America’s Got Talent did a quick montage last night showing the contestants that have been picked for the wild card show, and we now have official confirmation from NBC who will be brought back.
The fast montage in which NBC presented the acts last night made us unsure if those were the acts that would be brought back, or just acts that were being considered as they never even put the names on the screen. We now have confirmation from NBC in a press release that those were the acts that will be returning.
Howard Stern is bringing back Ben Blaque (crossbow sharpshooter), Horse (nut-shot king), Spencer Horsman (escape artist), and Todd Oliver and Irving (dog ventriloquist). Sharon Osbourne is bringing back All That! (male clogging group), Bandbaz Brothers (acrobatic duo), Jake Wesley Rodgers (singer), and Lindsey Norton (dancer). Howie Mandel is bringing back Andrew De Leon (opera singer), Jarrett & Raja (magician & pianist), Sebastian El Charro (mariachi singer), and Cristin Sandu (balancing acrobat).
Howie Mandel has been notorious for bringing back acts that many see as no-talent acts (see Those Funny Little People from season 6), and we expected him to bring back Big Barry. We think all of the judges did a good job of picking deserving acts.
Of note is the fact that Mandel brought back Andrew De Leon. De Leon was eliminated in the Vegas rounds, and the fans were very vocal with anger at this. Before his elimination, Mandel told De Leon, “Andrew, you have a gift. I suggest you hone this gift.” We hope he did. He’s one of our favorites and we want to see him do well.