AGT‘s First-Ever Audience Golden Buzzer Moves Simon Cowell to Tears in Season 18 Premiere — Watch (2024)

TREX FLIPS

Howie Mandel called the first act of Season 18, a man backflipping and breakdancing in a T-rex Halloween costume, “the ultimate surprise.” But the real surprise is that all four judges gave him a “yes.” Don’t get me wrong, I agree with Cowell that he was “the best dancing dinosaur we have ever had on AGT,” but what kind of bar is that? Would anyone pay real, human dollars to see this live in Vegas? I wouldn’t.

PHILIP BOWEN

First of all, I love that Bowen learned how to play violin after seeing musician Itzhak Perlman — who just happens to be Mandel’s cousin (?!) — on Sesame Street. But I have even more love for the music that Bowen blessed us with tonight. Did I expect this kindly father of three to absolutely melt our faces off with what I can only describe as “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” meets… System of a Down? It was cool, then it was beautiful, then it was cool again. And it was always rock ‘n’ roll.

STEEL PANTHER

With an intro from the likes of Dave Navarro calling it “the greatest metal band you’ve never heard of,” this glam-metal foursome is sure to have long legs in this competition. Guitars? Shredded. Vocals? Screaming. I can’t blame Joe Manganiello for hiring these guys to play at his 40th birthday party — I grew a long, curly mane of rock-god hair just listening to them!

THREE G

Were it not for the first-of-its-kind audience Golden Buzzer,thiswould have been the most talked-about audition of the night. This beautiful acrobatic trio from Ukraine had the audience in awe, stacking themselves on top of one another with all the precision of the Cat in the Hat. But then… a fall. Followed by another fall. This kind of repeated fumble is rare in a televised AGT audition, so most viewers assumed this would be the end of the road for Three G. Instead, the judges commended them for picking themselves back up and finishing their audition. As Cowell put it before sending them through, “Lesser people would have just given up.”

Honestly, I’m torn. What Three G did accomplish was very impressive, but it’s all irrelavent if we’re worried about whether or not they’re going to fall down again.

TRIGG WATSON

This tech genius-turned-magician blew the judges’ minds (as well as my own) with a routine in which he interacted with a giant cell phone, taking things from the screen and putting them back in at random. Not only do I have no idea how any of this was accomplished, but I’m declaring it Doctor Strange-level sorcery. This man needs to be locked up. Or put in charge of the multiverse — either one!

D'COREY JOHNSON

Every season of AGT needs at least one precocious youngster with a mean set of pipes, and we got our first one in this 11-year-old showstopper from Louisville, Ky. Determined to one day be on Broadway, this pint-sized performer shocked me with a booming rendition of… Journey’s “Open Arms”? Really? Surely I can’t be the only person who was expecting a musical theater ballad here.

Still, Johnson totally crushed his moment in the spotlight. And he sounded even better when the judges requested that he perform it again a cappella.

SHADOW ACE

Shadow puppetry usually feels very been-there-done-that on AGT, so I can’t say enough good things about this bonafide entertainer, who practically reinvented the genre to deliver a hilarious, impressive production featuring pole dancing, Miley Cyrus’ iconic wrecking ball and, of course, “Gangnam Style.”

(When he said he was resurrecting a lost art, he wasn’t talking about shadow puppetry. He was talking about Psy.)

ORLANDO LEYBA

I probably would have found his set funnier if I watched Yellowstone (sorry!), but there was no denying the vibe that this 45-year-old Miami-based comedian was putting out there. I may not watch one of the buzziest shows on TV, but even I know that bison are nothing more than bougie cows.

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