America's Got Talent: Watch One Singer Show His 'True Colors' That Make Sofia Vergara Want To Cry Again

Spoilers ahead for the July 12 episode of America's Got Talent Season 17 auditions.

America's Got Talent returned to showcasing talented acts from across the world after taking a week off to revisit judge Simon Cowell's favorite golden buzzers (which included a tribute to the late Nightbirde), and it was the first auditions episode without any golden buzzers left to distribute. There were plenty of competitors whose performances were worth confetti from the ceiling, however, and one singer's performance of Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors" moved Sofia Vergara to tears... but not the bad kind, and she's ready to cry again for him!

Southern gospel singer and vocal coach Ben Waites came to AGT from Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, mother, and grandmother on hand to cheer him on. The 32-year-old already received some cheers when he announced that he would be singing "True Colors," and then even more when he explained that he chose the song because it communicates a "message of hope." He started to sing, and it didn't take long for judge Sofia Vergara to get emotional. Take a look:

Simon Cowell and Heidi Klum looked pretty emotionally affected as well (and Howie Mandel was absent this week), but Sofia Vergara was the only one openly weeping on the judges' panel, and she was the first on her feet for the standing ovation after he sang the last note. 

When the applause finally died down, Heidi Klum even mentioned that "Sofia is bawling her eyes out," and Simon Cowell commented that "Sofia does not cry," so Ben Waites moving her so thoroughly to tears was a big deal. Vergara praised him for making the iconic song his own for the performance, and it was no surprise that he got a yes from all three judges. Vergara had one last comment of praise for him, saying: 

Note to self: if you're going to make a judge cry while performing in a talent competition, make sure it's in a way that they want to cry again! This isn't the first time that Vergara has teared up in Season 17, but she noted even after saxophonist Avery Dixon earned the first golden buzzer that she "never" cries. She is certainly supportive without crying, as fans saw in particular with teen dancer Max Ostler. 

The praise didn't even stop after Ben Waites left the AGT stage. Sofia Vergara took to Twitter to share the video and said that it was one of her "favorite auditions EVER," and he had a message of his own for her:

Season 17 has been particularly strong with singers, to the point that Heidi Klum even changed her mind about who she wanted to give her golden buzzer to after a young woman's song impressed her. In fact, Vergara was the only one of the judges and host Terry Crews who didn't hit the buzzer for a musician, and instead sent dance group Mayyas straight to the live shows. (I've actually ranked Mayyas as the most likely of the five golden buzzers to win Season 17, but it's still anybody's game at this point!)

See if Ben Waites has what it takes to continue wowing the judges when he returns after the auditions are over. For now, you can look forward to new episodes of America's Got Talent on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC in the 2022 TV schedule.