America’s Got Talent 2024 Recap: AGT goes LIVE with Quarterfinals part 1
The Top 44 has been revealed! Eleven acts take the stage tonight live and for the first time, a Live Show Golden Buzzer will send one act directly to the Finals. America can vote for their three favorite acts to advance to the Semi-finals by using the “AGT” App or going to NBC.com.
America’s Got Talent 2024 Unveils 44 Acts Advancing to Live Shows
Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara sit on the judges panel. Terry Crews is host.
This week, Sofia Vergara gets the first LIVE SHOWS Golden Buzzer.
Flewnt & Inkabee – Rap Duo
This Australian pair are a father son rap duo. Flewnt was only 16 when Inkabee was born! The father/son deal is a novelty. But the young Inkabee is the real star of the team. They rap an original politically minded flow called “Back Again AGT,” which among other things, nods to their indigenous roots. Inkabee raps so fast, it hardly seems real!
Howie calls them energetic. “It was amazing.” Heidi loves the coolness and confidence. She compares them to 90’s hip hop. Sofia loves the relationship between father and son and that dad gives his kid the spotlight. Simon thinks they need to separate at some point. Oy. dad looks stricken. “It might be time to separate.” He’s correct, though. Inkabee is a little young, however. It’s good dad is around to protect him for now.
Attraction Juniors – Shadow Performance
The father of Attraction Junior’s leader won Britain’s Got Talent a few seasons ago. The younger insists that while he learned much from dad, his group is very different.
The scene takes place at a campsite. As the kids tell scary stories, they flee through the woods from monsters. It’s a little early for Halloween! Heh. Nevertheless, the storytelling is cogent. Some of these shadow acts, if they aren’t well done, can present a confusing narrative. Aw! A real dog was part of the act! Cute.
Heidi felt they were better than their audition. Sofia calls it “light and fun.” Simon also believes the group elevated their game this time. “You did brilliant.” Howie isn’t sure the performance was more special this time. The audience BOOOS.
LiV Warfield – Singer – Simon Cowell Golden Buzzer
LiV was a background singer for a bunch of pop stars, including Prince. She did gymnastics and played violin before she settled on singing when she performed karaoke for the first time at 21. She’s been grinding for a long time and hopes to finally show the world her talent. She will perform a song, “The Unexpected,” that Prince wrote just for her (she says).
LiV sings with a full band backing her up, including a horn section. She’s very professional. And besides having an incredible voice, she knows how to work a stage. At this point, she’s a little old fashioned. She harks back to rock-soul singers from 60s and 70s. Still, she’s a force! This show stopping performance may get her to the next round.
Simon calls his Golden Buzzer “unbelievable.” He adds, “It all came out in these 3 minutes. He calls it a Gold Medal performance. Sofia calls her perfection. She can tell how much it means to her. Howie is a huge Prince fan and calls it a million dollar moment. Heidi loved every second of it.
Hypers Kids Africa – Dance Group
The kiddos are from Uganda. Moses, the group leader, is the father of one of the dancers. Back in Africa, fifty-five kids live together in one home.
The group performs hip hop but with a twist. Their formations are unique as they line up and use their appendages to create unique and hair-raising visuals. They also use humor to deliver their story.
Simon calls them AMAZING. The crowd is still going crazy. He calls them “fantastic chaos” and “brilliant.” He says, “it never ended!” He feels they have a shot. Howie notes how their lives will change if they move on. Heidi calls them all talented and special. Sofia says, “I think you guys are going to do amazing in this competition.”
Ashes & Arrows – Band
In their audition, this country trio did NOT impress Howie with their original song. Still, they advanced and are hoping to finally win him over with a song that has a “stadium feel” titled “Wild Horses.”
The song has a driving beat and is built for the audience to sing along with. There is no denying their pleasing harmonies. They each have a unique solo style, with one displaying a sweet tenor and another a raspy baritone. The tenor got a little shouty towards the end, though.
“That was not a pub!” Howie gushes. “That was worthy.” Howie predicts the song will land on the charts. Heidi loved the shouty tenor! Sofia calls it “another level.” She thinks America will fall in love with them. Simon agrees with Howie “the song is amazing.” He really appreciated the gruff baritone singer.
Los Osos High School – Dance Group
The group is from Rancho Cucamonga in Southern California. Howie turned them down at their audition because he felt they needed one WOW trick. His criticism lit a fire under the group.
The troop is huge. Maybe too big? Its hard to focus with so much happening on stage. Although, half way through, they add a few solo tricks. For an amateur high school group, they are pretty good.
The audience won’t pipe down! Heidi loves them. But it’s hard to hear her! Did they fill the audience with family and friends? Sofia said…something. Simon calls the new routine a gigantic step up. He calls it an event. Howie still believes the same thing. A very good high school show–but nothing special. He’s correct.
Hakuna Matata Acrobats – Acrobatic Act – SOFIA HITS HER GOLDEN BUZZER – Straight to the FINAL
This acrobatic quartet is from Tanzania. On stage during their audition, they dealt with a few problems. But they’ve built boards to roll on that are less slippery and bendy.
These guys build impossible platforms out of boards and rollers, and somehow manage to balance on them. The towers are so high, falling could be dangerous. The routine also includes gymnastic tricks. The flow works. At one point the four roll around on a double roller layer, while one of the members balances head to head in a third human tier. The group is the most ambitious rolla bolla act ever on the AGT stage. This time, they pull off all their tricks!
Simon calls it one of the most difficult dangerous acts they’ve seen on a live show. “You’ve arrived,” he says. Howie agrees. He calls them “above and beyond.” Heidi calls the act “death defying.” Sofia calls them ambitious. “You guys deserve to be here. AND I KNEW IT! Sofia STANDS UP and hits her Golden Buzzer. The act will skip the semi-finals to compete in the two part finale!
Phillip Lewis – Baton Act
Phillip, a baton twirler, works as a front desk agent at a hotel. He learned how to twirl practicing at home. He hopes to be the first baton artist to win AGT.
He’s fun to watch. But less than a minute in, he made a mistake. Another time, not sure if he dropped a baton on purpose? But then he dropped it again. Poor guy. His routine is ambitious, but mistakes will not earn him votes. He ends the act catching several fire batons. Probably his hardest trick, which he pulled off.
Simon thinks his personality is so good, he didn’t mind the mistakes. He thinks the audience should root for him. Heidi wonders if he dropped them on purpose. Oh boy. They really want him to go through I guess? The mistakes were not a good thing. Heidi also didn’t mind that he dropped the baton several times. Ditto Sofia. Makes you wonder if their minds were made up before the act even performed.
Rhythm & Roni – Dog Act
This Israeli performer “dances” with her dog. Tragically, after she taped her audition, her father was involved in a bike accident, which has left him without a memory.
Her well-trained doggo performs tricks as if he’s actually “dancing” with his trainor. He’s very cute!
If Howie had a Golden Buzzer, he would have pushed it, he insists. “Your father is going to see it and enjoy it.” Heidi thinks Rhythm dances better than humans. Sofia believes he’s really dancing. Simon wonders if the dog is real. “The dog dances as good if not better than a lot of the dancers we have,” he says.
Arshiya – Contortion
From India, Arshiya, in 9th grade, assures everyone she’s a normal girl. As a performer, she started off performing Bollywood. She’s not sure whether to change it up this week. (Last time she performed against a horror theme.)
She sticks with horror. Good thing. Simon would have not appreciated a big change up. Oh lord, the sound effects as she contorts her body are very CRUNCHY which adds to the ewwwww factor. At one point she begins pulling stuff off her face. EEP. She slithers down the stairs toward the judges table. Sofia looks quite perturbed.e
Heidi is sure she will have nightmares tonight. “You are incredible.” Sofia says, “You’re so beautiful, how can you do this! Mesmerizing!” Simon calls her one of his favorites. She’s only 13! He would cast her in The Exorcist. “I imagine when Simone Biles has a nightmare, this is what she sees,” quips Howie.
Richard Goodall – Singer – Heidi Klum Golden Buzzer
Richard went viral after uploading a video of himself singing. He’s a janitor by day, whose students noticed his singing voice as he worked. Richard’s fiance recently had a heart attack and came through it. She’s well enough to be by his side tonight. He’s dedicating his song to her.
He sings “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You” by Michael Bolton with emotional nuance that’s raw and heartfelt. He’s not a perfect singer but he knows how to connect to an audience in a sincere way. He’ll probably end up in the final.
Heidi has a soft spot for her Golden Buzzer. Simon asks him if he has started believing in himself. “You are one of the most memorable contestants.” However, Simon didn’t like the old-fashioned song choice. Hm. His core audience probably loved it. Simon thinks he has a shot at winning. Sofia believes he made the song his own. Howie begs: VOTE ONLY 3 ARE GOING THROUGH. Richard doesn’t beg for votes, he complements the crew backstage who helped him!
