Tom Sandoval’s quarterfinals performance failed to impress America’s Got Talent judge Simon Cowell.
After Sandoval, 43, and his band The Most Extras delivered an energetic rendition of “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd on the reality show’s Tuesday, August 19, episode, Cowell, 65, offered his honest verdict.
“It didn’t sound great. It didn’t,” the longtime judge told the Vanderpump Rules alum. “It might just be me, from where I sat, but that did not sound good, I’m afraid. It didn’t.”
Sandoval stepped on stage in an all-black ensemble complete with dark sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat and gloves, before shifting into slippery Moonwalk-esque dance moves as he belted out the cover song.
Before the performance ended, Cowell had already made his mind up, pressing the button in front of him to give Sandoval a disapproving red X. As fellow judges Sofia Vergara, Mel B and Howie Mandel were visibly amused by the button being pressed, Cowell calmly sipped through on a drink.
Despite the brutal verdict, Cowell said that he “liked Tom” and “liked the band” but had to judge the performance as it stood alone.
Sandoval impressed all four judges during the audition round of AGT, telling Us Weekly on August 12 that he and his bandmates were working hard ahead of their live performance. “I think that it’s just gonna take a lot of hard work and passion,” Sandoval exclusively told Us. “When I watch people perform and I see them put their whole selves into a performance, it really moves me.” (Sandoval and the Most Extras performed a cover of A-Ha’s “Take On Me” during the audition round on June 24.)
Cowell wasn’t the only judge who wasn’t blown away by Sandoval’s performance. Vergara, 53, said that while she “loved the dancing, loved the band [and] loved the song,” she agreed that “the sound was not amazing.”
Mel B, 50, chose to reflect on Sandoval’s stage presence rather than the band’s sound. “You made me smile,” she told the reality star. “You just do, and you know what, yeah, you’re a cover band but, you know what, you just bring a little bit of happiness and the way that you commit is flawless. Those moves, brother, they’re lit.”
Mandel, 69, was similarly upbeat, noting that he thinks people who watch Sandoval will want his band to play at their “weddings, their parties, their clubs,” as a result of being “good people, having a fun time and that’s what this show is all about.”
As for Sandoval’s reflections on his own performance, he told the crowd he “felt great” and “had a blast” doing his thing on stage.
America’s Got Talent airs Wednesdays on NBC at 8 p.m. Stream old episodes anytime on Peacock.
