'AGT' contestant reveals major tragedy that happened before the act: 'My wife missed the...'
'America's Got Talent' judges have to witness bizarre acts before presenting anyone with the golden buzzer. In 2021, they anticipated an emotionally charged performance but were presented with an eccentric act by a Russian contestant who informed them at the last minute that his wife was missing. Pasha walked on stage with a dejected look; he soon informed the judges that he would be performing a solo dance routine since his beloved partner, his wife, had missed the flight to the talent show. "Tonight I will be performing and hopefully entertaining. My wife and I were to perform together. Unfortunately, she couldn't be here tonight. She missed her flight," he revealed.
"So I don't know what to do?" he continued, visibly stressed. "So this is an act like a two for two people," Howie Mandel inquired. "Why didn't she get on the same flight?" Simon Cowell cut in. "She was visiting her mother in San Francisco, and I was flying from Branson, Missouri," Pasha revealed. "I'm very worried, but hopefully it will work out," he added. "Do you think you got a shot at a million dollars?" Mandel continued. "If you could give me an opportunity, hopefully I can make it work," Pasha responded positively. However, the judges and the live audience were stunned when the host, Terry Crews, wheeled the Russian contestant look-alike mannequin along with a female mannequin on stage.
"Wait, that looks so scary," Heidi Klum reacted to the prop. What followed next left the judges in a quandary, with their mouths gaping wide in astonishment. But they eventually realized that the whole act was being choreographed by Pasha himself. He was maneuvering the rubber mannequins with his hands and legs in tune with the music. Pasha ended up receiving thunderous applause and a standing ovation from the judges. "Oh my gosh, it's amazing. How did she make her flight?" Mandel spoke in jest. "It was weird," Klum reacted. "I love it; that was a surprise. I've never seen anything like this; it was very entertaining," Sofía Vergara exclaimed excitedly.
"Yeah, we were all thinking this is going to be terrible, but actually it was great; it was a great surprise. I love that," Cowell remarked, lauding the doll illusion act. Pasha ended up getting all four judges to advance him to the next round. "We love to be surprised, and that's what you just did; that's why you got four yese's," the record mogul concluded. In 2016, a similar dance act was performed on 'America's Got Talent' by the then 54-year-old Christopher. He choreographed an entertaining dance routine on the famous 'In the Navy' track with four life-sized puppets.
"I wanted to dress up like The Jackson 5 for Halloween, but I couldn't find people to help me out, so I decided to do it all by myself," he revealed. Christopher confessed to hanging out with his puppets more than humans: "I guess they've never seen five guys hanging out together," he joked about his obsession. Unfortunately, the judges did not advance him to the next round despite the act being widely entertaining.