Simon Cowell reached over and tried to push Howie Mandel’s Golden Buzzer for Airfootworks from Japan on Tuesday’s episode of America’s Got Talent on NBC.
‘I am just about to get myself fired,’ Simon, 64, said, while reaching over and attempting to push the Golden Buzzer that belonged to Howie, 68, for the episode.
The crowd cheered for the group of hip hop dancers and break dancers who had shown off their unique style of dance to the world. The four person trio all dressed in white danced while hanging onto a bar and holding themselves up and kicking their feet into the air. Howie rushed to the stage.
‘Okay I’ve got to clear this up Howie got there first , this is Howie’s Golden Buzzer,’ Host Terry Crews, 55, said.
Simon then rushed to the stage and Howie tried to block him.
‘Simon wants to take the credit,’ Terry said. ‘Howie this is your Golden Buzzer. ‘
‘This is mine,’ Howie, 68, said while watching Simon on stage congratulating the dancers.
Terry later played the replay that showed both Simon and Howie reaching for the Golden Buzzer at the same time. The replay showed that Howie actually hit the buzzer first.
‘I feel like I’ve been abused,’ Howie said.
‘Look, I think when you watch the tape back you will find my finger got there just before Howie,’ Simon said.
‘Well keep your fingers off of my buzzer,’ Howie said.
Terry said because of the Golden Buzzer that AirFootworks will go straight to the finals.
Legión, a dance group from Buenos Aires, Argentina, performed with their boots on fire to open the second live quarterfinals.
Sofia Vergara, 52, had given them the Golden Buzzer earlier in the season, sending them straight to the live show. They danced and drummed while their boots were engulfed in flames and later their hats, too.
‘Sofia your Golden Buzzer winner, was on fire!’ Terry said.
Simon wasn’t impressed.
‘It wasn’t as good as I thought it was going to be,’ Simon said. ‘I don’t know what it was. I just wanted more.’
Young-Min, a magician from Seoul, Korea, mesmerized the crowd after opening his act blindfolded. He then turned his blindfold into sand. He ended his act by disappearing on stage.
‘I absolutely loved it,’ Heidi Klum, 51, said.
‘Definitely one of my favorite acts in AGT,’ Sofia said.
‘I think you are truly one of the best magicians I’ve ever seen,’ Howie said.
Alex Sampson, a singer from Atikokan, Canada, performed one of his original songs for the crowd. The audience gave him a standing ovation.
‘You really are a gem and you polished yourself up real nice,’ Heidi said.
‘Alex, I think you are a star,’ Sofia said.
‘You’ve created a sound and lane for yourself,’ Simon said. ‘You have so much potential.’
Bboy Samuka, a break dancer from Brazil who lost his leg from cancer, wowed the judges with his amazing skills. He did flips and one-handed cartwheels as part of his amazing dance routine. The judges gave him a standing ovation.
‘Incredible,’ Terry said.
‘You are truly amazing,’ Howie said. ‘You’re truly inspirational.’
‘You are incredible,’ Sofia said. ‘Leg or no leg, you are an amazing dancer!’
Brooke Bailey, 19, from Los Angeles, sang Dancing On My Own by Robyn wearing a strapless purple dress.
‘That was impeccable,’ Sofia said.
‘I have to be honest I don’t think you hit your mark tonight,’ Howie said. ‘I think you have what it takes and I don’t think you rose to the occasion.’
‘To me this is an A++ performance,’ Heidi said.
‘For the first two thirds of the song I was bored,’ Simon said. ‘Then at the end I connected with you.’
Sky Elements USA, from Dallas, put on another epic drone show. The drone show took place outside the stage and the judges watched the performance on a big screen inside. The drones formed colorful circus tents and then recreated Terry, and the faces of the judges with drones.
‘That was honestly incredible,’ Simon said. ‘That was amazing.’
‘I really loved it,’ Sofia said.
Biko’s Manna, a singing group made up of three siblings from Johannesburg, South Africa, were excited after their first audition that Chaka Khan and Lenny Kravitz posted on social media about them. They sang the Jimmy Cliff song I Can See Clearly Now.
‘I love this act,’ Simon said. ‘There is something really authentic about what you do.’
‘I felt it on my face and I couldn’t stop smiling,’ Howie said.
Schumacher, a two-person Japanese comedy act, put on animal outfits. This time one wore a horse outfit and wiggled through a hula hoop. They put on another horse outfit but Simon was not impressed and pushed his buzzer.
‘I don’t care what Simon says, I stand with you,’ Sofia said.
Heidi said it was so bad that it was good.
Ashlee Montague, an extreme ballerina from New York, went next. She balanced herself walking across bottles on her tiptoes surrounded by flames. She also climbed a ladder of bottles taking each step on her tiptoes. Her husband Richard assisted her on stage.
‘I think what you do is amazing,’ Howie said.
Howie didn’t think what she did was that different from her audition.
‘I don’t know what Howie is watching, she definitely stepped it up,’ Heidi said.
‘You didn’t play safe,’ Sofia said.
‘I have so much respect for what you did,’ Simon said. ‘There was no safety net.’
Ashlee said she went through 27 pairs of ballet shoes getting ready for her performance.
NiNi, a folk metal guitarist who lives in Phoenix, closed out the two-hour show. She wowed the audience playing on a traditional Chinese guitar-like instrument.
‘It’s something special what you do,’ Sofia said.
Simon said he hated the song and the track, but thought she was interesting.
‘I think you are absolutely stunning,’ Heidi said.
‘You are like NiNi Hendricks,’ Howie said.
America’s Got Talent will return on Wednesday on NBC with the results of viewer voting.
