Very little viva as ‘Talent’ begins Vegas round

Child's play
The kids were up next and if the earlier decisions to send a 4-year-old and 9-year-old into the second round were considered controversial, the judges went one better by putting them both through to the next round. Four-year-old Kaitlin Maher, who was cute enough singing "Somewhere Out There" in the first round, did "When You Wish Upon a Star" in Vegas. Her new friend David Millitello, who sang "Ben" in the first round, did "If We Hold On Together" this time. Both were cute as all get-out, but neither deserved a ticket to the next round.

What's worse is that they took spots that might have been better used by Mia Boostrom, a 15-year-old singer-pianist who was impressive enough to merit staying in the competition. Mia sobbed later when she got the news that she'd be going home.

Grown-up time
The nerves got to Daniel Jens, the Army sergeant who won over the crowd and the judges earlier in the season with his vocals and guitar playing. This time, he ditched the six-string and forgot the words to his song. "He's not a star," Piers said. Despite the flub, he made it through.

R&B singers Bryan Cheatham and Kyle Rifkine vied for what they believed was one spot available. Cheatham was on the mark and Rifkine's voice strained toward the finish. Both made it through.

The adult female singers closed out the evening, with Cat Williams' big voice and big smile getting things started. She considered Queen Emily to be her biggest threat. Both of them brought energetic performance and inspiring stories. Queen Emily stayed, but Cat did not.

Holly Hardin, the Kellie Pickler wannabe, said she just wanted to represent the small-town country girls. Pickler already did that and the judges had seen enough. Hardin went home. Holly Stone, the woman who'd found the daughter she gave up for adoption 18 years later on MySpace, made it through to the next round.

If you blinked...
Amid the flashes and lineups on the stage, these performers were included among those continuing in the competition: Singer-guitarist Jessica Price; urban violinists "Nuttin' But Stringz"; Ukrainian twins "Indiggo"; bluesy pianist-singer Eli Mattison; and The Tapping Dads.

Victor Balta lives in Philadelphia and is a regular contributor to msnbc.com.

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