Each of the first three audition episodes of Season 13 of “America’s Got Talent” has concluded in the same way: one of the judges presses the Golden Buzzer and sends an act straight through to the live performances. On the May 29 premiere host Tyra Banks flipped for dance troupe Zurcaroh. Head judge Simon Cowell followed suit in the second episode on June 5 for singer Michael Ketterer while Howie Mandel did likewise on June 12 for teen talent Courtney Hadwin. Will Mel B or Heidi Klum use their one-time chance to change someone’s life on the June 19 episode?
WATCH Mel B presses ‘America’s Got Talent’ Golden Buzzer for 15-year-old singer Amanda Mena
This is the fourth of the six episodes that showcases the best (and worst) auditions on “AGT.” An act must get a yes vote from at least three of the four judges to move on to the the next round. Conversely, if at least two judges buzz an act, it is immediately eliminated.
SEE Everything you need to know about season 13 of ‘America’s Got Talent’
Below, read our “America’s Got Talent” Season 13, Episode 4 recap of the acts in the order in which they took to the stage on Tuesday’s episode:
8:02 p.m. – 70 children took the stage in the Voices of Hope Children’s Choir to kick off tonight’s show. Singing “This Is Me,” the kids set an incredibly high bar for the rest of the night, from the first solo to the booming sound of all of them together on the chorus. As good as it was, Mel was spot on advising them that if they get through to the next round they need to up their game. For Howie, it was a NO (he “doesn’t love it for the show”), but for Heidi it was a definite YES. Because she likes the idea of having a choir on the show, Mel said YES and Simon rounded it out with a third YES to send them through to the next round!
8:14 p.m. – Ballroom dancers, Quin and Misha, made it clear prior to performing that, no, Simon, they are not in a relationship with one another. At 71 years old, Quin and her partner were sensational. Their routine included lifts, dips, turning tricks, flips and choreo as sexy as anything you’d see on “Dancing with the Stars.” Once again, Mel cautioned the act that they’ll need to provide more variety in future rounds in order to continue to surprise and excite the audience. Overall, the judges all find the couple to be inspirational and give them a resounding our YESES for a trip to the next round.
WATCH Simon Cowell presses ‘America’s Got Talent’ Golden Buzzer for father of six Michael Ketterer
8:25 p.m. – For his talent, Lioz promised no gimmicks and that “everything is real.” He is a mentalist, practicing in telekinesis, or the act of moving objects with his mind. Humorously he begin his performance with objects known to already move invisibly–bubbles, a tape measure and a pop-up ice cream cone. It was the bubbles that encouraged Heidi to hit her X and falling glitter that prompted Simon to hit his. Mel and Howie however saw the humor in what actually became a comedy act and stood to clap as he pulled tissues from a box and in a grand finale opened a trash can with his foot. It was a YES from both Mel and Howie, but a clear NO from Heidi. That left the decision down to Simon who went back and forth a bit before deciding to send him through with a third YES. Wow… okay.
8:34 p.m. – As an only child, young Jeffrey Li comes to AGT with the hopes of winning so that he can buy himself a companion dog. Not yet knowing what he was in for, Simon actually promised him that he’d buy him a dog if he did well in her performance. His version of “Raise Me Up” blew the audience completely away–that a voice that big comes out of a 9 year old boy is beyond belief and that was written all over their faces. Howie complimented his talent and poise, comparing him to Celine Dion, and Simon said the stakes couldn’t have been higher for him, choosing to sing one of the biggest songs in the world. It was three YESES from Howie, Mel and Heidi before Simon joined them with a fourth YES and another promise that he’d buy him that dog!
8:46 p.m. – The judges also advanced some other acts who we only briefly saw in a montage: a woman and her dog, two men climbing and doing tricks on a pole, a bubble artist and a male and female balancing duo.
8:50 p.m. – The next act was one of the most transfixing things I think I’ve ever seen on AGT. Before being introduced to the Udi crew, we saw an interpretive dance performed in the dark using blue and red lights projected on the dancers’ bodies and hands to tell the story of good vs. evil. What they achieved with their hands–creating birds and sabers and trees–was incredible. Mel loved the story, calling it beautiful and focused, and Heidi said it was like magic. Simon recognized the crew from “Britain’s Got Talent,” and had no problem joining the other three to give the crew our YESES to performing again.
9:01 p.m. – After seeing a number of contestants lose out on their chance due to a lack of showmanship and personality, Daniel Emmet took the stage with his own original song. It was operatic and vocally perfect, but it mostly read like the kind of song a Disney prince would sing. Simon cut him off mid-performance and asked him to sing something else, suggesting he have time to rehearse a song and return later on to perform it. Is this an AGT first?! It has to be, right?
9:10 p.m. – After rehearsing the song for an hour, Daniel returned to the stage for his second chance at impressing Simon. This song was also in Italian, and though it had the same romantic feeling that the previous one did, it was much more passionate and contemporary sounding. Hate to say it, but Simon was so right. And, needless to say, that Daniel managed to perform it so well with only an hour to learn it is just… ambitious and incredible. It was an undeniable clean sweep of YESES for Daniel so we’ll be seeing him again in the next phase of the competition.
9:20 p.m. – Promising the judges the traditional Japanese tablecloth dance, the next audition consisted of removing a tablecloth from a table without upsetting the two tea cups on top of it before descending into a failed comedy routine attempt by stripping naked and removing the tablecloth from in front of his own body while the cups now covered his private parts. Luckily the judges didn’t find this one funny and gave it a full NO-NO-NO-NO.
9:28 p.m. – Married trapeze artists Tyce and Mary of Duo Transcend defies odds because Tyce suffers from depleting vision that increases the chance of mistakes during their act. Nevertheless, the two performed a well-choreographed dance while hanging from a single trapeze, including catch and release flips, ankle holds, contortions and placement switches. Even without Tyce’s condition, the act was stunning and jaw-dropping to watch. In true Mel fashion (at least tonight), she once again wanted more from them, but luckily Heidi, Simon and Howie were all “a million billion percent” YESES and so even with a NO from Mel they’ll be performing again!
9:40 p.m. – 21 year old Annaliese Nock, daughter of last year’s daredevil performer Bello Nock, is here this year to do something bigger and better than he achieved on the show. Her plan is to perform what she calls “the exploding coffin.” It’s her biggest explosion that she’s ever done, inside of a 3-foot by six-foot box with six sticks of dynamites attached to it. In order to survive the explosion, she must exhale at the right exact time. After being locked in side of the box prior to the explosion, Annaliese miraculously survived it. Simon cautioned her that she has to think more about the act portion of the dares, but in the end the panel was impressed by the sheer guts of the act and so they all said YES to seeing her again. Honestly, I get that it was daring, but where was the talent?!
9:52 p.m. – Closing out tonight’s show, Amanda Mena came to the mic to showcase her voice. As a young person who learned English as a second language, struggled to find a place among her schoolmates and found music as a way of escaping loneliness and learning to connect to the world. For her audition, sang “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” with clarity, maturity and in such a dynamic way that she’s comparable to the time Kelly Clarkson sang it on “American Idol” many years ago. Among a standing ovation from the audience, Howie called her a “supernatural talent” and Simon told her she has “genuine” soul. But before any of them could weigh in with their own official YES, Mel decided to slam her Golden Buzzer, skipping Amanda straight to the live shows in Hollywood!
