America’s Got Talent judge Mel B seemed to have her eye on a different type of talent Tuesday during the first live show of the season.
Newly single Mel — showing off her new short, partly-shaven hairstyle and wearing a blue bejeweled bodysuit that included gloves — was left blushing by the sight of 15 handsome military men in their uniforms as the a cappella act In The Stairwell.
Fellow judge Howie Mandel had been first to tease her, saying: ‘I was trying to listen to you but Mel kept smacking me and she said, ”Do they know that I am fully single?” That’s what she kept saying.’
Live shows: Mel B shared her single status during Tuesday’s episode of America’s Got Talent
He then further teased her by saying: ‘If you guys were a dating app she would swipe you all to the right.’
As a blushing Mel pretended to attack Howie, he insisted: ‘That’s what you told me!’
Mel initially claimed it was only the performance of the groups Some Nights that won her over, telling them: ‘Your harmonies — they’re just so yummy.’
‘Yeah. Their harmonies,’ Howie again teased Mel, who is still embroiled in an ugly divorce from husband Stephen Belafonte.
Singing group: In The Stairwell impressed Mel with their singing and looks
Good times: Mel swatted at fellow judge Howie Mandel who was teasing her
Military group: In The Stairwell was made up of member of the Air Force Academy
‘There’s 15 of you, right?’ Mel asked with a smile, adding: ‘You all look really good and I love that you still kept the awkward choreography – I love that!
‘And yes… I am so happy to be single right now!’ she finally admitted happily.
Howie later again tried to tease Mel when she told former homeless comedian Preacher Lawson she ‘adored’ him, saying: ‘And she’s single!’
Funny guy: Preacher Lawson had the judges and audience in stitches
‘I’m not,’ Preacher quickly stressed, before teasing Mel over her distinctive outfit, telling her: ‘I love that Mystique outfit — I see you right there looking like an X-Men, that’s great.’
Mel had not been the only judge who noticed the U.S. Air Force Academy a capella group’s good looks.
After praising them for standing for ‘freedom,’ ‘brotherhood,’ and ‘talent,’ Heidi gushed: ‘You also stand for hotness, because we love a man in uniform.’
High praise: Heidi Klum also praised In The Stairwell for their singing and looks
The judges: Howie, Mel, Heidi and Simon Klum evaluated the talent during the live show
Simon Cowell, meanwhile, admitted that at first he was not sure he would be able to take them seriously, but told them ‘this was such a step-up’ and added: ‘You’re great guys and you deserve to be here.
‘I really hope the public picks up the phone tonight and put you through because you deserve to be here.’
Before performing, the group spoke of their pride at getting to wear their uniforms onstage, with one saying: ‘Being on stage tonight we are a representation of those who are fighting currently, have fought in the past and will fight in the future.
Deserve it: Simon told In The Stairwell they deserved to be in the live shows
‘So it is such an honor to wear this uniform and sing in front of million of Americans.’
Mel had the tables turned when young ventriloquist Darci Lynne — who got Mel’s Golden Buzzer in earlier rounds — had her co-star, a fluffy mouse, admit: ‘I fell in love with Mel B.’
After joking that ‘I think she’s afraid of mice’ Oscar the mouse was told that the bigger problem was that he was a rodent while Mel is human.
Fan favorite: Darci Lynne enchanted the judges and crowd with her ventriloquist routine
‘I didn’t think that was an issue — I mean Heidi was married to a seal,’ the mouse quipped, before singing Who’s Lovin’ You dedicated to Mel.
‘Oscar, I will date you,’ she insisted, leading Simon to quip: ‘Oscar, get a prenup.’
‘That’s what I forgot to do last time,’ Mel joked, before host Tyra Banks told Oscar and Mel ‘to get a room.’
Date time: Mel said she would go out on a date with Darci’s puppet Oscar
After Mel called Darci ‘out of this world,’ Simon insisted: ‘Get ready for the big time because it’s coming your way.’
‘Most people can’t even sing with their mouth open,’ Heidi pointed out, joking: ‘I mean Howie can’t do anything with his mouth shut.’
Mel had an emotional night, turning her chair after praising nine-year-old singer Angelica Hale’s amazing performance of Zedd’s Clarity and saying: ‘I’m not going to cry!’
Big voice: Angelica Hale nailed her rendition of Clarity
‘This song is so dear to my heart — and you just did everything to it, you did it so much justice,’ she gushed, adding: ‘You’re so small and you’ve got this massive voice and the way you interpreted every single lyric meant something so powerful. I’m not going to cry!’
‘Angelica, I just think you are a very, very, very special girl. when you watch that film and you see what you’ve gone through — my God,’ Simon told the youngster, who almost died as a child from double pneumonia and a kidney transplant.
‘I think you started a little nervously and hesitantly — and then out of nowhere you just hit us with that killer high note. And that was amazing.
The host: Tyra Banks hugged Angelica as the singer said she was in it to win it
‘You’re very, very, very good.’
Howie then got her to say ‘I’m in it to win it,’ telling her: ‘And I think you might.’
With the show hitting the live finals, it was also the first time voting is taken over by viewers rather than the judges, leading Tyra to crack a political joke when introducing The Singing Trump impersonator.
‘This next act won the judges’ votes in the last round, but can he win the popular vote,’ she quipped.
Hammer time: The Singing Trump took on the classic MC Hammer song U Can’t Touch This
He was filmed at various locations in Washington DC, including in front of the White House, which he called ‘smallish and a little lower end than I’m used to.’
‘Home is where the heart is, and I have seven of them, so I have a big heart,’ he joked at one point, before vowing: ‘Tonight you’re going to see the most tremendous performance in the history of reality TV.’
He seemed to really struggle as he sang Shut Up And Dance by Walk the Moon, before moving onto U Can’t Touch This, ripping off his suit pants to show MC Hammer-style baggy Stars and Stripes trousers.
Tremendous performance: The Trump impersonator promised the ‘most tremendous performance in the history of reality TV’
‘If I tuned into the show for the first time this year I would think, ”What the bloody hell is that?”,’ Simon admitted, joking: ‘My best advice is to cut down on the tweeting.’
Mel also said she has ‘a love hate relationship’ with the hopeful, complaining: ‘In the beginning your timing was so off! But you got me with Hammertime.’
‘The singing wasn’t great, the dancing wasn’t great,’ Howie said, joking: ‘As you said earlier in the week there was bad things on both sides.’
Both sides: Howie cracked a political joke referencing US President Donald Trump’s reaction to the domestic terrorism in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend
However Heidi was a fan, insisting: ‘Some people hate Trump, some people love Trump – but I think we can agree we all love this Donald Trump. You made us laugh.’
When Tyra asked about his Hammer-style pants, the impersonator joked: ‘They’re from the Ivanka Trump collection and they’re obviously made in the USA.’
‘My goal is you the people can make AGT great again and bring the country together,’ he continued, with Mel moaning loudly at the joke and resting her head on the table.
Country together: The Singing Trump said he wanted to make AGT ‘great again’
Christian Guardino – the young singer who was legally blind but had his sight restored by experimental gene therapy — opened the show with a powerful rendition of Make It Rain, the Foy Vance song that Ed Sheeran made famous when it appeared on Sons Of Anarchy.
‘I am so proud! I am bursting with emotion,’ Howie, who sent him through with hs golden buzzer, told him. ‘You’re magic because a magician makes something come out of nowhere, and I don’t know where that comes from.
‘You will never be left out again — you are the world.’
Nailed it: Christian Guardino nailed his rendition of Make It Rain
‘When you hit those notes in the middle you grabbed everyone’s attention,’ Mel B told him, while Heidi said: ‘It is ridiculous how good you are. You set the bar so high.’
Simon encouraged him to ‘take on an even riskier song,’ and when he asked him if he played piano or keyboards, neither of which the youngster does, joked: ‘Well you better start learning.’
‘This kid’s got an amazing voice,’ he insisted of Christian, who said earlier: ‘I feel like I’m starting to step out into the light and I don’t want to hold back anymore.’
Amazing voice: Simon praised Christian for his ‘amazing voice’
Young ballroom dancers Ayrton and Paige filmed a Footloose skit where they were banned at school from dancing, arranging to instead meet at a local barn.
Once there, with Paige declaring ‘Let’s see them try to stop us,’ it cut to them performing to Kenny Loggins’ famous pop hit from the movie — with Paige, eight, dancing on the judges’ table and her nine-year-old co-star doing some impressive gymnastic moves.
Mel and Heidi gave them standing ovations, with Mel telling them: ‘You two are just like lightning bolts! As soon as you come onstage you light everything up.’
Dance duo: Ayrton and Paige danced to Footloose from the movie
‘I think the two of you are an explosion of talent and you put me in the best mood. You put the biggest smile on my face — I love watching you two perform, I love it.’
‘You are a joy, you are adorable,’ Howie told them, admitting that it might be ‘really tough for them to get through.’
Simon, however, got booed by the audience when he admitted: ‘I’ve never been a massive fan of these two.’
Table top: The performance included Paige dancing on the judges’ table
However, he quickly insisted it had been a ‘step-up’ from their previous dances, also teasing Ayrton that he would be in his partner’s bad books for ‘stealing a little bit more of the limelight.’
But Paige may have won him over a little more by saying from stage after the judges’ comments: ‘I’m really thankful that I get to be here at the live shows of America’s Got Talent in front of these amazing judges.’
Daredevil act Bello Nock was one of the 12 performing, even though he had not initially been sent through, with Simon explaining how he called the other judges and persuaded them to give him a second chance after watching the show on TV.
Daredevil act: Bello Nock performed on the Wheel Of Death
He performed the Wheel Of Death, doing acrobatics on a spinning fairground-style wheel, saying beforehand: ‘Me personally I know 16 people who have been heavily injured or died doing this act. One false move and it might be your last.
‘This is probably one of the most dangerous and death-defying stunts that’s ever been on the America’s Got Talent stage. But I’ll do anything to win.’
After a standing ovation from all four judges, Simon called it ‘honestly incredible’.
Dangerous act: The judges gave the daredevil a standing ovation
‘I didn’t like you when I first met you but I think you deserved your place here. Incredible.’
‘Bello you just freaked me out!’ Heidi told him, joking: ‘And it looks like you have no clue what you’re doing! Literally I bit all my nails off. You’re crazy!’
‘You are a wildcard that is wild. It was wow,’ Howie agreed.
Freaked out: The judges were freaked out by Bello’s act but also liked it
However Mel admitted she was ‘a little bit bored in the beginning,’ but said ‘by the end I seriously felt you were going to fall and break you neck. Well done for taking us on that journey.’
Mel was almost breathless after seeing Korean dance crew Just Jerk’s performance to Chris Brown’s Turn Up The Music, telling them: ‘I love this show so much! Wowza! My heart is jumping out of my chest you are that good — the best dance act, 100 percent.’
However Heidi admitted: ‘For me today there weren’t as many ”wow” moments.’
Dance group: Just Jerk got mixed reviews from the judges
‘Technically it’s about as good as we’ve ever seen,’ Simon said, adding: ‘You are capable of doing something we’ve never seen before which could make an enormous difference. I believe it’s in you.’
British roller skating daredevils Billy and Emily England also had an amazing night — despite Billy getting a small cut on his nose after getting hit by his sister’s skate.
‘This was perfection,’ Simon told them, sounding almost speechless, while Mel said: ‘I do believe you’re superheroes and you’ve got angels watching over you and your dad is watching you right now and so proud of you.’
Brother and sister: Billy and Emily England performed their dangerous roller skating routine
For father: The siblings dedicated their performance to their late father
They had earlier explained how they were only there because losing their dad when they were teenagers gave them strength, with Billy saying: ‘To see our hero losing he fight with cancer was just so hard. Once you see that you’re not scared of anything anymore.’
Emily said their mother was ‘so heartbroken she couldn’t really be there for us,’ making the brother and sister even closer as ‘a team.’
Former homeless comedian Preacher Lawson got an ovation from the judges, with fellow-comedians Howie telling him: ‘We need to see you go all the way to the finals.’
Formerly homeless: Preacher was praised by Howie who rooted for him to reach the finals
‘You are funny, electric and a star before you even open your mouth,’ he added. ‘You are a star buddy. I’m so happy to be witness to what’s happening to you — you are amazing.
But it was a sad day for sad clown singer Puddles Pity Party after Simon buzzed to send him off during his performance of Lorde’s hit Royals, telling him after he was brought back from almost walking offstage: ‘I just couldn’t get in your world tonight.’
‘I love you, Puddles,’ Howie quickly told him, joking: ‘I too am a clown who is sad inside. I got to sing along — I hope you didn’t buzz my singing, Simon?’
Pity party: Puddles Pity Party got buzzed mid-routine by Simon
Mel agreed, telling him: ‘Every time you’ve come onstage you’ve killed it in my eyes. I just love your character and I don’t know what he’s talking about — he’s in his own world, that’s his problem,’ she said of Simon.
But Heidi admitted she was torn, telling him: ‘I want a happy clown — I want to be happy, I want to be entertained. There’s so much sadness in the world right now, you just put on the news and you’re sad — I want to be happy.
It was also a hard night for Miami singer Yoli Mayor who was left wiping away tears after Mel said after her performance of Human: ‘For me tonight there was something off. Something was missing.
Feeling down: Puddles was feeling down after getting buzzed by Simon
‘I hope people vote for you because you’re an amazing singer — but I’m a bit sad.’
Simon seemed to agree, but blamed everything being ‘overproduced,’ saying: ‘We lost that rawness that we love about you.’
But he still hoped she would get through, insisting: ‘Talent like this can’t be thrown away.’
Heidi, however, disagreed that it was an off night, insisting: ‘You’re not only human — you’re superhuman. I think you have one of the best voices this year on America’s Got Talent.’
Over produced: Yoli Mayor wiped away tears after being criticized by Mel