Season 19 of the long-running TV show kicks off with a two-hour premiere that features Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara returning as judges and host Terry Crews.
- May 29, 2024
AceShowbiz - "America's Got Talent" returned for a brand new season on Tuesday, May 28. Season 19 kicked off with a two-hour premiere that featured Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara returning as judges and host Terry Crews.
The first act taking the stage was students from Los Osos High School who danced to a medley of Usher's mega hits. Sofia called the performance "perfect." Heidi loved it, but she urged them to "up the choreography a little bit." Simon said he "completely" disagrees with them both and called it "brilliant." Howie said no, while Sofia and Simon said yes. Los Osos High School students advanced to the next round.
Later, 2-year-old Baby Dev hit the stage with his dad Dwayne to complete math equations. Dev showcased his skills by solving a complicated multiplication problem. Heidi said it was "amazing" and Sofia called it one of the "most fascinating" acts. Simon noted that he's the youngest performer on the show. Baby Dev got four yes from the judges.
Up next was Taiwanese magician Sam Huang, who offered a jaw-dropping performance. He also made the audience scream by making his fingers seem to disappear at his will. Simon dubbed it "the most crazy close-up magic," while Howie called it "crazy" and "unique." Sam advanced to the next round.
Daisy May & Clifford from Chicago was the first dog act of the season. Simon said "no" to them. Sofia also said "no" as well, saying that they still "have work to do." Learnmore Jonasi from Zimbabwe later auditioned with a stand up comedy, talking about traffic lights, cell phone service and social media in his village.
The judges and audience gave Learnmore a standing ovation. Sofia said that he was "good from top to bottom," while Simon called Learnmore "one of the funniest people" on the show through the years. When the judges started to give the comedian their evaluation, Terry approached the judges and hit the golden buzzer for Learnmore.
Ballet dancer Ashlee Montague from Washington performed next. Ashlee broke down in tears after getting a warm response from the audience. Simon said she found a way of "making it interesting" and called it "one of the most difficult" things he's seen on the show. Heidi also loved it and appreciated her emotion with Howie's agreement that she "made ballet so dangerous." Ashlee got four yes from the judges.
Singing an original track "Raised Right" was country singer Reyna Roberts from Nashville. Howie praised Reyna for her "incredible talent." Sofia said Reyna had a "great" voice and called her a "complete artist." Howie said no, while the other three gave Reyna three yes.
Following it up was 13-year-old Arshiya, a contortionist. Heidi dubbed Arshiya "one of the best contortionists" and Sofia was left impressed. All judges gave Arshiya yes that sent him to the next year.
Chris Ivan brought out 17 "close friends and family" to assist him in attempting to best his own world record of "most human targets hit with plungers in one minute." Unfortunately, Chris got four "no" votes. Body performer Tonikaku from Japan followed it up. He did "naked poses" of iconic images in order to create the illusion that he's nude. He advanced to the next round.
Rounding out the night was 55-year-old Richard Goodall, a middle school janitor who dreamed to be a professional singer. He received a standing ovation and thunderous applause following his performance of "Don't Stop Believing". Simon called Richard his "hero," while Sofia called it "spectacular" and "an amazing surprise" as a perfect contestant. Heidi was beyond impressed as she hit a golden buzzer for him!
