'AGT': One of Howie Mandel's 'favorite' acts goes home in 'one of the closest votes we’ve ever had'
Howie Mandel is not jealous of America tonight.
After witnessing "the most spectacular evening that we've had on Season 15" Tuesday, the comedian judge questioned how voters would narrow the competitive field from 11 to five acts on "America's Got Talent."
"Do you know how many favorite acts I had?" Mandel said. "I don’t know how they are going to pick five" to advance to the semifinals, which start Sept. 8.
Wednesday's results "shocked" him. And Mandel wasn't the only one in for a surprise.
Actor Ed O'Neill, Sofía Vergara’s onscreen husband on "Modern Family," made a surprise appearance from Hawaii during Wednesday’s result show.
“My husband! Where are you? I miss you so much,” Vergara exclaimed.
O’Neill joked, "How did you manage to get the dream job you've always wanted where you get to sit the entire time, and someone else does all the work?"
Here's what happened during Wednesday's episode:
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The fans' picks
The three acts that received the most votes automatically advanced.
Acrobat Alan Silva was the first act to move forward. Silva said he was experiencing "so many mixed feelings" after moving on, before assuring voters that he "won’t let you down."
"I’m so happy for you. You deserve this," Vergara said. "You make it so easy, so fun to watch. You've gone through a lot and I hope you enjoy this."
Singer Cristina Rae joined Silva in the safe zone soon after. "Hallelujah!" exclaimed Rae, who performed a powerful rendition of Leonard Cohen's single Tuesday.
"I love that you started with 'Hallelujah!' That’s so funny," Klum said to her Golden Buzzer winner. "I've heard that song so many times, but no one sang it the way you have. Hands down the best ever."
Magician Max Major also advanced. Although we couldn't hear his reaction, thanks to technical difficulties with his microphone, Vergara said Major was so good that he's going to have a tough time outdoing himself in the semifinals.
"You are going to have to go bigger than what you've been doing," Vergara said with a smile and a laugh. "You are going to have a tough one."
The face-off
WAFFLE Crew (dance group; Cowell's Golden Buzzer winner), Malik Dope (drummer) and Nolan Neal (singer) finished in the middle of the pack and were on the brink of elimination.
"I’m in shock. I am absolutely in shock," Mandel said after it was revealed that the three acts were in danger. I’m kind of devastated."
The three acts went head-to-head in a live voting round for the "Dunkin' Save," where fans had the opportunity to rescue only one performer. Whoever received the most votes in a 30-minute flash round would move on.
Host Terry Crews called it "one of the closet votes we’ve ever had on 'AGT' right now."
In the end, viewers saved WAFFLE Crew.
"It feels amazing. It feels like a weight is off our shoulders," dance member Joel Kozik said before dedicating Tuesday's performance to a friend the group recently lost.
But the results weren't over just yet. The judges, who are down to three in Simon Cowell's absence as he recovers from an electric-bike accident, had the chance to save either Dope or Neal.
Vergara opted to keep Neal, but both Klum and Mandel voted to save Dope.
Eliminated
The five acts with the fewest votes – Dance Town Family (dance group); Bone Breakers (contortionists); Usama Siddiquee (comedian); and singers Annie Jones and Sheldon Riley – were eliminated.
Neal was also sent packing.
Next week
"America's Got Talent" will return Sept. 1 for the fourth and last quarterfinals round (NBC, 8 EDT/PDT), where 11 more acts will try to blow America away to advance to the semifinals.
Next week’s performers include Alex Hooper (comedian); Bello Sisters (acrobatic trio); C.A. Wildcats (cheerleading group); Celina Graves (singer); Divas & Drummers of Compton (dance group); Kenadi Dodds (singer); Lightwave Theatre Company (puppeteers); Noah Epps (dancer); Resound (vocal trio); Thomas Day (singer) and Mandel's Golden Buzzer winner, Brandon Leake (spoken-word poet).
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'AGT': One of Howie Mandel's 'favorites' goes home in close vote