While Simon Cowell was absent, his presence was felt on Tuesday’s fourth and final episode of the quarterfinals.

Why Sofia Vergara bestowed her Golden Buzzer on an *America’s Got Talent *act she found ‘a little bit scary’

While Simon Cowell was absent, his presence was felt on Tuesday’s fourth and final episode of the quarterfinals.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

EW's editorial guidelines

September 9, 2026 1:02 a.m. ET

Leave a Comment

‘AGT’ judge Sofia Vergara with host Terry Crews and Unitree. Credit:

Trae Patton/NBC

- *America’s Got Talent* judge Sofia Vergara handed out her Golden Buzzer to robot dancers Unitree on Wednesday’s episode.

- She found the group “a little scary,” she admitted.

- Three others acts moved forward to the semifinals.

Most of the decisions on Tuesday’s super episode of *America’s Got Talent** *were up to America, but judge Sofia Vergara had a chance to hit her Golden Buzzer, too.

The *Modern Family *actress used her power to send the act Unitree — a group of dancing robots and humans led by a human — straight through to the finals in a night that included both performances and results.

“To be honest, for me, they were a little bit scary,” Vergara told host Terry Crews when he asked her to comment on Unitree’s performance. “I don’t even think that you need this, but I’m gonna do it, because you guys were amazing!”

She then leaned over and slammed the buzzer, and her fellow judges, Howie Mandel, Mel B, and Simon Cowell-sub Heidi Klum raved as well.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

“I am literally gobsmacked. I have never seen anything this crazy in my life,” guest judge Klum said. “It is absolutely mind-blowing. I have to say the future is a little scary, but it’s amazing what you guys have done.”

Howie Mandel predicted their performance would be “the most viral moment we’re gonna have this season.”

Mentalist act didn’t foresee Simon Cowell’s wrath on first night of ‘America’s Got Talent’ live shows

Howie Mandel admits he’s easier on this kind of act on ‘America’s Got Talent’

Mel B, meanwhile, said it was “amazing” and jokingly explained that, for people who get confused by the acts, as she sometimes does, that many of the dancers were, in fact, robots.

The three other acts who received the most votes also heard good news: comedic singer Cesar Dias, magic act Young & Strange, and singer Travis Garland. They will be among the acts going into next week’s semifinals, with a shot at moving on to the finals, and winning the $1 million prize.

Seven others were eliminated: impressionist Cameron Logsdon, danger act Tyrone & Margo, naked comedian Akira, one-legged parkour athlete Rubén Roldán, and singers Jesse Joe, Bird & Byron, and Lara D.

And even though he wasn’t there, Cowell’s presence was felt, when Mandel applauded Roldán, Cowell’s recipient of the Golden Buzzer earlier this season.

“Simon, you knew what you were doing. You gave him the Golden Buzzer,” Mandel said while evaluating Roldán.

Then to the contestant, “[Cowell] can’t even get off the couch because he had back surgery. You lost a leg. You’re jumping all over the building.”

Mel B and Heidi Klum on ‘America’s Got Talent’.

Trae Patton/NBC)

Mandel then added more seriously, “Come back soon, Simon. We miss you.”

As ** has previously reported, Cowell is expected to miss weeks of the show while he recovers from surgery on his back, which he injured in a serious bicycle accident in August 2020.

On Sept. 3, Mandel told E! News that Cowell was “just hours out of surgery.”

He added, “I heard that it was a success, everything’s okay.”

*America’s Got Talent* airs Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and streams the next day on Peacock.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Reality”