'AGT' Fans Are Fuming at the Judges Over "Mysterious" Simon Cowell Singing Act

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below."

America’s Got Talent has showcased astonishing gifts and shocking abilities on its stage for nearly 16 years. Still, a recent season 17 audition proved that there’s still so much talent to be discovered — and it doesn’t always come in the form of singing, magic tricks or dangerous acts. Thanks to technology and creative minds, fans of the NBC singing competition show were treated to an imaginable sight — Simon Cowell singing.

Yep, that's right. Ahead of Tuesday night’s new episode, the show released an early look of AGT contestants Chris Ume and Thomas Graham partnering up with a past competitor, singer Daniel Emmet, for a never-before-seen act. The five-minute clip below begins with the cofounders introducing their company, Metaphysic, which “[uses] artificial intelligence to create hyperreal content.” After Simon calls the act “mysterious,” he quickly realizes why the three participants were being coy about details.

With a microphone in hand, Daniel waits until a special camera is positioned in front of him on stage before he starts to sing “You’re the Inspiration” by Chicago. But it wasn’t any ordinary audition showing off his musical skills. On a projector screen behind him, folks watched as Daniel transformed into Simon, who seemingly hit every note effortlessly.

Fellow AGT judges Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara and Howie Mandel were stunned by what they were seeing onscreen. Understandably, Simon was the most shocked out of everyone. That said, by the time the two-minute performance was over, he was thrilled to see himself deliver in a different way.

“Is it inappropriate to fall in love with a contestant?” Simon said on the show. “I know it’s strange. But I love you, Daniel. I’ve always said there’s no such thing as a perfect contestant, a great singer, who looks incredible. We just found them.”

With that, the AGT judges gave Chris and Thomas four yeses, moving them on to the next round. The feeling of awe and delight also reached AGT audiences watching the preview clip from home on YouTube.

“This is a performance to go down in AGT history. Simply magnificent!“ one person wrote in the comments section. “That’s really awesome. Deepfake to the next level,” another added, referencing deep learning technology that convincingly replaces a person’s face in fake digital media. “The audition no one knew we needed. Technology is amazing! Scary, but oh so amazing,” a different fan said.

On the other hand, some folks were surprised the act didn't receive the golden buzzer. “The fact that it's Simon, it should be a Golden Buzz!!!” a follower commented. “I think that was golden buzzer. Hands down, one of a kind,” someone else declared. “This performance deserves a golden buzzer!” another agreed.

While Simon singing wasn’t celebrated with a rain of golden confetti, the graphic design geniuses got a ton of praise from the AGT cast, especially from the famed executive producer.

“Well done,” Simon said, giving the duo a thumbs up. “Honestly, this is the best thing I’ve seen all day. I was laughing so much,” Heidi added. “If I was not paying attention and I [saw] this on TV, I [would] think it’s Simon 20 years ago singing. I loved it,” Sofia chimed in. “Don’t you love that talent can be anything and these guys are pure talent to make us smile and make us laugh. That’s what we want from whatever stands on that X,” Howie said.

You Might Also Like

• A Cleaning Expert Explains the Best Way to Clean Cloth Face Masks After You Wear Them — Good Housekeeping

• 35 Delicious Pantry Recipes That Use What's Already in Your Cabinets and Freezer — Good Housekeeping

• The Amish keep to themselves. And they’re hiding a horrifying secret. — Cosmopolitan