The “America’s Got Talent” Season 21 live shows kick off tonight on NBC. The first set of 11 acts will be performing for the “AGT” judges — Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Mel B, and Sofia Vergara — and for America’s votes for the first time this season. Watch the Quarterfinals Week 1 performances with us tonight with our “America’s Got Talent” 2026 live recap below.
Time to Vote, America
For the first time on “America’s Got Talent” Season 21 tonight, America gets to vote for their favorite acts from the Top 44. Fans of the show can vote three different ways for the acts: online, via the mobile app, and via TikTok, which is new for Season 21.
Voting for “America’s Got Talent” starts when the live shows begin on Tuesdays, which is at 8 p.m. ET. Voting will close at 7 a.m. ET on Wednesday mornings. Terry Crews will then share the results on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD: THIS LIVE RECAP WILL BE UPDATED THROUGHOUT THE EPISODE, SO DO NOT KEEP READING IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO READ SPOILERS.
August 18 Live Recap – Quarterfinals Week 1
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The Live Shows Begin
Terry Crews is in place as the live shows have kicked off. We are just six weeks away from determining the winner of “America’s Got Talent” Season 21. The judges are in place, so it’s time to get this party started. Your votes tonight will send three of these acts to the live shows. Then Terry tells us there will be Golden Buzzers to hand out this season! The judge with a Golden Buzzer tonight is Howie Mandel! Time to get to the performances!
The CommUNITY ATL Choir
They all work different jobs and come together to perform. There are so many members of this choir, which is cool to see. They sing “Unwritten,” and this one is a little off to me. Their voices start a little rough for me, but they do get better and stronger as the song goes on.
Judges’ Feedback: Sofia said perfect way to start the live shows. What a performance. Howie said they wanted to not be regular people. That performance will launch them into a full-time job. Mel B said her earring popped off; it was that good. Simon said it wasn’t a great song, but they did a brilliant performance. He wanted them to choose a better song.
James & Marina
Marina said she grew up in Ukraine. She avoided getting in trouble because she painted. They met and know they want to turn their connection into a show for everyone to see. For tonight’s performances, Marina is going to take the thoughts of the audience and paint them. There are canvases in front of Sofia right now, which will become important later. They take a teddy bear and pass it along in the audience to different audience members. She guesses things about the audience members, but this is definitely taking too long. Yeah, Simon is over it too, and hits the “X” for them.
Judges’ Feedback: Howie said their magic is good, but it’s long and boring. Sofia said it’s mysterious, but this was slow, and she liked the first one better. Simon said the problem is that we were distracted and bored, and that shouldn’t happen on a live show. Their presentation lost him. Mel B said this was incredible.
The Jesse White Tumbling Team
The youngest member of this act is 9. The oldest is 92! Jesse White started this tumbling team in 1959. Now, 67 years later, they are performing on “America’s Got Talent” Season 21. They said they are going bigger tonight. This is such a fun act. The song is great, and the energy is fire. They bring out Jesse White and do jumps over him. They just look like they are having fun, and I love seeing it.
Judges’ Feedback: Sofia said they bring so much energy to the stage. She loves what they do for the community. Simon said he loved their first audition. Can they make it better for the live shows? It was better. He really likes all of them. Mel B said they make it look so terrifying, yet it’s slick. Howie said twice as fast as the last act. More energy and more hype.
Ashford Sanders
He owns a soul food kitchen in Atlanta. He said his mom would say he was singing before he was talking. Ashford said this stage gave him the validation that this is where he needs to be. I like Ashford. He has a strong voice. It’s simple and sweet. He has great range, and he’s not over the top, but he’s just good.
Judges’ Feedback: Howie said he is really good, but he likes the Teddy Swims version better. Mel B said it’s good to get to know him. He is a fighter. The song was a bit of a risk. Sofia said he is adorable and we all love him already. Simon said the track was horrible. The film and the lyrics of the song connected with him, so we got to know him.
Sando on ‘AGT’ 2026
He is a viral dancer with over 2 billion views online. During the Judges’ Callbacks, Sando danced with other people, which is new for him. Now he wants to go even bigger for the live shows on “America’s Got Talent” 2026. To be honest, it’s entertaining. His move along the floor is always crazy to see. However, the more dancers, the less he stands out.
Judges’ Feedback: Simon said that was the best act we’ve seen tonight by a mile. We are living in a viral world, and he is what people love. Mel B said the dancers added a lot of excitement to him, but she doesn’t get it. Sofia said it was like a bunch of crabs dancing. Howie said the clock was off the chain; that’s a viral moment right there.
Hundred Fingers
He auditioned for “AGT” before, but it wasn’t big enough. Now, he is back with more people, and he got Howie to hit the Golden Buzzer for them during the auditions. They do magic tricks with cards, fire, and fans. It’s all about sleight of hand and making all of these moves, but it moves slowly and is boring for me.
Judges’ Feedback: Howie wastes no time on this one, as he slams his body on the Golden Buzzer for Hundred Fingers. Howie said that’s the best thing he’s seen. Magic! They are moving directly to the finals!
