Terry Crews, the host of America’s Got Talent, has dropped a bombshell about a significant change to the show that has left fans less than thrilled.
The current season of AGT kicked off on May 28, with judges Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, Howie Mandel, and Heidi Klum scouring the globe for talent.
Crews announced on Tuesday during a two-hour special which concluded Season 19’s auditions that AGT will be pausing for the Paris Olympics.
AMERICA’S Got Talent fans have criticized the program after host Terry Crews revealed a major format change ahead of the live shows.
Before signing off, the Brooklyn Nine-Nine star made an announcement that has left fans on X fuming, as he explained that the divisive Golden Buzzer will now also be a big part of the live shows.
“For the first time ever in America’s Got Talent history, the Golden Buzzer is about to go live,” the 55-year-old presenter said. “One more from each judge will send acts straight to the finals.
In other words, when AGT returns on Aug. 13, each of the four judges will have another Golden Buzzer at their disposal, giving them the power to send an act straight to the finals, regardless of how viewers vote.
Of course, this isn’t the first Golden Buzzer twist of Season 19. This time around, the judges were each given two buzzers during auditions — even though Crews still only had one — meaning they got to send nine total acts immediately through to the live shows.
Simon Cowell gave his to singer Liv Warfield and drone group Sky Elements, Heidi Klum gave hers to singers Richard Goodall and Pranysqa Mishra, Howie Mandel gave his to dance group Brent Street and young singer Reid Wilson, Sofia Vergara gave hers to dance group Legión and comedy duo Schumacher, and Crews gave his to comedian Learnmore Jonasi.
NBC has already revealed that Season 19 will pick back up beginning on Tuesday, August 13, when the live shows begin at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. This will also mark the start of America’s Got Talent‘s back-to-back airing schedule with the results episodes set to air Wednesday nights beginning on August 14.
Unfortunately for America’s Got Talent fans, the show will not be returning on NBC until August 13, as the Paris Olympics will shortly begin. However, America’s Got Talent can be streamed on Peacock.