What is ‘America’s Got Talent: Live Acts Revealed’? Emma Bunton, Normani, Nikki Glaser, more join as guests
'America’s Got Talent: Live Acts Revealed' is a special selection that reveals which Season 21 contestants are moving directly into the live shows and which acts still have another performance ahead. The July 28 NBC episode comes after the auditions and before a new round called Judges’ Callbacks. It does not mark the start of the live competition itself. Instead, it sets up the final stage of the judges’ selection process. The title can be confusing because the contestants shown in the special do not all have the same status. Some acts will already have places in the live shows, while the callback contestants remain at risk of elimination. A callback, therefore, means an act is still under consideration, not that it has advanced.
The judges had to reduce roughly 100 audition acts to 44 places in the live shows. 10 of those places were already secured through Golden Buzzers. Rather than eliminate every remaining act after deliberations, Simon Cowell, Sofía Vergara, Mel B, and Howie Mandel selected 23 performers for callbacks. Those contestants will perform again for the remaining places in the live rounds. Judges’ Callbacks are a new Season 21 round in which each judge works with a selected group of contestants before one more performance. The acts receive feedback from their judge and celebrity guests as they prepare for another chance to advance. Deadline reported that the two-part round was filmed at locations in Los Angeles and England. The format is similar to the Judges’ Houses stage used on Cowell’s 'The X Factor,' but it is being introduced to 'America’s Got Talent' for the first time.
Each judge will appear with different guests in separate settings. Cowell’s group performs at his Malibu home, where he is joined by Normani and songwriter-producer Poo Bear. Mel B returns to her hometown of Leeds and reunites with Spice Girls member Emma Bunton. Vergara works from Beverly Hills with singer Sebastián Yatra and content creator Lele Pons, while Mandel is joined by comedian Nikki Glaser at his podcast studio and the Laugh Factory. The celebrity guests are not replacing the regular judges or joining the full season. They appear during the callback episodes to help evaluate the selected acts and provide feedback before the final decisions are made. Bunton’s appearance also places her alongside Mel B for a Spice Girls reunion during the Leeds segment.
Normani has a prior connection to Cowell because Fifth Harmony competed on 'The X Factor USA.' The Judges’ Callbacks episodes air on August 4 and August 11 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Once those performances are completed, the judges will finalize the lineup of contestants who join the Golden Buzzer recipients in the live show. The live rounds begin on August 18. The Season 21 finale is scheduled for September 23, when the competition will name its winner.
