Who will win 'AGT'? Watch Drake Milligan's country smash, Sara James' haunting Kate Bush cover
![Portrait of Charles Trepany](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.usatoday.com/gcdn/presto/2020/12/04/USAT/ecda98d1-f4dd-4eca-80b7-c3d7cdfe9ae0-Trepany_Charles.jpg?crop=278,278,x0,y6&width=48&height=48&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
On "America's Got Talent," it's all come down to these performances.
The penultimate episode of the season aired live Tuesday, with stunning performances from the eleven frontrunners duking it out for the win.
Drake Milligan crooned his heart out on an original country song, while Golden Buzzer winner the Mayyas raised the bar on their synchronous choreography. Sara James, another Golden Buzzer winner, performed a chill-inducing Kate Bush cover and Chapel Hart, also a Golden Buzzer winner, delivered a performance that inspired American patriotism, even in British judge Simon Cowell.
Here's what went down, including the feedback from judges Cowell, Heidi Klum, SofiÌa Vergara and Howie Mandel.
Kristy Sellars
First up, Kristy Sellars, who combines digital media with pole dancing, gave a magical performance that put her previous routines, which were already stellar, to shame.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
By the time the Australian finished, Mandel's feedback couldn't be heard over the uproarious applause.
"You let us be part of your dreams, because it feels like weâre diving into your dream," Klum said afterward. "Itâs stunning."
Vergara said the dancer keeps getting "better and better."
'AGT's Simon Cowell amazed by 'astonishingly brilliant, creative' pole dancer: Watch here
"You showed us something even more amazing than the last time," she aded.
Cowell said Sellars sure gave a tough act to follow.
"Iâve never seen anything like this before, ever," he said. "You were great when we first saw you, then you went to incredible, and now youâve gone to amazing. This is what this final is all about. I really believe we have the best of the best."
Nicolas Ribs
French magician Nicolas Ribs delivered another performance in which he appeared to make several objects appear out of thin air.
Klum said ribs "invented a different kind of magic."
Cowell disagreed.
"Tonight, everybody has to be better than the performance we saw before. I donât think that was," he said, to raging boos from the audience. "The music really bothered me. It reminded of an aunt playing the piano after lunch."
Mandel countered that Ribs "made the impossible possible."
"That was amazing," he added.
Chapel Hart
Country trio Chapel Hart were left in tears after performing their patriotic song "American Pride," which earned a standing ovation from Cowell.
"The chorus, the lyric was beautiful," he said. "After 9/11, what a beautiful message to send out on the most important night of your life."
Mandel wasn't as enthusiastic.
"America is gonna like that song, but the last two songs you did were 10 times stronger," he said.
Vergara said "thereâs something about you girls performing as a group that makes everyone excited."
Mike E. Winfield
After Mike E. Winfield's stand-up set about parenting, Cowell called the comedian "magic."
"I love your voice," Mandel added, noting he wants to work with Winfield one day. "You come out here like a superstar."
Klum said Winfield has "an amazing look," and Vergara called him "a star."
Metaphysic
Metaphysic floored the judges once again with their deep fake technology, which they employed to show Elvis Presley singing alongside "AGT" judges Klum, Vergara and Cowell.
"Can we talk about how good I was?" Klum joked. "I donât think i ever sounded this good in my life."
Cowell made a mighty prediction.
"Youâre so creative," he said. "Youâre gonna have your own show on Vegas. Thereâs no question."
The Mayyas
The Mayyas, a women's dance group from Lebanon who earned the Golden Buzzer from Vergara after their inspiring audition, raised the bar with a performance that saw them dancing with feathers in perfect synchronicity.
"There is nothing that I can say, because you guys are the best," Vergara said, before the rest of her feedback was drowned out by cheers.
"This is what a million dollar act looks like," Klum exclaimed. Tonight it was A+."
Cowell predicts the Mayyas are in for an impressive career beyond the show.
"This was astonishing," he said. "Something has happened with you, where I'm beginning to feel a buzz beyond the show. This has landed."
"Winner winner chicken dinner," Mandel exclaimed, as the crowd started chanting "Mayyas." "This is my favorite act ever on 'AGT.' "
Avery Dixon
Avery Dixon, who clinched host Terry Crews' Golden Buzzer, sought once again to prove his bullies wrong by shining on the "AGT" stage.
"I saw you last week, and I saw how excited you were to be ready for the final, and I saw this look in your eye," Cowell told the young saxophonist. "Youâve really, really nailed it."
Klum said Dixon "took all the roadblocks" in his way and made them work for him.
"I'm so happy for you," she added.
Celia MunÌoz
For her ventriloquist act, Celia MunÌoz played the part of a medium communing with the soul of the world's greatest opera singer. She provided all the voices of course, including a phone call that interrupted the seance.
Cowell called the act "clever, frightening, funny, creative."
Vergara said the act was "so fun," and Klum called MunÌoz, who was voted into the finale as a wildcard after getting eliminated, a "rare talent."
"Youâre like a classic vaudeville performer that we havenât seen for years," Mandel marveled.
'AGT' results: Golden Buzzer The Mayyas learn fate, SofiÌa Vergara's wildcard sent to finals
Sara James
Sara James, a teenage singer from Poland and Cowell's Golden Buzzer, delivered a haunting rendition of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" that brought all four judges to their feet.
Cowell said James "nailed one of the most iconic songs in the world."
"Youâve just given yourself a shot after that," he added.
Mandel countered: "The thing is, a lot of people tonight have given themselves a shot."
Klum called James "one of our greatest discoveries this season."
"You have this freshness, this newness about you" she said. "You already look like a superstar."
Yu Hojin
Magician Yu Hojin seemed to do "30 tricks in three minutes," according to Vergara, who watched in awe as he seemed to make objects disappear and transform before the judges' eyes.
"Youâre not a magician," she added. "To me, it feels like youâre magical."
Cowell, the only judge to give Hojin a no after his first audition, turned the magician's success into a compliment for himself.
"I sort of said no on purpose because in my mind I envisioned you in the final, and youâre here," Cowell said. "You are a brilliant showman. Youâre very classy. Youâre such a gentleman, and, more importantly, youâre a fighter."
Mandel called Hojin his "favorite magician this season."
Drake Milligan
Closing out the show was country crooner Drake Milligan. Milligan's had quite the success outside of "AGT." After each of his performances, the original songs he sang charted.
On Tuesday, Milligan sang his song "Sounds Like Something I'd Do," which he also sang for his audition. Afterward, he teased he'll be dropping more music later this week.
And he already has fans in the judges.
"I really think this is gonna be the start of your career," Cowell said.
"I already want to buy a ticket to your concert," Vergara exclaimed.
Klum called Milligan "the one to beat," and Mandel said it's between him and the Mayyas for the win.
"You just brought it home, and i think youâre a star," Mandel added. "That song is gonna be number one tomorrow."