America's Got Talent (2006–…): Season 17, Episode 1 - Auditions - S17 - Ep1 - full transcript

[wind blowing]

[bright orchestral music]

♪ ♪

[scraping]

-[sinister voice, echoing]
-Simon...

[fire crackling]

Simon, the time has come.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[muffled cheers]

♪ ♪



[echoing] I don't like it.

[rumbling]

I love it.

[cheers and applause]

[Sly & The Family Stone's
"I Want To Take You Higher]

[upbeat funk music]

♪ I want to take
you higher, yeah ♪

♪ Let me take you higher ♪

We have never seen anything
like this.

♪ Let me light your fire ♪

-[laughter]
-Oh, my God!

♪ Higher ♪

Man, season 17 is just
blowing my mind.

♪ Boom laka-laka-laka,
Boom laka-lak-goon-ka boo ♪



Hurry up!

[audience shouting]

-How did he do that?
-How did he do that?

[cymbal clangs]

I inherited
my father's jeans.

Did you have a few drinks
during dinner?

♪ Don't ya wanna get
higher, yeah ♪

[buzzer]
♪ Don't ya wanna get higher ♪

Get your ass over here!

You're on fire!

♪ Light your fire ♪

♪ Whoo, hah ♪

♪ Move it higher ♪

♪ ♪

[music slows down]

All of us were
willing you to be good.

[echoing] I didn't know
you were gonna be great.

♪ Don't ya wanna
get higher? ♪

♪ Yeah, yeah, baby,
let me light your fire ♪

-Yah!
-That was spectacular!

♪ Whoo, hah ♪

So I'm gonna have to say yes!

♪ Boom laka-laka-laka,
Boom laka-lak-goon-ka boo ♪

♪ Higher ♪

I love you!

[tearful] Thank you.

This is my dreams
coming true.

The best, probably,
of the show

is moments like this.

And I want to make this
a moment for you

to remember forever.

-♪ Ah, ah, ah, ah!
-Ah, ah, ah, ah! ♪

[cheers and applause]

♪ I believe, I believe
when it's all meant to be ♪

♪ All roads lead
to sweet destiny ♪

♪ Burning in your soul like
a thousand degrees ♪

♪ Lord knows we got some
tricks up our sleeve ♪

[cheers and applause]
♪ Magic, break me off ♪

♪ So come alive
and step out of the door ♪

Give it up, folks!

Give it up for the host
of "America's Got Talent,".

Terry Crews!

♪ ♪

Put your hands together
for Howie Mandel!

Heidi Klum!

Sofía Vergara!

And Simon Cowell!

♪ 'Cause we're made
from the stars ♪

[cheers and applause]

-So are you guys ready?
-Yes!

-Let's go.
-Season 17, y'all!

♪ ♪

So thrilled to be back.

-It's like we never left.
-It's literally that--

-Doesn't it feel like that?
-Yeah.

-Here we go, folks.
-It's time to do this thing.

Hi, everyone.

All: Hi!

How you doing?

How are you?

Yo, this is crazy.

Look at how
many people are here.

Whoa.

I love you, Simon!

I actually love you too.

[cheers and applause]

Let's go, let's go!

♪ ♪

Welcome.

-Thank you so much.
-We're so happy to be here.

The emotions are
running wild right now,

and we are here to represent
Chicago in the best way.

Thank you so much.

-[cheers and applause]
-Yeah!

-Well, you look amazing.
-I want to hear all about you.

I want to hear your story

and why you decided
to enter the show.

We are The Pack Drumline
from Chicago, Illinois.

We've been at this
for a very long time.

In 2014, we started as an
at-risk after-school program.

-And sorry, who started it?
-I started it.

-I'm the founding director.
-Oh, you did?

-Sorry, my name is Perry.
-[cheers and applause]

Listen, Simon,
I'm sorry.

I've been waiting
to meet you for a long time,

-and I'm looking at you.
-By the way, likewise.

[laughter]

We started as an
at-risk after-school program,

and we just really wanted
to work and develop the kits.

We had no money
when we started off.

Honestly, this program started
as bucket drums and PVC pipes.

And we were just really just
trying to make our own drums

and--at 2015-2016,
our budget was cut in Chicago,

and a lot of our members left,
and everybody who was left

is who is here right now.

And we really had
to make this dream come alive.

So everyone that's here
has been fighting

for something
and just--and we--

-Wow.
-Thank you.

We just really here
to represent our city,

represent our loved ones,
and to represent ourselves.

So thank you so much
for having us.

-[cheers and applause]
-Yes.

Well, we always say
on this show,

two minutes literally can
change your life,

so I wish you the best of luck.

Thank you so much.

Let's go, Pack!

[cheers and applause]

[drumming]

[whistle blowing]

♪ I got, I got,
I got, I got ♪

♪ Loyalty, got royalty
inside my DNA ♪

♪ Quarter piece, got war
and peace inside my DNA ♪

♪ I got power, poison, pain
and joy inside my DNA ♪

♪ I transform like this,
perform like this ♪

♪ Was Yeshua new weapon ♪

♪ I don't contemplate,
I meditate ♪

♪ Then off your
[...]ing head ♪

♪ This that
put-the-kids-to-bed ♪

♪ This that I got, I got,
I got, I got ♪

♪ Realness, I just kill [...]
'cause it's in my DNA ♪

-[cheers and applause]
-Yeah!

♪ I got riches
buildin' in my DNA ♪

♪ I got dark, I got evil,
that rot inside my DNA ♪

♪ I got off, I got troublesome
heart inside my DNA ♪

♪ I just win again,
then win again

♪ Like Wimbledon, I serve ♪

♪ Yeah, that's him again ♪

♪ The sound that engine in
is like a bird ♪

♪ You see fireworks
and Corvette tire skrrt ♪

♪ The boulevard ♪

♪ I know how you work,
I know just who you are ♪

♪ See, you's a, you's a,
you's a ♪

[beat changes]

[laughing]

Yeah!

♪ ♪

♪ Y'all gon' make me
lose my mind ♪

[cheers and applause]
♪ Up in here, up in here ♪

♪ Y'all gon' make me
go all out ♪

♪ Up in here, up in here ♪

♪ Y'all gon' make me
act a fool ♪

♪ Up in here, up in here ♪

Yes!

♪ Y'all gon' make me
lose my cool ♪

♪ Up in here, up in here ♪

♪ One, two, meet me outside ♪

- ♪ Get up, get up ♪
- ♪ Meet me outside ♪

Whoo!

♪ Gon' meet me outside ♪

♪ Meet me outside,
meet me outside ♪

♪ All my ladies gon' love me
when they meet me outside ♪

♪ Meet me outside,
meet me outside ♪

♪ All my fly ladies... ♪
♪ Hands in the air! ♪

♪ Meet me outside,
meet me outside ♪

[drumming]

Whoa!

[cheers and applause]

Yeah!

[Guy Sebastian's
"Battle Scars"]

[inspirational music]

Incredible!

♪ ♪

Yeah!

Yes!

♪ These battle scars don't
look like they're fading ♪

♪ Don't look like they're
ever going away ♪

♪ They ain't never
gonna change ♪

Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.

Well, Sofía?

You guys are already
an amazing show.

I think you guys
are gonna do really,

really good
in this competition.

-Thank you so much.
-[cheers and applause]

Heidi?

-I thought it was sexy.
-[laughter]

I could see Sofía was like,
jiggling under that table.

She was like, "Mm-hmm."

I was doing the same thing.

I know you all were
doing it too.

It's really cool
because you mix music of today

and then you put
your drums into it.

And also, the choreography was
great--drumming upside down.

-Great performance.
-Thank you so much.

Thank you so much.

-Howie?
-I'm absolutely blown away.

I feel your hearts.

You're not
beating on your drums,

your hearts are
pounding all over this room...

-Thank you.
-All over the country.

Thank you so much.

I love you!

-Thank you so much.
-Thank you so much.

Aw.

You know, people ask
me about what is the best part

of doing this job,
and it's moments like this.

When you see and hear
something you've never seen

or heard before,
which is original, dynamic.

This is exactly what
this show is all about,

-and I think--
-Thank you so much.

It's all over your faces
how much this means to you.

And this, I believe,
is gonna make a big difference,

-I hope.
-Thank you so much.

-[cheers and applause]
-Amazing audition.

I loved it, loved it, loved it.

Let's start with Howie.

-[rhythmic clapping]
-Yes!

♪ ♪

It's a yes.

Yes!

You have...

4,000 yeses.
Congratulations.

♪ These battle scars don't
look like they're fading ♪

♪ Don't look like they're
ever going away ♪

♪ They ain't never
gonna change ♪

♪ These battle scars don't
look like they're fading ♪

♪ Don't look like they're
ever going away ♪

Thank you. Thank you.

♪ They ain't never
gonna change ♪

♪ These battle scars don't
look like they're fading ♪

♪ Don't look like they're
ever going away ♪

Hey, listen, I can't wait
for you to come back.

You've got through the show
with four yeses.

It's incredible!

♪ ♪

Coming up...

Wow!

We weren't expecting that.

JoJo Siwa?

You play with your heart,
and we feel it.

I mean, I'm in shock.

I've never seen
anything like that.

Sit, sit. Pepino.

-[audience groans]
-Oh, God.

You touched
the heart of every human being.

You probably don't
even know how good you are.

You will change the world!

[cheers and applause]

[upbeat pop music]

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

[excited squeals]

AGT!

Work it!

You wanna show
the world what you got?

Oh, Simon.

We're gonna be standing
right where.

Grace VanderWaal has stood,
Angelica Hale,

Darci Lynne has been on there.

That's where their career
boosted and like,

we could be
one of those people.

[girls harmonizing]

We're ready for you.

[excited squeals]

-Let's go.
-Let's go, girls.

All right, go on out there
and meet the judges, guys.

Come on out, come on out.

♪ What you wait, what you
wait, what you waiting for? ♪

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

Sparkly.

Whoo!

Well, well, well, well, well.

♪ ♪

They've already
got a fan club.

-Let's go!
-My gosh.

[laughs] That was huge.
Who are you?

All: We are XOMG POP!

[cheers and applause]

Tell me about XOMG POP!

XOMG POP! Is a girl group

created by JoJo Siwa
and Jessalynn Siwa.

-[cheers and applause]
-Wait, JoJo Siwa?

-Okay.
-Wow.

JoJo's like a superstar dancer.

-Yeah.
-Wow.

And we are super excited
to perform for you guys.

[cheers and applause]

So I'm guessing this is
about world domination, yeah?

-[laughter]
-Kinda, yeah.

Well, in a music way and loving
everybody as we do it.

-Of course.
-That's right. Yes. Yes.

Yeah, Tinie!

And the song--this
is an original song?

Yes, this is "Candy Hearts."

-[cheers and applause]
-Yeah!

Okay. I'm really excited
to hear what you're gonna do.

-All: Thank you!
-Good luck.

[cheers and applause]

-Wow.
-This'll be fun.

[upbeat pop music]

all: ♪ Ca-ca-candy,
ca-ca-ca-candy ♪

♪ Ca-ca-candy, ca-ca-ca-candy ♪

♪ Ca-ca-candy, ca-ca-ca-candy ♪

♪ We are sweet
like ca-a-a-a-andy ♪

♪ Sprinkles in our eyes ♪

♪ Cotton candy on our minds ♪

♪ Sugar hypnotized ♪

all: ♪ Iye-iye-iye-ized ♪

both: ♪ 'Cause we're all
cutie pies ♪

♪ In a cupcake
state of mind ♪

♪ Feeling energized ♪

all: ♪ Iye-iye-iye-ized ♪

♪ Now everybody stop ♪

♪ We're the new kids
on the block ♪

♪ And we're coming here
to rock ♪

♪ With a cherry on top ♪

all: ♪ We got candy hearts ♪

♪ Be-be-be-be-beating ♪

♪ We got candy hearts ♪

♪ We are the sweetest things
you'll ever meet ♪

♪ And we're a treat ♪

♪ 'Cause we are sweet ♪

♪ Like ca-a-a-a-andy ♪
Let's go!

♪ Betty Crocker vs Tinie T ♪

♪ Every single day
is trick or treat ♪

♪ I'm rising up like a bakery ♪

♪ I'm blowing you kisses
like Hershey's ♪

all: ♪ Mwah ♪

♪ I'm the best rapper
since Eminem ♪

all: ♪ 'Cause all I eat
are M&M's ♪

♪ My microphone
is a lollipop ♪

-all: Hey!
-♪ With a cherry on top ♪

all: ♪ We got candy hearts ♪

♪ Be-be-be-be-beating ♪

♪ We got candy hearts ♪

♪ We are the sweetest things
you'll ever meet ♪

♪ And we're a treat ♪

♪ 'Cause we are sweet ♪

♪ Like ca-a-a-a-andy ♪
Hey!

All: ♪ Ca-ca-candy,
ca-ca-ca-candy ♪

♪ Ca-ca-candy, ca-ca-ca-candy ♪

♪ Ca-ca-candy, ca-ca-ca-candy ♪

♪ We are sweet
like ca-a-a-a-andy ♪

♪ Candy hearts ♪

♪ We got candy hear-hearts
we got candy ♪

♪ Candy hearts ♪

♪ We got candy hear-hearts
we got candy hearts ♪

[vocalizing]

[cheers and applause]

all: ♪ Ca-ca-candy,
ca-ca-ca-candy ♪

♪ Ca-ca-candy, ca-ca-ca-candy ♪

♪ We are sweet
like ca-a-a-a-andy ♪

We're blowing up
like bubblegum!

[music stops]

[wild cheering]

[JoJo Siwa's "Every Girl's
a Super Girl"]

[upbeat pop music]

♪ Every girl's
a super girl ♪

♪ Fearless, unstoppable
courageous, invincible ♪

♪ We're human, unshakable ♪

♪ Every girl's a super girl ♪

- Okay.
Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.

That's how you do it.

Howie?

I have a granddaughter
that's seven years old.

This is the concert
that she would want to be at.

This is what she
would want to see.

You should have your own show,
you should be touring.

And I think that's exactly
what you're gonna do.

All: Thank you!

Heidi?

I remember
when JoJo was still.

JoJo with a BowBow,
and she was your guys' age.

This was everything and more.

Everyone is on point here.
Everyone is so special.

[cheers and applause]

That was so much fun.

Every little girl
in America is gonna go crazy

when they see you on "AGT."

[cheers and applause]

Uh, I'm gonna be honest
with you, I didn't like it.

-[music stops]
-What?

[audience booing]

I...

loved it!

[upbeat music continues]
all: Thank you!

I mean, come on.

What's there not
to like about you?

Exactly.

Your energy,
your enthusiasm--

It was like
a little mini explosion.

I'm really, really,
really am excited and happy

that you came
to audition for us.

All: Thank you so much.
Thank you.

♪ Every girl's
a super girl ♪

Okay. Are we gonna put you
through to the next round?

-Howie?
-Yes.

-[cheers and applause]
-One yes.

-Heidi?
-Yes.

-All: Thank you!
-Sofía?

A super yes!

All: Thank you!

You have four yeses.

You are going through
to the next round.

[cheers and applause]

♪ Fearless, unstoppable,
courageous, invincible ♪

♪ We're human, unshakable ♪

♪ Every girl's a super girl ♪

♪ Down to earth,
we run the world ♪

♪ Every girl's a super girl.

Literally,
I'm the biggest "AGT" fan.

Their outfits are incredible.

Yeah, you guys did it!

XOMG POP! Yeah!

[cheers and applause]

He's doing a movie
in New York. He was very--

-Hey!
-Oh, hey!

-Oh, my God.
-How y'all doing?

-Oh, my goodness, Liza!
-Look who's here.

I was just shooting,
"Dancing With Myself"

-down the street.
-Well, welcome.

This is the brand new show
that's gonna premiere after us?

That's right.

"Dancing With Myself,"
where 12 contestants get

narrowed down to one dancer
that walks away with $25,000.

-What?
-Ooh, okay.

Shakira,
Nick and myself are all

teaching dances
to these contestants.

-Can you show us some stuff?
-I got you.

I can remove
these things for you,

-and this can be your stage.
-[laughs]

All right,
so you're gonna bounce

what your mother gave you.

Then break your back,
and then rock to the right.

Let's play some music.

-[dance music]
-Bounce with it, ah!

Eh, eh, eh.
Rock with it--snap.

Uh! Hey!

Way to get ready
before the show.

Thank you, everybody.
[Liza laughs]

♪ ♪

[upbeat guitar music]

-Going to camera two.
-And take two.

...to see this energy
for season 17.

I love this feeling.

There's a lot
of energy behind me.

Are you guys ready
to get this started?

Let's go!

♪ ♪

It's happening
right now, right?

[singer vocalizing]

♪ It's good enough for me ♪

[cheers and applause]

Wow.

-Hello.
-Good evening.

I can't believe it. Wow.

Welcome
to "America's Got Talent."

-What is your name?
-My name is Mervant.

And where are you from,
Mervant?

-I'm from Philadelphia, PA.
-[cheers and applause]

Philly in the house, baby.
Philly in the house.

And, uh, what do you do?

-I'm a magician.
-You're magician.

-[cheers and applause]
-A magician.

-How old are you?
-I am 33 years old.

You make a living
doing magic then?

-I do my best.
-[laughter]

What got you into magic?

You know, watching magic,
it kind of made me feel like,

you have a real superpower,
you know, like growing up.

And I always
loved comics and stuff,

and that's
the closest thing, right?

Being a magician.
So... yeah.

[cheers and applause]

What does this mean to you?

Why "AGT"?

You know,
if you can do it on this stage,

-you could do it anywhere.
-Yeah.

I've been watching
this on television for years,

and to possibly
have a Vegas show

to tour the world,
it would be a dream come true.

It really would.
[cheers and applause]

And do you have any support?

-Your family support this?
-My family does.

They've been
absolutely wonderful.

You know, this past year,
I lost my grandmother.

She was one of my
biggest supporters in magic.

I remember a couple of years
ago, I wanted to quit magic,

and she said,
"Don't you dare ever do that."

And even at times
when I wasn't performing

a lot of shows,
I always practiced.

And this is a testament
to stick-to-itiveness,

and I'm happy to be here.

Good for you.

[cheers and applause]

The stage is yours.

Let's do it.

[cheers and applause]

He is nervous as can be.

[sighs]

[laid-back music]

"America's Got Talent."

My name is Mervant.

And I know you've seen
a lot of magic on this show,

but I want to show you
something you've never seen

with a deck of cards.

I want you to watch
each and every card closely.

♪ ♪

'Cause I have
a little story for you.

♪ ♪

And it goes like this.

♪ ♪

52 cards.

♪ ♪

Check it out.

♪ It goes one for the magic,
two for illusion ♪

♪ Three for the fact I can
mix them both with a fusion ♪

♪ Four for the suits of the
playing cards that I'm using ♪

♪ So I'ma be the only one
performer who would do this ♪

♪ Five finger discounts led me
a decent sleight of hand ♪

♪ I got a sixth sense for this,
it's like I'm Spider-man ♪

♪ Seven different wonders
of the world ♪

♪ There's some great ones ♪

♪ Magic, music, illusion ♪

♪ I'm trying
to be the eighth one ♪

♪ We make classics ♪

♪ It's the fly version
of Dai Vernon ♪

♪ Look close,
I'm talking eyes burning ♪

♪ This is just another lesson ♪

♪ I'm lucky like number seven ♪

♪ Wouldn't believe this rap
had five versions ♪

♪ But the sixth set may be
the best yet, you know why? ♪

♪ 'Cause I wear a king suit,
no tie ♪

♪ Blindfolds on,
I put 'em down with no eyes ♪

♪ Cards disappear
like in front of your nose ♪

♪ I got one heart
for two arts ♪

♪ So I have to grind ♪

♪ Otherwise, I'll be sitting
around feeling asinine ♪

♪ Jack of all trades, gold
thoughts that I have to mine ♪

♪ Always trying
to change my two tens ♪

♪ That's a paradigm ♪

♪ A pair of dimes,
I'd probably go see ya ♪

♪ Pair of dimes,
like Heidi and Sofía ♪

[cheers and applause]

♪ I'ma show 'em
if they'll allow me ♪

♪ To show you how I'm good
with the jokes, like Howie ♪

♪ Doing this for Simon
so the world might hear me ♪

♪ Crews to the tavern,
get jacked like Terry ♪

♪ So whether you were born
a jack, a queen, or an ace ♪

♪ Or raised as a diamond,
joker, spade, or a eight ♪

♪ There's 7 billion people
in the world ♪

♪ And we're all connected ♪

♪ The different colors of the
globe as the cards reflected ♪

♪ They're all from the same box
when the cards' collected ♪

♪ So if the deck is incomplete,
then we're all affected ♪

♪ Be like the seven
to the Q and the A3 ♪

♪ To be like playing cards
and spread L-O-V-E ♪

Thank you.
[cheers and applause]

[uplifting pop music]

Wow.

♪ ♪

Thank you. Oh, my God.
[chuckles]

You can put that
on the radio right now.

-[cheers and applause]
-Thank you.

-Wow is right.
-Sofía?

Well, this was
definitely a first for me.

Rap and magic at the same time?

How do you even figure out
that you could do this?

I am super inspired
by watching musicals.

I always wanted to like,
write a hip-hop musical

that had magic in it.

That's cool.

-I do magic.
-Why not write a rap about that?

[cheers and applause]

I had the best time
watching you.

It was fantastic.

It was a fabulous,
fabulous, fabulous audition.

Simon?

That was honestly incredible.

-Thank you.
-[cheers and applause]

I mean, really,
really incredible.

I'm just--I'm actually
quite angry with you,

because why haven't
you auditioned before?

[cheers and applause]
I mean, it was so slick.

We were all literally like,
"How the hell did you do that?"

Wow. Thank you.

Thank you.

That was amazing.

The best things
are worth waiting for,

and that was one of the best
magic acts I have ever seen.

And I feel the energy
of your grandmother in the room

right now, and she's making me
give you the first vote of yes.

[cheers and applause]

Heidi?

I'm gonna give you
a second yes, of course.

[cheers and applause]

Sofía?

Three.

-[cheers and applause]
-Simon?

I'm not gonna give you
four yeses,

I'm gonna give you
4,000 yeses.

Four yeses!

♪ Yeah ♪

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

-Seems like a really nice guy.
-That was great.

That was so different.
I've never seen that.

-Have you seen that?
-Never.

Mervant, I can't wait
to see what you got next.

I can't wait to either.

-Congratulations, my man.
-God bless you.

♪ I wonder what it's like
to be loved by you ♪

Oh!

Give yourself

a round of applause,

because you guys are amazing!

[cheers and applause]

[somber music]

[line ringing]

Hiya.

Oh. I'm about to go
onstage now.

I'm so nervous.

I wish you was all here.

Thank you very much.

Love you too. Thank you.

-Go out there, man.
-Make it happen.

Brother, it's all you, man.

We're waiting for you.
Thank you, sir.

-All right.
-Here we go.

[cheers and applause]

Hi.

Hello.

Welcome.

Thank you,
thank you, thank you.

And who are you?

-I am Lee Collinson.
-I'm 21.

-I'm from England.
-Oh.

-[cheers and applause]
-Wow.

Tell me
what the dream is, Lee.

The dream is
to just be making music.

Whether that's a studio,
whether that's touring,

whether that's singing.

I just want to be able to quit
my day job and just do music.

What's the day job?

My day job is a fencer,
not sword fighting.

Everyone says sword fighting.
[laughter]

It's putting up fences,
like domestic and gardens.

Have you been
to America before?

-No, first time.
-Oh.

-You like it?
-Love it.

The food is amazing.

I'm paying for it,
but it's amazing.

Okay, what's the song,
and tell me,

please, why you chose it?

It's Dermot Kennedy,
uh, "Better Days."

I chose it because
recent times obviously

have been really
tough for everyone,

and it's just saying,
obviously, we're going up now.

It's better to move on.

Lost a friend during lockdown.

Like, for me,
it's very personal,

-so I love it.
-Okay.

And Lee, it's about
what--half past 5:00, 6:00

in the morning in the UK--
Are they waiting for the call?

-Yeah, yeah.
-Everyone's got alarms on.

My mom's waiting,
and yeah, so...

-Aw.
-All right, Lee, good luck.

-Thank you very much.
-Thank you.

[cheers and applause]

-That's so cute.
-Very.

That's gotta be hard.

Being so far
away from home, alone.

Never been here yet.

Thank you very much.

[breathing shakily]

[cheers and applause]

[pensive music]

♪ ♪

♪ See,
better days are coming ♪

♪ If no one told you ♪

♪ I hate to hear you cryin' ♪

♪ On the phone, dear ♪

♪ For seven years runnin' ♪

♪ You've been a soldier ♪

♪ But better days are comin' ♪

♪ See, better days are comin'
for you ♪

♪ Oh, so when the night
feels like forever ♪

♪ Oh, I'll remember
what you said to me ♪

♪ I know you've been hurtin' ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Waitin' on a train
that just won't come ♪

♪ The rain,
it ain't permanent ♪

♪ And soon,
we'll be dancin' in the sun ♪

♪ We'll be dancin' in the sun ♪

♪ And we'll sing
our song together ♪

[cheers and applause]
♪ Oh ♪

♪ Sing our song together,
no, no ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Your story's gonna change ♪

♪ Just wait for better days ♪

♪ You've seen so much pain ♪

♪ Now, you don't even know ♪

♪ That your story's
gonna change ♪

♪ Just wait for better days ♪

♪ I promise you,
I won't let go ♪

[wild cheering]

♪ I know you've been hurting ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Waiting on a train
that just won't come, no ♪

♪ The rain,
it ain't permanent ♪

♪ And soon, we'll be dancing
in the sun ♪

♪ We'll be dancing in the sun ♪

♪ No, yeah ♪

♪ Oh ♪

♪ So we'll sing
our song together, no, yeah ♪

♪ I'ma sing our song
together, sing, oh ♪

♪ Sing our song together ♪

[cheers and applause]
Thank you very much.

[uplifting music]

Thank you,
thank you, thank you.

♪ Holding back the flood
in this skyscraper town ♪

Thank you.

Standing O from the judges.

♪ You gave all
that sweat and blood ♪

♪ Now you think
you're gonna drown ♪

♪ You can't tell that you're
bigger than the sea ♪

♪ That you're sinking in ♪

Good for you, Lee.

-Thank you.
-Howie.

People don't understand
at home the pressure that is

felt when somebody just walks
out and stands on that stage.

And then when you take
somebody as young as you are,

this is your
first time in America.

And for you to take
all that pressure and just

explode it off your shoulders
and raise the roof

in this room is truly amazing.

[wild cheering]
Great job.

Thank you,
thank you, thank you.

-Heidi?
-Yes.

I think it was worth it,
going on that

14-hour plane ride
to come here.

-Yeah, yeah.
-I really liked it.

You can sing, you look great,
you have stage presence.

-You nailed it.
-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.
-Sofía?

I don't know.

For some reason,
the moment you stood there

and started talking,
it was like, I love it.

I know I'm gonna love it.

I even told him, it's like,

he has such
a beautiful personality.

-Thank you.
-I was really hoping

that you had a great voice too.
[chuckles]

And it was amazing.

-Good for you.
-Thank you very much.

Thank you.

You know what?

There's something
really charming

and humble
and likeable about you,

and you probably don't
even know how good you are.

Thank you.

And I hope
this is the beginning

of something
really special for you.

-I really do.
-Thank you very much.

Can we call your mom
with you?

-Oh, my God.
-Yes, let's go.

[cheers and applause]

Well, let's hope
she answers.

You have your phone?

Oh, here it is. Here it is.

-Lee, come down here.
-Come down here.

-Come down here.
-Put her on FaceTime.

If she's just woken up,
she's gonna kill me.

Oh my gosh, she's in pajamas.

We want to see what your
mom looks like

-when she just wakes up.
-Yeah.

If she doesn't answer,
I'm very sorry.

Oh, oh.
[phone beeps]

-All right?
-Is it FaceTime?

Mom, look.

[cheers and applause]

-[laughs]
-That's absolutely amazing.

-The screens off. She's shy.
-Let me put this by the phone.

-Can you--can you hear us?
-Yes.

This is Howie Mandel,
American sex symbol.

[laughter]
Here.

-We love your son.
-[cheers and applause]

Oh, my God.

-Hi!
-[laughter]

-What's your mom's name?
-Sherry, Sherry.

-Sherry?
-Yeah?

Yeah, he was terrible.

[laughter]

Um, I just wanted to ask you
why you put him on the plane.

[laughter]

'Cause he's
absolutely wonderful

and he does deserve
to be there.

Okay, well, actually,
I'm messing with you, Sherry.

We haven't voted yet, but we
just wanted to wake you up.

And it was your son's idea
to do this.

-Don't blame me.
-You're gonna get me in trouble.

Anything you'd
like to say to him?

Just I love him so much.

-I love him so much.
-Well, nice to talk to you.

-Yeah, but we have to vote.
-Oh, okay, fine.

You can actually hear then,
all right.

We've never done this before.
Lee's about to go back onstage.

-She must be so confused.
-[chuckles]

We're going to start
with someone called Howie.

Sherry,
I want you to hear me

give your son his first yes!

-Thank you.
-[cheers and applause]

One down. Heidi?

-It's a yes for me!
-Thank you very much.

-Sherry, good job. Yes!
-Amazing.

Lee, Sherry,
you have four yeses.

-Congratulations.
-Thank you very much.

[wild cheering]

[cheers and applause]

-Thank you very much.
-Good for you. Well done.

[cheers and applause]

Good luck in the competition.

-Good luck.
-Wow.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Love you too.

[hooves clopping]

Pepino,
what are you looking for?

You looking for Heidi?
Maybe she's over there.

Nope. How about over there?

No, not there.

[upbeat music]

-Okay, here we go, guys.
-Clearing stage.

-Oh, wow.
-Oh, no.

-Is that real?
-I want one.

-Hello.
-Hi.

Aw.

-Who are you?
-My name is David Lichman.

I'm from Sacramento,
California,

and this is my friend Pepino.

-Pepino?
-All: Aw!

Are you excited to be here?

Pepino, are you excited?

Aw.

All right, we want to see
what Pepino will do for us.

-Good luck.
-Thank you.

Good luck, Pepino.

-He's wearing shoes.
-The shoes, everything.

Pepino, here,
here, here, here. Very good.

[fanfare playing]

Sit, sit.

Sit, sit.
Sit, sit.

He's a little nervous.

He's very interested
in Heidi, and I think he's

a little shy because he's now
finally getting to meet you.

-What about me?
-[laughter]

-Sit, sit.
-Sit, sit.

Pepino, sit.
[laughter]

This isn't
gonna go well, is it?

-Sit.
-Good sitting, good sitting.

Good, good, good, good, good.
Sit. Very good!

-Bravo!
-He sat down.

[cheers and applause]

-Okay, here's the tricky part.
-[laughter]

Let's go--oh.

-Oh, God.
-[laughter]

-All right.
-Sit, sit, sit, sit.

[Pepino snorts]

You know how to do this.
[laughter]

-Let's move on.
-Oh. Okay, wish me luck.

Cue the drumroll!

[drumming]

♪ ♪

Sunday! Sunday!

-Ah, there he goes.
-This way, this way, this way.

-Here, here, here.
-There he literally goes.

[Terry laughs]

[chuckles] He wants out.

Goodbye, Pepino!

-Pepino, here.
-Let's go on with the show.

Let's continue with the show.

Pepino, here. Here.

-Next!
-Here.

♪ How lucky can one guy be? ♪

I'm, like,
nervous because

there are so many
different types of acts here.

We got this.

It's the best of the best.

It's "America's Got Talent."

♪ Ain't that a kick
in the head? ♪

Hello. What is your name?

I'm Joe. I'm from Austria.

I came here to perform
a song dedicated to my wife.

Ah, that's nice.

I want my husband
to come and sing too.

Okay,
we want to hear you sing.

[slow ballad music]

♪ Close your eyes ♪

♪ Give me your hand, darling ♪

♪ Do you feel
my heart beating? ♪

[audience booing]

♪ Do you understand ♪
Get off the stage!

-[buzzer]
-♪ Do you feel the same?

♪ Am I only dreaming ♪

[buzzer]

♪ Is this burning
an eternal flame? ♪

-No!
-♪ Say my name ♪

I'm feeling hot.

♪ Sun shines
through the rain ♪

♪ A whole life so lonely ♪

- I can feel the heat.
He's on fire!

♪ And then come
and ease the pain ♪

- [screams]
[buzzer]

♪ I don't want
to lose this feeling, oh ♪

Do not try this at home!

- ♪ Oh ♪
- His head is on fire!

[buzzer]

[shrieks]

Oh, my God.

[audience booing]

I don't think your wife
is gonna like this.

♪ Ain't that a hole
in the boat ♪

Smells like
a bad barbecue in here.

I think
the good news is you've

given us a good idea
for a new show.

When you're not very good,
we just set fire to you.

[laughter]

-It's a no for me.
-No.

What is going on today?

How can this be the first day?

♪ Beautiful ♪

All right,
so who do we have coming up?

We have a guy who plays
the violin with their feet.

Someone that's dressed
as a cow who plays the drums.

And then some people who
do yoga with goats and alpacas.

[music distorts]

♪ Tell me quick ♪

Go ahead on your yoga mats
and Warrior Pose.

-You goat this.
-What are we doing?

-I don't know.
-It's coming. It's coming.

♪ ♪

-[goat bleats]
-Oh.

-Hang on. We got this.
-The goats are just warming up.

Here we go.
Be ready, guys, be ready.

They will now go back through.

-What's happening?
-Hang on.

We goat this.

[audience booing]

It didn't go too well.

We can take it up a notch

when we get through
to the next round.

Taking it up a notch
from where you went

is not a big deal.

I could take it up a notch.
[laughter]

I just want one goat.

We're supposed to judge,
we're not supposed to take.

[goat bleats]

Oh, I'm so happy that
we were able to steal them.

Wait, wait, wait,
wait, wait, wait, wait.

Guys. You guys
are stealing livestock.

We only took two.

They have, like,
eight left for them.

Did you tell anybody or did
you just go backstage and grab?

♪ ♪

-You ready to meet the judges?
-I'm nervous.

I'm scared of Simon,
not gonna lie.

-Oh, no, it's okay.
-He's--he's good.

He's in a good mood right now.

Dreadful. Dreadful!

♪ ♪

Hi, what's your name?

-I'm Jack Grady.
-I'm from Cleveland, Ohio.

What are you
gonna do for us?

I'm a magician.

-Oh, wow.
-Good luck.

[dramatic music]

Judges, I wrote you a poem.

I mixed my poem with magic.

Have you ever seen
Shin Lim do this?

We take a bottle--
Becomes a glass.

Where'd it go?
It's in my--

-Oh.
-[buzzers]

-No! No!
-[audience booing]

Wow.

That was a long
trip from Ohio to LA...

[chuckling] To last 30 seconds.

-It's a no for me.
-For me, it's also a no.

-Nope.
-It's gonna be a no.

♪ Tell me quick ♪

Bye!

Why would you wait in line
all day long to do that?

I told you Simon was
the one I need to worry about.

Yeah, well,
Howie didn't like it either.

-And Heidi, and Sofía.
-Well, what can you do?

Oh, my God. How do we
start the new season like this?

[laughter]

We need somebody good.

Coming up...

This is the most
original thing I've ever seen.

They love it!

I don't think
there's anything else to say.

They love you.

[light music]

This is about
to be the first time people

have ever seen
anything like this.

♪ ♪

My name is Ben Lapidus.
I'm 29.

I'm from Doylestown,
Pennsylvania.

And I'm a singer-songwriter.

As a kid,
I had, like, a ukulele that

I found in the garage
and I would sit and just, like,

play melodies
that I had heard.

I was mostly raised by my mom.

My dad passed away
when I was six.

Totally unexpected.

I just couldn't handle it,
and I started

writing songs
and recording them.

I've just been... yeah.

Music was my lifeline.

Why "AGT"?

It's the biggest
stage in the world and this

is what I want
to do with my life.

I'm gonna be performing
an original song,

and I hope that it
resonates with the judges.

[cheers and applause]

-Hello.
-Hi.

Welcome.

Tell us who are you?

My name is Ben Lapidus.

I am a singer-songwriter.
[cheers and applause]

So how long have
you been a singer-songwriter?

I've been writing songs
since I was 14,

and I've just never stopped.

Are you making money
doing this?

For work,
I'm a sound designer

for narrative podcasts.

And this is just something
I always do and never stopped,

so I'm just so thrilled
to be here, you know?

[cheers and applause]

What song are you gonna sing
for us?

I'm gonna sing an original.

Yippee!

-Good luck to you, Ben.
-Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.
[cheers and applause]

♪ When I get pasta
at a restaurant ♪

♪ And the waiter comes around
with a Parmesan cheese ♪

♪ And he says Parmesan
and I say, "Please" ♪

♪ He gives me a spoonful ♪

♪ And says,
"Would you like more?" ♪

♪ And I say sure,
as if it's no big deal ♪

♪ As if it's not
my reason for ♪

♪ Choosing an Italian
restaurant in the first place ♪

[laughter]

♪ He looks at me and says,
"Is that good?" ♪

♪ Yeah, that's good, thanks ♪
[laughter]

♪ I always want more Parmesan,
but I'm embarrassed ♪

♪ I always want more Parmesan,
but I'm embarrassed ♪

That's me.

♪ Why are they so stingy? ♪

♪ Is there
a shortage of Parmesan? ♪

♪ Is it really
that expensive? ♪

♪ I just want more cheese,
is that so wrong? ♪

♪ Just leave it at the table ♪

[buzzer]

♪ For God's sake,
I'm a grown-up ♪

♪ I have rights ♪

♪ And I will not be shamed
for my cheese intake ♪

[buzzer]

♪ I always want more Parmesan,
but I'm embarrassed ♪

♪ I will not remain silent ♪

♪ I will not give in ♪

♪ I will die before I let
big Parma win ♪

-Yeah!
-More cheese!

♪ I always want more Parmesan,
but I'm embarrassed ♪

Me too!

♪ I always want more Parmesan,
but I'm embarrassed ♪

I gave him a buzzer!

♪ I always want more
Parmesan, but I'm embarrassed ♪

[buzzer]

♪ I always want more Parmesan ♪

[audience booing]

What is going on?

[audience booing]

-That was beautiful.
-What a beautiful lyric.

-I feel the same way.
-I always want more Parmesan.

I was right there,
I know, I know.

Why are they so stingy
on the Parmesan?

I hate bloody Parmesan.

-What?
-It's disgusting.

-What?
-No.

I don't know why
I'm even having

this conversation anyway,
because...

I don't like Parmesan,
I don't like your song.

[audience booing]
So I'm saying no.

Howie, what do you think?

-I got to say I didn't--
-I didn't love it.

Sofía?

It's a no, I don't know
what was happening.

[crowd chanting]
Parmesan! Parmesan!

-Wow.
-Oh, my God.

Parmesan! Parmesan!

No, no.

Parmesan! Parmesan!

Yes!

This is what's up!

-Parmesan! Parmesan!
-Parmesan! Parmesan!

See, maybe we have
to hear it again,

and then it maybe grows on us.

-No!
-[cheers and applause]

They want it!

They want it!

[cheers and applause]

-Come on, Ben.
-Do it again, Ben.

Do it again!

Let's go. Parmesan!

♪ I always want more
Parmesan, but I'm embarrassed ♪

♪ I always want more Parmesan,
but I'm embarrassed ♪

♪ I will not remain silent ♪

♪ I will not give in ♪

♪ I will die before I let
big Parma win ♪

♪ I always want more Parmesan,
but I'm embarrassed ♪

♪ I always want more Parmesan ♪

♪ But I'm embarrassed ♪

Everybody!

All: ♪ I always want more
Parmesan, but I'm embarrassed ♪

♪ I always want more Parmesan,
but I'm embarrassed ♪

♪ I'm embarrassed ♪

[cheers and applause]

[yelling] The people want
more Parmesan!

Give it to 'em!

[loud nonsensical shouting]

Just a little bit of Parmesan!

-Please! Please!
-Just put it on the plate!

Okay, Ben. Ben.

[REO Speedwagon's
"Can't Fight this Feeling"]

-Yes!
-You know what?

Um...

I want to kill you right now,
'cause...

-Yeah, me too.
-I love you, Simon.

I can't get that
"I want more Parmesan"

out of my brain.

Take the X away.

I'm giving you a yes.

♪ I can't fight
this feeling any longer ♪

Me too.

♪ And yet I'm still
afraid to let it flow ♪

-Let's go!
-Howie, come on.

-No!
-[record scratches]

-[audience booing]
-Okay.

Sofía!

[crowd chanting]
Sofía! Sofía!

Listen.

[crowd chanting]
Sofía! Sofía!

They love it!

It's the power of the people.

Sometimes you got
to listen to the public.

Okay, so, I guess
I'm gonna have to say yes!

♪ And I can't fight
this feeling anymore ♪

Yes!

Ah!

♪ I've forgotten what I've
started fighting for ♪

Thank you. Thank you.

♪ It's time to bring
this ship into the shore ♪

You guys are crazy.

-No, I'm not kidding.
-You're insane.

I'll tell you why, I couldn't
get the song out of my head.

Yeah, it was a horrific song

and now we're gonna have
to hear this guy again.

We got the Parmesan!

It's all for you. Oh, my God.
Give me a little.

Parmesan! Parmesan! Parmesan!

[audience joins in]
Parmesan! Parmesan! Parmesan!

Parmesan! Parmesan!
Parmesan! Parmesan!

♪ Baby, I can't fight
this feeling anymore ♪

-[over speaker]
-Please bring some more cable,

ASAP, guys.

Hi, I'm Terry,
what's your name?

My name is Celia.

And what are you
gonna do here today?

Today on "AGT," I'm
gonna be a ventriloquist.

♪ Like a heartbeat ♪

My name is Celia Munoz,
I'm 36,

and I am a trained
opera singer.

I had an opera career.

And then two years ago,

I was watching this
video of Terry Fator.

[puppet sings]

And I say, "What?
Is he singing?"

It was like, "Wow."

And then I saw Darci.

[puppet sings]

And then I say,
I'm gonna try that night.

So I keep practicing
and doing shows in Spain.

And I wanted
to come to AGT because

this is the place
for this art form.

♪ New lease on life ♪

So I mean, if I get to win
"America's Got Talent"

and get my own show...

I get goosebumps just
thinking about it. [Chuckles]

♪ Everything's
gonna be all right ♪

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

-Hello.
-Hello.

-Welcome.
-Thank you.

What's your name, please?

-My name is Celia.
-How old are you?

-I'm 36.
-36. Where are you from?

-I'm from Spain.
-I knew that.

[cheers and applause]

So you flown in
to do the show, Celia?

-Yeah.
-Is this your full time job?

-And was an opera singer.
-Wow.

-But now I'm a ventriloquist.
-Oh, me too.

-Fantastic.
-Since two years, yes.

How did you go from opera
singer to ventricle-ouist?

-Good question.
-[laughter]

-I mean, I was having fun--
-Having a red wine.

A nice--
[laughter]

And I saw--I saw
Terry Fator by chance

in the YouTube,
and I say, wow, what is that?

I'm gonna try this.

I'm gonna try this
and then I say, I'm gonna go

to "America's Got Talent,"
and then...

[cheers and applause]

Terry Fator.

Well, that--that is quick.

Normally, people take about 20
years to learn how to do this,

and you've done it
in two years.

-I try my best.
-[laughter]

Well, you better.

Okay, Celia, good luck.

[cheers and applause]

[footsteps tapping]

[audience member coughs]

I'm nervous for this.

I would like to show you
how a ventriloquist

gets ready
before going on a stage.

All the voices you are gonna
hear are coming from me.

[audience member coughs]

I have my props.

I have my voice.
And now...

I'll find some music.

[radio turns on, static]

[in radio voice] Welcome
to 9:00 radio. The radio--

[radio switches, static]

[Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You"
plays on radio]

♪ Lovin' you is easy,
'cause you're beautiful ♪

[radio static]

♪ Has anyone ever
sung you a lullaby ♪

Wow.

♪ You can fly
above the rainclouds ♪

♪ Close your eyes ♪

♪ Let the melody carry you ♪

♪ Leave all your fears behind ♪
Whoa, that's crazy.

♪ And float across the rainbow
sky to once upon a time ♪

♪ I believe in miracles ♪

♪ ♪

♪ I believe that love
will conquer all ♪

-[cheers and applause]
-Yeah!

♪ I believe that anything
is pos-- ♪

[phone ringing]

Sorry.

Manolo.

[nasal voice]
Yeah, hello, hello.

[normal] I can't talk now.
I'm in "America's Got Talent."

[nasal voice] Oh,
"America's Got Talent"?

"America's Got Talent"?
[laughter]

[normal] Yes, yes.
I can't talk now.

I'm on the stage right now.

[nasal voice]
Okay. And Sofía Vergara?

[normal] Yes, Sofía Vergara.
She's here. She's here.

[laughter]

Okay.

We--we talk later,
Manolo, okay? Okay.

[nasal voice] Sofía Vergara.
Sofía Vergara.

[normal] See ya, see ya.

[cheers and applause]
[radio static]

♪ And I believe again
the moment when ♪

♪ I saw you here tonight ♪

♪ Now once upon a time ♪

♪ Has never
felt more right ♪

-[cheers and applause]
-Wow.

♪ Ah! Ah! ♪

Oh, here we go.

♪ More right! ♪

[music stops]

[cheers and applause]

Wow.

[upbeat pop music]

♪ The lights are shining
like the sun out tonight ♪

That's unbelievable, Celia.

I don't even
know what to say,

that was such as surprise.

That was so different

than anything
that we've ever seen.

Thank you,
thank you, thank you so much.

♪ Can't get any better, no ♪

I have to say it was
kind of refreshing not having,

like, some weird puppet
coming out of a box.

[laughter]

So I actually like that
you put a little twist on it.

Thank you. I appreciate it.

Yeah, I agree.

You know,
this is the most original thing

I've ever seen,
I am seeing--

-[cheers and applause]
-Yes.

The dial is up here on season
17, like it's never been up,

and you just
turned the dial to 11.

-[cheers and applause]
-Thank you.

Thank you so much.

You are fantastic,
and you know it.

Celia...

I would say, yeah,

in all the years we have

seen a ventriloquist act,

this is the best, original,
most creative version.

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

Okay, we've got to vote now.

-Howie, yes or no?
-Yes.

-Okay.
-Yes.

Si!

Celia, you have quatro si.

[cheers and applause]

Thank you so much.

Thank you everybody.

[cheers and applause]

♪ Don't wanna jinx it ♪

♪ Don't let go, let go of me ♪

Oh, my God.

Was that amazing?

We've seen more things
this year that are done

in an original,
like, more different than--

Well, that was different.

You are so special.

You've only been doing it
for two years.

Yes.

You could be the next
Terry Fator.

-Wow.
-Thank you.

Congratulations.

Celebrate.

♪ I just can't
stop dancing ♪

♪ Ooh, girl,
you're shining ♪

So we are setting up
for the next act.

-It's the animal act.
-Please roll out the mat.

[dogs barking]

Are they dogs?

I think it's gonna be cats.

[dogs barking, yelping]

-Here we go, guys.
-All right, go right on up.

Bye, guys.
Aw, they're so cute.

♪ I kinda like it,
how ya out of my league ♪

-[cheers and applause]
-Whoa.

♪ Like a movie star
from a silver screen ♪

♪ You're one of a kind, livin'
in a world gone plastic ♪

Ah, I want the yellow one!

♪ Baby, you're so classic ♪

♪ Oh ♪

Aw.

[Heidi laughs]

Hi.

-What's your name, please?
-My name is Veronika.

And where are you from?

I'm from Oxford, Florida,
and I live on a farm.

Nice.

One of the questions,
you know,

I like to ask, 'cause I think

I know the answer is:
do you have any pets?

-[laughter]
-Uh...

I have 27 horses, 3 camels--

-Camel?
-Camels, yes.

Three ponies,
eight goats,

50 doves, around 50 chickens,

15 dogs, and 13 cats.

-Wow!
-Wow.

-How old are you? Sorry.
-I'm 12.

We love animal acts
on this show.

I've got to be honest with you.

We had a horse who was cute,
but hopeless.

[laughter]

So, please, be amazing because
we really need you to be great.

No pressure.

-Thank you.
-Good luck.

[cheers and applause]

[BTS' "Butter"]

[upbeat pop music]

♪ Smooth like butter,
like a criminal undercover ♪

♪ Hot like summer, yeah ♪

♪ I'm making you sweat
like that ♪

♪ Break it down ♪

♪ Ooh, a side step,
right-left, to my beat ♪

[laughter]

♪ High like the moon,
rock with me, baby ♪

♪ Know that I got that heat ♪

♪ Let me show you
'cause talk is cheap ♪

♪ Side step, right-left,
to my beat ♪

♪ Get it, let it roll ♪

♪ Ooh, when I look
in the mirror ♪

♪ I'll melt your heart
into two ♪

♪ I got that superstar glow,
so ♪

♪ Ooh ♪

♪ Side step, right-left,
to my beat ♪

Oh!

♪ High like the moon,
rock with me ♪

Aw, look at him.

♪ Get it, let it roll ♪

♪ Ice on my wrist,
I'm the nice guy ♪

♪ Got the right body
and the right mind ♪

♪ Rolling up the party,
got the right vibe ♪

♪ Smooth like butter ♪

♪ Fresh boy, pull up
and we lay low ♪

Look at the red,
they're together.

I love them!

♪ You know that I got
that heat ♪

♪ Let me show you
'cause talk is cheap ♪

♪ Side step, right-left,
to my beat ♪

♪ Get it, let it roll ♪

Yeah!

♪ We gon' make you rock,
and you say ♪

♪ We gon' make you bounce,
and you say ♪

-[laughter]
-Quick change!

♪ Get it, let it roll ♪

♪ Side step, right-left,
rock with me, baby ♪

♪ You know that I got
that heat ♪

♪ Let me show you
'cause talk is cheap ♪

♪ Side step,
right-left, to my beat ♪

I love that.

♪ Get it, let it roll ♪

Whoa!

[cheers, laughter]

-Yeah!
-[cheers and applause]

♪ Get it, let it ♪

[music stops]

[cheers and applause]

Amazing, Veronika!

[uplifting music]

♪ ♪

She got the little one.

Sofía?

-I mean, I'm in shock.
-This was so amazing, beautiful.

There was so much happening,

-even the quick change.
-And they're listening to us.

-Look.
-I know, they're listening.

Look, he's going
back to his seat.

That one's like a cat.

-What's his name?
-Woodia.

-Woodia?
-Uh-huh.

Come back
we're talking to you.

-[laughter]
-Oh, my God.

I'll take that one.

-[Veronika giggles]
-Okay, now he's listening.

Howie?

Not only did you
dazzle us with original, like,

from the quick change,
but you are

a great performer,
and you surprised us.

I loved it.

Heidi?

-I mean, you're adorable.
-I love all your friends.

I love the quick change, I love
how they were dancing together.

I mean, they were
just such amazing listeners.

Very well done.

[cheers and applause]

Thank you.

Look it, uh,
it was everything.

They are so, so smart.

We've never, ever had
an act where the animals

actually have listened
to what we've had to say.

Normally, they just ignore us.

[record scratches]

-Not Woodia.
-Apart from Woodia.

-Not Woodia.
-Woodia.

-He likes to be in his seat.
-I'm saying a nice thing.

[dog barks, growls]

Okay, we're ready to vote.

-Howie?
-Yes.

-Heidi?
-Second yes.

-Sofía?
-Yes.

You have four huge woofs,
which is dog for yes.

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

Thank you so much.

Well done.

Look how well they listen.

[dog barks]

-Veronika, how do you feel?
-Excited.

-Was that amazing?
-Yes, it was.

I don't think we've seen
an animal act

where they hit every beat.

What are your friends
gonna think

when you come back home?

They're gonna be like, "Wow."

♪ Dream big
and live your story ♪

[birds chirping]

[alarm clock beeping]

[dramatic piano music]

♪ ♪

♪ Killing the game,
'bout to catch a body ♪

♪ Passed the Harley,
Dukie on the Ducati ♪

♪ Timbaland, Khaled,
Scott Storch, Birdman ♪

♪ God[..], man,
everybody got Bugattis ♪

♪ But I'ma keep it hella
nineteen eighty seven ♪

♪ Head into the dealership
and drop a stack ♪

- The banners.
Oh, it's official.

[shouting] What is this?
Oh!

I like the kicks.

Oh, thank you.

Crazy part is my brother
designed 'em.

-Really?
-So he designs shoes, right.

Here we go, so folks,
in that aisle there.

Grab your seats.
Grab your seats.

-What's your name, my man?
-I'm Mike E. Winfield.

And what are you gonna be
doing on "AGT"?

-Hey, you know what?
-I tell jokes.

[sax playing]

[buzzer]

[audience booing]
[sax continues playing]

[buzzer]

What does your
family think about you

going after this comedy dream?

My whole family, they're
really proud of me, you know?

And if I win,
I can take care of my wife,

our son, her son, you know?

There is some weight
on my shoulders because

everyone doesn't get
this opportunity.

Right.

You just want
your jokes to land.

[cheers and applause]

♪ I'm headed downtown,
cruising through the alley ♪

♪ Tip-toeing
in the street like Dally ♪

♪ I'ma lick that, stick that,
break her off, Kit-Kat

♪ Snuck her in backstage,
you don't need a wristband ♪

♪ Dope! ♪

-What is your name?
-I'm Mike E. Winfield.

Mike E., what is your age?

So I'm like 20s to like 30s
and stuff, you know all that?

-Oh, okay.
-[laughter]

Where are you from?

I'm originally
from Baltimore.

I did an adequate time
in Sacramento--a lot of love.

And what do you do?

-You know what?
-I tell jokes, you know?

-How long you been doing this?
-Over 15 years.

So do you even remember
the first time

you step on a stage?

Oh, my gosh, do I remember?

Yeah, it was a Tuesday night
open mic.

And I get onstage
with bright lights

and arms crossed,
and they're down there

all staring at me,
and I just kind of freeze.

[laughter]

So the fact that I came back,
that means there's

something
wrong with me.

[laughs]

Okay, so show us
what is wrong with you.

Okay, thank you.

[cheers and applause]

Thank you very much.
Thank you.

I, uh...

I, uh...

I love older moms.

[laughter]

Like, I like it when
her kids just moved out.

I can set up my computer
in the extra bedroom, you know?

I got married
to an older woman.

I got a stepson.

It's cool being a parent
to a kid

that's close to your age.

I call him step-man.

He drove me here.

That's my step-homeboy, man.

And it's a weird dynamic.

If you see it,
he's like 6'2" with chest hair.

I don't have any, you know?

Teenage boys can be gross.

You know when they're doing
inappropriate stuff

on their laptop, because
when you walk in on them,

they'll slam it down
really fast

and then ask you
some irrelevant question.

I walk in on step-man.

He's like,
"Who's running for Congress?"

[laughter]

I'm like, "Oh."

Like, step-man!

I quit my job
at the grocery store.

Step-man's like,
"What we gonna do

for money, Step-Mike?"

I'm like, "Hey,
don't worry about it, okay?"

And I worked
at this grocery store

for a lot of hateful years.

Why is it when you hate
your job they won't fire you?

[laughter]

-It's true.
-It's true.

And now, look,
I worked in the worst

department
at the grocery store.

Not the meat,
not produce, not the freezer.

I worked
in the steal department.

You're familiar with the steal
department, right?

Self-checkout lane?

[laughter]

I got paid
to watch people steal all day.

And people think you stupid,
like, you know when they're

gonna rob you when
they're ringing up their stuff.

They always gotta
look back up at you.

They're like, "Boop, boop."

[laughter]

This one dude
tried to humiliate me.

Like, I knew he
was gonna rob us

'cause I'm looking at him,
he's looking at me.

I'm like, "Just steal it."

But he tries to play me
in front of the entire store.

While he's
ringing his stuff up,

he makes the beep noise
with his mouth.

He didn't even do it right.

Like, you gotta act this out,
go all in.

Raise your pitch, at least.

He's like...
[deep voice] "Beep."

I'm like, "The produce is not
even supposed to make a sound."

You're beeping
unbeepable stuff.

Hey, you guys,
I'm Mike E. Winfield.

Thank you very much.
Thank you.

[wild cheering]

♪ ♪

Oh, stop it. Oh...

Thank you.
Thank you.

Look at these people.

[audience chanting]

They're standing up!

Wow.

Wow, thank you so much.

I mean, I don't think
there's anything else to say.

They love you.

I love you.

Thank you.

It's amazing,
your energy, your smile.

I loved it.

-Aw, thank you.
-Howie.

Everything you say
is memorable, is authentic.

Your smile, your persona.
You're great.

-You're great.
-Bravo!

-Wow--wow.
-I appreciate it.

Heidi.

-You are fantastic.
-And then there's this face.

-Thank you.
-Look at this face.

[laughs]

That face is just so cute.

Why don't you mention
his face?

Isn't his face so cute?

All: Yeah!

-[playfully] Stop it--
-Stop it!

Simon, what do you think?

Well, you have a real
star quality about you, Mike.

-He does.
-You really do.

Absolutely.

We could never do
this show without an audience.

Particularly
with an act like yourself.

And this audience loved you.
I mean, you could tell.

-Thank you, Simon.
-Thank you all!

I appreciate you!

And, Mike, look, we always
say an audition on this show,

two minutes literally
can change your life.

Maybe this is one
of those auditions.

I've got
a good feeling about you.

Thank you.

Well, we're
gonna start voting.

-Simon.
-Yes.

Me, yes.

Yes.

Four yeses!

[cheers and applause]

Four yeses!

Bravo!

We did it!

Appreciate you, guys.
Thank you.

That was so good.

Yeah, we love Mikey.

-Very good.
-Yeah, that kid's a star.

I mean,
I think he's one of my

favorite comedians that I've
seen in these three seasons.

Oh, yeah.

♪ I'm the man,
I'm the man, I'm the man ♪

♪ Yes, I am,
yes, I am, yes, I am ♪

♪ I'm the man,
I'm the man, I'm the man ♪

Coming up...

America's gonna
fall in love with you.

[cheers and applause]

Incredible!

-It's in your blood.
-This is your destiny.

[cheers and applause]

-Are you ready for this?
-Oh, I think I'm ready.

-No, you're not ready.
-You got it.

This is the biggest
performance

of our entire lives,
and I could not imagine

anything cooler
than being here

at "America's Got Talent"
with all of you.

Bring it in.

This means everything.

-Wow.
-Yes!

Fantastic.

I love the energy,
the synchronicity.

The chemistry they have.

I feel
a real friendship here.

Together we are stronger.

Four yeses.

Have you played yo-yo?

Not in many years.

Okay.

-I'm Shu Takada.
-I'm a yo-yo performer.

When I was a kid,
I was really shy.

I always hiding from
parents and the teacher like...

But the yo-yo changed my life.

It taught me the happiness
of expressing myself

and to be more outgoing
person, I think.

[sighs]

Everyone says
that yo-yo is a toy.

But it isn't only toy,
but also extreme sports,

culture, and art.

Are you ready to go out there
and meet the judges?

Yes.

"Americas Got Talent"
is my biggest dream.

I want to break
their images of yo-yo

and share my yo-yo style
to the world.

[cheers and applause]

-Hello, very nice to meet you.
-What's your name, please?

-I'm Shu Takada.
-I'm from Japan.

Which part of Japan?

-Um, near to Tokyo.
-It's called Yokohama.

-Okay, how old are you?
-I'm 25 years old.

Okay, we've seen a lot
of yo-yo acts over the years.

They've been a bit boring,
if I'm being honest with you.

-Okay.
-At least he's being honest.

He's honest.

Where would you like
to be with your act

in five years' time?

My dream is, um, having
on my show and traveling

around the world to share
the coolness of yo-yoing.

It's my dream.

-Okay, good luck.
-Thank you.

Thank you very much.

[cheers and applause]

[laughter]

[upbeat techno music]

♪ Hit the road, Jack ♪

♪ And don't come back,
no more, no more, no more ♪

♪ Hit the road Jack and don't
you come back no more ♪

♪ Hit the road, Jack ♪

♪ And don't come back,
no more, no more, no more ♪

♪ Hit the road, Jack ♪

♪ And don't come back
no more ♪

♪ Hit the road, Jack ♪

♪ And don't come back,
no more, no more, no more ♪

♪ Hit the road, Jack ♪

♪ And don't come back,
no more ♪

♪ What you say ♪

♪ Hit the road, Jack ♪

♪ And don't come back,
no more, no more, no more ♪

♪ Hit the road Jack and don't
you come back no more ♪

♪ No more, no more,
no more, no more ♪

♪ No more, no more,
no more, no more ♪

♪ No more, no more,
no more, no more ♪

♪ No more, no more,
no more, no more ♪

♪ Hit the road, Jack ♪

♪ And don't come back,
no more, no more, no more ♪

Wow.

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

Look at his legs!

♪ ♪

♪ No more, no more,
no more, no more ♪

♪ No more, no more,
no more, no more ♪

♪ No more, no more,
no more, no more ♪

♪ Hit the road, Jack ♪

♪ And don't come back,
no more, no more, no more ♪

♪ Yo! ♪

[cheers and applause]

Yes!

-He's tied up, look.
-The yo-yo.

Your yo-yo
is stuck on the back.

[uplifting music]

Incredible.

I mean, seriously.

Seriously.

Thank you.

My God, Shu,
we weren't expecting that.

Seriously, my God.
Heidi?

The best yo-yoing
we've ever seen, Shu.

-Ever.
-Thank you very much.

Howie?

Yo-yo--it's usually
like nerdy and a little--it is.

But you
made the yo-yo cool, fun.

You're not just a yo-yo artist.

You are a great performer.
You're a dancer.

And I've never seen
anything like that.

♪ ♪

- Thank you.
Thank you so much.

Sofía.

I was a little afraid
because you were so nervous.

But the moment you started
doing the yo-yo thing,

you lightened up.

You are a cool guy and you
deserve to be here tonight.

Thank you.

Look, before you started,
I was kind of thinking,

"Oh, God,
this isn't gonna be great."

But actually,
you've got personality,

you do something really,
really, really incredible.

People will watch this audition
over and over again in slow-mo.

How do they do that?
I love acts like this.

-I mean, genuinely.
-Thank you.

Now, we've never done
this before.

We're gonna say no or yo.

Yo obviously being yes.

[laughter]

So let's start with Howie.

Yo!

Heidi.

[slowly] Yo.

I am gonna
give you your third yo.

Shu, you got three yos,
now you've got four yos.

-Congratulations.
-Yo, yo, yo, yo!

[wild cheering]

♪ Don't even care
if anyone sees me dancing ♪

Thank you so much.

♪ Like I can fly ♪

♪ And don't even think
of touching the ground ♪

That's truly amazing.

I've never seen
anything like that.

How much fun was we having?

How do you feel
about what you did?

I don't feel anything
because my brain's like...

[both laugh]

He was really performing.

-Everything he wore was cool.
-Yeah.

♪ ♪

[Ben Rector's "Brand New"]

♪ I feel brand new ♪

All right, everyone.

The next group of numbers
is 9075 and below.

9075 and below.

This is
what you've trained for.

1 minute, 30 seconds, done.

-We got it.
-We got it.

There's so many people
out there right now.

Picture the roar
of the crowd, the judges.

♪ Even if it don't
come true ♪

♪ Dreaming
is what dreamers do ♪

Just know that I'm
very proud of you.

What does this mean
to you right now?

It would
mean the world to us.

Anything could happen.

Do you think I'm ready?

-I think you're show-ready.
-You think I'm show-ready?

Yes.

Show-ready is better
than ready-ready.

Yeah,
let me see you turn around.

♪ Even if it all goes by ♪

When did you say
AGT was the place

that you needed to be?

It wasn't really my choice...

because I didn't think
I was good enough.

And when did that change?

-It didn't.
-Okay.

Mom was like,
"We're signing you up."

Sometimes you have
to let the people

who believe in you
do their thing.

You worked hard for this,
and you deserve to be here.

-I love you.
-I love you, too, Mom.

[cheers and applause]

Hello.

Already, I have to say
my favorite outfit today.

-Mine too.
-Yes.

Thank you so much.

Welcome, let's start
with your name, please, sir.

-My name is Avery Dixon.
-And where are you from?

I'm from Atlanta, Georgia.

[cheers and applause]

-I love Atlanta.
-How old are you?

-I'm 21.
-21, okay.

Now I'm guessing you're
gonna play the saxophone.

Yes, I think I'll guess
that you're right.

[laughter]

So I'm really curious,
Avery, because I find

with the saxophone,
it sort of goes in and out

of fashion over the years.

What do you feel about that?

It going
in and out of fashion

depends on the player.

Oh, good point.

-[cheers and applause]
-Yeah!

-Good answer.
-That was good--that was good.

And tell me
what got you into this.

Okay, so at the time
I picked up the saxophone,

I was getting bullied
in elementary school.

For what?

Um, well, my voice
sounds a little bit different.

You got a great voice.

And I looked
a little bit different too.

And my elementary school
nickname was "hammerhead,"

because I had these knots on my
head because I'm premature.

I was born
at 1 pound, 8 ounces.

-[audience exclaims]
-Whoa!

And my vocal cords
don't close all the way.

So it makes voice
sound really airy.

Right.

The students were
so negative about my voice.

One called me frog and she'd
get the class in on the joke.

It was relentless,
and I actually--

I was so in such a dark place,

I actually wanted
to commit suicide.

Oh.

And when you're
in that mindset,

the only thing you
want to do is quit.

So you decided to find
something to take your mind

away from all
those horrible people.

And it was the saxophone?

Yes.

That's when I started
actually learning how to play.

[cheers and applause]

Good for you, good for you.

And what would you do
if you were to win?

Well, first I'd want to give
my mom and my brother a space

where we can actually
live as loud as we want to be

because I can't exactly
practice where I live now.

Somebody had called the cops
on me before I flew out.

-Really?
-I was trying to practice.

Because doing
a show as big as this,

I want to get
everything perfect.

For sure.

So they called the cops.

The cops came banging
on the door.

They were like,
"You need to be quiet."

My goal with the music,
with this,

is to be able to do
the thing I love.

And if I can do that,
I'll have found my purpose

for being
on "America's Got Talent."

[cheers and applause]

Well, look, Avery, here...

you can be as loud as you like.

Thank you.

-[cheers and applause]
-Yes!

My Avery!

Sweet kid.

-May I please get some water?
-Yeah.

-You certainly can.
-I'm kind of drying up here.

-I think it will be on--
-There they are.

How quick was that?

[cheers and applause]

He's nervous.

-Yes sir.
-He's thirsty.

-Uh-huh.
-Yeah.

[cheers and applause]

-Oh, he's nervous.
-Are you okay?

Yes, I'll be fine.

-I'm sorry.
-Don't worry.

Don't worry.

[cheers and applause]

Breathe.

Please be good.

[slow jazz music]

[saxophone plays smoothly]

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

[upbeat saxophone music]

[cheers and applause]

Oh! Yeah!

You know--you know
how to dance, I can see it.

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

Go, Avery!

[high note]

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

[inspirational music]

Wow!

♪ ♪

I mean,
can I tell you, Avery,

if Howie Mandel
gets up to dance,

that means you're really good,
because he never dances.

-I love you.
-He never dances.

-I love you, buddy.
-I love you.

I love who you are.

You need to be here.
You're supposed to be here.

Thank you so much.

And you
will change the world.

[cheers and applause]

Yeah!

Because when you play
with your instrument,

you play with your heart,
and we feel it.

Thank you.

Avery, that was so emotional!

Look at these people.

It's like,
it was special to us

because we could feel
how special it is for you,

and I think America
is gonna fall in love with you.

[cheers and applause]

Avery, look,
every time I hear a story about

a kid being bullied at school,
it breaks my heart.

It breaks it even more now
because I have a, you know,

a son myself and I could not
think of anything worse.

Any one of those idiots
who bullied you now,

I hope,
is watching this audition.

[cheers and applause]

Look, you know,
I was--all of us were

willing you to be good.

I didn't know
you were gonna be great.

[wild cheering]

It was like listening
to a singer.

You know, you have the ups
and downs and you--

You got 4,000 people
in here on their feet.

So...

[cheers and applause]

It's in your blood.
This is your destiny.

If you are looking for
validation, you just got it,

because I'm gonna give you
your first yes.

There's no need to vote!

[cheers and applause]

There's no need to vote!

[music swells]

[crowd chanting]
Avery! Avery! Avery! Avery!

Avery Nixon,
you touched the heart

of every human being
in this building right now.

[cheers and applause]

And I want to tell you, man,
you've been bullied

all your life,
but you tell every bully

that you have a big brother
named Terry Crews.

Who is here,
who's got your back.

And all those bullies
are gonna have to

watch you succeed, my friend!

♪ Sometimes in our lives ♪

♪ We all have pain ♪

♪ We all have sorrow ♪

♪ But if we are wise ♪

♪ We know that there's
always tomorrow ♪

- I got you.
I'm your big brother.

♪ Lean on me ♪

-I love you, man.
-I love you, too, man.

Aw.

Avery Dixon, you are headed
to the live show!

♪ Carry on, for... ♪

[cheers and applause]

I got you, man.

I got you.
I got you.

♪ Somebody to lean on ♪

That's what it's all about.

That's what it's all about.

That was beautiful.

Your talent did this.

You did this.

I was crying,
and I never cry.

I know, not a dry eye
in the house.

♪ Need somebody ♪

I love you, man.

- ♪ To lean on ♪
- I love you.

♪ ♪

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪