'America's Got Talent' season 17 returns on Tuesday night, August 9 as the live shows kick off and the wild card act is announced after America's last week's vote.
- Aug 10, 2022
AceShowbiz - Season 17 of "America's Got Talent" returned on Tuesday night, August 9 as the live shows kicked off and the wildcard act was announced after last week's vote. During the show, the first 11 acts performed in the first round of the Qualifiers. America's vote will determine which two acts will move on to the Finals.
"Qualifiers 1" featured second-round performances by acrobatic group Amoukanama, dog act Amazing Veranica & Her Incredible Friends, singers Ava Swiss and Drake Milligan, comic singer Ben Lapidus, stand-up comedians Don McMillan and Lace Larrabee, contortionist Oleksandr Yenivatov, singing group The Players Choir, dancing duo Stefanny and Yeremy and Terry Crews' Golden Buzzer saxophonist Avery Dixon.
During Tuesday's broadcast, host Terry announced that America picked comedian Jordan Conley as the 55th act. Jordan is set to perform in one of the upcoming Qualifiers episodes.
The first act to perform for America's vote was the African acrobatic group Amoukanama. The group started off strong in the audience. It was Howie Mandel's first time seeing them since he was sick during their audition, but his elation after their performance was clear and Sofia Vergara added that they were better this time. Heidi Klum, meanwhile, admired the stunning performance. As for Simon Cowell, he agreed with Sofia that the group improved, adding that tonight they were "a ten."
Next up was Amazing Veranica & Her Incredible Friends, one of the best dog acts the show had ever seen, according to the judges. For Tuesday's show, Veranica dolled her dogs up in little dresses. The pups performed tricks like jumping through hoops and walking on two legs. Sofia appreciated that Veranica was so in control of the dogs. Simon agreed, noting that "there was magic as well." Howie called the performance adorable but also chaotic. As for Heidi, she said that it was "an overload of cuteness."
Then Ava Swiss took to the stage to perform Pink's "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken". Reacting to the flawless performance, Heidi said she's "in awe" of Ava's talent. Simon thought that "gutsy" Ava was brilliant for choosing the song as it "makes a statement."
Returning to the stage after getting four X buzzers from the judges and being brought back by the thunderous applause of the audience was Ben Lapidus. Ben sang a rock version of "Parmesan Cheese". Though the entire crowd was singing along, Simon made it clear that he's still not a big fan by pressing his red X. Also pressing red buzzers were Sofia and Howie. "I don't understand how you made it here," Sofia admitted.
Following up next was stand-up comedian Lace Larrabee. Her performance was quite female-centric, which had Sofia and Heidi laughing. Simon wasn't here for it, so he pressed his red X. After being booed, Simon said he pressed the X to help her.
Country singer Drake Milligan performed another one of his original songs, "Kiss Goodbye All Night", for Tuesday's performance. "You're the whole package," Sofia raved. Howie thought that Drake has a "good chance" at winning "AGT". Simon echoed Howie's comments and said he believes Drake is the "real deal." Simon even said it's the "best performance of the night."
Oleksandr Yenivatov has proven that he's able to change Simon's mind. For Tuesday's show, Oleksandr got a little spooky and a little silly with a haunted mansion-themed performance and pushed the limits of his body by spinning his legs around his waist at a complete 180 degrees from his torso. Simon gave Oleksandr a standing ovation after he previously hit the X button in his audition. As for Sofia, she called the performance "disturbing and fascinating at the same time."
Moving on from Oleksandr's extreme performance, NFL Players Choir brought joy with their performance of "Can't Stop The Feeling" by Justin Timberlake. Howie said that he's not a very big fan of choirs but he loves the group. "You make us feel good," he said. Agreeing with Howie, Simon told the choir, "I felt amazing after that."
Dancing duo Stefanny and Yeremy returned to "AGT" with yet another sexy performance. Right at the end of the performance, Simon pressed his red X. Meanwhile, Sofia said the performance was "spectacular." She also called Simon "crazy" for pressing his X.
Comedian Don McMillan hit the stage with his Powerpoint standup act again. Right off the bat, Don made Howie laugh. "I think you are already a national treasure," Howie raved. Simon admitted that he didn't like Don's audition but later acknowledged that he was wrong.
The final performance of the night came from Golden Buzzer recipient Avery Dixon. He played the saxophone to Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground", which left everyone in awe. A stunned Simon even compared Avery to Carrie Underwood and told him, "You're going to be a superstar."
