(S04E20) "I think the talent this year is "Hoff" the charts." - The Hoff

The Hoff must not be watching the same show we are, eh? Because the talent is definitely not off the charts. Yes, there are some very good acts but compared to previous seasons, this year's Top 48 was rather poor in talent.

The last Top 48 acts performed earlier this week and now came the time to reveal who would fill the remaining five spots in the Top 20. Except for three or four acts, this week's performance show was so-so, making it difficult to predict how America would vote.

Did your favorite acts make it to the Top 20? Results coming up!

First to step forward are the EriAm sisters and Drew Stevyns, which means that right from the start I won't have five out of five this week with my predictions, as I didn't foresee any of them going through. Drew Stevyns gets a spot in the Top 20.

As soon as Nick made the announcement, I started typing comments on why I thought it made more sense for Drew to move on than EriAm. Surprise, surprise. The producers decided to play a trick on us and actually change the reveal format. Usually, only one of the first two acts brought forward makes it. Well, not this week. Both Drew and the EriAm sisters are moving on! Of course, before announcing to the singing sisters that they were also moving on, Nick made it sound as if they were going home.

The African High Flyers, Pam Martin's Top Dogs and Coney Island Chris are up next. My gut feeling when they were brought forward was that Nick would announce that all would be returning home. If the producers changed how they made the first announcement, why not change how they would announce the rest of the results, as well? Turns out my gut feeling was right, all three are out. This means that the best I can get now is three out of five. Talk about tonight's results being unexpected, eh?

It's now time for Recycled Percussion, Matt & Anthony and Ishaara to learn their fate. For sure, at least one act will move forward, and soon after a quick recap, Nick confirms that it will be the case. Matt & Anthony learn that they are not moving on. To my surprise Ishaara is not moving on and Recycled Percussion gets a spot in the Top 20. I really expected Ishaara to go through, since they offered a good performance that was entertaining and refreshing. I knew voting would be difficult this week, but I didn't expect this. Could it be that, even if getting more and more popular, Bollywood doesn't reach enough people yet?

Before announcing which two acts would fill the last spots, Reba McEntire performs. It was a good performance of her latest single from her new album. I've been enjoying the fact that after these guest performances, Nick asks questions to the singers about how they deal with fame, how they can make a performance go from good to great, etc. At least, if the contestants can watch the guest performances and quick interviews afterwards, they can get some tips and tricks to improve their own acts.

The Lollipop Girls, Mia Boostrom, Barbara Padilla, Erik and Rickie are up next. Yes, the four of them all at once. So that means one will go through, one will be sent packing, and the remaining two placed fifth and sixth, meaning it'll be up for the judges to decide. Without much surprise, The Lollipop Girls are sent home. Even if Piers and David drooled over them, their act was not that great. Nick quickly tells America that Barbara is moving on. Great choice America.

That means Mia's and Erik and Rickie's fate is now in the judges' hands. Mia gave a much better performance than the young dancers. Erik and Rickie still have loads to learn as dancers and are nowhere near as good as the four dance acts already in the Top 20. However, there are already seven great singers in the Top 20 ... My vote goes to Mia. The Hoff votes for Erik and Rickie. Sharon votes for Mia. Piers says that last night he would have said Erik and Rickie, but that after watching the show, he isn't sure. Piers finally gives his vote to Erik and Rickie. Say what?!? They have no chance of winning this competition! While Mia, even if not the best singer, had better odds. Judges, judges, judges...

So I got two out of five. I picked Barbara and Recycled Percussion. Were your predictions spot on? I'm speechless ... what has gotten into the judges this season? They shouldn't be allowed to choose between the fifth and sixth places anymore. The five acts that got the most votes should be the ones going through, no matter. What do you think?

Are you happy with the Top 20? I'm not totally pleased with it, especially because of the acts the judges decided to put through to the next round. Argh! Let's hope that all of the Top 20 performers practice night and day and raise the bar; otherwise, we may end up with not so good Top 20 performance shows.

The Top 20 is composed of:

• 7 singing acts: Kevin Skinner, Voices of Glory, The Texas Tenors, Lawrence Beaman, Drew Stevyns, EriAm, Barbara Padilla
• 5 dance acts: Arcadian Broad, Fab 5, Hairo Torres, FootworKINGz, Erik and Rickie
  
• 2 acrobatic/acrobatic dance acts: Acrodunk, Paradizo Dance
  
• 1 magic act: Drew Thomas Magic
• 1 comedic act: Grandma Lee
• 2 variety acts: Tony Hoard and Rory, Mario & Jenny
  
• 2 music acts: Jeffrey Ou, Recycled Percussion