The entire America’s Got Talent cast visited The Kelly Clarkson Show remotely on Friday (June 24) to talk about the new season and what lies ahead for the show amid coronavirus concerns.
Kelly Clarkson, who had recently taped shows remotely for The Voice, asked Simon Cowell how he changed AGT to cope with the pandemic. “We made it out day by day,” Simon said.
Simon spills on changes required to film Judge Cuts with Covid-19 guidelines
“We started off with a full audience, then after five days we’ve got half an audience, and then we lost Heidi after three or four days,” Simon continued, “And then the final two days, we literally auditioned without anyone in the theater at all.”
Simon feels that it was probably the “hardest thing ever” for the contestants, because they “walk out to this wall of silence.” But yet, he believes that “they had to up their game almost. They needed something to compensate for no audience or no reaction.”
About the Judge Cuts, which the cast and talent are filming now, Simon says “We’ve just come up with ways where the show is going to look different.” He added, “And how do we make it still feel like it’s not just singing from their homes? I think there is a way of getting people together, but separating them. And it’s much more about the judges, going to find them, in different parts of the lot. So it’ll feel different.
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(It sounds like the judges, the host and the acts are all filming on the same studio lot, but separated from each other.)
Watch Simon Cowell and Kelly Clarkson chat AGT below
Next, judges Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara, Terry Crews and Howie Mandel join the conversation from their homes. Howie is shirtless, ready to show of his pec skills (Spoiler alert: He has none). He also gloated over his germ avoiding ways. He feels vindicated in the age of Covid-19.
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Also, Heidi explains that she got sick when coronavirus first hit Los Angeles. The NBC medic took her temperature and sent her home. But thankfully, Heidi tested negative for the virus. And then Sofia talked about her husband Joe Manganiello’s “super weird” Dungeon and Dragons tournaments. Also, Howie shared about celebrating he and his wife’s 40th anniversary.
Howie teases his yet-to-be-seen Golden Buzzer Act that he claims has “never graced the stages of AGT”
The group also chatted about how they chose their Golden Buzzer act. Howie’s pick hasn’t aired yet. But that didn’t stop him from teasing his choice: “This is the first time that I pressed the Golden Buzzer for something that has NEVER graced the stages of AGT. It’s not a singer, It’s not a magician, it’s not a dancer, it’s not music.”
Simon added that he’s “seen it in the carts” and that “this person is phenomenal.” And, “it was good then, it’s even better now.”
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The segment ends with Howie dropping amazing info on Simon: “I don’t know if you know this, because you spend a lot of time in the UK, but Kelly Clarkson is also a singer who was discovered on a show not unlike ours.” HA HA HA.
Kelly screams, “We can’t talk about other shows!” While Simon adds, “All I can say is who ever was judging that year must have been amazing.”
Watch the AGT Judges Chat with Kelly Clarkson
