Who Will Win 'America's Got Talent’? Contestants Chase $1 Million Prize
After nine weeks of "America's Got Talent" auditions, Season 18's first qualifiers episode kicked off Tuesday night.
The "AGT" contestants have been whittled down to 55 acts for the qualifiers, and 11 hopefuls performed Tuesday night, but only two will progress to the finals during Wednesday night's results episode.
Klum's Lavender Darcangelo Pride
Judge Heidi Klum's Golden Buzzer act Lavender Darcangelo was one of the star performers on Tuesday night.
The singer, who is blind and autistic, sang "I Want to Know What Love Is.” While it seemed to challenge her vocally, the aspiring star received a standing ovation from Klum and fellow "AGT" panelists Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel and Sofia Vergara.
Cowell said she "nailed" the performance, and Klum added she is "so proud" of Darcangelo, who is +300 and joint second favorite to be the Season 18 winner, landing the $1 million prize.
Dog act Adrian Stoica and his pet pooch Hurricane (+400) also had all four judges on their feet at the end of their qualifiers performance.
Mandel described the pair as his "favorite dog act ever on AGT,” with Vergara adding they are "ready for Vegas.”
Sainted Trap Choir Move Into Contention
Sainted Trap Choir moved further into contention in the "AGT" futures betting after all four judges gave them a standing ovation for their medley of popular hip-hop songs.
Cowell said they looked like "30 brilliant solo artists together" during their performance. The choir is at +450, from +600.
They are now level in price with fellow +450 chances Oleksandr Leshchenko, a multimedia dancer, and ventriloquist Brynn Cummings.
A hat-trick of +750 chances in the futures betting, True Villains, Lambros Garcia and Mitch Rossell, also performed on Tuesday night.
Klum praised singer Rossell as "radio ready,” and only Vergara didn't give him a standing ovation out of the four judges.
‘I Love My Mom! You Don’t Set Her On Fire!’
Guitarist John Wines' place in the finals could be in doubt after his qualifiers performance was buzzed by Cowell, who said it "just felt strange.”
He is at +1000, from +850, to win the show, and moves behind fellow Episode 12 performer Maureen Langan (+800).
Danger act Ray Wold & Mom also were on the receiving end of a red buzzer during their performance.
Their act featured Wold setting his mom on fire, but Mandel was not a fan. He told Wold, "I love my mom! You don’t set her on fire! It’s just wrong."
Despite this, the other three judges gave Wold and his mom a standing ovation, but the pair remain +1600 outsiders to win the contest, just ahead of +1800 chances Puppet Simon and The Cow Belles.
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