AGT judges Simon Cowell and Sofia Vergara’s scathing off-camera reactions to Tom Sandoval’s performance have been revealed.
The Vanderpump Rules alum made a return to the AGT stage on Tuesday for the quarter-finals to perform with his cover band, Tom Sandoval and The Most Extras.
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Though Tom, 43, is not known for his vocal talents, he received an overwhelmingly positive reaction from the public to the band’s audition, which aired in July.
However, that good fortune appeared to have run out as Tuesday night’s live show premiere hit a sour note with the band.
Tom and the rest of his cover band performed The Weeknd hit, Blinding Lights, complete with a trumpet solo from the reality star.
The duration of their performance was plagued with off-key vocals - which resulted in less than flattering expressions from the judges.
Simon, 65, and Sofia, 53, looked unimpressed on camera, but off-camera, their reactions were even more intense.
According to an eyewitness, Simon looked “furious” and “cringed” the whole time Tom performed - even putting his face in his hand in a look of “disgust” at one point.
He seemed so upset by the performance that at another point, he turned his chair and faced his back toward the band.
The ‘boos’ from the crowd grew louder, resulting in the former American Idol judge appearing more impatient for the performance to finally end.
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Ultimately, Simon had enough and pushed the X buzzer - meaning he wanted the performance to abruptly stop.
Meanwhile, Sofia appeared disinterested and looked down to text while co-star Mel B also turned her chair around to look at the reaction from the audience rather than watch Tom.
Howie Mandel, 69, also panned around the room, turned around to look at the audience, and tried his best to support the band, but also didn’t seem entertained by the act.
Following the performance, Tom looked upset as the crowd booed or didn’t clap, and he didn’t have the same smile he had after his audition.
AGT fans insist show is ‘rigged’ after Vanderpump Rules’ Tom Sandoval passes audition despite ‘cringe’ performance
“That did not sound good. I’m afraid it didn’t,” Simon bluntly told Tom after the performance.
Immediately, Tom tried to give out an excuse - blaming his in-ear monitors for the vocal problems.
"Right before I went on, my in-ears kinda went out. So I was flying in the dark there,” he said on stage.
However, that quickly backfired as it appeared to enrage the judges even more - with Mel B yelling out “stop making excuses!”
America's Got Talent judges
THOUSANDS of hopefuls have graced the America's Got Talent stage to showcase their abilities.
Here is some more information about the A-list judges for season 20:
Simon Cowell - On October 22, 2015, it was revealed Simon was replacing Howard Stern on the AGT judges panel. He became a judge during the program's 11th season and has since remained a series regular.
Mel B - In March 2013, Mel B was announced as Sharon Osbourne's replacement on AGT. She remained on the show for five seasons before leaving in 2018. She made her grand return this year for season 20.
Sofia Vergara - On February 27, 2020, NBC revealed Sofia was replacing Gabrielle Union for AGT season 15.
Howie Mandel - Out of all the panelists, Howie Mandel is the longest-tenured judge on America's Got Talent. Howie joined the hit reality series during the show's 5th season, replacing David Hasselhoff.
The results for who will be continuing onto the next round have not yet been revealed; however, Tom seems to be out of the running due to the negative reaction to Tuesday's performance.
Viewers were even more disappointed than Simon, with one saying: "This sounded f**king horrible LMAO what a joke he is."
"Just gonna say it: Tom Sandoval didn’t deserve to go through to the live rounds. It’s solely based for his reality notoriety. He wasn’t great & his vocals were off. AGT is pushing him on us," another said.
"Please for the love of everything that is holy NEVER put Tom Sandoval on my TV EVER. He was off-key and sounded horrible. I’m surprised he got through to begin with," a third fired off.
"Is he a musician or a clown? Hard to separate the two," one more quipped.
America's Got Talent airs Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8 pm EST on NBC.
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