{alltv} Who's got 'Talent'? It could be any one of these four finalists

After thousands of auditions and weeks of performances, NBC's America's Got Talent is down to four acts competing for the Season 5 crown. Tonight (9 ET/PT), three singers and a novelty group seemingly destined for Las Vegas perform for a final time, with a winner to be crowned following Wednesday's two-hour finale (8 p.m. ET/PT). USA TODAY talks to the four finalists ahead of tonight's performances.

Jackie Evancho

The angelic 10-year-old with the preternaturally mature voice came late to AGT, among 12 performers selected for an August show based on YouTube video submissions. Evancho's operatic performances have wowed viewers ever since. "I don't know where it comes from," Evancho says. "It's just a gift from God, I think."

Evancho discovered a singing ability after watching Phantom of the Opera as a 7-year-old in Lincoln Township, Pa. She has performed at local talent concerts and Pittsburgh Pirates games. No matter how she does tonight, Evancho — who released the album Prelude to a Dream in November and will perform at Carnegie Hall's Christmas Carol show in December — hopes to make singing a career.

"I really haven't figured out a plan, but I would like to do concerts and stuff," she says. For now, the fifth-grader — whose performances have pulled in nearly 20 million YouTube views — is looking forward to going home.

"I'll be glad when this is over. There's a lot of stuff to concentrate on."

Fighting Gravity

Part Kabuki theater, part Blue Man Group, Fighting Gravity features 13 Virginia Tech fraternity brothers who have forgone their fall semester to compete on AGT.

"The worst part was letting down our parents," says Gregg Curtin, a senior from Falls Church, Va. "But we all think we're learning life skills about teamwork and time management that you can't learn in school."

Like Jackie Evancho and Prince Poppycock, Fighting Gravity was discovered virally, after five original group members performed at a campus talent show. Their subsequent AGT performances have featured crowd-pleasing, over-the-top choreographed moves that the competition's judges say are ideal for the big Las Vegas show venues that all four final acts hope to secure.

Fighting Gravity already has received an offer to play Vegas' Hard Rock Cafe on New Year's Eve.

"We're still debating it," Curtin says. "But we're focusing on things one day at a time."

The choreography and lighting — done without professional help — is all-consuming. "It can be incredibly draining, working 14-hour days," he says.

Michael Grimm

Bluesy singer Grimm didn't make it through an early round of America's Got Talent last year. He auditioned again this year to honor his grandparents, Tom and Laura Butters, who raised him but are still reeling after losing their southern Mississippi home to Hurricane Katrina.

"I'm surprised and grateful to make it this far," says Grimm, who began singing and playing guitar at local bars at age 12. He's spent the past decade working smallish restaurants and lounges in Las Vegas.

His biggest pre-AGT gig? Opening for rock band Heart in 2006.

"Nothing compares to this show," says Grimm, 30, a self-described nerd whose interests include everything from stamp collecting to panning for gold with his girlfriend, Lucie.

AGT is opening potential offers, including recording deals and offers to play larger venues.

"Everything I've been working for my whole life, it's been an uphill climb. I see the summit in front of me. I'm almost there," he says. If he wins, Grimm plans to buy a home for his grandparents: "Hopefully this will get me to the point where I can do something for them."

Prince Poppycock

The flamboyant, over-the-top alter ego of John Quale is part performance artist, part opera singer, a persona developed for a 2006 nightclub gig.

AGT producers found a Poppycock performance on the Internet and encouraged him to audition. Since widespread exposure on summer's top-rated series, the campy character has gained fans "from little kids to grandmothers," he says. "The huge outpouring of love has been incredible."

Quale isn't talking about how he'll top last week's semifinals performance, a Liberace-fused homage to Uncle Sam.

"Hopefully it will be a fitting finale performance for this crazy journey that Poppycock has gone on," says Quale, 32.

The Los Angeles store clerk, normally shy and reserved, undergoes a massive personality change as Poppycock. "I can be dark and withdrawn at times, but when I am Poppycock, I can make fun of myself in a way that people can join in on."

Post- AGT, Quale hopes to record a second album and perform stage shows. "Offers have started to come in, but I need to be focused on (tonight)."