‘America’s Got Talent’ episode 14 recap: 11 acts perform for America’s vote in ‘Qualifiers 2’ [LIVE BLOG]
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This summer, “America’s Got Talent” returned for its 18th season with Terry Crews resuming his hosting duties and Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, and Sofía Vergara once again making up the judges panel. As in the past, this year’s champion will take home a $1 million cash prize and be able to showcase their talent as a headlining act in Las Vegas. Only 55 acts get to perform in the “AGT” Qualifiers to compete for America’s vote and hopefully move one step closer to the finale.
Tuesday’s “Qualifiers 2” features encore performances by two Golden Buzzer acts: French dance group Murmuration selected by Howie and music act Chioma & The Atlanta Drum Academy chosen by Terry; as well as stand-up comedian Ahren Belisle, sword swallower Andrew Stanton, comic dancer Erica Coffelt, rock band Steel Panther, acrobatic trio Three G, magician Ryland Petty, and singers Alfie Andrew, Dani Kerr, and Sharpe Family Singers.
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In “Qualifiers 1” on August 22, Sofia’s Golden Buzzer singer Lavender Darcangelo and dog act Adrian Stoica & Hurricane were the two acts that America sent through to “The Finals.”
Follow along with our season 18 episode 14 recap live blog of the performances and the judges’ critiques for “America’s Got Talent” Qualifier 2 below:
8:02 p.m. – The night kicked off with Chioma & The Atlanta Drum Academy taking the stage to make Terry proud for choosing them as his Golden Buzzer act. Chioma was well aware of Simon’s advice from last week that each act should show improvement from their initial audition. According to Simon, they did just that this week with “unbelievable” energy and that it was “brilliantly messy” because they have a great idea and talented people. Howie called them “Golden Buzzer worthy,” Heidi enjoyed that they “utilized the space” to full effect, and Sofia thinks they brought the “perfect energy to open the show.”
8:14 p.m. – The younger members of Sharpe Family Singers grew up watching “AGT,” so they understand how big of a deal it is for them to be on the live show stage. This week they knew they had to take a risk and so they decided to do a 180 from their first performance do get theatrical with rock source material. For Howie it was too much of a departure and so he hit his red X button during their performance, saying it was “corny” like something he’d see on a cruise ship. Heidi countered Howie by calling their voices amazing, despite questioning the song choice. Sofia didn’t feel like she was on a cruise, but instead in a church service and didn’t find it her favorite rendition of the song. Simon added that they’re a wholesome act and agreed with Howie that they should have remained in the musical theater lane.
8:27 p.m. – Terry reminded us that the acrobats of Three G fell out of their formation during their audition and we learned that one member’s elbow is still injured, but tonight was their chance at redemption. They executed all of their tricks tonight — Sofia appreciated that they were “so persistent” and Simon called it “incredible” when you juxtapose it with their “disaster” audition. Howie said they “raised the bar” with this performance and Heidi called herself a “proud parent” finally getting to see them take their vision all the way to the end with a successful performance.
8:36 p.m. – Erica Coffelt felt more confident tonight going into her performance because unlike with the audition phase she wasn’t following a bunch of acts that had been X’d off the stage. But she also was taking the stage without the crutch of surprising the judges with her unexpected talent. This time it was Simon whose hand was hot on the red X buzzer. He clarified that at some points during the performance he thought it was good, but then he realized it was terrible and would never work in Vegas. Once again Heidi sided with the performance and supported her performance as a step-up from the first audition and Sofia added that she “already won” because she is clearly having fun on stage.
8:46 p.m. – Because Alfie Andrew idolizes Harry Styles and Simon helped create One Direction, he is intensely focused on impressing Simon with his performances. He accomplished that this time around because Simon thought there were moments in his performance that really showed he could make it through to the finale. Howie called Alfie the “best act of the night,” Heidi said that she’s reminded of Adele when he sings because his voice is “so large,” and Sofia thinks his confidence at the age of 12 is impressive.
8:56 p.m. – Ahead of his performance, Ahren Belisle explained that a lot of work goes into building his sets and that something can always go wrong with the audio output when delivering his jokes. Tonight’s set centered his disability and what it’s like living with cerebral palsy and he incorporated his service dog that was on stage with him into the jokes as well. Heidi loves that Ahren has figured out how to realize his dream, Sofia sees his outlook on life as a key component in what makes him funny, Simon thinks he’s naturally funny and he wanted the act to go on longer. Howie closed the comments by plugging the need for the audience to vote for Ahren so he can advance to the finale.
9:08 p.m. – Simon told Dani Kerr that she’s a great songwriter after hearing her first audition so she once again chose to sing an original song for the live shows. She sees “The Truth” as a “freedom song” that was perfectly fitting for AGT. Sofia likes that Dani stays true to herself with her music choices, but Simon thought she performed tonight like she was in a bar rather than taking advantage of the big stage. Like Simon, Howie also loves Dani, but thinks that her audition was “far better” than tonight. Heidi thinks what Dani has going for her is that she’s unique with a distinct voice.
9:19 p.m. – Knowing he has big shoes to fill because of the successful magicians that have appeared on the show in previous seasons, Ryland studies their winning performances in order to create something that will impress the audience. In his routine tonight he used the audience and Simon to randomly select photos that by the end created an image of him and his father hugging. Howie pointed out how excited his father was by the end of the performance, Simon was amazed that it was “real magic” happening around him, Heidi likes that he incorporated his love for his dad into his show, and Sofia noticed that he was much more confident tonight than before.
9:31 p.m. – Promising to not cut his act short and to be both fun and entertaining, sword swallower Andrew Stanton had Howie and Sofia cringing in their seats as he performed jaw-dropping acts beyond just swallowing swords. He lifted an assistant’s whole body by attaching a contraption to his eyelids and then later attached a device around his neck to swing from the ceiling with a sword still in his mouth. By the end of the performance it was suggested that Andrew may have hurt himself so the judges rushed through their critiques — Simon said he loves these kind of acts, Howie and Heidi both think what he did was incredible, and Sofia called it “disturbing and fascinating.”
9:42 p.m. – In order to up the ante on their hit first audition, Steel Panther decided to sing what they consider one of the biggest songs that also happens to be one of their first. “Death to All But Metal” had to be altered from it’s explicit original version for the show’s family rating, but they still managed to rock out for a solid two minutes and managed to get the entire theater clapping along and chanting the chorus along with them. Heidi acknowledged that the entire room was screaming for them and that she loves their entire style. Sofia was excited for the group, expecting them to be one of the two favorites to advance. Simon appreciates that they take their act seriously, but they also aren’t too serious about it. He also called them his favorite live act so far.
9:54 p.m. – Mumuration’s strategy for improving upon their first performance was to take their tutting act from only arms to incorporating new elements into the synchronous dance routine. They used hand lights, hats, and gloves as props to highlight the movement with heir arms, hands and swaying bodies. Howie exclaimed about how incredible they are because of their uniqueness, Simon said that they’re “in a different league” from what they saw the rest of the night, Sofia called it “breathtaking” because it made all of them excited, and Heidi told them they gave the room a “heartbeat” and that she didn’t give them enough credit after their first audition because she sees now that they’re amazing.
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