Two "America's Got Talent" judges wouldn't predict a winner when they talked with reporters Wednesday about the upcoming finals for the NBC show.
But when asked to gauge the potential ability of, oh, let's say power cloggers from Morgan County, to wow a Las Vegas audience, the judges said they could imagine a positive reception.
"Look at Riverdance," judge Piers Morgan said. "I mean that's a form of clogging. It's one of the biggest shows in the world."
The Fab 5, five sisters raised in Peterson, Utah, have competed four times now and are one of 10 acts in the finals. The group will perform again in a two-hour broadcast starting at 7 p.m. Monday on KSL Channel 5. The show's ultimate winner will be announced at the end of another two-hour broadcast, starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Judge Sharon Osbourne talked in glowing terms about specific singers in the finals, but Morgan said he thought the finals were a little "singer top-heavy."
"I think it's important for the show that we continue to attract very strong variety acts," he said.
Osbourne said she is proud that "America's Got Talent" showcases variety acts such as the Fab 5.
"I love what they do," she said, of the cloggers. "It's somewhat a dying art, if you like, and then to see five really gorgeous young women, dancing so beautifully, it's fantastic.... We give them a stage, and that's what we're all about. We are different to every other talent show."
The Fab 5, known during their childhood as the Fab 5 Whitear Sisters, are Veva Ahlstrom, 24; Cambria Gibson, 28; Ayrion Myers, 31, Shaundalee Morgan, 33; and LaChere Vawdrey, 35. All are married, with children. Two remain in Morgan County, two live in Idaho, and one resides in Arizona.
During the group's last appearance on the show, on Sept. 2, judges were trying to decide whether to award the last of the night's four spots in the finals to the Fab 5 or to a sibling gospel group.
Osbourne, Morgan and the third judge, David Hasselhoff, appeared to be stumped, then announced in the show's final moments that both groups would advance.
Asked whether that dramatic moment was staged, the judges said no.
"We went through a lot in just a few minutes," Osbourne said. "Nobody wanted to make a choice, and it's like, 'Hey, we're not going to do this.' We felt they both added so much to the show and that they should go along, hopefully to be in the finals. They both deserved it, so it was nothing, you know, preplanned."
Morgan and Osbourne said the competition is still anybody's game. The winner gets $1 million and the opportunity to perform in Las Vegas.
"You might see the Fab 5 suddenly putting on the best dance routine of their lives," Morgan said. "(Comedian) Grandma Lee might bring down the house, like a new version of Joan Rivers."
But win or lose, Morgan said, the show has the power to change performers' lives and enhance their careers.
"If you get our shot on the show, you're going to get 12 million, 13 million Americans laughing with you, crying with you, celebrating, whatever it is. Don't take it too seriously. It is entertainment, it's show business, and there are very few losers."
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