'America’s Got Talent' unveils season 20's new cast and fans are instantly divided over these two judges
Recently, NBC's hit show 'America's Got Talent' revealed the new cast for season 20 on Instagram, leaving the fans divided. The post featured a picture of the host, Terry Crews, alongside judges Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, and Howie Mandel, and the most surprising addition of all, Melanie Brown. As reported by Yahoo, Mel B is back on the show after a 7-year hiatus, having last appeared in season 13 back in 2018.
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As soon as the post hit Instagram, fans were quick to express their excitement. One fan wrote, "Yessss! Will start watching again because Mel B is back!" Another added, "Oh, yeah! Love Mel B," the third chimed in, "Thank goodness Mel B is on the show!!!" "Mel B is the best judge ever in AGT," wrote the fourth. While fans can't stop raving about watching Mel B in the upcoming season, there was also a section of fans who were disappointed not to see Klum on the scene. One wrote on Instagram, "Gonna miss Heidi," and another added, "No Heidi? WTF? Mel B, go away! Heidi, come back PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!" "No, no, no, I need Heidi!! This sucks," said another.
Good Housekeeping reported that Heidi Klum has left the show to host another reality TV show, 'Project Runway' season 21. The aforementioned outlet reported that Klum had a long history with the show, hosting it from its first inception in 2004 to 2017, leaving the show in season 16. Klum's exit from the show opened the gates for Mel B's return. In an interview with Glamour, Mel B recently shared, "I love being part of the AGT family." She added, "I did seven years, and then in 2019 I came back to the UK because the Spice Girls were going on tour, and I never went back. I set up home here with my kids and put them in school in my hometown, Leeds. So when I got asked to be back, it just so happened I had a break in my crazy, hectic schedule. I was like, Oh my God, this is perfect timing.”
Apart from the change-up in the judge's panel, the show is also trying something new this season, and this is about the format. Mel B revealed to the outlet that there will be 40 acts selected by the voters and that "these are the acts that everybody wants to see back,” she says. “It’s quite a tricky situation for the people who are coming back because it is the elite of the elite. You're not performing alongside an act that is tongue-in-cheek or a little bit on the goofy, ridiculous side. We, as the four judges, get to choose our teams and battle it out with each other, and we get to steal from each other's teams along the way.”
The 'I Want You Back' singer also shared that she is re-releasing her 2018 memoir, 'Brutally Honest,' with some additional chapters. Speaking of the marital abuse she had to go through, she said, "Nobody knew the kind of life that I was dealing with when I would go home having worked all day on set for 10 hours or so on America’s Got Talent,” she says. “So it's nice to be honest and truthful and help people realize that that's the kind of thing that shouldn't be happening to you. You can rid yourself of the shame and rid yourself of the guilt and do something about it and get yourself to a safe place.”