Who is Steve Price? Sprice Machines’ giant ‘AGT’ Season 21 contraption has Simon Cowell roasting Mel B
Most contestants walk onto the ‘America’s Got Talent’ (AGT) stage hoping their talent will impress the judges. But Steve Price and Mark Robbins had a different challenge. They needed hundreds of tiny things to go right in exactly the right order. That was the risk the engineering duo willingly took when they brought a massive Rube Goldberg machine to the June 16 episode of ‘AGT’. Representing Sprice Machines, Price, who is from Canton, Michigan, and Robbins, from Minnesota, arrived with a giant chain-reaction contraption that stretched across nearly every inch of the stage. Before the demonstration even started, the pair made it clear that, “This is one of the most ambitious builds we have ever done.” According to the duo, they spent between 12 and 14 hours a day over a full week assembling the machine and testing its components.
Simon Cowell wanted to know, “What are the odds of this working?” The answer was not exactly reassuring. “It’s about a 50-50 shot,” they replied. As the demonstration began, cardboard boxes started toppling in sequence like oversized dominoes. A carefully positioned pair of scissors sliced through a string. That release sent a ping-pong ball on its journey. The ball struck a wheel, which triggered another mechanism, and the machine continued its march across the stage. Among the moving parts were references to the judging panel, including a cardboard version of Mel B and Sofia Vergara, a garden gnome inspired by Howie Mandel, and even a Cowell piñata. When the final action was completed, the theater erupted in applause. Cowell looked genuinely impressed by what he had just witnessed. “That was actually amazing,” he said.
“I can tell that was so much work for you guys,” Vergara stated. Not every judge, however, viewed the act in exactly the same way. Mel B admitted that, “Because I wasn’t aware of exactly what was going on, I would have liked a little bit of commentary so I could follow along.” Cowell immediately responded, “Well, I think if you’re above the age of four, you could understand it.” Mandel was firmly in the supporters’ camp. In fact, he was enjoying himself so much that he jokingly asked, “Did you bring a second one? I’d like to see one more.” Cowell then added, “I thought it was brilliant. I thought it was so clever. I think people are going to love watching this.” When voting time arrived, Mel B remained unconvinced and cast the only ‘no’ of the group.
The other three judges voted in favor of the act. With three yeses, the engineering team officially advanced to the next stage of the competition. Notably, the pair also shared a dream behind their ‘AGT’ appearance. Price, who owns Sprice Machines, explained that winning the competition could help them expand their work. He revealed, “The dream is to use the money from ‘AGT’ to buy a huge warehouse. We want to buy machines that are so impressive and so large that they warrant their own Super Bowl.” It was an ambitious vision, but after seeing the machine they brought to ‘AGT’, it did not sound completely outlandish.
