Spoilers ahead for the January 30 episode of America's Got Talent are ahead!
America's Got Talent fans are getting extra AGT action this year with the All-Stars season that is bringing the best of the best from across the franchise to take the stage all over again. Finalists and former champions are facing off against each other, and they only get one performance for the super fans for the chance to make the finale. Singer Tom Ball stepped away from his job as a school teacher, and the Britain's Got Talent finalist blew everybody away enough to get the fourth and last golden buzzer... despite making Simon Cowell "angry."
24-year-old Tom Ball came to AGT: All-Stars just days before his wedding to take another shot at the top prize in the franchise, and the judges and Terry Crews were so impressed that they were in agreement that he deserved the group golden buzzer. With only three judges compared to the four of a normal AGT season (which has featured Sofia Vergara in addition to Cowell, Howie Mandel, and Heidi Klum in recent seasons), this was the last golden buzzer available. Take a look at Ball's performance of "The South of Silence" that has advanced him to the finals!
While Tom Ball was visibly nervous, there's no denying that he was a hit with the audience as well as the judges and the host! Even if they hadn't given him the group honor, getting thousands of people to chant "golden buzzer" for him is a big show of faith. Howie Mandel pointed out the age difference between Ball and Simon & Garfunkel, who made the song famous, saying that he did it "right" and was "amazing." Heidi Klum commended him for having the pipes to hit all the notes, and Terry Crews wasted no time in leaving the stage to join the judges in hitting the buzzer.
But what about Simon Cowell, whose critiques are infamously blunt enough that contestants tend to be more nervous for his comments than anybody else's? He had a lot to say, but not in a bad way for Tom Ball... although he phrased it in a way that it was pretty suspenseful for a few moments! Having seen him back in 2022 when judging Britain's Got Talent Season 15, Cowell said:
I'm actually angry about something. I wish this was the first time I'd ever heard Tom, in a weird way. You're like Susan Boyle's grandson. What you do is not what we expect. For me, this is the best performance I've seen all series.
Talk about a plot twist for Tom Ball, after Simon Cowell began his critiques with "I'm actually angry" before starting to heap on the praise! The judge went on to tell Ball that if he'd performed "The Sound of Silence" on Britain's Got Talent, he believes that he would have won that season. There's no way of going back and seeing if that would be true, but the song is enough to guarantee him one massive step toward becoming a champion of the franchise.
Of course, he was at the arguable disadvantage of performing in front of an American audience more likely to be familiar with former AGT competitors than BGT competitors, and this episode brought back some standouts that meant a difficult decision for the super fans. Luckily for him, like young magician Aidan McCann last week after winning Heidi Klum's golden buzzer, he didn't have to worry about the vote thanks to the golden buzzer, and All-Stars viewers will get to see him on stage again.
On the AGT front, this episode also brought back Peter Rosalita, the then-10-year-old singer who wowed viewers in Season 16 of AGT by belting Whitney Houston and other powerhouses, former golden buzzer-winning group World Taekwondo Demonstration Team who delivered Marvel-worthy performances in Season 16, and Archie Williams, whose story about spending more than 30 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted made him a fan-favorite back in Season 15 along with his incredible voice.
Like the judges, I was surprised that Archie Williams didn't make it to at least the Top 3, but I can't argue that Romania's Got Talent champion Ana-Maria Mărgean didn't earn her chance to advance to the finals! See what's next with new episodes of America's Got Talent: All-Stars on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, with previous episodes available streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription.
