The last episode of “America’s Got Talent” season 18 auditions had a nice variety of talent which ended with the judges giving an act the group Golden Buzzer.  There was one particular act whose persistence proved to pay off.

A dance act from Japan was inspired to audition after watching the Mayyas from last season who won.  There were two dog acts. One was really inspirational, and the other was a cutesy no-go.  Viewers also saw really talented gymnasts, balancers, magic, comedians, and a danger act. One act was three rolled into one. 

Simon advised auditioning acts to not “hold anything back.  You always, always, always come out with your BEST performance.”

IMPROV EVERYWHERE (Variety Act) 

Pictured: Improv Everywhere — Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC

Wesley is 36 years old.  He works in tech for a small hotel chain. He was super nervous as he talked to the judges and told them his act was going to be singing and playing the piano.  Right from the start, Wesley didn’t sound too bad.  But, the audience started booing him, then Howie used his “x” buzzer.  Simon told him to stop.  Then an “audience” member started singing to give him another chance.  

It turned out numerous people were acting as part of the audience but were all part of a musical theater group.  The UCLA choir popped up in the mezzanine.  Then a marching band came out down the isles.  After their audition, Wesley told everyone that his name is actually Eric Gershin and he’s a music composer and music director of Improv Everywhere.  The creator, Charlie, was on stage with them.  Howie said he remembers them from when they used to do Flash Mobs everywhere.

Heidi reacted that she loved the camera man’s fart jokes and the whole thing was fun.  Sofia said the band was spectacular.  She said she wished she was more surprised but she knew something was up because of the “bad acting.’  Simon said he was surprised, he loved the song choice and actually liked the audition. Sofia voted “no.”  Heidi wanted to see what else they can do and voted “yes.”  Simon also voted “yes.”  It was up to Howie.  He said it was more of a party act.  He was on the fence, and said “no.”  

DUO DADIVA (Balancers)

Emila and Alexander are a couple from Cuba and currently living in France.  They really want to work in Las Vegas and had been working on their act for the past three years. They told the judges they planned to do a balancing act on a roller bolo.  Alexander balanced himself while holding up Emila in the air.  Then she balanced on top of his head upside down.  Sofia called it “amazing” and spectacular.

Simon found it “boring.”  Heidi had “kinda mixed feelings about it.”  Howie agreed with Sofia and called it beautiful.  Sofia gave them their first “yes.”  Simon said “no.”  Howie voted “yes.”  It was up to Heidi Klum’s vote if they went through.  She gave them a third “yes’ to put them through.  Simon still seemed sour about the first act and told the judges that “today we are not on the same page.”

AHMED BHAROOCHA (Comedian)

The next act to come out was a comedian. His jokes were about ants.  “You never see an ant taking a break.”  Howie, Sofia and Heidi “loved it.” Simon didn’t like it and voted “no.”  

DARAGH and DEXTER (Dog Act)

Pictured: Daragh and Dexter — Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC

Then a dog act came out.  They were from Denver.  Simon noted that Dexter didn’t look too excited.  Deragugh balanced an apple on his head, followed by a basketball, and waffles.  Howie said he was bored with it because it was the same trick over and over but with different objects.  The dog got up and sat back down with his back facing Howie.  Everyone laughed.  Simon said his dog is a natural comedian. He voted “yes.”  Heidi said it wasn’t enough, so she voted “no.”  Sofia voted “yes.”  Howie had the deciding vote.  It was a “no” vote from Howie. 

DONOVYN DIAZ (Dancer)

Donovyn said he’s been dancing since the age of four years old.  He’s also a gymnast.  When he needed a scholarship for college, that’s when he started dancing again.  His audition was a contemporary routine.   After his audition, Sofia reacted that his mom is going to be so proud.  Howie noted that people in the audience had tears, “people felt it.” Heidi called it “beautiful” and he has “style” about him. Simon told Donovyn that he controlled the stage, he loved the music, the choreography.  “You are a total star.”   He got four “yes” votes. 

PAPAYASO (Clown)

Papayaso is  a Spanish-speaking clown from Chile.  He told Sofia that his talent is doing impressions.  The first one was an elephant, then a dog.  But, they were ill received.  Then his impression of Jason Statham made the audience perk up.  Then he did David Attenborough which was also very good, and he made it a joke about himself.  His last impression was of Simon Cowell. “I don’t mean to be rude.  But, I’ve seen funnier clowns in horror films.”  He got a standing ovation.

Sofia told him that was “amazing.” A very big surprise.  Howie said “you are a moment and you are a  surprise.” He called him one of the best impressionist that he’s ever heard.  Heidi loved how happy he was with himself after his jokes went well, that it made her laugh too.  Simon didn’t know what to say and started laughing.  Then said he’s never seen or met a funny clown.  He may be the first one. Papa got four “yes” votes. 

HEATHER & BOGART (Dog Act)

She rescued Bogart from a kill shelter.  He never got adopted, so she took him home. He had “wild puppy energy.” So they took him to obedience class where he excelled. Then, Bogart had a cancerous growth on his leg. They had to amputate his leg.  He went through a deep depression afterwards.  Heather said she wanted to show how dogs can go through anything and bounce back.

Heidi predicted that Bogart is going to be “a big hit” on the show and didn’t even realize that he has three legs because of how he moves about. Simon said he loves Bogart, and Heather is such a nice, kind person to rescue him.  He loved the audition.  Sofia said she was so happy because this is the place to show the world how she is and it was inspiring.  Howie started talking, and Bogart layed down.  They all voted “yes” for the act.  

MORGAN & ROXI (Gymnasts)

Morgan and Roxy both currently live in London and met nine weeks ago. Originally, her partner was supposed to be there with her, but was hired by Cirque du Soleil.  The finale of their act was Morgan hoisting Roxi up by her hair with a mouth bit.

Howie said it was amazing that they’ve been doing it for only nine weeks.  Heidi said it’s the kind of act that she loves. Sofia said it was exciting and beautiful. It looked like they were having the best time.  Simon said he likes them and there was a chance that it could have gone wrong.  It wasn’t perfect, but “that’s what made it so great.”  

JOSH ALFRED (Book Speed Reader)

Josh is from Nigeria and is 32-years-old.  He said his talent is doing something that they’ve never seen.  He speed reads.  Sofia asked him, “do you think you can win a million dollars?”  Josh blew through the pages while speaking gibberish.  Simon called it “pointless.”  Heidi asked him how is this an act?  He said “it’s been read.”  The judges all voted “no.”   Josh told them they are making a mistake.  Backstage Josh told Terry Crews that he’ll keep coming back.

TITOS TSAI (Danger Act)

Pictured: Titos Tsai — Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC

Titos is 30-years old and from Taiwan.  He said he would like a “big wedding” for his wife if he wins the million dollars.  His act was dancing with swords as he shimmed them across and around his body.  It almost looked like a “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” kind of moves.  When he was done, the room roared with cheers and a standing ovation.

Heidi called it “mesmerizing.”  She called it incredible.  Sofia said she couldn’t imagine the amount of hours that he put into his talent.  Howie said when Titos said he was going to do something beautiful and dangerous, he described it perfectly.  Simon called it very dramatic and exciting.  He asked what his dream was.  Titos said his dream is to “stand here.”  He watched AGT to see how to perform.   Titos got four “yes” votes.  Titos told Crews that he finished his dream, but he will have his next dream.

EDUARDO (Singer)

Eduardo just turned eleven-years-old and is a singer with his mariachi band.  He said he’s been performing his whole life.  Eduardo wore his mariachi costume, and told the judges he’s a mariachi soloist that he’s been doing since he was three.  He was inspired by his great grandfather who was also a singer.  Eduardo’s band joined him on stage.  He displayed a very strong note and could hold out his notes very long.  

Sofia reacted that she loved it and was “amazing.”  Heidi loved how he dragged out the notes. Howie said he knows nothing about mariachi music, and he really enjoyed it.  Simon said he absolutely loved it.  He was surprised that he was singing like that and he has a natural born talent.  Simon called him a natural lead singer.   Eduardo got four “yes” votes. 

JRis (Rapper)

Pictured: Josh Alfred — Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC

He’s the fastest rapper in the world.  JR was spewing really fast gibberish without really saying anything.  JR got buzzed by Heidi and Sofia.  Simon said he couldn’t understand any of it. All the judges said “no.”  JR told the judges that they made a mistake.  It was Jr’s second time on the stage and the judges were really annoyed.

KEVIN LI (Magician)

Pictured: (l-r) Sofia Vergara, Simon Cowell, Kevin Li — Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC

Kevin is 25-years-old from Rowland Heights, California.  As a kid, he didn’t make many friends in school, so magic was everything. He’s been doing magic since he was a kid and he said having a Vegas residency “is the epitome of success.”

Kevin presented a board of photos of the judges, Terry Crews, and himself.  He said photos help capture the core memories that we have.  “We share a lot of the same core memories.  Mostly from our childhood.” He had them “unlock” some of those same core memories that many people share, in the form of photos inside of a card box.  The photo that Heidi picked was a photo of people eating popcorn in a movie theater.

Kevin had Heidi touch his finger with his.  He was able to guess the movie popcorn.  Then, Sofia gave him a fake popcorn. Kevin said it was a kernel, then pulled a real popcorn kernel out of his eye.  When Kevin heated up the card box, a bunch of popcorn was dumped out.  He said when we focus a lot on the future that we forget about the memories that made us who we are today. He held his shirt in front of the board of photos, then when he took it down, the images turned into photos of the judges, himself and Terry Crews as children. 

Li got a standing ovation.  Heidi told him that she loves his magic and loves him.  Heidi ‘s favorite part was the kernel coming out of his eye.  Sofia said it was spectacular and he was in such control.  Simon said he’s just “good, and you’re cool, and you’re different.” He continued,  “I can tell how much this means to you.”  He really liked Li.  Howie said, the story that he tells of himself as a kid watching AGT.  It’s a full circle moment.  Howie said, “You just had a career and life-changing performance.”  It was “yes” votes from all the judges.

“Terry Fine Jay” (Josh Alfred again)

Terry (who was really Josh again) said he does magic.  He had a deck of cards and called them all out.  He asked Howie what was his birth month. It was November.  Terry said he would pick his exact birth month. Howie said that would be really amazing.  Then “Terry Fine Jay” pulled out a ten.  He said ten plus one…that’s eleven!  

Then he called Terry Crews out onto the stage and said he was going to control his mind.  He told Terry to wave, smile, and frown.  “I controlled his mind.”  The audience laughed.  Simon thought it was funny. Sofia said he’s funny but he’s not for AGT. 

Simon told him, “you are hilarious” and gave him four “yes” aside from the three other judges x buzzers against him. Then he started rapping again.  Simon asked, “Do you have a second song?”  He said yes and started with the obnoxious fake rapping again.

CHIBI UNITY (Dance Group)

Chibi Unity is from Japan.  Burton said when he saw the Mayyas, the champions, from last year he thought, we have to get on AGT.  Simon said he thought the Mayyas were the best dance act that they’ve ever had.  He asked if their act was better.  He answered please looking forward to their act. 

Howie reacted that the dance category this season is “off the charts”  but they took it to another level. The emotion that comes out of their dancing is inspirational.  He would love to see an hour show of them in Las Vegas.

Heidi loved it because it was “unexpected.” The music, the changes of outfits.  She said it was dynamic, and “it was so good.’  Sofia said she got goosebumps and called it the best dancing she’s seen in her life. “The perfect AGT audition.” 

Simon said he wasn’t thinking just about dance.  It was so powerful, so original, so incredible.  “I mean amazing.”  Then Simon looked at the other judges and said I think right now we’re all thinking the same thing.  He called Terry Crews to come join the judges. The audience starting chanting “Golden Buzzer. Golden Buzzer!”  They got the Group Golden Buzzer and going straight to the Live Shows. Simon told them they are going to make this season “very, very special.”  

That was the last audition of season 18. The Live shows are next.

Pictured: Chibi Unity — Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC