Tonight on NBC America’s Got Talent begins with an all-new Tuesday, September 1, 2026, episode and we have your America’s Got Talent recap below! On tonight’s AGT season 21 episode 16 “Quarterfinals 3″, as per the NBC synopsis,
“Third week of Live Quarterfinals. Eleven acts take the stage and the Live Show Golden Buzzer will send one act directly to the Finals. America can vote for their three favorite acts to advance by using TikTok, the “AGT” app, and NBC.com.”
Make sure to bookmark this spot and come back later for our America’s Got Talent recap from 8 PM – 10 PM ET! Refresh often so you get the most current info! While you wait for the episode head over and check out all our AGT spoilers, news, recaps & more!
Tonight’s America’s Got Talent recap begins now – Refresh Page often to get the most current updates!
In tonight’s America’s Got Talent episode, Simon was still out on tonight’s episode. They chose to replace him with the great Kenan Thompson. He even got the power of the Golden Buzzer. He got to choose who would go straight into the Finale. Kenan has been in the business long enough to spot talent, but I doubt anyone could expect how they one-upped each other. Up first was Holland & Sienna. They tied their aerial string to the stage to create amazing spirals up in the air. They were aerialists. They were great aerialists. It just didn’t wow Howie.
Howie felt the Audition was better. He didn’t care about the crowd tonight. He posed the question of if this was better than the Audition and he didn’t seem sure. He also pointed out that he loved their Audition. It goes without saying that he didn’t seem to love their performance at this stage of the competition. Isaac Atkins was next up. Mel B said his voice was as smooth as butter. He proved tonight that it had grit as well. Isaac later performed “Way Down We Go”. He got really into it and he thankfully didn’t have that eye closing issue that so many singers seemed to have this season.
Then again Isaac is military. He appeared unshakeable and that’s why his performance disappointed Howie. Howie was being the tough one. He said Isaac didn’t show off his full range. He was still holding back and so Howie reminded him that now was the time to prove yourself. There was no do-overs. Kenan agreed with Howie. He felt that Isaac limited himself with that song. Mel didn’t care what the guys had to say. She loved the performance because she really like Isaac as an artist. Even his speaking voice was smooth.
Maria was up next. She was the contortionist. She actually appeared being lowered onto the stage from up above. She came in a box. What she did was a little painful to watch. Kenan would later say as much. She upped her routine from the last time and Howie finally enjoyed a performance. He encouraged the little girl to keep being herself. Mel also enjoyed it. Mel said she could never play limbo with her, but she still enjoyed it.
Next up was Elsie. Elsie was a singer. She has an incredible voice. She auditioned with an original song and Simon had warned her that she was closing herself off at the time. She has the voice. She just needed a little boost to the confidence. She closed herself off earlier to protect herself from being disappointed. It had been nerves. She let her guard down at Simon’s house where she gave her best performance of the season. Tonight just wasn’t her night. Her walls went back up and she was capable of so much more.
She performed “House of the Rising Sun”. She could’ve done it with her eyes closed because she was that good. It was the disconnect that was upsetting the more experienced judges. Sofia still enjoyed it. She had never heard the song played that way. Kenan also had an emotional reaction to this performance. He quite enjoyed it. It was the other two that said could do more and a part of Elsie must know that too. Even as she was brave about her postpartum troubles, she needed to be brave on that stage too.
Acro Canine Crew was next up. They were a dog act. Not any old dog act. They had several dogs and several people dancing with them. They had a routine. They had props. They were good plain fun and the judges as well as the audience really enjoyed their performance. They gave them a standing ovation. It was a sweet act. It might make it into the next round on that alone although results from tonight’s voting won’t be revealed until tomorrow. And sweetness was followed by one of the most daring acts of the night.
Herwan Legaillard wasn’t afraid of danger. He proved that when he swallowed a literal sword at his Audition. He also had an aerialist/daredevil background. Tonight he literally played with fire. He wasn’t afraid to set pieces of himself on fire as part of his act. It didn’t do anything for Mel. She said she might kick herself later on when she watches this back, but she didn’t get it. Kenan got it. Sofia got it. Not Mel. The other judges were quite complimentary. They saw more from their angle than Mel did so they knew how difficult it was for Herwan to do all that he did and they were left impressed.
Guy Kelton Jones I was up next. The poet was a great performer. He grabbed your attention from the first note and held on for everyone who didn’t think poetry was their thing. Guy grew up with another poet, his mother. She used to take him to work with her so he got to grow up in world of words and beauty. It must’ve resonated because that’s the world he shared with everyone. He impressed Howie who would’ve given him the Golden Buzzer if he had been in charge of it tonight. He moved Mel to tears. He wowed Sofia. He also earned Kenan’s respect.
It’s a shock that the Golden Buzzer wasn’t used on him. What was Kenan looking for? Next up was Kameron Marshall. He was a magician. His specialty was cards. He’s been working on his act since the start of AGT. He now lives and breathe for the performance because he knew what this chance meant. Card tricks aren’t for everyone. He somehow managed to rope everyone in the audience into the card magic itself. He was sure of himself. He was confident and made things on top of being entertaining. Sofia loved him.
Sofia couldn’t help saying he amplified magic in just the right way. He really did and if he keeps remaining strong – the grand prize could very well be in his future. He was followed by Simon’s Golden Buzzer from the Auditions, Lai Noelle. She performed “Your Song”. It was a little bit rocky at first because she was still young. She was fourteen and the song was technically difficult. More so than people realize at first. Lai still put all of her love into it and it moved everyone. Mel was on her feet. She would later say Lai still had more to learn. Its just that her starting point was from perfection.
Sofia absolutely loved Lai’s voice. Its so much different than her speaking voice. She was also shier when she wasn’t singing and Sofia was still mad that Simon stole the earlier Golden Buzzer away from her for Lai. But Lai’s talent was finally enough to move Kenan. Kenan hit that Golden Buzzer. Lai was going to the Finale. Next up was Daniel Alavarez. He was a comedian. He was a very funny comedian. He was in a wheelchair. He was injured when he was younger and has been in one ever since.
Daniel turned a tragedy into a story of inspiration. He wasn’t afraid to poke fun at his chair or himself in general. He was a laugh riot. He had everyone in stitches and received a standing ovation. He even got it from two well-known comedians. He was funny. He was light. He brought such a joy that it would be a shame to lose him in the Finale. It really would. America vote. Vote in robust numbers. Now, the final act of the night went to Pynk Beard. He was a Country Rock musician and he make everyone smile.
Really, Pynk Beard was a seasoned performer. He brought everyone into a love of his genre and that was no easy thing to do. He even had Mel convinced. She especially enjoyed his original song. His energy. He’s great. Kenan commended him because it can’t be easy to go last. He had to watch everyone else do a great job and he could’ve let nerves get in the way. He didn’t let that happen. He closed the night with a stellar performance.
THE END!