Watch the ‘AGT: All-Stars’ Golden Buzzer Winner That Simon Cowell Says Is ‘The Best Performance I’ve Seen All Series’
Monday night was the fifth night of auditions for America’s Got Talent: All-Stars and there was only one Golden Buzzer left up for grabs, the group Golden Buzzer, meaning judges Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel and host Terry Crews all were It had to be agreed to whom it should be awarded.
They expressed some concerns early in the show that this might be an issue, but after Britain’s Got Talent finalist Tom Ball performed his unique rendition of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Sounds of Silence” and the AGT audience chanted “Golden Buzzer, Golden Buzzer ‘ it was clear that the 24-year-old secondary school teacher (meaning high school in the US) from West Sussex, UK, was the act that deserved it.
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“Tom, I’m really angry about something,” Simon said. “I wish this was the first time I’d heard you in a weird way. You are like Susan Boyle’s grandson because what you do is not what we expect. For me, that’s the best performance I’ve seen in any series.”
Howie chimed in, saying: “You’re surprising in a lot of ways. You’re only 24 years old and Simon and Garfunkel are much older, but you’re doing it really well. You really are incredible.”
And Heidi agreed, saying: “It was outstanding. It was larger than life. You can hit all notes. You have the pipes for it.”
Simon then added: “Tom, that song, if you had done it on the show, I think you could have won the show that year. That was incredible.”
Instead, Tom finished third in his season of Britain’s Got Talent, losing to Axel Blake, who also appeared on Monday night’s All-Stars but didn’t make it to the final.
In his video package, Tom said: “I’ve always wanted to be a singer, but I decided to be a teacher. It was something I was passionate about. A lot of the work is inspiring children to be good role models, so taking part in Britain’s Got Talent was an opportunity to inspire them. Going to school after the audition was the craziest day. I suddenly became the most popular teacher in the school.”
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Tom may have lost to Axel at BGT, but he’s still in the running for All-Stars, so he’s getting a second chance.
“I want to win this,” he said. “Coming up against winners is obviously nerve-wracking, but it keeps me going. It also makes me want to win it. I want to do this for me, for my fiancee Hannah. We’re getting married in 5 days. The reason I wanted to come to America’s Got Talent: All-Stars is because it’s another opportunity to inspire. To show my students that I have achieved this dream, but I can reach higher heights. I would really like to win. It would be an honor.”
America’s Got Talent: All Stars airs Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
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