America has talent Season 19 returned for the second night of auditions and this week’s lineup of performers raised the bar for everyone who attended.
Host Terry Crews led the wild and raucous auditions, which were overseen by longtime judges Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara It is Simon Cowell – and the Golden Buzzer’s double rule played a big role in how many hopefuls took another step towards realizing their dreams.
In fact, this week we learned exactly how the rule change happened! But we are getting ahead of ourselves.
The first singer to impress the judges enough to win the coveted honor was R&B singer Liv Warfield, who has been performing for years and has shared the stage with icons like Prince and Heart’s Nancy Wilson, to name a few.
Now, after a career as an anchor supporting other artists, Liv wants to make it big on her own, and she’s come to AG to show exactly what she has to offer and make it happen.
Accompanied by a sizable band of artists, Liv performed her song, “Stare,” and left the judges nearly speechless.
“Liv, I’m in big trouble. It wasn’t long enough!” Cowell was amazed. “Seriously, that lyric, ‘Wrecking Ball’, I mean, summed up how I felt at that moment. It was like I was, in a good way, punched in the face by their energy, by the band…”
“I’m sorry, I can’t give you a yes… I have to give you one of these,” Cowell said, clapping his hand on the golden buzzer and showering Liv with a cascade of metallic confetti.
Towards the end of the episode, the judges met Sky Elements, a group of drone scientists and engineers who had the panel come out to show an impressive display of synchronized drone mastery.
Using complex signage and programming, the group of engineers used a fleet of hundreds of drones to visually recreate the story of the Apollo 11 launch and moon landing – and it was unlike anything the judges had seen before.
“I’m obsessed with space and landing on the moon. To each and every one of you, I want to say bravo!” Simon praised. “You know, we keep talking about the rules. But there’s no rule book! Which means I’m going to do this. Takeoff.”
Simon hit the golden buzzer once again, which delighted the contestants, but confused the other judges and the show’s producers.
“If you do this, everyone gets a second,” warned one producer.
“OK! Yes. If I have two, you can all have two,” said Simon, which was music to the ears of Terry and Sofia – who each used one of his Golden Buzzers in the season premiere last week!
Here’s a look at some of the night’s other biggest and most epic performances:
Chrisyius Whitehead
Ashes and Arrows
Nini
Sabrina
Phillip Lewis
ET spoke to the judges about the AG red carpet before the Season 19 audition rounds, and they explained why the Golden Buzzer’s second rule is a real game changer.
“Talent is subjective. When you put a singer next to a dancer, next to a dangerous act, next to a magician – they each need their own bell!” Shared crews. “I just think it’s perfect! And I’ve said it before, AG is evolving consistently… (and) is improving every time a new evolution emerges.”
Cowell – who created AG and also serves as the series’ executive producer – came up with the idea for the second Golden Buzzer and explained to ET that the idea came about when he considered “the amount of time and effort these people put into this act and where it could go.”
“People come from all over the world, just like American artists, and you’re seeing (amazing) things,” Cowell said of the show’s magic. “The 70 times I just asked, ‘How did you come up with that idea?!’ That’s what I love about the series, you know?
America has talent airs Tuesdays at 8pm ET/PT on NBC.
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