Simon Cowell gets emotional with Mzansi Youth Choir
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Many performers have graced the “America’s Got Talent” stage over the years, but one thing remains constant: good talent never goes extinct.
Decked out in a full-body dinosaur costume, dancer Trex Flips kicked off the 18th season of the NBC talent competition Tuesday night, stunning judges Simon Cowell, Sofía Vergara, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel with ferocious charisma.
But Trex’s prehistoric getup didn’t make the best first impression with Vergara. “Is it bad that I already want to say no?” she said at the start of the audition.
The dynamic dancer quickly turned things around, however, eliciting cheers with nimble footwork that included multiple flips while in costume. “It’s amazing that you truly always land on your feet, even on a backflip like that,” Klum said.
Trex’s dancing prowess and zany stage presence proved to be a winning combination for Mandel.
“You are the ultimate surprise,” Mandel said. “You’re wearing a costume that every 11-year-old wore on Halloween. It’s not only the dancing, it’s the ability to flip in this costume.”
Trex earned four yeses from the judges in the end, advancing the dancer to the next round of the competition.
Here’s what else went down on Tuesday’s episode.
Steel Panther delivers metal magic with ‘brilliant’ audition
Heavy metal veterans Steel Panther know that a rock ‘n’ roll swagger never goes out of style.
The glam rock comedy band rocked the “AGT” stage with an electrifying performance of its original song “Eyes of a Panther,” taken from the band’s 2009 debut album “Feel the Steel.”
“I feel like I was just at the most amazing, shortest festival I’ve ever attended,” Mandel said. “This music needs to come back to the forefront, and you are here to bring it.”
Cowell wasn’t shy about singing the group’s praises either.
“It’s so clear that you’ve been doing this a long time because you don’t get good like this overnight,” Cowell said. “I could see this in Vegas. Everything about that audition was just brilliant.”
Steel Panther’s prowl for “AGT” victory continues, as the band earned four yeses.
Acrobat group Three G earns standing ovation with resilient audition
Three G, an acrobatic trio from Ukraine, is putting the ‘G’ in go-getter. The trio took on an ambitious sequence for its audition, with members interlocking their bodies for strikingly flexible poses and formations.
The rigor of the performance soon proved to be too much, however, as the acrobats stumbled and fell on a couple of strenuous stunts. Undeterred, the group’s members reassembled for another attempt, bringing the studio audience to complete silence. “This is insane,” Klum said.
Although the trio was unable to carry out its big finish after the acrobats fell another time, the group still earned a standing ovation from all four judges.
“We’ve seen balancing acts, but the moves that you were able to complete were far more dangerous, far more skilled than I have ever seen before,” Mandel said. “It doesn’t matter that you fell down. What matters is that you got up and you kept trying.”
Cowell appreciated the imperfections and resilience of the group’s audition.
“The act showed us more about you than anything else because lesser people would have just given up,” Cowell said. “I saw the determination on all three of your faces. It made (the performance) more human. … We saw enough to go, ‘This act belongs on this stage.’”
Three G will get to hit the “AGT” stage one more time. The group earned four yeses.
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Trigg Watson dazzles with ‘incredible’ magic act
Magician Trigg Watson doesn’t need any magic words, just the tap of a touchscreen.
Watson captivated the judges with a technological magic act, which saw the illusionist do several tricks with a large tablet, including placing a pair of sunglasses on a video of Mandel, pouring a simulation of orange juice onto the tablet’s screen and pulling out a pack of playing cards from the tablet.
“I have never seen anything more amazing, more jaw-dropping, more incredible,” Mandel said. “It felt like I was watching a dream. It didn’t look real. I think you could win this season with that.”
Vergara echoed Mandel’s praise of the digitally savvy magician. “I have never seen anything like it,” she said. “‘AGT’ is the perfect place for you to come with something as good as this.”
Watson’s frontrunner potential made consensus a no-brainer for the judges. The magician got four yeses.
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Mzansi Youth Choir earns first audience Golden Buzzer with emotional Nightbirde tribute
The Mzansi Youth Choir, a vocal group based in Johannesburg, South Africa, soared with its acapella rendition of “It’s OK” by Jane “Nightbirde” Marczewski, a former “AGT” contestant who died of cancer in February 2022.
“What a surprise to hear that song, and your voices are fantastic,” Vergara said. “That was the perfect ‘AGT’ audition.”
The choir’s touching tribute to Nightbirde struck a chord with Cowell, who called the performance “breathtaking.”
“This brought back so many memories for me,” a tearful Cowell said. “I know how much this would have meant to her. Right until the end, she was so passionate about sharing her music. This has gone all over the world, and you come back here with the most amazing tribute.”
Before the judges could even deliberate, the studio audience erupted in chants of “golden buzzer.”
In an unprecedented move, Cowell said the audience would be allowed to select a Golden Buzzer contestant this season. Cowell, along with co-judges Mandel, Vergara, Klum and host Terry Crews, proceeded to press the Golden Buzzer button in unison, sending Mzansi Youth Choir straight to the “AGT” live shows.
“This for you. This is for Jane,” Cowell said.
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