America’s Got Talent 2024 Recap: We’re live blogging Auditions Week 7
America’s Got Talent 2024 season 19 auditions continue on NBC tonight with Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara on the judges panel. Terry Crews as host. See the new acts vying for the 1 million dollar prize.
America’s Got Talent 2024 Spoilers Auditions 7 – Meet the Acts (Photos)
The new season features more Golden Buzzers than ever before, as each judge gets TWO buzzers and Terry can pick one. That’s a total of nine Golden Buzzers for the new season.
Mia Soleil Sanchez – Singer
NBC previewed this audition last week. Check it out HERE. Backstage, Simon remarks to Mia, from Franklin New Jersey, that her glasses are cool. The 13 year old singer sports oversized cat glasses–a distinctive look! Mia says she’s got “10 people” living in her home!
Mia performs the Billie Eilish hit, “Happier Than Ever.” She does a good job conveying the song’s emotion, considering how young she is. She sings with beautiful phrasing and range. – 4 yeses.
OH GOOD THING NBC PREVIEWED THIS AUDITION. A tornado warning interrupted my NBC feed from Boston. Sorry. The FCC requires the station to cut in with storm updates. I won’t be able to pick up the live blog again until 8:30 ET. (UPDATE: Tornado warning lifted at 8:19 ET.)
Illya & Anastasiia Strakhov – Hand Balancers
The pre-emption only interrupted one and a half auditions. So, going off the online clip, Illya and Anastasiia Strakhov are hand balancers who perform on rollers. Tricky! Illya balances on top of a bowling ball set atop a tower made of glasses and plates. Looks precarious! Ilya is the balancer, while Anastasia assists. He ends his routine by balancing while pouring himself and downing a drink. Then he balances atop the bottle. Mind you, the bottle is balanced on top of several rows of glasses.
Sofia calls it “the most fun thing I’ve seen tonight.” Heidi calls it exciting and nerve wracking. Howie notes how AGT gives variety acts a chance. Simon calls it a 10. – 4 yeses.
The Jerusalem Youth Choir – Choir
The choir sings “Home” by American Idol’s Phillip Phillips as contestants share their thoughts about auditioning for AGT. This choir features both Palestinian and Jewish singers. They have beautiful voices and are not as annoying and cloying as choirs typically are.
They explain that they are trying to build bridges between people who “are different than them.” Howie calls it “a world anthem.” Sofia calls them “heartwarming” and inspiring.” Simon loved the audition and the theme of friendship – 4 yeses.
Dian Rene – Singer
Eight years ago Dian left Cuba to make a new life in America. He hopes to eventually bring his entire family to this country.
Weird. Dian says the Spanish lyrics of his song didn’t clear and he had to learn the English translation. Why not sing another song? Don’t the contestants prepare and clear a few choices? His voice is trembly and pitchy. He seems nervous. But he improves by the time he hits the chorus and goes full voice. Hm. Simon does not seem impressed and eventually stops him. “I don’t think this is working” he says. “I think we should see you on another day.” He suggests he learn another song.
Backstage, a vocal coach (?) promises they’ll find the perfect song for him…continued below!
Joey & Jordan – Singing duo
The duo have been friends for six years. They two started playing bluegrass music together after bad breakups.
They sing “Cotton Eyed Joe.” Sofia looks like she has smelled something bad. One of the singers climbs on top of the other’s shoulders to sing and play an upright bass. The vocals are pretty terrible. The poor guy can barely get back onto the floor. Simon finds it hilarious.
Indeed, Simon thought the best parts were the climbing. Howie agrees. Surprisingly, Sofia said yes – 2 nos, 2 yeses
Jabu and Cornelio – Tap dancer and drummer
Cornelio, the drummer, studied at Juliard, while Jabu has taken tap lessons his whole life.
Drumming and tapping are related, and the two make the act work. They both dance and drum. At one point, they strip off their shirts, which allows them to go really wild. The drum is flat and mimics the tap sounds.
Heidi calls it a great audition. Sofia calls them “sexy” and “fun.” Simon compares them to the Rat Pack, which is weird. He compliments their personalities as “incredible.” Howie loves that they brought the classic styles to a modern audience. He calls it the next step beyond the movie Stomp. – 4 yeses
Nasty the Horse – Daredevil
His name is Horace, a full time dad from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Back home, he teaches kids how to be safe through martial arts.
Uhm. He begins by sticking his entire head in a bucket of hot sauce. Which must hurt. Next, he takes it to the nads. Fun fact: This guy competed during the Howard Stern era. Back then, it was mostly hits to the nuts. Weirdly it doesn’t hurt him. But he’s taking it even further than he did back then ie. running a unicycle over his balls.
Simon found it both disgusting and compelling. Nasty says the hot sauce hurt the most. Sofia hated it and buzzed it. Howie, a Jackass fan, loved it. Heidi pays attention to the audience and also says yes – 3 yeses 1 no.
Mervin Mayo – Gospel singer
Mervin has been a police officer and school resource officer in Richmond, Virginia for the last two decades while also performing as a gospel singer. “Music is my outlet,” he says. He wears his uniform on stage, oddly. He explains that he was also an at-risk youth, but was helped by mentors.
He sings a soulful cover of Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” while accompanying himself on electric piano. He gives the song a retro twist. It’s a good song choice! On the chorus, Mervin uses his strength and rasp to open the song up.
The judges want to meet his wife Michele. She also works for the school system. Howie loves him and wants to hear from him again. “It was beautiful,” says Heidi. Sofia calls the song “super romantic.” Simon compliments his voice, calling the audition, “a great moment.” He adds, “People are going to love you.” – 4 yeses
Aleksandr Batuev – Contortionist
Russian native Aleksandr kicks off his performance unwinding himself out of a small box. He’s very very very bendy. Eventually, he dons a suit coat to fold himself back into the small metal box. He waves goodbye before closing the box.
Heidi says, “the audience went crazy for you.” She appreciated his “cool” approach, comparing it to The Matrix. Sofia calls it “fascinating” and “horrible.” Simon loved his presentation – 4 yeses
Insane Shayne (Boyle) – Comedy/Stunts
The 24 year old is a viral tik tok star, where he shows off his odd talent. Some folks in the audience recognize him..
What he can do, is catch stuff in his mouth, even if thrown from really far away. In this case, he’s thrown marshmallows from the balcony. How is this entertaining? The judges begin tossing stuff, but their aim is terrible. The skill is also in how well his friends can throw.
Simon calls the audition unexpected – 4 yeses
Reuben Solo – Comedian
Reuben Solo is a comedian from Melbourne, Australia with a large social media following. He tells the judges that he’d love to move to America.
Reuben works with a white board. The bit is kind of weird. He uses a x/y axis to gauge audience laughter. He turns to the judges, who aren’t impressed yet. When he comes to Simon, he buzzes. Oops. Sofia buzzes next, and then Heidi and Howie. The crowd turns on him with boos. HE’S FLOPPING.
“I’m still waiting to get it,” says Sofia. Simon thanks him for coming such a long way to audition – 4 nos
Schumacher – Comedy Duo – Sofia’s second golden buzzer
The Japanese duo have been working together for 10 years. It’s their first time performing outside of their home country.
They quickly undress to put on different costumes. FIrst a dog and then a zebra. The trick is they use slight props that change the outfits dramatically. It’s kind of weird, but Simon and Howie enjoy it. In the last bit the two create a new animal, a giraffe, but it takes one of them shoving his face in his partner’s butt.
Simon calls it “genius” and “really funny.” Sofia thinks it’s ridiculous…so ridiculous she gives them her 2nd Golden Buzzer. What the heck? Sofia says she did it because the act was “the most fun thing we’ve had all day.” OK then. It’s a stupid choice, but whatever.
Dian Rene – Singer – Take 2
Dian is back with a new song. Like he initially planned, Dian sings a song in Spanish. His confidence soars this time, as he is finally in his element. Sofia is up on her feet dancing and the audience is clapping wildly. He dances and wiggles his hips while performing.
Sofia says, “This sounds like you.” Heidi says, “You got the party started in here.” Howie says, “You’re a joy to watch. You deserve to be here.” Simon wasn’t sure he’d come back. “You came back as a different person.” – 4 yeses
Forest of Haunts – Horror/Magic
The last act of the night is a horror troup. Simon LOVES these acts so much, even if the audiences don’t necessarily. The group invites Simon and Sofia on stage to participate in a magic act. Sofia hams it up wearing a blindfold. The act has them choosing balloons, and somehow the one balloon that Simon didn’t hand over had maggots in it…dumped all over the judges desk (rather than on Sofia’s head). EWWWW.
Simon calls the act repulsive but brilliant. Heidi hated it and says no. Sofia is confused, but says yes anyway – 3 yeses, 1 no
Next Tuesday is Auditions 8, the last audition episode before AGT takes a two week Olympics break. The show returns with the live show and results.
