Magician Antonio Restivo America's Got Talent Predictions

Antonio Restivo is a Las Vegas magician and contestant on the fifth season of America's Got Talent. Antonio was selected by the judges to compete in the quarterfinals and was selected by the judges again as the fourth pick during his quarterfinals week. This means that Antonio was either fourth or fifth out of 12 contestants during his quarterfinals round (the judges pick between the fourth and fifth-place contestants).Antonio has apparently already had some shows before in Las Vegas, so he is no amateur. The show makes it seem like he is a hard-luck magician who has never gotten a break, and Antonio constantly cries about wishing his dad were still alive to see him on America's Got Talent. This tactic may well have gotten him enough votes to push into the Top 5 during his week. However, that is not very clear, and many acts on AGT have more compelling backstories that may have garnered them votes.

Actually, Antonio seems to be making a habit of getting bailed out by the America's Got Talent judges. He performed a trick less flawlessly than Michael Grasso (Grasso performed the same basic trick in an earlier round) in the final Las Vegas audition round and was still picked over Grasso. He then came back with a fairly solid magic performance in the quarterfinal round. I personally had him finishing sixth out of the 12 acts, but the voters liked him a bit more, and the judges picked him over the Wreckless dancing group.

I feel that Antonio's strongest trait is his stage presence. He mixes fire with his magic, and his girls dance and spice up the performance compared to many magic acts. However, the reason I think Antonio is overrated is because the actual magic is really nothing special. Restivo doesn't seem to be as poliished as Michael Grasso as an actual magician. However, he is certainly competent. And combined with his stage skills, many fans enjoyed his performance.

In the end, Restivo will likely not advance past the semifinal round. He has been given a gift or saved by the judges the whole way during this contest, and the competition is now even stiffer. Besides that, he has to compete with Dan Sperry, who seems to have received even more love from the voters for his "dark" magic act. And even Sperry will have a tough time getting through.

Also, magic acts seem to fizzle out on this show, often before the finals. It is hard for magic acts to continue to up the game, as the most impressive stage magic requires a big budget and more elaborate sets than would be allowed on the America's Got Talent stage. There is a reason none of these acts are on a David Copperfield level -- the budget and production environment just isn't there to pull off the flying tricks and other crazy stunts that might be enough to win America's Got Talent.

Restivo barely got through each round, and he also has to compete against favorites Michael Grimm and Prince Poppycock. That leaves only 2 or 3 more spots (the exact procedure isn't released until the show airs) for the remaining 10 contestants during the first semifinal week. Restivo also has to fend off Connor Doran, AscenDance and ArcAttack, not to mention Anna and Patryck, sentimental favorites Christina and Ali and singer Taylor Mathews. Even Future Funk has a shot at getting more votes than Restivo unless he can really up his game. That is going to be a difficult thing for a magician to overcome in the America's Got Talent environment.

Antonio Restivo will likely give his last AGT performance during the semifinals. Even if he does manage to sneak into the finals, Restivo will probably either have to compete against Michael Grasso or Murray for magic-act votes in the finals. Restivo simply can't win America's Got Talent unless he flies across the stage on a broomstick.