PASADENA, CALIFORNIA: On July 18, 'America's Got Talent' continued its 18th season with a seventh audition episode. A cellist, parents dancing with their children, a quick-change artist, a long-arm golfer, a magician, and many other acts performed for judges Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, and Sofia Vergara this week. In total, 15 acts had their fates determined by the judges' "yes" or "no" votes, while another episode went by without Sofia deciding on the winner of her Golden Buzzer performance of the season. However, spectators appeared to be angry when she let one of the performances proceed, which they felt was unfit for the big Vegas event.
This Australian contortion/acrobatic dance team, consisting of twin sisters Sam and Teagan, has 1.1 million Instagram followers and 14 million TikTok followers. They also have more than 7 million YouTube subscribers, where they make lifestyle and dancing videos.
Sofia initially found The Rybka Twins outdated
Acrobat sisters The Rybka Twins reminded Simon Cowell that they had previously seen him on the red carpet and that they tried out for the show because she advised them to. Heidi Klum was impressed by them after the first split trick in their mixed-medium show of tricks and dancing, however, Howie Mandel said that he "could like it" if it wasn't so corny, and Sofia Vergara believed it was "outdated" and could be made more current.
Simon "completely disagreed" with Howie and Sofia, describing them as "fun" and having "great showmanship." With little confidence from Howie and Sofia, it appeared like the twins would be eliminated, but the roaring audience eventually persuaded Sofia to change her vote to a "no" so that they could go to the next round.
Fans react
Fans who weren't too thrilled by the audition tweeted, "They're good at what they do but they'd never be able to sustain the energy for an hour or so for an entire show slot on a Vegas stage. They've had better acts than that already this year." Another person chimed in, "It was like watching kids at a dance studio for the first try out." Slamming Sofia in the process, one user tweeted, "I'm with @howiemandel on this one. Outdated, not a million $$ act. Sophia, once again, caved." A fourth user tweeted, "Are the 90s back? That was indeed corny. They have great skills but that linked cartwheel has been done a million times."
One user asked, "haven’t the rybka twins already tried out (and failed) on this show before?" Another person recommended, "Update the music and improve the choreography."
