America has talent returned on Tuesday for the sixth night of the season 19 audition rounds, and the judges had no time for jokes or confusion — seriously. AGT hopeful only this week!
However, there were some red bells ringing and “no” votes being cast during the first half of the two-hour episode!
This week’s lineup of performers included a saxophonist, jugglers, singers, dance teams, a balancing act, stunt performers, medieval combat reenactors, and more!
Host Terry’s Teams topped the mind-boggling list of auditions — which were overseen by longtime judges Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara It is Simon Cowell — and by halfway through the night, everyone was more than ready for someone to really do a show-stopping number after a series of disappointing auditions.
Fortunately, it was at that moment that 14-year-old Reid Wilson took the stage with a microphone in his hand and a song in his heart.
The young singer, who hails from Alabama, was cheered on by his lovely mother from backstage as he smiled brightly and won over the judges before his performance had even begun. So when he showed what he can really do with his cover of Lesley Gore’s iconic song ‘You Don’t Own Me’, there wasn’t a person in the room who wasn’t impressed.
“I think you’re absolutely amazing,” Klum complimented. “I love how you also took your microphone out and then you just gave a little bit more stage presence. Well done.”
“I closed my eyes for a moment while you sang just to hear your voice, and then I opened them again, and there was this sweet, young boy,” Cowell marveled with a smile.
“First of all, you’re just a 14-year-old kid from Alabama. So I imagine — I put myself in your shoes — you were very nervous, and you actually looked incredibly nervous,” Mandel shared. “So that was a surprise.”
“But this stage is where dreams come true,” he continued. “Do you believe in dreams? Well, one of them is about to come true.”
Mandel rang the Golden Buzzer, showering the talented young artist with golden confetti and bringing him one step closer to glory.
This also marks the second time Howie used a Golden Buzzer after giving the first show to Brent Street, a talented dance group from Sydney, Australia, during week 4.
Check out some other impressive performances from the night:
Super Silva Jr.
Dance Crew Espiritu
Alex Sampson
Praveen Prajapat
B. Thompson
Balloon Tarot
ET spoke to the judges at the AGT red carpet ahead of the season 19 audition rounds, and they opened up about why giving each of them a second Golden Buzzer 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 buzzer!” Crews shared. “I just think it’s perfect! And I’ve said this before, AGT is constantly evolving… (and) is improving each time a new evolution emerges.”
Cowell — who created AGT and also serves as an executive producer on the series — came up with the idea for the second Golden Buzzer and explained to ET that the idea came to him when he considered “the amount of time and effort that these people put into this act and where it can go.”
“People come from all over the world, as well as American artists, and you see[amazing]things,” Cowell said of the magic of the show. “The 70 times I just said, ‘How did you come up with that idea?!’ That’s what I love about the show, you know? It just keeps surprising you.”
America has talent airs Tuesdays at 8pm ET/PT on NBC.
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