Halfway through Season 9, the competition on NBC's America's Got Talent has certainly been heating up.

Quarterfinals Lead To Some Brutal Cuts On 'America's Got Talent'

Wednesday's round of eliminations put the last five performers in the semifinals. The cello rock brothers Emil and Dariel, musician Jonah Smith, young singer Quintavious Johnson, magician Smoothini, and singer Kelli Glover got a big relief when they made it through.

The achievement was a particularly sweet win for New Jersey native Glover, who made it onto the series in 2009 only to be cut during the show's infamous "Judgment Week". Glover has referred to that defeat as the "darkest time" of her life and was incredibly thrilled to make it through as the judge's pick Wednesday night.

Exciting New Acts Rise From 'Obscurity' On 'America's Got Talent'

On Tuesday she had performed Alicia Keys' If I Ain't Got You in a glamorous, shimmering gown and a powerful, emotional voice to match.

"You were beautiful, you sounded beautiful, and you taught everybody never give up," said judge Howie Mandel.

Unfortunately, the advancement of some meant the end of the line for others. Circus performer Jonathan Riquelme, contortionist Nina Burris, The Methuen, Extreme, Dom the Nom's Triple Threat, and the endearing One-Voice Children's Choir all sayd their goodbyes.

According to Variety on Wednesday, the series continues to receive top ratings for Tuesday nights, though program's audience is generally older this year than in 2013.

America's Got Talent moves forward on NBC next week with the semifinals on Tuesday, August 26.

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