Here we are – after endless auditions, Howie vs Piers bickering, Nick Cannon’s good-natured hamminess and a whole lot of hyperbole – the America’s Got Talent finale is upon us!

As you doubtless know, 4 acts remain: lounge singer Landau Eugene Murphy Jr, glow in the dark dance act Team illuminate, teen pop group PopLyfe and shadow dance act Silhouettes. But who will the million dollar prize and a ‘headlining slot’ at Vegas?

Here’s how I think the final four will pan out…

IN FOURTH PLACE: This one’s a bit of a no-brainer and the act themselves know it! PopLyfe were the only contender last night who really unperformed with a noisy and tuneless medley of the Queen classics, We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions, that had the judges grasping for faint praise. Sorry guys, America won’t be voting on the season so far – it really did come down to last night.

I still think the lead singer, Kehlani, is a bit of a budding star and could become the next Gwen Stefani down the line – but her vocals definitely weren’t at their best last night. Plus when Kehlani’s band-mates joined her in the final moments their own off-key vocals drowned her out. It wasn’t quite a train wreck but certainly won’t win the million-dollar prize. And that’s probably for the best. PopLyfe need to go off, grow a little in age and experience, and then come back and try to take on the music industry. I certainly wish them well.

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IN THIRD PLACE: Okay here’s where it starts to get tricky! Honestly the final three this year could go any way and I certainly wouldn’t want to place money on the results. But I’m really hoping that America comes to its senses and votes the horribly manipulative Silhouettes into third place.

To be fair, last night’s performance wasn’t as flag wavingly contrived as in previous weeks and there were some nice moments along the way. But Silhouettes’ big weakness for me is their continued insistence on creating ‘iconic’ shapes on stage that look nothing like the real thing – and then having said image projected on top, revealing just how weak the imagery really is. Over the last few weeks we’ve seen the Iwo Jima monument, The White House and even the Twin Towers recreated on stage and lapped up by the judges to unanimous praise!

So why won’t Silhouettes win? Well they well might – but though the act received the coveted, end of show ‘pimp’ slot last night it turned out to be a bit of a bad hand. Technical difficulties delayed the performance and over-ran the show, meaning Silhouettes didn’t get to air their pre-performance video package and also that anyone watching via DVR would have missed most of the act – and the voting numbers.

Plus I think Howie hit the nail on the head earlier in the evening. Audiences ARE more likely to vote for an individual than a large dance troupe who are largely faceless and unknown. Which also spells bad news for our second place finisher…

IN SECOND PLACE: Yep, sadly I have a feeling that one of my favorite acts this season are going to be taking the silver medal this year. Team iLuminate have given us some amazing performances and visuals and by rights should be this year’s winner.

But America’s Got Talent has always shown a heavy bias towards singers and I worry that the young and cool Team may be just too young and cool for the AGT audience.

Plus if I’m honest, I didn’t think last night’s performance was their best. Once again Team iLuminate suffered from a few malfunctioning lights and the routine as a whole was a bit manic and noisy, when I think emotional and beautiful was the way to go (but not pandering and mawkish like Silhouettes!) That hideous backing track certainly did the group no favors. Why not pick a well-known chart song to perform to, instead of a track that sounded like a Daft Punk reject?

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AND THE WINNER IS: Which leaves one act – Landau Eugene Murphy Jr – to collect the million dollar prize and that Vegas headlining gig.

The fact is, Landau has been consistent all season long, and last night’s performance of My Way was especially strong. He’s got a great back-story – car washer turned singer – and has grown in personality and confidence over the weeks. Plus Landau seems like a nice guy that people will root for.

Will he sell records? Potentially yes. Landau targets just the right AGT record buying audience – moms. If he plays his cards right he could absolutely score as the new Michael Buble, releasing hit Christmas records just like fellow Talent alumni Jackie Evancho and Susan Boyle. And he’s perfect for Vegas.

Now a warning… is a Murphy victory GOOD for America’s Got Talent?

On the one hand yes, as I think he could sell records – and therefore make Simon Cowell even more money. But here’s the rub. If Landau wins that will mean that 5 of the 6 AGT winners to date have been singers, meaning that essentially the show has become a singing contest. And to date none of the WINNERS have even had a sniff of significant chart success: Bianca Ryan (sold 150,000 copies of her debut), Neal E Boyd (6,000), Kevin Skinner (no sale figures) and Michael Grimm (22,000). Those are pretty grim stats. So if I was Simon Cowell I’d actually be hoping Landau doesn’t cruise to victory…

But what do you think? How do you think the final four will place? And will any of the finalists score significant long-term success?