America's Got Talent Judge Cuts Recap: Which Season 15 Acts Are Going Live?

Andy Swift
·3 min read

And then there were… fewer. Tuesday’s episode of America’s Got Talent reunited the judges (in person!) to crush a few more dreams and reveal which acts will be proceeding to the Season 15 live episodes.

As is the case with all difficult AGT decisions, Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel and Sofia Vergara were at each other’s throats from the jump, with several judges bringing up valid arguments like “You don’t know what it’s like to swallow a sword” and “Nein! Nein! Nein!” It was utter chaos.

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After much deliberation, however, the quartet of fate began letting acts through to the next round. Some of those lucky individuals included fierce singer Celina Graves, high-energy percussionist Malik Dope Drummer, dance group Dance Town Family, country singer Kameron Ross, teen singer Kelvin Dukes, ukulelist Feng E, football player-turned-singer Thomas Day, flexible dancer Noah Epps, song-and-dance Double Dragon, acrobat Alan Silva, sword swallower Brett Loudermilk, stand-up comedians Alex Hooper and Usama Siddiquee, novelty musician BONAVEGA, farm team Pork Chop Revue, impressionist Vincent Marcus, and wrongly incarcerated singer Archie Williams.

Unfortunately, this meant the judges had to say goodbye to a number of disappointed hopefuls. Some of the acts who got bad news tonight included dog act Jennifer and Daiquiri, musical duo Broken Roots, and singer Ashley Marina.

But some calls were just too close to make without a second look, so the judges asked 10 acts to return to the AGT “stage” for a follow-up performance: Kid dancers Simon and Maria served up some sizzling salsa, Craig Reed just plain served with a full-scale hula hoop number choreographed to Lady Gaga’s “Stupid Love,” Max Major blew Simon’s mind by pulling childhood memories out of his brain, Shaquira McGrath delivered a powerful rendition of Avicii’s “Wake Me Up,” and stand-up comedian Ty Barnett failed to impress the judges with a routine about his kids.

Next, harmonica siblings The Brothers Gage tried something different with their take on LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem,” inspirational singer-songwriter Nolan Neal gave an intimate fireside performance of “You’ve Got the Love,” magician Ryan Tricks enlisted AGT: The Champions judge Alesha Dixon for another mind-bending trick, dance duo The Ninja Twins transported us to Candyland with a playful rendition of Justin Bieber’s “Yummy,” and daredevil Jonathan Goodwin nearly took an arrow — actually, make that several arrows — to the chest.

Of those 10 acts, the following five were sent through: Simon and Maria, Jonathan Goodwin, Shaquira McGrath, Max Major and Nolan Neal. That means Craig Reed, The Brothers Gage, Ty Barnett, Ryan Tricks and The Ninja Twins have reached the end of their respective AGT journeys.

The acts that survived the Judge Cuts will proceed to the live shows, joining this season’s crop of Golden Buzzer recipients: spoken-word poet Brandon Leake, singer Cristina Rae, singer Roberta Battaglia, Voices of Our City Choir and dance group W.A.F.F.L.E. Crew.

Did your favorite Season 15 acts make it through to the live shows? And which of this week’s eliminations was the toughest to accept? Drop a comment with your thoughts on the Judge Cuts below.

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