Sofia Vergara Destroys Danger Act

Sofia Vergara is definitely making her mark on this season of “America’s Got Talent,” and you could see her settling more into her role as judge/entertainer in this week’s episode.

Not only did she hilariously make fun of Heidi Klum’s accent for being difficult to understand (pot meet kettle), but she absolutely derailed one danger act so spectacularly that the performer had to go completely off script — and did so beautifully, we might add.

Elsewhere on the night, Simon Cowell put one young singer through her paces, rejecting both of her song choices and sending her off to find a better one. When she came back, though, it was with a mission, with a vengeance and with a breathtakingly beautiful tribute to her father (we’re not crying, you’re crying!).

About halfway through this week’s broadcast we got to the part of the auditions where Heidi fell ill and had to miss some of the acts. This means we’re close to the shift away from live audiences and ultimately away from live on-stage auditions very soon. How much of this will we see?

As you might recall, Heidi fell ill early during the coronavirus pandemic leading to concerns she may have contracted COVID-19. Ultimately, she was cleared and recovered enough to return to the show, but it was a very different show by that time.

The next few episodes should be very interesting. The promos for next week’s show reveal that we’re up to the auditions where Sofia’s “Modern Family” co-star Eric Stonestreet stepped in, so things are about to get strange.

For the purposes of this recap, if you only see three “Results,” then that means those are acts Heidi missed out on. As always, they are in the same order as the judges sit from Howie Mandel on the left to Simon on the right (from the stage).

Fair warning, since I’m safe at home, I’m probably going to be a little harsher than my colleagues Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara, and Simon Cowell. But I might be nicer, too. Maybe.

And just for fun, I’m gonna rank them from worst to first to see how my favorites do and whether or not the judges are getting it right (i.e. agreeing with me).

(singer) While we would have loved to hear Luca jump into a falsetto or a higher register as accents to his performance, he certainly got everyone’s attention by going so much lower than his speaking voice to “Get It On.” This was a memorable audition, but it did sound at times like he was straining to be so low, more like it’s a novelty or gimmick than a genuine vocal style he’s adopted. Only additional performances could clear that up, but showing off that depth with range would have been a real showstopper!

Result: Y, Y, Y, Y

(dancer) Noah definitely has a cool presentation when he dances as well as a creative and surprising blend of isolations, bone breaking, robot and a bit of popping. In other words, he’s more than just a marionette up there. And yet, we couldn’t help but see this as more of an act with potential as he grows and tightens his moves more than something fully ready to win a show like this right now. The vision is there, but he’s not as sharp as he needs to be in execution to really have all those wow moments.

Result: Y, Y, Y, Y

(stand-up comedian) Poor Christine, she really had this going very well until she flubbed a punchline by saying her husband’s name at the end of a great string of kids’ complaints. The problem is no one knows who that is (she probably meant to refer to him as her husband). From there, she was so flustered she couldn’t recover, the audience was on edge and the energy changed to painful discomfort. We feel terrible for her, because she really was doing great until that moment. We absolutely loved seeing Howie come back to offer words of support because she was just so beating herself up after that.

Result: Y, Y, N, N

(family band) This rocking family band really creates a full sound together, and vocalist Melody is quite an accomplished rock singer for such a young age. We’ve seen family bands have success before, and this is one that definitely has taken the time to figure out their vision as musicians and really brought it in this audition. We can only assume all of the judges passed them through based on audience enthusiasm alone.

Result: Y, ?, ?, ?

(singers) This duo from Arctic Siberia brought their unique vocal affectations to “Zombie” and made it truly like nothing you’ve heard before. It’s always amazing to see cultural representation on shows like these, and the sharing of everything that makes such different (to the United States) parts of the world so amazing and beautiful. Plus, it was just cool to hear how they interpreted the familiar through that filter.

Result: Y, Y, Y Y

(ukulele player) This kid shredded on a ukulele. One of our favorite things to see on this show is when someone takes something known and pushes it in a whole new direction, breathing new life into something familiar and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. In one audition, Feng proved you can make ukulele modern and cool on a familiar track … and you can do killer guitar solos, too.

Result: Y, Y, Y, Y

(singer) Nolan comes with a heartbreaking and inspirational story of personal perseverance and recovery, but more importantly, he came with an incredible instrument. The song was touching, if not absolutely mind-blowing, but it did have a unique and memorable arrangement. His voice has grit and strength enough that we can easily see how he had a record contract before he blew it. This is a world-class vocalist and someone who can definitely share a story through music, and that’s someone special.

Result: Y, Y, Y, Y

(sword swallower) Props to Brett, a true showman, for just going with the flow as his audition turned into ad-libbed chaos. Sofia was an absolutely horrid — but hilarious — stage partner, and then he went ahead and swallowed three swords so each judge could pull one out after Simon asked if he could. We loved how cool he kept it through everything, and absolutely enjoyed everything about him, even the stuff between the sword swallowing.

Result: Y, Y, Y

(singer) Simon put this 12-year-old girl through the wringer, rejecting both of her first two songs (the second one a cappella) before she could even get into the meat of them. On one hand, it means he saw something in her that she wasn’t letting out through her song choices. On the other hand, at 12 years old, this had to be destroying her nerves and confidence. It was clear she has a good voice, but Simon was not feeling her song choices at all. So he tasked her with coming back that afternoon with a new song (maybe a guy’s song?).

Later in the show, Ashley came back out for her second shot after apparently rejecting songs presented to her because of lyrical content or just a lack of familiarity. And so she went with an original song written about her dad. It was absolutely the right choice, because it was so authentically her voice and her story in that moment. A beautifully touching song with some nice lyrical play performed confidently and with great vocal ability. She was hiding her true talent under those other songs, but it shined through here.

Result: Y, Y, Y

(diabolo performers) “AGT” pulled a fast one on us by having Marco Angelo start the performance alone (and give pre-interviews alone) so that his brother Marc joining would work as a surprise. It was pretty effective, because just by adding a second diabolo they upped the danger and unpredictability of the whole act exponentially. Added lights effects and some very cool back-and-forth made this the most exciting diabolo act we’ve seen yet on this stage.

Result: Y, Y, Y

(dancers) A new style for the “AGT” stage, this crew brings Litefeet to life with so much fun and infectious energy, you can’t help but groove along. It was clear they’ve honed this on subways as there was a lot of small movements used for maximum effect, including some very cool gymnastics and tricks with shoes and hats. This is an exciting crew with a lot of potential if they push for a bigger presentation with all the stage has to offer.

Result: Simon’s Golden Buzzer

“America’s Got Talent” continues Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

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