After two months, nine episodes of auditions, and no fewer than ten golden buzzers, America's Got Talent is moving forward into the live shows of the 2025 TV schedule. The live quarterfinals are always a step up from the auditions, but I'm looking forward to this round even more than usual as part of the milestone 20th season. The lineup for the first night of live performances is pretty stacked, and AGT is about to start heating up... which just reminds me of what happened in Season 19 that was like a bucket of cold water. But let's start with the positives!
America's Got Talent's First Live Quarterfinals Episode
The judges narrowed down the pool of performers who'd excelled in the auditions to 44, although technically ten of them were already predetermined due to golden buzzers. This means four weeks of live shows leading up to the Season 20 finale in September. On the whole, I'm on board with the first batch of eleven who will retake the AGT stage in the first live quarterfinals episode on August 19 (and streaming next day with a Peacock subscription). Take a look:
- B Unique Crew - Dance Group
- Charity Lockhart - Singer
- CitiLimitz - Singing Group
- Jourdan Blue - Singer
- Lightwire - Projection
- Loco Pop Familia - Dance
- Phobias - Magic Act
- Shuler King - Stand Up Comic
- Sirca Marea - Acrobat
- Steve Ray Ladson - Band
- Tom Sandoval & the Most Extras - Band
There are certainly some standouts in the first crop of performers, and I don't just mean Tom Sandoval and the Vanderpump Rules scandal that followed him to AGT. There are no fewer than three golden buzzers in the group: Mel B's Charity Lockhart, Howie Mandel's Jourdan Blue, and Simon Cowell's LightWire.
Plus, there's a nice variety of acts in this group. Season 20 hasn't been the strongest for magicians and stand up comics, so I'm not surprised to only see one of each, but I'm definitely glad that the first night of live shows isn't going to have solo singer after solo singer.
However the next performances play out, only three competitors will be advanced depending on who gets the most votes from viewers, although each of the judges has another golden buzzer for the round. I'm assuming one judge will hit per week for the sake of balance, but the fact remains: most of the live show competitors won't be moving on.
What I Hope Goes Differently With AGT Live In 2025
With the exception of the lovely Richard Goodall last year, am I often frustrated when the quarterfinals are full of singers when there are music-focused shows like The Voice and American Idol out there? Definitely. Am I sometimes a grouch about kids getting advanced, even though I know I probably wouldn't have the heart to send them home either? Yes. Do I feel like golden buzzers are less fun now that there are ten of them in the auditions alone? Unfortunately so, and I don't think I'm the only one. But these are all just petty grievances that don't stop me from tuning in.
There's just one thing from the Season 19 finale that I'm nervous about happening again as Season 20 shifts from pre-taped to live. The pacing for the last few episodes last season just wasn't great, to the point that the finale was packed with plenty of filler between Terry Crews' announcements of who was moving on, and champion Richard Goodall only had moments to celebrate his win on camera at the very end.
Now, I don't imagine even in my wildest dreams that any reality competition show would cut down on filler content to pad out results episodes late in a season, but I still remember getting to see Richard Goodall's initial reaction to his win, but then the episode ending very abruptly. I'm truly just hoping that everybody gets their due in the live shows rounds, especially since the performers' fates are now in the hands of voters from home.
Tune in to the first night of America's Got Talent Season 20 live quarterfinals on Tuesday, August 19 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, followed by the first live results episode of the season on Wednesday, August 20 at 8 p.m. ET. You can also stream the episodes next day on Peacock, but that largely means being cut out of the voting process, so I always recommend watching AGT's later rounds live if possible.
