[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for America’s Got Talent Season 17 Episode 3.]
After saying he loves the extreme acts the most, Simon Cowell and the rest of America’s Got Talent were treated to a violent surprise in Season 17 Episode 3. Two rag dolls sauntered on stage and delivered an incredibly boring performance. After getting three no’s and a sea of boos from the audience, the “TikTok dancers” got into a raucous fight on stage.
Turns out… it was WWE stars the Bella Twins. Nikki Bella co-judges America’s Got Talent: Extreme with Cowell, and just a week prior decided on her and Brie Bella‘s podcast to play a prank on the judge.
Outside of the comedic moment, the third episode of auditions featured nail-biting moments and thrilling entertainment. About halfway through the episode, judge Howie Mandel took a sick day, making it possible to make it to the next round with just two yeses from the judges.
Here, we break down the best (and very real) auditions of the night — including one Golden Buzzer moment — in order of appearance, all of whom got unanimous yeses from the panel of judges.
The Brown Brothers
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Two Navy veteran brothers with autism best communicate their feelings through music. With Nate on piano and Gabriel singing, The Brown Brothers delivered a performance that was equal parts moving and comedic through the combination of song and impressions.
They gave the judges song and impression prompt cards to choose from, which the brothers then performed. All of Gabriel’s impressions were spot-on, with the most impressive being his impression of Cowell during Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved.”
That, of course, was Cowell’s choice. Sofía Vergara chose Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” and Kermit the Frog, Heidi Klum chose Nickelback’s “Photograph” and Donald Duck, and Mandel chose Train’s “Drops of Jupiter” and SpongeBob.
Blade to Blade
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The brothers performed a knife-throwing number that had us on the edge of your seat. Starting by throwing daggers while standing across from each other, the brothers flung the blades with ease.
Each section of the performance raised the stakes. At one moment, one of the brothers was suspended upside-down and the other stood on a spinning platform as they both threw axes. And then, their flexible assistant held her leg behind her head as they threw daggers onto pads on her turning platform. After the judges deliberated, Cowell braved the stage and stood between them as they threw more axes.
Jack Williams
Williams’ ventriloquist comedic styles featured a hazy-eyed rabbit puppet with quite the attitude. Williams impressed the most when he “threw” the rabbit’s voice into the audience, switched theirs, and returned them.
The judges called it one of the best ventriloquism first auditions they’ve ever seen on the show.
Sara James
Trae Patton/NBC
The 13-year-old singer traveled to the U.S. from Poland just to audition for the show, having been a fan of the series and hoping she could chase the “American dream” through it. She performed Billie Eilish‘s “Lovely” and impressed the judges so much with her powerhouse voice, Cowell used his Golden Buzzer to send her straight to the live shows.
urbancrew (Flyers of the South)
A dancing, breakdancing, and acrobatic crew from the Philippines, the company performed one of the best dance auditions seen all season.
“This is one of the most amazing things I’ve seen this season,” Vergara said of their gravity-defying skills. Cowell called it “perfection,” and Klum barely had words to describe her feelings other than “fantastic” and saying they should be proud.
Hayden Kristal
Scott Casey Durkin/NBC
The deaf comedian wasted no time landing her first punchline. She started signing on stage and then spoke into the mic saying she likes to start that way because “that does make heckling me an ADA violation.”
Kristal came to AGT because she and her mom are longtime fans, and she has seen past comics with disabilities be “given the tools to succeed” on the show. With an interpreter assisting her, the touring comic delighted the audience with her jokes.
What was your favorite moment from the episode? Let us know in the comments, below.
America’s Got Talent, Tuesdays, 8/7c, NBC
