'America's Got Talent' Season 15 Recap: Brandon Leake Shares Sentiment To Judge Sofia Vergara
“America’s Got Talent” aired their latest episode on June 30 with zero audiences due to the COVID-19 threat. Only three of the show’s regular judges were present, namely Howie Mandel, Sofia Vergara and Simon Cowell.
Eric Stonestreet served as a temporary replacement for Heidi Klum. Despite the lacking audience, the talents did not fail to wow the judges with their exemplary performances, ranging from cheer athletics, singing, dancing, comedic act to poetry.
First to perform was the CA Wildcats, whom Howie Madel called the “terrific” cheerleading group. The judge expressed his frustration on how cheerleading is very dangerous compared to the sports the cheerleaders are cheering for.
The next stunt is by Jacob Velazquez, a young musician who performed his beautiful original song on the piano. Followed by his own rendition of Fall Out Boy’s “Centuries” on the drums. The show’s producer, Simon, loved Velazquez’s performance and said the young artist can inspire a lot of people through his craft.
The third auditionee is not new to your knowing. If not, he was an entertainment news reporter before and, now, he is pursuing his passion and dream through comedy. Michael Yo made the judges laugh and had Howie applaud him before he even finished. When Yo’s audition piece was over, he, then, burst into tears.
Following Michael is a harmonica-playing act by the Brothers Gage. The judges loved the group’s audition act which led Simon in praising and loving their original song. “… likability factor is ginormous,” said Simon according to HollywoodLife.
The two-time Olympic runner Shevon Nieto comes up at stage next. Fresh from retirement, she sang an original song she made for her husband, Jaimie, called “Through The Good & The Bad”, pertaining to husband’s paralysation in 2015. The piece was outstanding, HollywoodLife reported.
Another young musician named Elijah showed off his talent by playing the cello through Ariana Grande’s hit-song “7 Rings.” He was, then, followed by Kenadi Dodd, 15, playing the country rhythm of her guitar singing “One Way Ticket To Tennessee”, her very own composition.
The judges, then, again were entertained by the second comedic act of the episode by Crystal Powell. The “natural funny” comedienne, as what Simon described her, made the judges love her audition piece and presence during the performance. Prior to the last auditionee, Wesley Williams took unicycling to a whole new degree. Williams made the judges drop their jaws by riding an imaginable 20-foot high unicycle.
The final audition was the show’s highlight. The episode was wrapped-up by Brandon Leake, an English teacher from Stockton, California. He captured the hearts of the judges through his original spoken work piece dedicated to his late sister, who died in 1997. Sofia started to become emotional while telling Brandon that her brother passed away the same year as his sister.
Simon was very reluctant at the beginning of the performance and even told Brandon that he did not really admire poem that much. Much to Brandon’s surprise, Howie pressed the Golden Buzzer, sending him off to the live shows!
Check out what happened on Brandon Leake’s audition:
Stay tuned to Entertainment Times for more "America's Got Talent" Season 15 updates!