After countless weeks of auditions and listening to Howie Mandel remind us how many acts are going through, we finally have our top 10. Finally, America’s Got Talent season 12 is in its home stretch and the grand prize and title are within spitting distance. Next week the contestants will be going head-to-head, but does the final round of competition basically seem like a formality in the coronation of the obvious and inevitable winner? While the judges would likely argue that the competition is wide open and that “America needs to vote!,” the answer is yes.

The contestant have fought long and hard to get to this point, and for that they should be commended. However, I see a clear divide in the talent between the acts that actually have a shot of winning, and those that will simply be a number to go home. Putting aside the obvious ringer in the mix, I see four potential winners with everyone else appearing as unlikely candidates to be showered in confetti at the coronation.

In order to share my opinions of the contestants and how I see the results playing out, I broke down my thoughts into power rankings, which you can check out below. The likely results seem pretty cut and dry, but I gave each contestant a fair review and analysis. Let me know if you agree with my points, or think I’m way off with something.

10- Diavolo (Dance And Acrobatics Crew)– The fact that this group almost didn’t make it to the finale is both shocking, and telling for their inevitable placing. Diavolo pulled out all the stops at their last performance and yet still almost went home. No amount of judges praise or standing ovations, I think, is going to help them make the top 5 at this point, which is a shame because I do think they are very talented. While their performances haven’t really resonated with me, I can appreciate the talent and effort these dancers have put into making their act work.

9- Chase Gohering (Singer)– Chase has had a rough road to make it to the finale. While I think he is a talent musician and songwriter, I just see no scenario where he cracks the top 5. 6th place is likely his best case result, but beyond that would be quite a shocker. Fans on social media have already been taking issue with the lyrics of his songs and his apparent persona as a “nice guy,” so my suggestion to Chase is to maybe try a cover song for his next performance. I know it goes against all of my principles suggesting a singer on AGT perform a cover, but in Chase’s case I think it will save him from himself and potentially ruining a post-show image. Either he could do that, or just say “fuck it” and pimp another original song for post-show sales. He’s not going to win, so at least that way he’d make some money.

8- Kechi Okwuchi (Singer) – Kechi is a fine singer and has quite the heartwarming story, but I just think she is out of her league in this pool of talent. There are much more appealing acts that I feel people are more likely to vote for, which is casting foreboding storm clouds on her placing. Still, I feel she gave it her all and should be very proud of her run on this season.

7- Evie Clair (Singer)– Evie and Kechi are basically interchangeable on my list, but I just feel like between the two more people are likely to vote for her. I recently heard the news of her father’s passing, and I just want to say that my heart goes out to her and her family. I hope that she can find comfort during what I assume to be one of the worst possible experiences a person can go through. If she does choose to perform at the finale, I hope she will honor her father with a moving performance that shows off her beautiful voice.

6- Sara and Hero (Dog Act)– It’s really amazing how Sam and Hero nearly didn’t make it through the audition rounds, yet here they are a few months later at the finale. People seem to love these two, and I think their “awww”ness factor is going to keep them out of the bottom three. There is no way I see them winning though, and I don’t see much they can do to improve their chances of cracking the top 5. As a result, I suggest they just go all out and have a blast with their final performance.

5- Light Balance (Light-Up Dance Group)– I really like these guys, and am continually impressed with their performances. The ability and skill of their craft is the most impressive of all the acts in the top 10, and I personally think they are the most talented based simply on raw talent. With the way the show is going I don’t seem them winning, but they have provided us with incredible entertainment, which I think will be reflected in their high placing. My hat’s off to you guys, you had one hell of a run.

4- Angelica Hale (Singer)– I really underestimated this girl going into the live rounds, but every performance she’s given has really impressed me! The fact that she has amassed herself such large and passionate following leaves me thinking she has an outside chance of taking home the title. I think that happening is a bit unlikely, but I will acknowledge that there is a small chance. Angelica has given her all to this season, and for that I think she should be very proud of herself.

3- Preacher Lawson (Comedian)– This guy is absolutely hilarious. Next to Taylor Williamson, Preacher may be one of my favorite comedians to ever be on this show (at least since I started watching). There is a slight chance he might take the win, but in doing so he would also be the catalyst of the greatest upset of the season. I love Preacher and would fully support him winning, but I just don’t see it happening. The fact that he has expressed on social media that he is aware that he is, at best, playing for second place after Darci shows a great amount of self-awareness that is unprecedented in typical AGT acts. I wish him all the best with his future projects.

2- Mandy Harvey (Singer)– If Darci doesn’t end up winning this season, the next most likely winner is Mandy. With her moving story and great talent, she is basically the total package on this show. Mandy would be a fitting bookend to this season, and while I see Darci beating her handily, of all the contestants I think is the one with the best chance of pulling out an upset. I won’t say there isn’t a small part of me rooting for her.

1- Darci Lynne (Singing Ventriloquist)– I called she would be the winner from her audition, and I still stand by my opinion. A clear ringer from the beginning, Darci is this season’s iteration of Grace Vanderwaal and is hands down our most likely winner. Receiving the benefits of producer’s bias, I don’t see anyone really stopping. Her coronation seems more like a certainty than a question. Producer’s agenda aside though, I still feel that if she does win she still will have earned it, as each of her performances have been nothing short of incredible. If I were her, I’d be spending a lot of time thinking up ways of how to spend a million dollars.

And that’s how I rank the top 10! As for my predictions, I see the winner coming from any of the acts I’ve listed in my top 4. If I was a betting man though, I’d be putting the farm and all of my money on Darci being the one crowned next week. She’s been the front-runner all season, and I’m getting the feeling the producers have an agenda to see her take the win. That’s not to say she’d be an underserving winner, quite the opposite rather, she’s an incredibly gifted girl and would be a fitting representation of the season as the winner. What I am trying to say though, is she basically had the same trajectory as Grace Vanderwaal; always at the top and never really challenged. If she does end up winning, this season basically will have been a victory march for her so that she could win and be signed, thus making the producers lots of money because of how marketable she is. All season long I felt like she has been incredibly favored by producers, and I just hope in the future they are more ambiguous with the ones they are pulling for.

So there are my predictions, what are yours? Which contestants do you think have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning, and who are you rooting for? Will I be eating crow next week when Darci loses in the upset of the season? Let me know in the comments below.

Until we meet again in another post, later! 🙂

-Adam