The show opens with Nick Cannon on a "webcam." He's just like us! Tonight 12 YouTube acts will compete for a spot with our current Top 16.  Did I see a dog act? "America" selected one of the Top 12, and the judges chose the other 11. After the obligatory five to ten minutes of judge worship (and Howie re-affirming that being on stage is terrifying and the internet is America's toughest anonymous critic), the show is underway. 

PLUtonic, from Tacoma Washington, is a college acapella group. Oh boy, we knew there would be at least one (some group who missed the boat for The Sing-Off). I was fully prepared to not like them but they sounded good (way better than NU Covenant did last week). And I like their "groovy geeks" vibe; their performance had a sense of humor to it. When it comes to PLUtonic, I agree with Sharon, who hates acapella groups but found them extremely likable.

Pup is a dog who plays the accordion. Supposedly. We didn't really see it happen, because Pup took a couple pulls at it, walked away dubiously, then just kind of stood there. There were some technical issues. My disappointment meter was at 85%.  I really wanted to see Pup play some more. It could have been the best thing ever. Here is Pup's original YouTube audition video.

If you haven't had your fill of male singers (or John Mayer look-alikes) in this competition, get you some Cam Hodges. He is cuter than Michael Grimm, but not as baby-cute as Taylor Mathews. He was fine but is there room for him in your text-voting hearts?

Ryan Rodriguez, the dancing plumber (not to be confused with the jump roping Plummer), belongs on the show that the Kung Fu Heroes and the South Philly Vikings have been banished to (The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers). He even had Putties! Ryan Rodriguez, have you been reading my diary? I'm still not sure what it was, except possibly some version of Big or Benjamin Button where a 6-year old, hopped up on Capri Sun, is trapped in a grown man's body and the stage was his living room.

Will Austin Anderson out-comedian Doogie Horner? My opinion: no. Howie looked sad for him. Woe unto the comedians restricted to a 90-second set. He's funny for Omaha, Nebraska I guess.  Taking his shirt off didn't help.

Booker Forte is a hip hop dancer, not a karate dancer or whatever that was we just saw from Ryan Rodriguez. This is in the same category as Haspop but maybe not as good, as far as locking goes. I felt like I had changed the channel and was watching this by accident. It was a little public access. 

Pizza Patt is bringing us an act that I am excited to see and a pizza I would never want to eat. It was SO weird, and as far as use of backup dancers and strange background videos, it was on par with Mary Ellen. But it was something I had never seen before and arguably the most interesting act thus far (given that Pup let us down).

I wish that Kristina Young had sung Sponjetta's "Studio" (an original song that went awry in the early audition rounds) instead of "Before He Cheats." She was cute but seemed nervous and wasn't impressive enough. Simon Cowell would have said something about it being a good karaoke performance. And it was no Sponjetta.

Maestro Alexander Bui practices piano 6-8 hours a day, which he calls "living a normal life." Wow! He is so much better than that little Mozart kid. Sharon gave him an X and I actually gasped. Was it just because he's not wearing a zany outfit? She thought it was boring, I thought he was amazing. Piers argued that Maestro Alexander Bui is the "most naturally talented person" they've had on the show. I'm not sure if "natural" is the right word to describe 6-8 hours of practice a day.

Dan Sperry could probably take David Blaine in a fight, or possibly put a curse on him (and yes, that is a request). He had a pretty good dove trick at the beginning, and then made us watch him eat a mint for most of the time. But THEN he pulled it out of his neck with a string of dental floss. Sharon's favorite part was when Dan Sperry threw his dental floss at Howie. Unfortunately, the critique became all about Howie and we didn't get to hear much more about  Dan Sperry's magic. So I turn to you, what did you think? Was it too weird or creepy for you?

Jackie Evancho, child opera singer, is America's YouTube pick (and will probably win this week). At first I was like "child opera singer?" but then I heard her and it was awesome. She gets my stamp of approval, despite being a "child act." You'll have to correct me if I'm wrong calling her an opera singer, as I learned last week that Prince Poppycock arranges his own arias and is not, technically, an opera singer (thanks!). But yeah, Jackie Evancho was amazing. I'm pretty sure she'll be the winner of YouTube week.

Did you cry? I almost did.