America’s Got Talent Season 12 Episode 3: June 13, 2017 Preview, Auditions

Youtube/America's Got Talent

America’s Got Talent Season 12, Episode 3 is coming up, with judges Mel B., Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Simon Cowell awaiting the chance send contestants through to the next round in a show that airs next at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday, June 13.

Videos by Rare

As we prepare for the show, viewers are still talking about the  twin tales of inspiration — 9-year-old Angelica Hale, who nearly died following a serious illness, a d 29-year-old Mandy Harvey, who lose all of her hearing more than a decade ago but decided not to give up on her life-long quest to be a musician.

Both continue to receive praise and notes of inspiration on social media.

On Mandy, fans said:

And on Angelica, they said:

https://twitter.com/AbigayleWilliam/status/872262755667128320

https://twitter.com/tyrabanks/status/872262380196999168

America’s Got Talent Season 12, Episode 1: Results, recap for June 6

This could have been “pull at the heartstrings” week on AGT. Among the contestants — a singer who wrote a song for a woman in a bad relationship; a 9-year-old girl who nearly died; and a musician who lost her hearing and feared she  would never sing again. It’s not fair, folks, that there was no hankie warning for this one.

But just as these touching moments were the serious highlights, there were also the silly ones, led by a guy who did a hand balancing act with an inflatable doll.

Act 1: Edna and her dog, Mia:

Edna’s last name is Moore, and she named her dog Mia Moore (get it) — the love of her life. She calls her the K-9 Einstein. Mia, Edna Moore said, can count any number between one and 50, and reads flash cards. Yeah right, I thought. And, at first, Mia proved my skepticism when Eden asked her to count to four, and Mia appeared to come down with a case of doggie stage fright. But then, Mia the cockapoo counted to four (by barking), and then all the way to 16. “That’s amazing,” Howie said. Then Mia looked at a flashcard that said “20,” and damn if that dog didn’t bark 20 times. Even Simon gave the K-9 Einstein a standing ovation, said he was blown away and called Mia a “Super Dog.” When Simon asked if Mia wanted four yeses, of course she barked four times. She sailed through to the next round.

Act 2: Diavolo, Architect in Motion

Diablo is a very large performance group that does a combination of dance and gymnastics on a moving structure.  That does not go near far enough in describing how amazing the act was. The dancers jumped on an arch-looking structure that moved side-to-side, and the dancers took turns dancing and jumping through the air. “Oh my God! Mel B. yelled after one particularly scary leap. Howie said, “You guys took it beyond the next level. I’ve never quite seen anything like this in my life.” No surprise they sailed through with four yeses.

https://youtu.be/ldhkLiGoQE0

Act 3:  Chase Goehring, 21, musician

It’s tough on musicians on these shows. You have to separate yourself and be really original. Chase Goehring, a 21-year-old singer/songwriter from a small town in Tennessee, blew originality out of the water. The guitarist performed a song he wrote, “Hurt,” about a girl in a bad relationship he wishes was with him.  The redhead had a little Ed Sheeran in him (in style anyway), and while the beginning of the song was, eh, OK, he blew away everyone when he broke out in a power rap that was, well, original (no pun intended). The judges were equally impressed,and all four gave him a standing ovation. Even Simon said, “Wow,” followed by, “It was bloody fantastic. You did something I genuinely wasn’t expecting in the middle …” Four yeses, and he’s through, too.

Act 4: Jimmy and Judy, hand balancers

The dancers do a hand balancing act, Jimmy Slonina said. Before their performance, he was in a tizzy because his partner had yet to show up, and they were minutes away from taking the stage. But, when Jimmy, in a tacky red leotard that showed his underarm hair in full view, went on stage, he looked skyward, and Judy was descending from a rope above. Mel B. was aghast, and not because of the danger of the act; Judy turned out to be a blow-up doll. “Seriously?” Simon said, who didn’t let 10 seconds go by before he pressed the dreaded red X.. But Jimmy continued on, balancing his head on Judy’s face and smashing it flat. That was enough for Heidi to hit the X, too. Poor Jimmy, who then threw Judy through the air, and she deflated … much like Jimmy’s hopes for moving forward. Howie called his act comedy — really, what else was this? —  and he got some support from Mel B. But Heidi and Simon thought the act was just full of hot air. Their two no votes were enough to send Jimmy and Judy home, probably in search of an air hose.

https://youtu.be/qSeO2nBwzdg

Act 5: Paige and Artyon

Eight-year-old Paige and 9-year-old Artyon are two cute little kids who did a dance act It started off really cheesy, to the tune, “Barbie Girl,” but it quickly turned into serious skill. The two little ones did some challenging ballet moves , including Artyon hoisting Paige in the air and twirling her .. but Simon hit the red buzzer anyway. You cad! How dare you crush the dreams of little ones? After the act, the crowd chanted, “Let them through.” Simon said the little kids needed more experience, and the crowd booed — loudly. This also set up Simon vs. the other judges. “I love that you’re still smiling even though he’s so mean.” Heidi said, referring to Simon. Simon is no match for cute kids with big smiles. Howie, Mel and Heidi said yes, and the two cuties moved on.

https://youtu.be/NvRiZcgL-E8

Act 6: Nick Uhas, the science guy

Nick Uhas says he makes science videos for the internet because, “Science is that cool.” For his first experiment, he asked the judges to suck air out of a balloon, and their voices all changed so they sounded like Darth  Vadar. “Simon, I am your worst nightmare,” Mel B. deadpanned. Mel B  and Howie went to the “table of science” and set off a chemical reaction that created a weird looking “Jabba the Hutt” type blob, and then Howie dumped hot water in liquid nitrogen, which blew up in a bog  white cloud. No one died in the pursuit of science, and all four judges said yes. We’ll see more science in future episodes.

https://youtu.be/_l-zIG9CWh0

Act 7: Billy and Emily England, acrobatic roller skaters

Billy, 30, and Emily,27,  think what they do is like ballet. The brother-sister duo must be close because in the opening, Billy brushed his long red beard with Emily’s brush. Simon noted that they were on the British version of the TV show, and he was excited to see them, again. That was a clue of how stunning this act was. They got on a small platform, and did a bunch of death-defying spins and moves that made me dizzy just looking at it. Words can’t describe what they did — especially when Emily’s head came inches from the floor — and I didn’t even have to wait for the final vote to know they would move on. Howie: “Oh my God. People at home don’t realize how dangerous that was .. for us because we’re so close.” You blew me away.” Mel B.: “What just happened, seriously? That was just crazy, but crazy good.” And is she right. Four yeses, easy.

https://youtu.be/SpIlgZ42IkU

Act 8: Angelica Hale

The incredibly cut 9-year-old is a singer who overcame pneumonia that it ruined a kidney and she almost died. But her mother donated a kidney to keep her alive. So it’s hard to root against her with a story like that. She also has a goal — to be the next Whitney Houston. Talk about dreaming big.  So the little girl with the little voice belted out “Rise Up” with such feeling and range she had the crowd cheering almost as soon as she opened her mouth. Simon smiled. Her parents cried. This is another one I didn’t have to wait for to write “yes” four times because, well, she’s that good. I mean, stop what you’re doing and pay attention to her good. When she was done, she just smiled a sweet 9-year-old smile. “OMG,” said Howie. Simon said, “This shouldn’t actually happen,. You’re tiny, you’re voice is huge. We may be looking at future star.” When little Angelica said Mel B. was her favorite star, she rushed to stage and wrapped her in a bear hug. This one had all the feels. And yes, all the judges said yes.

https://youtu.be/TddQEzW9MQM

 

Act 9: Azeri Brothers

They have scars on their bodies. Medics were standing by. And no wonder. The Azeri brothers performed an act of strength, danger and pain that is, well, not for everyone. The brothers don’t talk so we don’t have names for them. But they did have some other guy dressed in black who did the talking for them. The act went like this. One brother rammed five nails through a board with his hands and two more with his head. Simon had a legit “WTF” look on his face. Howie was flabbergasted.  Then one laid down on a bed of nail while someone placed a pitch fork on his chest and stood on it. That was enough for Heidi, who hit the red buzzer of death. When they placed a shovel on the neck of one of the brothers — and an audience member stood on the shovel — Howie hit the buzzer. Heidi said the act was, “horrible to watch.” Howie called  it, “A buffet of torture. I think this is too much too far. Somebody is going to die, don’t do this.” Simon had a different take:” It was disgusting but I loved it.” With Mel B. and Simon as yeses, and Heidi a no, it was up to Howie. He asked the crowd if it liked the act and when it clapped loudly, he voted yes. So the Azeri Brothers live another day.

Act 10: Colin Cloud, magician

Magic done right is amazing. The best tricks start with a simple premise that contains a twist that blows away the audience. That’s what Colin Cloud did. He took a simple premise — a coin trick — and turned it on its head. He asked each judge to place a coin in their hand and then accurately predicted where to coin was. He then pulled of a neat trick when he said he heard, from the crowd, the words “white,” “kitten,” and “oscar,” and he pulled, from a box, a little white kitten named Oscar.  Judges like magic, and all four voted yes Colin Cloud is moving on.

 

Act 11: Mandy Harvey and her interpreter, Sarah

Mandy lost all of her hearing when she was 18, and now, she’s 29. She got sick and the nerves in her ears deteriorated, and she finally went deaf. But that didn’t stop her from pursuing her music dreams — she’d been singing since she was 4-years-old. Now, she feels the music through vibration, and she sang an original song called, “Try,” a homage to her desire to perform the music she loves so much. It was a beautiful, heart-stopping moment. Forget about the song, which she should release on iTunes tomorrow; her grit showed America what you can accomplish if you try. Before the song was over she had the crowd on its feet, and some in tears. Simon simply said, “Mandy, I don’t think you’re going to need a translator for this,” and he hit the Golden Buzzer. She’s going straight through to the live show. She deserves it.

 

Also made it through

Pelican 212, a band of  brothers and sisters, did a rockin’ version of “We are Family,” and the judges were impressed enough to move them through. They were only on the show foe seconds, but here’s a small bit of their performance.

https://youtu.be/KepPyOZ6zYs

 

 

America’s Got Talent Season 12: How to watch, TV info for Tuesday, June 6

Schedule: 8 p.m. EST | NBC
Host: Tyra Banks
Judges: Howie Mandel, Simon Cowell, Mel B. and Heidi Klum

Auditions continue over the next few weeks:
Tuesday, June 13 | 8 p.m. EST | NBC
Tuesday, June 20 | 8 p.m. EST | NBC
Tuesday, June 27 | 8 p.m. EST | NBC
Tuesday, July 4 | 8 p.m. EST | NBC

Judge cuts will begin in July, followed by live shows and results episodes.

America’s Got Talent Season 12, Episode 1: Results, recap for May 30

Darci Lynne Farmer

The amazing 12-year old ventriloquist, Darci Lynne Farmer blew away the judges. What seemed to start as a standard “throw your voice” ended up as much more. Instead of talking, Darci belted out a stunning version of Summertime that had the crowd — and the judges — on their feet.

The young performer earned the coveted Golden Buzzer when Mel B. bashed the button. That means Darci goes straight to the live show.

Through to the next round

Ever seen a chicken playing a keyboard? Now you have:

On the opposite end of that, how about a performer who risked his life by escaping shackles before 900 pounds of sand could fall from above and bury him alive?

Others advancing to the next round

  • Preacher Larson – The stand-up comedian blew away the judges with a performance on his 26th birthday, and was so good Simon gave him time for one more joke. He easily moved through to the next round.
  • Yoli Mayor – 21-year-old singer started off on a rocky foot when she started singing,  “I Put a Spell On You,” and Simon stopped the song because he wanted to hear something more “youthful.” So she belted out Ed Sheeran’s “Make It Rain,” and that was so good she made it through.
  • Junior and Emily Alibi – The brother and sister salsa duo performed a spicy number with so many spins it felt like the room was moving. They easily made it through.
  • Visualist Will Tsai – He had four cards covering four quarters and somehow moved the quarters underneath the cards. He then, with a snap of his fingers, moved the quarters themselves before turning them into rose petals. Yes, he moved ahead.
  • Singing Trump – He impersonated the President doing Uptown Funk. That’s an odd combination, and it worked, moving him to the next round.
  • Merrick Hanna – The 12-year-old dancer told the story of a broken, floppy robot through dance. At the end, you could hear Howie saying, “I love that,” and Merrick moved through.
  • Puddles Pity Party – A mime, clown and singer mixed into one. Mimes and clowns are scary, and he made it even stranger by belting out an amazing version of “Chandelier.” He sailed through.

 

America’s Got Talent Season 12 Preview

America’s Got Talent is back for its 12th season highlighting the diverse “talents” Americans bring to the table. That talent can be anything — singing, dancing, juggling, magic tricks, you name it. While the talent can be silly, the prize isn’t. The winner walks away with $1 million. Contestants need at least three yeses from the four judges (Howie Mandel, Simon Cowell, Mel B. and Heidi Klum) to move on to the next round. A hit of the “Golden Buzzer” and the act is sent directly through to the live performances.

There was some offseason drama that has led to a major change in the show. Host Nick Cannon, embroiled in a dispute with NBC, is out after eight seasons. Cannon, according to a 700-word Facebook post said NBC executives threatened him with termination because of jokes he told on this Showtime Special, “Nick Cannon, Stand Up, Don’t Shoot.”

His replacement is former model and now Hollywood icon Tyra Banks. We’ll miss Cannon, and this is a good time to look back at some of his craziest moments from last year:

https://youtu.be/fceBobcO7I8

History of the “Golden Buzzer”

The “Golden Buzzer” was introduced in Season 9 of AGT as a talent saver of sorts, allowing judges to press it once during the season, automatically sending an act to the next round regardless of other judges votes.

In Season 10, the Golden Buzzer was upgraded to automatically send a talent through past the Judge Cuts and directly to the live shows.

Previous America’s Got Talent winners

Season 11: Grace VanderWaal

Grace VanderWaal, a 12 year-old ukulele sensation. She signed a record deal with Columbia Records and in December 2016 released her first EP, Perfectly Imperfect. She also won the 2017  Radio Disney Music Award for Best New Artist  and hopes to have a full-length album released this year.

Season 10: Paul Zerdin

Paul Zerdin, a British comedian and ventriloquist,  recently kicked off his residency at Sin City Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. His big goal now is to score celebrity guest appearances from Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez at his live show. He starts a tour overseas in September.

Season 9:  Mat Franco

The only magician to win America’s Got Talent, Mat Franco headlined a show at the LINQ Hotel & Casino in 2015. Additionally, he appeared in a two-hour TV special that aired on NBC.  His  “Mat Franco – Magic Reinvented Nightly” won “Best Show” on the Las Vegas Strip in 2016 in the “Las Vegas Weekly Readers’ Choice Awards”. That same year, he was awarded “Best Magic Show” by the Las Vegas Review Journal’s “Best of Las Vegas” awards.

Season 8: Kenichi Ebina

Our most recent winner was a martial arts dancer and mime named Kenichi Ebina. In yet another break from the norm, this was the first time a dance act won AGT.  He’s performed his unique dance style at a number of events, and will soon be in charge of directing a classical manga and anime series in Japan.

Season 7: Olate Dogs

It took seven seasons but finally a non-singing act won the day at AGT headquarters. The dog trick act Olate Dogs claimed the $1 million prize and, funny enough, also released a holiday album. The Olate Dogs’ Christmas debuted in late 2013. Since then, the dogs and their human family have appeared on morning shows, during NBA halftime events, and  have kept a heavy touring schedule and are back on the road starting this month.

Season 6: Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr.

Frank Sinatra-like vocalist Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. crooned his way to the finals in Season No. 6. Since his win, he’s released two albums: That’s Life, released November 21, 2011, and a couple of Novembers later, Christmas Made for Two. He’s performed at the Apollo Theater, with the world famous Motown group, the Temptations, has appeared on several morning shows and continues to give con concerts.

Season 5: Michael Grimm

Another singer earned the win for the fifth installment of the NBC show. Michael Grimm signed a deal with Epic Records in 2010, and released an album a year later. He’s performed at the Macu’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and has twice appeared on the Ellen Show. He’s also opened for Stevie Nicks. The biggest news —  he got married!

Season 4: Kevin Skinner

AGT went country for its fourth season, giving the win to crooner Kevin Skinner. After his victoy, he began a 10-week headline show at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. Oh, and he also added $1 million to his bank account. He released an album in 2010 and appeared on the Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.  Unfortunately, Skinner went missing in 2014 but was eventually found. Local media reported his family said he’d been suffering from “mental issues.”

Season 3: Neal E. Boyd

In the Summer of 2008, an opera singer wowed viewers. Neal E. Boyd earned AGT’s No.1 spot on October 1, a late-airing finale because of the show’s nearly three-week hiatus for the 2008 Summer Olympics. After signing with Decca Records he released one album, in 2009. He’s performed for former Presidents Barack Obama, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. He ran for the Missouri House of Representatives — and lost — in 2012. Now, he runs an insurance agency.

Season 2: Terry Fator

Singing once again won the day in Season 2 but this time with a twist. A singing impressionist ventriloquist (say that five times fast) won the crown. The year after Terry Fator won, he signed a five-year, $100 million contract to perform at the Mirage Hotel — and he still performs there, all these years later.

Season 1: Bianca Ryan

During the show’s first season in 2006, the then 11-year-old impressed the judges with her tremendous vocals and earned the country’s votes, making her the first winner of AGT. Now 23, Bianca’s released an album in 2006, a couple of EPs, and just recently released her latest single, One Day, on iTunes.

About the America’s Got Talent judges

Tyra Banks

Tyra Banks - America's Got Talent
(Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for 2016 Essence Festival)

Started as a superstar model who created “America’s Top Model,” in 2003 and “The Tyra Show,” which ran from 2005-2010. Was the first African American woman to be featured on the covers of GQ and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Has taken courses at the Harvard Business School.

Howie Mandel

Howie Mandel - America's Got Talent
(Photo by Jeff Schear/Getty Images)

Multi-talented performer came to fame in 1982 as Dr. Wayne Fiscus on the hospital drama St. Elsewhere. Also a successful stand-up comedian. Former host of Deal or No Deal. Replaced David Hasselhoff in 2010 on AGT.

Simon Cowell

Simon Cowell - America's Got Talent
(Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

He started in the music business in Britain and in 2001 became a judge on Britain’s Pop Idol.  He was also a judge on American Idol from 2002-2010. Helped launch the X Factor in 2011. Is executive producer of America’s Got Talent, which debuted in 2006.

Mel B.

Mel B. - America's Got Talent
(Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

An original Spice Girl, she’s now heavy into television. She was a judge on the X Factor before becoming a judge on America’s Got Talent.

Heidi Klum

Heidi Klum - America's Got Talent
(Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images)

The one-time Victoria Secrets model has now transformed into businesswoman, and she should, since she has an estimated net worth of $70 million from her modeling, clothing lines, and other ventures. She’s a host and judge of the hit show, Project Runway. 

What do you think?

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