‘America’s Got Talent’: Howie Mandel Makes 14-Year-Old Singer’s Dreams Come True With 2nd Golden Buzzer
Written by Rtradio on July 10, 2024
America’s Got Talent returned Tuesday for the sixth night of season 19’s audition rounds, and the judges had no time for goof-offs or mess-abouts — serious AGT hopefuls only this week!
Yet, there were quite a few jarring red buzzers slammed and “no” votes being cast during the first half of the two-hour episode!
This week’s slate of performers included a saxophonist, jugglers, singers, dance crews, a balancing act, stunt performers, medieval combat reenactors and more!
Host Terry Crews led the mind-blowing slate of auditions — which were overseen by longtime judges Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara and Simon Cowell — and by the halfway point of the night, everyone was more than ready for someone to really pull off a show-stopping number after a string of underwhelming auditions
Luckily, this is when 14-year-old Reid Wilson hit the stage with a mic in his hand and a song in his heart.
The young crooner, who hails from Alabama, was cheered on by his adoring mom from the wings of the stage as he smiled bright and won over the judges before his performance even began. Then, when he showed off what he can really do with his cover of Lesley Gore’s iconic tune “You Don’t Own Me,” there wasn’t a person in the room who wasn’t blown away.
“I think you’re absolutely incredible,” Klum praised. “I love how you also took your mic off and then you just gave a little bit more stage presence. Well done.”
“I shut my eyes for a moment when you were singing just to listen to your voice, and then I opened them again, and there’s this sweet, young kid,” Cowell marveled with a smile.
“First of all, you’re just a 14-year-old kid from Alabama. So I would imagine — I put myself in your position — you were very nervous, and you did come off incredibly nervous,” Mandel shared. “So that was a surprise.”
“But that stage is where dreams come true,” he continued. “Do you believe in dreams? Well one of them is about to come true.”
Mandel slammed the Golden Buzzer, showering the talented young artist in golden confetti and moving him one step closer to glory.
This also marks the second time Howie has used a Golden Buzzer after previously giving his first to Brent Street, a talented dance crew from Sydney, Australia, during week 4.
Here’s a look at a few of the night’s other impressive performances:
Super Silva Jr.
Dance Crew Espiritu
Alex Sampson
Praveen Prajapat
B. Thompson
Balloon Taro
ET spoke with the judges on the AGT red carpet ahead of the season 19 audition rounds, and they opened up about why giving each of them a second Golden Buzzer is a real game changer.
“Talent is subjective. When you put a singer next to a dancer, next to a danger act, next to a magician — they each need their own buzzer!” Crews shared. “I just think it’s perfect! And I’ve said this before, AGT is consistently evolving… [and] it’s getting better every time a new evolution comes out.”
Cowell — who created AGT and also serves as an executive producer on the series — came up with the idea for the second Golden Buzzer, and explained to ET that the idea came to him when he considered “the amount of time and effort these people put into this act and where this can go.”
“People fly in from all over the world, as well as the American artists, and you are seeing the [amazing] things,” Cowell gushed about the magic of the show. “The 70 times I’ve just gone, ‘How did you come up with that idea?!’ That’s what I love about the show, you know? It continues to surprise you.”
America’s Got Talent airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
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