Lai Noelle, Acro Crew, and Luke Taleno Get Golden Buzzers

America’s Got Talent is back! Season 21 premiered with the first round of auditions on June 2. Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Mel B., and Sofia Vergara were behind the judges’ table, deciding which acts would move forward with a chance to perform during the Live Shows.

All four judges, along with host Terry Crews, had two Golden Buzzers to give out during auditions, and three of them were pushed during the premiere episode. The contestants who received Golden Buzzers will automatically make the Live Shows, without having to worry about getting cut during the judges’ deliberations.

Scroll down for a recap of the premiere performances and to find out who earned the Golden Buzzers on night one.

Aggy

First to take the stage was Aggy, a software engineer who danced to convey various emotions. “I have no idea what’s going on,” Cowell admitted, while Mel questioned, “Would you call this interpretive dance?”

Chris Haston/NBC

Aggy said his routine is called “body language,” and the judges were left completely confused. “It was too soon,” Vergara said. “I just sat at this desk. I wanted to ease into it. I wasn’t prepared for this.”

Despite the other judges’ protests, Cowell suggested that Aggy prepare a routine to music and come back for a second chance. “If you’d like to come back later with music, I’m personally inviting you,” he said.

Aggy took Cowell’s advice and returned later in the show. He danced to Pharrell‘s “Happy” to convey happiness and “All By Myself” to convey loneliness. Cowell said it was a “big difference,” but it still wasn’t enough to move Aggy through. “I mean, you’re cool, and you’re super adorable, but I don’t think you can win AGT with that,” Vergara said, and Mandel agreed.

Although Cowell and Mel gave Aggy yeses, Vergara and Mandel’s nos meant he was not moving forward.

Lai Noelle

Lai Noelle’s audition was released ahead of the episode, so it’s no surprise that she was a standout of the night. The 14-year-old’s performance of Sienna Spiro’s “Die on This Hill” received rave reviews from the judges.

Chris Haston/NBC

“Shall I tell you, honestly, what I think? Words aren’t necessary,” Cowell said, before pushing his Golden Buzzer. Vergara was floored, as she had told Cowell she wanted to push her Golden Buzzer for Lai and he told her not to.

“He took her from me!” Vergara complained. Cowell, meanwhile, was delighted. “I shut my eyes for a moment, and I’m thinking … ‘That’s not you singing,’” he gushed. “You have such a gift, and now you take this opportunity, and you make it. This is amazing. This is why we do this.”

Tyrone and Margo

Tyrone and Margo are a husband and wife duo who came to the show to “present something that [was] not done before,” and they delivered. Their act involved throwing knives and shooting arrows in each other’s directions but hitting other targets instead of each other.

Chris Haston/NBC

Cowell was floored and had to ask the couple if anything had ever gone wrong during one of their past performances. “Two years ago, we had a big accident in a live show, and one of the knives hit her face and was stuck in her eye,” Tyrone confirmed. Now, Margo only has 30% vision in one of her eyes.

The judges were impressed that she came back to performing and never gave up. “You look so sure of what you’re doing, I would have never guessed you had a traumatic experience like that,” Vergara admitted. All four judges voted for Tyrone and Margo to move through to the next round.

Nolan Ross Palmer

Nolan Ross Palmer revealed that he never told his family about his talent, and it was quickly apparent why. His trick? Lighting hot dogs on fire and swallowing them whole.

Chris Haston/NBC

“You’re going to get major acid reflux in a couple of years,” Vergara warned him, and Cowell agreed, “I think you have to stop doing it.” All four judges voted no, eliminating Nolan from the competition.

Josh Sherman

Josh Sherman, a professional trumpet player, also disappointed the panel. Rather than showing off his trumpet skills, he pulled out a beet and played some “Beet-hoven” on it. All four judges hit their Red Buzzers to automatically make it stop.

Chris Haston/NBC

When Josh assured them he could do better, the audience started a “one more time” chant, and Cowell allowed it. This time, Josh pulled out an apple to play “Ch-apple” Roan’s “Pink Pony Club,” and endured another round of Red Buzzers.

“I think this is the first time on AGT we gave the Red Buzzer two times,” Vergara pointed out.

Acro Crew

After those two numbers, Acro Crew’s routine was a welcome relief. The group of performers aged 7 to 21 did an incredible acrobatic routine with dogs. Vergara jumped out of her chair with excitement.

Trae Patton/NBC

“This is my two favorite acts: dancing and dog acts,” she beamed. “Together? I really wasn’t expecting this. It was too much for me. It was amazing.” Mandel said the routine “blew [him] away,” and Crews came out from backstage to say, “I have never seen anything like this in my life,” before hitting the Golden Buzzer.

Vergara was once again swooped, as she complained, “I was about to do it! He didn’t even give me time!”

Kev Adams

Kev Adams, a French comedian, always wanted to perform comedy in America, but didn’t speak much English. He had just recently learned how to speak the language before his audition, but you wouldn’t know it. His routine was filled with jokes about the differences between America and France, and the judges were cracking up.

Trae Patton/NBC

“I am so bowled over by you,” Mandel admitted. “That is unbelievable what you just did. People don’t know how hard it is to stand there and talk.” Vergara made sure to point out that it’s “hard to be funny in another language,” as well, and Mel called Kev “crazy, sexy, cool.”

All four judges voted yes to Kev, and Mandel declared, “That is the best comedian we have ever had on.”

Luke Taleno

Next up was an aspiring rapper named Luke Taleno, who met Cowell in August 2025 and told him to look out for him as a Golden Buzzer on the next season of AGT. He was actually in the audience of AGT last season to support his friend Jourdan Blue, a fellow street performer who came in third place on Season 20.

Chris Haston/NBC

Luke performed an original song called “Seat to Stage,” and Vergara said he “deserved” to be here. Mel B pointed out that “it wasn’t the best or greatest audition,” but Cowell reminded her, “He was excited. I could tell you were getting emotional midway through. I really admire people who just do it.”

Mel agreed that she loved Luke’s “heart” and said that will “go a long way” for him. However, it was Mandel who was the most impressed. “You are truly the image of what I believe authenticity is,” he said. “Last year you predicted something, and I just have one question: How did you know?” He then hit his Golden Buzzer for Luke.

KOSE 8ROCKS

KOSE 8ROCKs, a dance group, earned positive reviews for their performance, with Vergara telling them, “Spectacular. Perfect audition. I wouldn’t change one thing. All of it, perfect.”

Trae Patton/NBC

Unitree

Unitree is a full-time engineer who dances in his spare time, even if it means staying up until the early hours of the morning to practice. His routine involves dancing with robots, and Cowell declared, “That was insane. That was nuts. But brilliant.”

Vergara noted that she’d “never seen anything like this” and praised both Unitree and the robots for their dancing. There was an overwhelming chorus of yeses from the judges.

Community ATL Choir

The final act of the night, Community ATL Choir, performed “Lovely Day.” Afterwards, Cowell commented that Mel was “jumping out of [her] chair” because of how impressed she was.

Chris Haston/NBC

“That was just everything to me,” Mel confirmed. “The harmonies, the vibes, the swag. I loved it, loved it, loved it.” Mandel said the performance made him smile, and Vergara called it “perfection.”

After all the judges said yes to the group, Cowell noted, “I honestly think this was one of the best choirs we’ve seen in years.”

America’s Got Talent, Season 21, Tuesdays, 8/7c, NBC