'AGT': Simon Cowell Uses 2 Golden Buzzers in the Same Night (2024)

By

Zach Seemayer

America's Got Talent season 19 returned for the second night of auditions on Tuesday, and this week's slate of performers raised the bar for everyone to come.

HostTerry Crewsled the wild andraucous auditions, which were overseen by longtime judgesHowie Mandel,Heidi Klum,Sofia VergaraandSimon Cowell-- and the double Golden Buzzer rule played a big role in how many hopefuls took another step toward having their dreams come true.

In fact, this week we learned exactly how the rule change came to be! But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

The first singer to wow the judges enough to earn the coveted honor was R&B songstress Liv Warfield, who has been performing for years and has shared a stage with icons such as Prince andNancy Wilson of Heart, to name a few.

Now, after a career of being an anchor supporting other acts, Liv wants to make it big on her own, and she came to AGT to show exactly what she has to offer to make it happen.

Joined by a sizable band of performers, Liv belted out her tune, "Stare," and it left the judges nearly speechless.

"Liv, I have a big problem. That wasn't long enough!" Cowell marveled. "Seriously, that lyric, 'Wrecking ball.' I mean, that summed up how I felt just then. I was like being, in a good way, punched in the face by your energy, the band..."

"I'm sorry, I can't give you a yes... I've got to give you one of these," Cowell said, slamming his hand on the Golden Buzzer and showering Liv in a cascade of metallic confetti.

Toward the end of the episode, the judges met Sky Elements, a group of scientists and drone engineers who had the panel come outside to show them a jaw-dropping demonstration of synchronized drone mastery.

Using complex signaling and programming, the group of engineers used a fleet of hundreds of drones to visually recreate the story of the Apollo 11 launch and the moon landing -- and it was unlike anything the judges had ever seen before.

"I'm obsessed with space and landing on the moon. For every one of you, I want to say bravo!" Simon praised. "You know, we keep talking about the rules, but there is no rule book! Which means I'm gonna do this -- liftoff."

Simon slammed the Golden Buzzer yet again, which delighted the contestants but baffled the other judges and the show's producers.

"If you do it, everyone else gets a second one," one producer warned.

"OK! Yeah, if I have two, you can all have two," Simon said, which was music to the ears of Terry and Sofia -- who each used one of their Golden Buzzers in the season debut last week!

Here's a look at a few of the night's other biggest, most epic performances:

Chrisyius Whitehead

Ashes & Arrows

Nini

Sabrina

Phillip Lewis

ET spoke with the judges on theAGTred carpet ahead of the season 19 audition rounds, and they opened up about why the second Golden Buzzer rule is a real game changer.

"Talent is subjective. When you put a singer next to a dancer, next to a danger act,next to a magician -- they each need their own buzzer!" Crews shared. "I just think it’s perfect! And I've said this before,AGTis consistently evolving... [and] it’s getting better every time a new evolution comes out."

Cowell -- who createdAGTand also serves as an executive producer on the series -- came up with the idea for the second Golden Buzzer, and explained to ET that the idea came to him when he considered "the amount of time and effort these people put into this act and where this can go."

"People fly in from all over the world, as well as the American artists, and you are seeing the [amazing] things," Cowell gushed about the magic of the show. "The 70 times I've just gone, 'How did you come up with that idea?!' That's what I love about the show, you know? It continues to surprise you."

America's Got Talentairs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

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