Courtesy of NBC

Jacob Elyachar

Staff Writer
@JacobElyachar

This season, the AGT judges (Howard Stern, Heidi Klum, Mel B and Howie Mandel) traveled across the country to find the show’s next big superstar!

Multiple singers, dancers, acrobats, comedians, magicians and a strong man have impressed the audience and earned a spot in the next round.

In addition to the new faces of talent, another feature made its debut: The Golden Buzzer. The judges can only press the coveted buzzer once this season! Howard pressed it to save controversial comedy act Dustin’s Dojo.

Did we finally get to see an act impress Heidi, Howie or Mel B? Read on to find out…

Up first to face the judges was Nashville native Emily West. After eight years as a singer-songwriter, Emily moved to NYC in hopes to make it big in the music industry. Before her audition, Emily struggled finding gigs and recording contracts. She stepped in the “brightest spotlight” of the summer as she stunned the audience with “Sea of Love.” Her beautiful vocals gave the audience chills and received a standing ovation from Howard and Howie. The King of All Media stated that she was “original and had a magnificent voice” and Mel B added that she reminded her of “Old Hollywood.” Emily moved into the next round!

Dance troupes have always thrived on AGT! Miami All-Stars, Defying Gravity and iLuminate have all set the stage a blaze in their respective seasons. This season’s major contender to inherit Kenichi Ebina’s crown was Baila Conmigo. They performed a Colombian Salsa routine that was so speedy; it made the Dancing with the Stars pros look like amateurs. The group received a standing ovation from Heidi and Mel B, who said that she has never seen “Salsa done like that.” Howie smart-alecky added that the routine was “Salsa on caffeine.”

Thirty-nine-year-old Rachel Butera quit her corporate day job to go into the comedy world! The New Jersey native traveled to LA and, until her audition, was barely scraping by. When she auditioned, she reunited with Howard Stern…who had to abstain from voting because of their history together (she performed on his radio show multiple times). Rachel’s spot-on impressions of Wanda Sykes, Rosie O’Donnell and Whoopi Goldberg left both the judges and audiences in stitches. She received the necessary three “yeses” to move on to the next round.

Boy band Legaci’s day jobs might be boring (they work in the computer business)! But, when the quartet sang Michael Jackson’s “Who’s Lovin’ You,” they had one of the best harmonies of the night. They received a standing ovation from Howie, an apology from Howard (who predicted that “they might be out of the computer business full time and into the singing business full-time.”) and proved that Mel B still had her sixth sense!

Twenty-five-year-old Mat Franco spent most of his life interested in magic! He used his AGT audition to tell a story of season nine using close-up magic and a deck of cards! All of the cards matched his story and he received the first four-judge standing ovation of the night. Howard praised his preparation and Heidi stated that she was “stunned and floored” from his audition. Mat received four “yeses” and a one-way-ticket to the next round!

Acts traveled from all parts of the county to audition for the show. Twenty-one-year-old American Samoa native and soldier Paul Ieti stated that singing helped him escape during his service in Afghanistan. His interpretation of Rihanna’s “Stay” was very intriguing and I loved hearing his falsetto. In addition to the second four judge-standing ovation of the night, Paul received hugs from Mel B, Heidi, Howard and Nick.

Fifth generation circus performer Christian Stoinev wants to headline a show in Las Vegas. It is very hard to follow in the footsteps of last season’s hand balancing masters, the KriStef Brothers, but Christian’s dangerous one-handed stunts blew everyone away! I have a feeling that Christian is going to be a performer to watch this season, as he received the third four-judge standing ovation of the night.

Younger acts were out in force this year! From cubic square masters to unbelievable dancers, the Millennial generation continued to step up to the plate. Hoping to make it to the next round was 12-year-old Josh Orlian. The White Plains, NY native’s dream came true when he auditioned for AGT. It was also the first time he debuted his stand-up act. His raunchy jokes left the audience in stitches and received a standing ovation from Howie!

Aerialist Laura Dasi was the final act to audition for the judges! She battled an autoimmune disease that left her bald, but she found her passion in performing aerial stunts! She delivered a mesmerizing performance to John Legend’s “All of Me.” It was so moving that she received a standing ovation from Mel B and the audience. Laura received the final four “yeses” of the evening and moved onto the next round!

On Sunday (June 22), America’s Got Talent will deliver more impeccable auditions and two daring individuals will try to break world records!

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