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Simon Cowell once said he couldn’t stand ballet — then came the act that changed his mind

Simon calls Ashlee’s glass-bottle routine “the most difficult” he's seen, as the dancer stumbles but fights back.

Daring acts aren't new to 'America's Got Talent.' Every once in a while an act comes that has the judges' jaws on the floor. In fact, 'AGT: Extreme' was created for this very reason: to showcase 'extreme' acts and provide a stage for them. That said, while it is easy to wow the other judges, Simon Cowell is hard to please. However, that changed with Ashlee Montague's performance, who performed on season 19 of 'AGT' and absolutely stunned the judges with her balancing act.

Montague started her performance with a ballet dance routine. Ballet, in and of itself, is quite hard to do, as it involves dancing on your toes. As Montague started her performance, tiptoeing around the stage, the audience cheered. Cowell didn't seem impressed. However, after a few moves, she moved on to the elevated area behind her, which had multiple glass bottles lined up. As the 33-year-old acrobat climbed the stairs, everyone knew what was about to follow.

As Montague put her foot on the first bottle, everyone watched in awe, whose previously disinterested expression turned to stunned focus. The moment Montague stepped on the first two bottles, Cowell literally dropped the F-bomb as he watched in fear of what was about to come. As the daredevil acrobat moved ahead, there were times when she stumbled and even "fell twice," as reported by The Mirror US. However, with a strong resolve, she moved forward as the judges and the audience watched and gasped with every movement the acrobat made.

As Montague reached the end, she took a deep breath before finally completing the row of bottles. When she finally reached the last bottle and finished the daring act, she stood tall and proud, yet emotional in the moment. As the judges and the audience rose to their feet in applause, Montague stood on the podium with tears streaming down her face. As everyone settled down, Cowell finally spoke, "I said to Sofia beforehand, I actually can't bear ballet or the opera. However, you've now found a way of making it interesting." He then went on to give the daring acrobat a very rare compliment: "That's one of the most difficult acts I've seen for a long, long, long time."

Heidi Klum talked about the ballet dancer being emotional as she said, "I loved to see you so emotional about it; it shows that's how much you really want it." Howie Mandel shared Klum's sentiment as he stated, "You made ballet so dangerous, which is something I never thought anyone would say." Needless to say, Ashlee Montague got four yeses and progressed to the next round. However, she was disqualified in the quarterfinals, as reported by Fandom.