America’s Got Talent Quarterfinals 1 recap: Sando, Brook Lynn and more take the live stage

The live shows of America’s Got Talent Season 21 are officially underway, with the first 11 acts taking the stage at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and competing for America’s votes.

After narrowing the huge audition field down to 44 acts, judges Howie Mandel, Mel B, Sofia Vergara and Simon Cowell now face four weeks of quarterfinal performances. Each Tuesday, a group of 11 contestants will perform live, with the results revealed on Wednesday.

For the first quarterfinal, the lineup included Howie’s Golden Buzzer acts Hundred Fingers and Luke Taleno, Terry Crews’ Golden Buzzer act Royal Lasers, as well as Ashford Sanders, Brook Lynn, Cris Sosa, James & Marina, Jesse White Tumbling Team, Olivia Befus, Sando and CommUNITY ATL.

Host Terry Crews kicked off the night by declaring, “America, we are live!”

Howie also had a major decision to make. As the judge with the Golden Buzzer this week, he could personally send one of the 11 acts straight to the finals. America’s vote would then determine which three other performers advance to the semifinals.

Here’s how the first night unfolded.

Community ATL

CommUNITY ATL opened the Season 21 Live Shows with a performance of Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten.”

The large choir quickly had the audience on its feet, while three judges gave the group a standing ovation. Simon Cowell, however, remained seated.

Sofia Vergara called it “the perfect way to start the live shows,” while Howie predicted the performance could “launch them into full-time jobs.”

Mel B joked, “My earring popped off it was that good!”

Simon was less enthusiastic about the song choice but still acknowledged that the choir delivered a “brilliant” performance.

James & Marina

Mentalist duo James & Marina attempted to turn the thoughts of audience members into paintings.

They began by having Terry Crews throw a teddy bear into the audience. They then correctly identified a randomly selected audience member, Anna, as a Scorpio and gave her birthday as November 15.

Next, they asked another audience member, Dash, for his dog’s name — and correctly revealed it.

But the performance took a turn when Simon hit the red buzzer.

For their third audience member, Madison, the duo revealed a portrait showing Madison, Anna and Dash together with Mel B on stage, meaning the artwork appeared to predict what had happened during the performance.

Howie described the act as “so long and so boring” and admitted that he had wanted to press the red buzzer.

Sofia preferred their first performance and described this one as “slow.” Simon said he pressed the buzzer because he was mostly “bored,” although he acknowledged that the ending was “great.”

Mel strongly disagreed, declaring, “I thought this was incredible!”

Jesse White Tumbling Team

The Jesse White Tumbling Team brought performers ranging in age from 9 to their 90s to the stage.

The Chicago-based group filled the stage with flips and dancing while wearing their trademark red outfits.

Sofia praised what they do for their community and noted that “you don’t care about age.”

Simon even admitted that the team had improved compared with their earlier appearance.

“[Did] you make it better on the live shows? Can I be honest? It was better,” he said.

Mel described the overall production as “slick,” while Howie joked that the group was “Twice as fast as the last act!”

Ashford Sanders

Atlanta kitchen owner Ashford Sanders performed “All That Really Matters” by Illenium and Teddy Swims, with audience members holding up lights to create the atmosphere.

Mel B was the only judge to give him a standing ovation.

“You are a fighter, you really are,” she told him.

Howie, however, felt that Ashford had not produced a Golden Buzzer-level moment and said he preferred the Teddy Swims version of the song.

Sofia called Ashford “adorable” and admitted that she had felt “nervous” for him at the beginning of the performance.

Simon was critical of the production track, describing it as “horrible” and “mushy.” He also believed Ashford could have chosen a different song that would have given him a stronger “moment.”

Sando

Social media performer Sando is hoping to take his dancing beyond TikTok and onto what he described as the “biggest stage on Earth.”

His performance featured multiple dancers, including children, and ended with all four judges getting to their feet.

Simon immediately sensed the potential.

“Now we’re in a different place altogether,” he declared, predicting that the performance could receive “tens of millions” of views.

Mel praised the new dancers but admitted, “I don’t get it.”

Sofia said she finally understood why Sando “goes viral” for his dancing.

Howie believed the biggest “viral moment” could come from Sando dancing on the clock.

Hundred Fingers

Hundred Fingers had prepared extensively for their Live Show performance, practicing 15 hours a day, six days a week to make sure their “most difficult magic” would work on a live stage.

Their Las Vegas-style performance made a major impression on Howie.

Rather than allowing the other judges to vote, Howie once again used his Golden Buzzer in a dramatic fashion, lying down on it as he had during the auditions.

The result: Hundred Fingers went straight through to the finals.

“That’s the best thing I’ve seen,” Howie said. “One word: magic!”

The Canadian judge later went even further, calling it “a million-dollar performance.”

Brook Lynn

Brook Lynn performed an original song that began quietly before building in intensity as she sang passionately about fighting.

The performance earned standing ovations from both Mel and Sofia.

“That was amazing!” Sofia said.

Mel agreed, praising Brook’s voice as “just amazing.”

Howie compared her development throughout the competition to a “flower blossoming” and said he was pleased to see her getting “better and better.”

Simon also praised Brook for writing her own song, noting that it reminded him of a James Bond soundtrack.

Royal Lasers

The light-up dance trio Royal Lasers met during the AGT residency in Las Vegas, but their Season 21 audition marked the first time they had performed together as a group.

Their Live Show routine incorporated a virtual screen featuring Terry Crews, their Golden Buzzer mentor, apparently ripping open his shirt.

The performance ended with an unexpected blue-light figure appearing at the judges’ desk.

Simon summed up his reaction simply: “It was breathtaking.”

Mel praised Terry for choosing “the right Golden Buzzer.”

Howie, however, felt the performance might actually have been weaker than their audition and said that “America will decide.”

Sofia highlighted the elements that made Royal Lasers “special” compared with similar acts the show has seen before.

Olivia Befus

Eighteen-year-old Olivia Befus opened up about not having “many friends growing up,” but she now finds herself performing in front of millions of viewers.

Training dogs, she explained, is her “favorite thing ever.”

Her performance featured several dogs dancing, balancing and jumping over flags.

Mel described watching Olivia as a “joy,” particularly because the puppies appeared to be having “so much fun.”

Sofia praised Olivia for being self-taught and “not a professional.”

Howie said she had “stepped it up” and described the performance as “pure joy.”

Simon was even more enthusiastic, calling Olivia “absolutely fantastic” and predicting that America would vote her through.

Cris Sosa

Before Texas comedian Cris Sosa took the stage, Terry Crews noted that the performer “never shies away from showing his true self.”

His routine included jokes about his parents being constantly “on the verge of divorce,” his “unlimited” one-time boxing career and his unusual “dolphin” upbringing.

Howie said Cris checked “a lot of boxes” and expressed his hope that America would vote for him.

Sofia described him as a “showman” with a “fascinating” personality.

Mel wished Cris had been given “more time” on stage, saying that he traditionally becomes even funnier when he has more time to develop his material.

Simon was confident in Cris’ natural ability.

“He’s naturally got it — simple as that,” he said.

Luke Taleno

Closing out the first quarterfinal lineup was Cuban-born rapper Luke Taleno.

Before discovering rap, Luke worked cleaning buses. Hearing Eminem for the first time inspired him to pursue the genre.

The self-described “fighter” performed an original rap about growing up, working for minimum wage and ultimately being there when he is needed.

With the first 11 performances now complete, the decision moves to America’s voters — while Hundred Fingers has already secured its place in the finals thanks to Howie Mandel’s Golden Buzzer.