Mean Simon Gets Booed as ‘America’s Got Talent’ Live Shows Continue
Elizabeth Morris/NBC Reading Time: 3 minutes
On Tuesday night, America’s Got Talent Season 16 returned for another night of live shows. Twelve acts performed for a spot in the Semifinals, and now it’s time for viewers to vote for their favorites.
Tonight’s show featured quite a few negative critiques from judge Simon Cowell, earning him boos from the audience on several occasions. It seemed like we might be seeing a return to his American Idol attitude, although he did have some great things to say about a few standout acts.
Voting is open until Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. ET. We’ll find out tomorrow night during the results show which seven acts will be moving on to the next round, and which five will be eliminated from the competition.
‘America’s Got Talent’ Aerialist Aidan Bryant ‘One to Beat’
One of the most memorable performances of the night came from 16-year-old self-taught aerialist Aidan Bryant. The young performer shared that his mom helped him practice by pulling him on a riding lawn mower. Things weren’t quite so makeshift during Tuesday’s performance.
Aidan hung from the ceiling, spinning around and showing off some seriously graceful moves. Three of the judges gave him a standing ovation, with Heidi Klum saying it’s “insane how good you are” and Sofia Vergara saying he looks like a professional.
In this case, Howie Mandel was the one negative voice on the panel, criticizing Aidan’s resets. Cowell was annoyed by Mandel’s comments, telling him to “shut up.” He called Aidan a “star in the making” and the “one to beat,” saying he should have a Las Vegas act.
SEE ALSO: MEET ‘AMERICA’S GOT TALENT’ TEEN AERIALIST AIDAN BRYANT
Mean Cowell Gets Booed by the Audience
Cowell had negative things to say about half the acts during Tuesday night’s show. It started with the singing trio T.3, whom he called “horrible.” He went on to criticize the music choice for Dokteuk Crew, and he described Johnny Showcase as “horrific” after buzzing him along with Mandel.
One of his meanest moments of the night came after Shuffolution performed. He called it a “huge step backwards” from their audition, saying he was “really disappointed.” When Mandel pointed out that one of the dancers fell during the performance, Cowell said that was “the best part.” The performer in question looked upset by the comment.
Later, Cowell buzzed balancing act Positive Impact Movement, calling them “No Magic Mike.” Korean Soul didn’t fare much better, as he called their song choice “predictable.” Cowell was booed by the live audience for all of his negative comments, but it didn’t deter him. Is Mr. Nasty making a comeback?
Victory Earns a Standing Ovation from the Judges
One act that earned Cowell’s praise on Tuesday night was 9-year-old opera singer Victory Brinker. She shared that she changed her song at the last minute, but you’d never know it. Victory was the recipient of the very first group Golden Buzzer from the America’s Got Talent judges and host Terry Crews, and she continues to deliver.
All the judges gave Victory a standing ovation after her performance, and Cowell had some seriously impressive feedback. He told Victory that she’ll be “one of the biggest stars to emerge from one of these shows,” calling back to a similar prediction he made about Carrie Underwood.
We’ve heard Cowell say this kind of thing about acts in the past, but there’s no denying that Victory is seriously talented. After a night of acts that had the judges torn or outright unimpressed, it was nice to see them all agree about a great performance.
What did you think of this week’s Quarterfinals performances? Do you think Cowell was too harsh? Let us know in the comments.
