass band behind him. He’s been billed as a Frank Sinatra clone and a crooner. I don’t see either of those items. He doesn’t sound anything like Sinatra, and needs lessons on how to be a little smoother in his actions and moves in order to be considered a crooner. His voice is good tonight, but I just can’t get past the whole 50s vibes. The judges all give him a standing ovation, however. I just don’t get it.

The final act of the night is Team iLuminate. The brains behind the technology and routines is taking the stage tonight as a dancer. I don’t know how much she actually has done during the actual performances in past weeks, so hopefully this doesn’t cause any problems. They start off with a really cool lighting effect that dissolves into some actual dancing this time. Of course, there are a lot more really cool lighting effects as well. It’s a great balance that looks absolutely amazing. It culminates with someone who looks like he is walking up steps. Another terrific performance. No reason why they shouldn’t end up in the finale.

My picks tonight are Landon Swank, Silhouettes, Smage Brothers Riding Show, and Team iLuminate. I think it’s possible that PopLyfe could sneak through instead, though they don’t deserve it. Not against the four I’ve named. So vote, America. Vote your heart out.

What did you think about tonight’s America’s Got Talent performances? Do you agree with my picks? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

And don’t forget to join me tomorrow (Wednesday) night at 11 PM ET / 10 PM CT for the Idol Radio Show as we discuss tonight’s performances, tomorrow’s results show, and other entertainment news.