The qualifiers round of America’s Got Talent is when the performers who made it past the auditions need to pull out all the stops if they want to make it to the finale, and the competition has been stiff in Season 17. Pole dancer Kristy Sellars returned after winning Simon Cowell over in her audition, and she definitely went bigger and bolder this time around. Not only did she introduce a second pole, but she also did a new trick that she’d never done before America’s Got Talent’s live shows.
Kristy Sellars combines pole dancing with projection art to not only show off her incredible athletics and acrobatics on a pole, but also acts out a story using the projections. She wowed the judges the first time around, and her return earned her ovations throughout the theater. Heidi Klum even asked her how she can possibly train for this at home, and she shared that she uses a “really low-budget projector.” Klum declared that it was “incredible,” and I doubt that anybody would argue with that!
When Sellars spoke with CinemaBlend following her performance, I asked how much time she actually gets to rehearse on the AGT stage, considering that her at-home training isn’t nearly on the same scale. She shared how she tried something brand new without all that much time to practice on the show’s huge stage:
Today was actually the first performance I've done with the floor projection. I've never done that before, and that was new for me, but I wanted to try and step it up. I only got three run-throughs of that on the stage, so that was new. And I was trying to really make that work and be mindful of where the splashes were going to begin. But more [time] for the live shows than for the auditions. We got here and there's like a bit of a rehearsal space out the back. But typically on the stage you get like three camera run-throughs.
In her first performance, Kristy Sellars used one pole and kept her performance vertical, which was easily enough to win over the reluctant Simon Cowell. For the qualifiers, she added a floor projector to bring the action closer to the audience for a more 3-D viewing experience, as well as the second pole. She may have spent more time in the air than on the ground, but the story she was telling became even more complex and fascinating.
She also has the bragging rights as the only pole dancer to make it to the qualifiers, and Simon Cowell even commented that she might be “the one that is gonna surprise us all at the end of this year.” Sellars is pretty much guaranteed to stand out as one of the most unforgettable performers of Season 17, whether or not she’s destined for the $1 million and Las Vegas stage show! Take a look at her doubling her number of poles and using a floor projection:
Be sure to tune in to NBC on Wednesday, September 7 at 8 p.m. ET to find out whose AGT journeys are over and which lucky two will move on. It seems like a safe bet that Mayyas will move on, after winning Sofia Vergara’s golden buzzer with their audition and the enthusiastic praise from the judges after their latest performance. That said, two of the six golden buzzer winners didn’t make the finals, with young singer Madison Baez among the first cut from the qualifiers, and then singer Lily Meola last week. (Heidi Klum previously opened up about disagreeing with Simon Cowell about Meola.)
Kristy Sellars was up against some stiff competition on September 6, including wild card winner Jordan Conley, who has since explained all the Disney references in his comedy set. She was also up against rap magician Mervant Vera, who had to clear the air after Simon Cowell made some comments about his nerves.
The final performances of Season 17 of America’s Got Talent will take place live on Tuesday, September 13 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. If you’ve fallen behind and want to catch up before the end, you can do so with a Peacock subscription.
