A Wild Card to Fill Last Spot on AMERICA’S GOT TALENT Season 17 Live Shows!

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A Wild Card to Fill Last Spot on AMERICA’S GOT TALENT Season 17 Live Shows!

Pictured: (l-r) Auzzy Blood, Howie Mandel -- Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC

After a ten-week process, it was down to the very last day of “America’s Got Talent” season 17 auditions for contestants in front of the panel of judges – Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, and Sofia Vergara.   Simon told the audience to behave as badly as they wanted!  Howie Mandel was still out on sick leave for the last day.

The Scoop on Howie Mandel’s Absence this season. Full Article HERE!

This episode takes viewers through the last phase of auditions, and provides a brief recap of all the Golden Buzzer acts this season.  Howie was back for the Judge Cuts, however, Sofia was missing!  After a few of the talent acts to go through were tough calls for the judges to decide, Simon decided to have it default to the fans who will choose the last act.

Howie said they’ve had better acts this season than previous seasons, and there’s a bar set higher than it’s ever been set.  Simon said “we have a real competition.”  Some of the acts this season easily won over judges who pulled at their heart strings, had a great personality, a Las Vegas marketability, or just had some pull from Simon’s son.  The first act of the night clearly reminded us of the oddities that come with some of the acts who audition for “America’s Got Talent.”

EMILY BLAND (Lip Syncer)

Pictured: Emily Bland — Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC

The first act up was Emily Bland from Northeast Arkansas.  Her act was anything but bland! She’s 29-years-old and works at a hotel.  Simon asked who was the worst guest?  She said she didn’t want to throw her mother under the bus.  Emily said her mother’s name is “Karen.”  Howie thought she was there to perform stand-up comedy because she was very funny.  But, Emily is actually a singer who looks up to Garth Brooks.

When she opened her mouth to sing, she sounded like a male.  It was hard to believe if she was really singing.  She looked like she was lip syncing.  Then her husband came out onto the stage and proved that, that was indeed the case.  Emily then lip synced to the judges.  Howie said she does improvisational lip syncing, which was very good.  Simon said he was very confused.  It was the first time he voted “question mark.”  The other three judges voted “yes.”   Emily moved on to the next round.

MIND 2 MIND  (Mentalists)

James said he and his wife Marina are mentalists.  She was backstage with Terry Crews getting prepared for their act.Together 5 years, married just over a year.  He said they connected very quickly over their first date.  They were there to display “long distance mind reading,” he said.  His wife was standing outside of the auditorium with host Terry Crews.  James got permission to join the judges.  He asked for Sofia’s phone.  His wife asked him to touch the back of the phone which allowed her to send him the remaining battery percentage  – 49%.  She was correct!

Marina asked the audience to write down “positive, personal memories” and were asked to pass the memories down.  They said there’s nothing that can form a stronger connection than a powerful shared memory.  There were a lot of audience participants.  A member of the crew collected their papers.  Then the audio was disconnected from Marina’s feed.  Heidi was asked to fill-in.  She opened an envelope to read to herself.  Heidi was asked to close her eyes and live the memory.  She had to imagine sending the memory straight to Marina.  She got it correct.  It was a memory of a child sitting on her father’s shoulders seeing the ocean for the first time.

Simon asked, “how did that just happen?  It was unbelievable.”  Sofia called it fascinating and mysterious.  Heidi reacted that she was gobsmacked.  “It’s wild.”  Howie agreed and he loved the presentation and liked the fact that Marina did it outside.  Howie voted “yes.”  Heidi, Sofia, and Simon all said “yes.”

 

AUBREY BURCHELL (Singer)

Aubrey is a 21-year-old singer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania whose day job is working at Target.  She said she sings during her breaks to keep herself sane.  Aburey was diagnosed with Level 1 Autism.  She wants to show others with autism that they can follow their passion.   After her soulful vocal performance, Aubrey cried over the audience’s overwhelming positive reaction.

Heidi reacted that Aubrey really has a fantastic voice.  Howie, who is diagnosed with ADHD and OCD, said just showing-up is a feat in itself.  Simon said the fact that you made that song your version was “absolute genius.”  He said it was a perfect song.  Simon finished with “We are just witnessing someone’s career skyrocketing.”  Sofia said everything is perfect and America is going to fall in love with her.  “You have a chance to win this competition.” She got all “yes” votes.

 

The LADS (Acrobatic Gymnastics)

Jack and Thiago make up the act called “the LADS.” They’re a hand-to-hand balance act.  Their dream is to do a resident show in Las Vegas.  Jack said if they won, they’d give back to their families who’ve spoiled them a lot.  The smaller of the two men, Thiago, balanced on top of Jack’s head.  He also did this while Jack walked from the stage and down the stairs over to in front of the judges.  An incredibly difficult stunt.  However, two of the judges were not impressed by this.

Howie said it takes incredible strength.  The most difficult thing that they saw was when they left the stage and walked over to them.  Simon agreed with Howie.  He said he could understand how difficult it was, but thought it moved slowly.  Simon voted “no” because he’s seen a similar act that was better than theirs.  Heidi and Sofia voted “yes.”  It was up to Howie for the deciding vote.  Howie said their act was not explosive and wasn’t a “wow.”  The audience chanted that they wanted the men to go through.  Howie still voted “no.”  The audience booed him.  Simon stood behind Howie and said they have seen better acts.  So, it was a final “no” for the LADS.

 

PENNY STARR SR. (Dancer) 

Pictured: Penny Starr Sr. — Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC

Penny is an elderly woman, 88-years-old who’s been dancing her entire life.  She had six husbands.  Penny said they’re all dead.  Simon offered his condolences and asked if she’s looking for another one? She answered “yes” but she has to break them in.  Penny did a fun and revealing dance as she pulled-off layers of clothing.  Sofia said she would like to be her when she’s older.  Simon asked if she continued on the show, “will more clothes come off?”  Penny said “yes.”

 

MR. MOO SHAKES (Instrumental Act)

This contestant came fully dressed in a cow costume.  His talent was playing the drums which were buckets to “Baby Got Back” song.  Simon reacted “that was unexpected.”  Howie said the first thought that came to mind was Vegas.  Heidi said most drummers can do this.  Simon disagreed.  Sofia thought he was going to do something else with those buckets.  Howie liked it because it was “fun, funny and the skill was there.”  Sofia gave him a “yes.”  Heidi voted “no.”  Simon said he likes things that are silly and fun and his son Eric is going to love him.   It was a “yes” vote from Simon, and Mr.  Moo Shakes went through to the next round.

 

BAY TURNER (Singer)

Bay is a young singer from Houston, Texas who’s been singing since the age of five or six. His parents got divorced when he was a kid.  Bay said music brought joy to him when he was sad.  Although he trained for Opera in New York, Opera didn’t speak to him as an artist.  Bay said he thinks he can win the whole show and wants it to change his life.   Bay wants to sell-out at the biggest arenas around the world.

Bay told the judges that music has always been a safe place for him.  He had surgery on two benign tumors in his chest.  The anesthesiologist niced his vocal chord. He’s been trying to get his voice back to where it was and his AGT audition was his first public performance since then.   Bay sounded absolutely incredible.
Simon reacted that it was really good and he has a really “good tone.”  He thinks people are going to like Bay.  Howie said we don’t only hear you singing, “we feel you singing.”  Heidi said she loved his voice, especially the high notes, and there’s something special about him.  Sofia said Bay was very nervous at the beginning but when he started singing, all the nervousness was gone.  Bay got all “yes” votes.

Simon said they have very few places for the finals.  It was Terry’s birthday and they brought him out a birthday cake.

 

WAFFLE (Dance Crew)

Waffle is an act of five young people from Tokyo, Japan who told the judges their talent is double dutch.  They danced their way through jumping large ropes.Simon reacted that he loved them. “It just got better and better, and better.”  Sofia called them so perfect and in sync.  Heidi liked that they went so fast and kept changing it up.

NEGUIN (Dancer/Stunts)

Neguin is from Brazil and lives in New York.  He told the judges that what they’re about to see will blow their minds.  He explained that he does jitsu, break dancing and martial arts.  He amazed the judges and audience with the incredible jumps and twists his body could do.  Simon liked that he’s an act that he’s going to remember.  It was an overall “yes” from all the judges.

UNREAL CREW (Dance Crew)

Pictured: Unreal Crew — Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC

They’ve been dancing together for 3-4 years.  Their act was intricate dancing that was a type of bollywood that combined their bodies making different shapes.  Sofia called it “unreal” and she wouldn’t change a thing.  Heidi said it was never boring and she also loved the comedy.  Simon said the timing was unbelievable.  He’s never seen an act like this and it was brilliant.

DAVID SNYDER (Piano Player)

David displayed his talent as an extremely gifted piano player.  Sofia said the way he was feeling what he was doing made it really special about his performance.  He got three “yes” votes.

CAMILLE K. (Singer-Songwriter)

Camille is 16-years-old from New Jersey.  She said she’s seen so many other amazing talents come onto the show and has had great things happen.   She wants to spread joy and love through her music and tell her story.   When she was part way through her audition, Simon stopped her and told her that she needs to do something more stand-out.  Camille agreed to perform an original song and started again.

Simon reacted that the word “beautiful” came to mind.  Heidi said Camille has the whole package.  Sofia said her voice was more than beautiful, it was spectacular.  Simon told her that it’s all about finding the song that defines her, and “that is the key.”  She got three “yes” votes from the judges.

THE NERVELESS NOCKS (Stunt)

“The Nerveless Nocks” is made up of stunt duo father and daughter – Angelina and Michelangelo.  Their family has been performing since 1840.  They performed on top of 80-foot towering sway poles.  They met Simon on “America’s Got Talent Extreme.” After Michelangelo got sick, they weren’t able to compete in the finals of AGT Extreme.  So, the came onto AGT to perform on these tall poles high above the stage without safety nets or padding below them.

Heidi said her hands are wet, she’s slightly sea sick.  They leave them wanting more and she wants to see what else they have.  Sofia said it was spectacular. Simon said what’s’ so amazing is that they look normal, but they’re not.  He said there was something going on up there and he asked about it.  Michelangelo said he could see that Angelia was getting tired and he encouraged her to keep going.

JUDGE CUTS:

Out of 138 “America’s Got Talent” (AGT) acts that the judges – Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, and Sofia Vergara, said “yes” to, they had to choose less than half to go through to the Live Shows which start this Tuesday, August 9th.

ALL 54 AGT Acts Going to the Live Shows HERE!

Normally they have 36 acts on AGT.  This year, the show will have 55 acts toral.   The deliberations took place in Malibu at Simon’s house.  Sofia couldn’t be there, but gave them a huge bedazzled binder of her notes.

Golden Buzzer Acts: The Golden Buzzer acts are the acts going straight to the Live Shows automatically.  The first Golden Buzzer act of the season was sax player  Avery Dixon, Terry’s Golden Buzzer.  Terry said he knew that there was a connection between them.   Avery reminded him of himself when he was young.  Simon said the Golden Buzzers resonated more this season than past seasons.

Simon said some artists walk out with what he calls “a glow.”   Simon’s Golden Buzzer was singer Sara James.  She’s from Poland and is 13-years-old.  Simon predicts that she’ll be a big star.  Simon said he was reminded of when he came out to America for the first time, 20 plus years ago. “That was a moment I’ll never forget.” He wanted to make it memorable for her as well.  Billie Eilish retweeted her performance.

Howie’s Golden Buzzer was eleven-year-old singer Madison Tayler Baez.  Howie predicted that Madison could win this whole thing.

Sofia’s Golden Buzzer was a special dance act from Arabia the Mayyas.  Sofia said the moment that she saw the Mayyas, she knew they were special.  Dancing is such a special part of their culture and who they are.  To be able to showcase it on AGT was amazing.

Heidi’s Golden Buzzer was singer Lily Meola  Heidi had promised herself that she wasn’t going to pick a singer.  But, when Lily came on, she knew she was different and she fell in love with her.

Chapel Hart was all of the judges Golden Buzzer.  They sang Country.  Simon said he loves people with big personalities and “they were so much fun.”  They got the judges’ special Golden Buzzer which required all four judges and host to push the button.

Pictured: Chapel Hart  — Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC

Simon said he could see the 55 acts.  But, there’s no way all the judges are going to agree.  They’re going to have to battle it out.  Since Sofia wasn’t there, Terry Crews reminded the rest of the judges which acts were her favorites.

When the judges couldn’t decide, Simon called a voting Wild Card for the last spot.  That means that the Live Shows will go on with 54 acts, and the last act will be chosen by America’s votes to fill that last spot.

The four acts that will compete for that spot are:

Ben Waites, Debbii Dawson, Auzzy Blood, and Jordan Conley

Pictured: (l-r) Auzzy Blood, Howie Mandel — Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC

“America’s Got Talent” season 17 Live Shows start airing Tuesday, August 9th at 8 pm PT.

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