America's Got Talent used up three Golden Buzzers -- two of which were stolen from judge Sofia Vergara -- during its Season 21 premiere episode that aired Tuesday night on NBC.

ADVERTISEMENT

On America's Got Talent's 21st season, host Terry Crews and judges Sofia, Melanie "Mel B" Brown, Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel will each be able to hit the Golden Buzzer twice, resulting in a total of 10 acts advancing straight to the live shows this summer.

Although Sofia wanted to hit the Golden Buzzer for Lai Noelle, a 14-year-old singer from Texas, Simon tricked her and pressed it first.

Lai -- who was a bit nervous at first and accepted a glass of water from Terry -- belted out "Die On This Hill" by Sienna Spiro, and her deep, controlled voice seemed to have some Jennifer Hudson and Whitney Houston influence.

"Should I do it?" Sofia whispered to Simon as Lai was singing. "Should I give her the Golden Buzzer?"

Simon, who was intently listening to Lai, muttered back, "I wouldn't."

But Lai stunned the audience, and Simon was clearly enthralled with her.

"Shall I tell you, honestly, what I think? Words aren't necessary," Simon told the young girl, before pushing his Golden Buzzer.

Sofia appeared floored and vented about how Simon had swooped in and stolen her Golden Buzzer.

"He took her from me!" Sofia complained.

But Simon was thrilled with his decision and shared, "I shut my eyes for a moment, and I'm thinking, 'That's not you singing.' You have such a gift, and now you take this opportunity, and you make it. This is amazing. This is why we do this."

Terry later hit his Golden Buzzer for Acro Canine Crew, a group of people and dogs of all sizes from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The dance crew featured women and girls ages 7 to 21, plus highly-trained dogs.

"That was the best!" Howie shouted.

Mel B noted how Sofia was "screaming" throughout the entire performance.

"[These are] my two favorite acts -- dancing and a dog act together. I really wasn't expecting this, it was too much for me!" Sofia gushed.

"It was amazing," she added. "You guys were having fun and the dogs were having fun. It was a perfect idea to come to AGT. Thank you!"

Howie agreed that the act had blown him away, and he noted, "I love everything about you!"

Once again, Sofia was about to hit the Golden Buzzer when Terry rushed from the stage to the judges' table and beat her to it.

"I have never, ever seen anything like this in my life," Terry shouted. "You are now going through!"

After golden confetti started falling from above, Sofia vented, "I was about to do it! He didn't even give me time!"

A third Golden Buzzer was later awarded to Luke Taleno, a 27-year-old rapper and childhood cancer survivor from Cuba who was raised in Florida.

Luke revealed he's a close friend of last year's standout singer on AGT's 20th season, Jourdan Blue.

Luke performed an original song about making it from the audience -- when he had watched Jourdan's audition -- to performing on the stage.

Luke's song was called "Seat to Stage," and Sofia pointed out how he "deserved" to be in this competition.

Luke, however, seemed nervous and ran out of breath towards the end of his performance.

While Mel B acknowledged that "it wasn't the best or greatest audition," Simon reminded her, "He was excited."

Simon proceeded to tell Luke, "I could tell you were getting emotional midway through. I really admire people who just do it."

Mel agreed that she loved Luke's "heart" and that heart can "go a long way" for a person.

Howie then voiced his opinion of the artist.

"You are truly the image of what I believe authenticity is," Howie said.

"Last year you predicted something, and I just have one question: How did you know?"

Howie then hit his Golden Buzzer for Luke, advancing him to Live Shows.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON GOOGLE NEWS