This season “America’s Got Talent” is taking talent to the limits with “AGT: Extreme.” Hosted by Terry Crews with Simon Cowell, WWE Divas two-time champion Nikki Bella, and motorsports champion Travis Pastrana as judges, the spinoff series focuses on stunt acts and the talented performers that attempt the most dangerous feats. After four weeks of competition, one act will become the first “Extreme Champion” and win the cash prize of $500,000.
In the initial phase of the competition, acts must earn a “yes” vote from at least two of the three judges to advance to the next round where America’s superfans will vote. The judges also have the special “Golden Buzzer” option available to them, which they traditionally reserve for the auditions that impress them the most. In the auditions premiere, Simon gave his Golden Buzzer to drone engineers Verge Aero and Nikki gave hers to wheelchair athlete Aaron Wheelz.
Read below for our minute-by-minute recap of the “AGT: Extreme – Auditions 2” and then sound off in the comments about the acts that had you on the edge of your seat:
8:05 p.m. – The first act of night 2 of auditions was the five BMX athletes that make up The Contraption Kings. Ahead of their performance for the judges, Terry touched based with them about their history with crashes and accidents, to which they said it’s quite common in their sport. For their audition, the guys joined the judges at a 50 foot ramp set up outside, but Travis once again had to bow out of judging due to his close personal relationship with members of the group.
8:11 p.m. – First down the ramp was one member on a jet ski, followed by another on a tricycle into a flip, another on a scooter into a twisted flip, another on a reclining sofa chair, and the fifth on a stuffed rocking horse with a jump off and re-saddle mid-air. And all landed! The guys said it wasn’t supposed to work as well as it did, but Nikki and Simon both loved it. Nikki called the act “beyond impressive” and Simon said it was “ridiculously fantastic.” Though he wasn’t a part of Simon and Nikki’s decision to advance the group to the next round, Travis suggested that they do something more extreme next time so that they do crash, as proof that they’re doing something beyond their limits.
8:33 p.m. – Next, a 24 year old professional stunt performer brought his 90 year old grandmother along to create the duo Hunter & Lilian. After Lilian got a hug from Simon, the duo took to the rainy speedway on their dirt bike to crash through five different fences set on fire. Nikki told Lilian that she’s a “bad ass” and inspiration, Travis noted that the lightness of their chosen bike upped the ante on their trick, and Simon acknowledged that their determination despite the risk was extreme. All three judges agreed that it was a “yes” to send them to the next round.
8:44 p.m. – For his audition, French inline skater Diako Diaby attempted a trick that only three people in the world can achieve. The trick involved a flip with two and a half spins and Travis qualified that with the new ramps built for the show Diako won’t have had much practice on the trick outside of competition. For the full audition, Diako went back and forth across the ramps a few times with minor flips and tricks and then ended by successfully running the unique flat 900 trick. Simon noted how nice of a guy Diako is, but noted that his skill and showmanship weren’t as impressive. Nikki said that he made rollerblading look easy and she was “extremely impressed.” Travis joined Nikki’s side, saying that he felt inspired by him and that his style is “what action sports is all about.” Travis and Nikki both said “yes” so Diako went through based on that, but luckily he also got Simon’s approval with the advice that he do something more next time.
9:05 p.m. – High wire walker Jade Kindar-Martin was next, taking to a 100 foot long cable at 25 feet high. In order to “push the limits,” Jade performed the act without safety lines and nets as well as lighting the 5/8 inch cable on fire. He also knelt down once on the wire and a second time on his balancing pole, and then ended with a single foot balance at the end of the first walk. For his second trip back on the wire he mounted a bicycle and stopped to balance on it halfway down. Travis told Jade it was one of the “most intense” acts they’ve seen and he didn’t oversell how dangerous it is to accomplish. He liked that he let his actions speak for the impressiveness of his audition. Nikki said it was both extreme and entertaining and Simon called it one of the most dangerous acts they’ve seen. It was an easy set of three “yes” votes from the panel to see Jade again in the next round.
9:13 p.m. – Slated as the “only criss-crossing flying trapeze act in the world,” The Flying Royals make a point of spending as much time together as possible in order to secure the bonds and trust that are necessary to making their act effective. Simon mentioned that he’s not a huge fan of trapeze acts (they bored him as a child, apparently), and in his critique he said he was in fact bored and that there wasn’t much personality because they’re all in the same white outfits. Nikki noted their athletic ability and said that even with the one drop that “it was a great show.” Travis liked that each member went as big as they could and they all took risks. Simon gave them a “no” vote, but Travis rebounded for them with a “yes” and Nikki gave them the second “yes” they needed to advance.
9:27 p.m. – After the loss of his 22 year old son this year, escape artist Danny ZZZZ came to AGT to put his “crazy things” talent to the test and to make sure that the world knows his son’s name. For his act, Danny gave himself one minute to escape from shackles and a locked mail bag while being raised in a crane to 140 feet in the air. When the box dropped from the crane after a minute it crashed on the ground, but it was confirmed that Danny had indeed unlocked himself and was still hanging 140 feet up. Travis called the act amazing, Nikki called it crazy, and Simon said it’s one of the scariest things he’s seen. With love for Danny’s son and his act, the judges gave him an unanimous “yes” to the next round.
9:40 p.m. – Jumping into the lethal “cage of death,” Alfredo Silva’s Cage Riders performed one of the most dangerous acts in the world. Alfredo put together a team of five from different parts of the world in order to give them the best chance of winning the show. Alfredo already knows Simon because of his time as a part of AGT veteran act Deadly Games. For the act on this series, Alfredo mixed two of the most dangerous motorcycle stunts by having two cage riders and then two riders jumping over the globed cage at the same time.
9:50 p.m. – To make the act more intense, Alfredo got inside the cage himself to stand in the center while the two motorcycles traveled around him, followed by two more jumps across the globe from the ramps. To complete the act, Alfredo then got a motorcycle himself and got inside the cage so that all three of them were circling inside for the final two ramp-jumps. Simon said he “nearly had five heart attacks” during the act and called it “pretty much perfection,” Travis loved the jumps, and Nikki said she was entertained and one the edge of her seat. Simon had to excuse himself from judging, but Terry said there would be “no need to vote” because after calling it “the best thing [he’s] ever seen in [his] life” he was ready to hit that Golden Buzzer!
