America’s Got Talent Season 21 returned on Tuesday night for the second round of Judges’ Callbacks, as Howie Mandel and Sofia Vergara watched several acts perform before deciding who should move on to the live shows.
Howie Mandel Chooses Acts in AGT Judges’ Callbacks
During Tuesday’s new Judges’ Callbacks episode, AGT judge Howie Mandel saw several acts perform at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles. He ended up sending four of those acts into the Season 21 live shows — singer and guitarist Nene Royal, comedians Cris Sosa and Daniel Alvarez, and music duo Bird and Byron.
Sixteen-year-old Nene wowed Mandel and his guest judge Nikki Glaser with her rocking performance of “Hysteria” by Muse on the electric guitar. Music duo Bird and Byron also impressed with their original song, although Glaser urged the frontman to open his eyes for future performances.
Mandel also sent two comedians through to the live shows. Cris Sosa’s jokes about growing up in a Latino household and aspiring to become a bartender made the crowd laugh, as did Daniel Alvarez’s routine about dreams and dating. Glaser thought Alvarez seemed nervous, but that didn’t stop Mandel from sending him through.
Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to two other AGT acts who also performed for Mandel in this week’s episode — impressionist Rynia Kando and ventriloquist duo Naiman & Daniele. They will not be going to the Season 21 live shows.
AGT judge Sofia Vergara also watched performances from several acts on Tuesday night, from her home in Beverly Hills. She put three acts through to the live shows — magician Kameron Marshall, dog act Olivia Befus, and singer Brook Lynn.
Kameron impressed Vergara and her guest judges, Lele Pons and Sebastián Yatra, with his closeup card magic routine, in which he asked them to predict the colors of various cards. The judges also loved the charming routine performed by Olivia Befus and her three dogs, set to Shakira songs.
Singer Brook Lynn was nervous about her performance of “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence, because her voice was cracking during the previous night’s rehearsal. However, she brought down the house on the day, wowing the judges and earning a spot in the live shows.
Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to two other acts — beatboxer Vahtang and magician Darell Moten, who made it seem like he wouldn’t be performing before showing off a unique routine via Zoom. These acts will not be going to the Season 21 live shows, which will officially kick off next Tuesday night on NBC, with results airing on Wednesday.
What did you think about the second episode of AGT Judges’ Callbacks? Do you agree with Howie Mandel and Sofia Vergara’s decisions? Are you excited about the upcoming live shows? Let us know in the comments below.
Words by:
Jill O'Rourke Jill O’Rourke is a contributor at Talent Recap, writing news stories and recaps for shows like ‘AGT,’ ‘The Voice,’ and ‘American Idol.’ She graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English and Film Studies, and has been writing about pop culture since 2012, with previous bylines at Crushable and A Plus. Jill spends her free time binge-watching sitcoms and daydreaming about life as a hobbit
