‘America’s Got Talent: The Champions’ recap: Which acts advanced after week one?
America’s Got Talent: The Champions returned for its second season on Monday night as 10 acts from various Got Talent shows around the world took part in seeing who would be crowned the “Champion”.
Joining Simon Cowell and Howie Mandel at the judge’s desk is Heidi Klum, who returns to the show after a year away, as well as Britain’s Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon, who is making her debut on a U.S. Got Talent show.
With a new season comes new rules. This year, four acts from each round will advance to the semifinals; one will go through with the Golden Buzzer, two with the superfan vote, and one on a judge’s decision.
So without further ado, let’s dive into the recap of the night’s performances as well as the results.
Paddy and Nico
The show kicked things off with Britain’s Got Talent 2014 finalists Paddy and Nico, a ballroom dancing couple. What makes his act unique is that Paddy is 85-years-old, proving that age is truly only a number. Seeing Howie and Heidi’s reactions to this act was genuinely hilarious given that Simon and Alesha have both seen them on Britain’s Got Talent twice.
The couple performed a salsa to Jennifer Lopez’s “Let’s Get Loud”. This is my third time seeing the act, so I was unsure about how much more they can do. It wasn’t my cup of tea but I was happy to see Paddy do her thing in the states.
Mike Young
The former subway singer won America’s hearts after making it to the finals on America’s Got Talent in 2017. Since then, he has been overseas to perform and put out a song with DJ Martin Garrix but everything came to a halt when his wife suddenly passed away.
He returned to the stage and sang “Dreamer”, and his performance was one of my favorite acts of the night. Howie commented he did not like the song but a majority of the judges did. With a singer basically guaranteed a spot, he was one to watch for me.
Junior Creative
Up third was shadow dance group Junior Creative, the winners of Myanmar’s Got Talent in 2018. They put together a touching story about parents being separated from their children during the war and it brought everyone to tears.
Shadow dance acts have become so repetitive on this show that despite the emotional aspect of it, I was bored. It also made the overall performance really tough to follow. They would personally be my first “in danger” act.
Hans
The German became a fan favorite in 2018 when he was a finalist on America’s Got Talent. He returned by sitting on a giant banana and performed a rather odd rendition of Lizzo’s “Juice”.
As I sat and watched the performance, I couldn’t help but laugh. Let’s be real: Hans is nothing but pure entertainment. With that said, he is not worthy of the “champions” title and really had no place in Monday’s lineup. It was just bad with a capital B.
Jack Vidgen
The winner of Australia’s Got Talent 2011 was up next. Jack Vidgen won the show nearly nine years ago but due to his voice changing, he stepped away from singing. He explained that returning to the stage was nerve-wracking but he was ready to sing again.
He performed a nice rendition of Lauren Daigle’s “You Stay”. His voice was shaky and he was clearly nervous. While I loved his song choice, his overall performance really did nothing for me.
Duo Transcend
The acrobats returned to the stage after reaching the America’s Got Talent finals in 2018. That’s the same year the couple suffered a scary fall during the judge cuts round of the competition. Since the show ended, one of the best eye surgeons in the country reached out to Tryce and managed to slow the process of his eye disease, so he will no longer go completely blind. It is truly amazing what can happen as a result of this show.
This time, the couple performed a sexy, death-defying, and scary acrobat routine; both were blindfolded several feet in the air with no safety net to protect them if they fell. It was easily the best act of the night and I can see them reaching the finals.
Dan Naturman
The comedian first appeared on America’s Got Talent back in 2014. I personally did not find Dan funny back then and I did not find him funny this time around either. Apparently, Simon agreed as he buzzed the comic in the middle of his set.
Angelina Jordan
The winner of Norway’s Got Talent 2014 graced the American stage for the first time ever, showing exactly why she won in her country.
She sang a Freddie Mercury classic and had everyone in tears. Heidi was so impressed that she hit her Golden Buzzer, sending her straight into the semifinals. I normally don’t like singing acts, but Angelina’s golden buzzer was well-deserved.
Eddie Williams
The strongman shocked Australia on Australia’s Got Talent 2019 after a twist in his performance, and now it was America’s turn to see it.
Eddie began his performance by lifting two 260 pound balls on a platform before sitting on a wooden plank. He then stopped and began to SING! That’s right, he shocked everyone with his rendition of “Ordinary People”. But Howie was not impressed as he buzzed Eddie and ran backstage afterward to “hide” from Eddie.
Dania Diaz
The final act of the night belonged to Spain’s Got Talent 2018 finalist Dania Diaz. The female magician used close up magic to tell her life story about how magic changed her life. She used sleight of hand well and had a nice performance.
It was not for me, but you could just tell she was going to advance. She went last and was the lone magic act on the night. Together, the result was pretty obvious.
The Results
Following all the performances, host Terry Crews returned with the results. He announced Duo Transcend and Dania Diaz were through to the next round. Hans, Jack Vidgen, and Junior Creative all were in the bottom three. The judges decided to send Hans through, making him the fourth act of the night to advance.
What did you think of the performances? Let me know in the comments below!
America’s Got Talent: The Champions airs Mondays at 8/7c on NBC.