Sofía Vergara always tries to be fair on 'AGT' but there's one act she just doesn't enjoy: 'I don't...'
It looks like 'America's Got Talent' OG judge Sofía Vergara has specific standards for contestants. She feels only the best talents should be entitled to win the million-dollar prize. While appearing for a virtual segment on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' in 2020, the 'Modern Family' actress revealed that she completely detested contestants who showcased their musical abilities by playing a ukulele. Calling the entertainment act 'weird' Vergara explained, "Well, sometimes I wonder— there's people that come and I don't know if they're being honest or they think they deserve to be there and win $1 million, or they're just doing it for the fun of it," she told Fallon. "I realized something I had never even thought in my 47 years of life: I don't really enjoy the ukulele."
However, the 'Griselda' actress confessed that she tries to hold on to her patience when such an act appears on stage. "I do try to be fair. I do try to open my heart, and I say, ‘Okay, it's a ukulele.' But, you know, I try to be fair," she said. Despite "not enjoying" the performance, Vergara admitted that she does give the contestant a chance to prove themselves. "I give them the chance. I don't just push the red button because the ukulele showed up. No, I give them the chance." She further added, "I mean, I'm not saying there are not acts that are good with the ukulele, but it's not my favorite. It doesn't excite me."
Meanwhile, further in the interview, Vergara expressed gratitude for her successful journey on 'America's Got Talent'. The 'Strays' actress also disclosed that at first, she was hesitant to serve as a judge in the talent competition because she wasn't particularly skilled at singing or dancing. "I was like, ‘What? Me? I'm like, ‘What do I know about anything? I don't know anything about music or dancing.' I mean, I know, but I am not an expert on anything in the world," she said. As per former contestants, it's not just Vergara who hates ukulele's but Simon Cowell too is not a fan.
The Birdwatchers - a ukulele-based band founded by Kim Bjerga, Clark Holmes, and Andy Nufer told Ukulele Magazine that they auditioned for the talent show in 2019 but couldn't impress the judges because of their instrumental prejudice. “We have auditioned for America’s Got Talent like six or seven times. I think it was our fifth or sixth time when we actually got flown to California for the recording," the trio said. After explaining that everything from costumes and their introduction is pre-scripted, the trio was able to perform on stage. “Then they’re taping and [host] Terry Crews greets you and brings you out, and the judges ask you questions about yourself. It could have been five to ten minutes of questions, but they only use a few seconds if they use any at all. And then they tell you to perform.”
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However, they missed out on moving further in the competition because the judges couldn't like the instruments, "Simon (Cowell) said, (donning a British accent) ‘I don’t like the little guitars.’ I’m like, dude, you know it’s a ukulele," Bjerga mimicked the record mogul while recalling. “And then Sofia Vergara, she was quoted saying she just dislikes ukuleles in general," Nufer added while Holmes claimed that judges thought they should end up being a "cappella group.” The trio lamented that their performance was never shown: "A couple months later, we got a call that said we’re only going to be on the show for six seconds,” they claimed that only snippets of their on-stage interview were revealed.