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When Howie Mandel heard Courtney Hadwin’s scorching rendition of the Otis Redding classic Hard to Handle on America’s Got Talent, he knew he had to hit his Golden Buzzer.
Now digging into lunch at Fran’s in downtown Toronto, Mandel thinks Hadwin, a 13-year-old from the U.K., is going to be crowned the Season 13 winner.
The Golden Buzzer was launched in Season 9 and allows the judges to send one act on the long-running talent show straight through to the live shows, which air on NBC and Citytv.
So far this season, Mandel, Tyra Banks, Mel B and Simon Cowell have used their Golden Buzzers to send through four singers and a dance troupe.
Mandel, a standup star in his own right who appeared on NBC’s hospital drama St. Elsewhere in the 1980s as well as the game show Deal Or No Deal (which featured a young Meghan Markle — and no he doesn’t remember her), has been judging on AGT for the last nine seasons.
But this year’s crop of contestants are the show’s best yet, he teases.
As long as we don’t run out of humans, it’s impossible.
Howie Mandel doesn’t see a time when America’s Got Talent will run out of contestants
“It’s bigger, better, more exciting, more dangerous, you’ll laugh more, you’ll cringe more, you’ll scream more than you ever have before,” he says pausing. “And I think my Golden Buzzer is going to win the whole thing.”
Ahead of next week’s episode, we spoke to the Toronto-born comedian about how AGT still manages to stay fresh season after season, found out what it’s like to work with Simon Cowell and asked him whether he thinks the show will ever run out of… talent.
I was pretty amazed by the Savitsky Cats on the Season 13 debut. Does anything surprise you anymore?
Wasn’t that amazing? The trained cats — I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. Even if you’re not into cats… you got to realize what went into it and how hard that is and how much work that is.
You’ve been judging for nine seasons. Do you ever look back and wonder if you overlooked someone?
I do. I second-guess myself later on. We don’t script it. We don’t know who’s coming out and just when you think you’ve seen everything, someone comes out and your jaw drops and you realize you ain’t seen nothing yet. We might say something impulsively because that’s the way we are and then you think back on it and it’s like, ‘I shouldn’t have said that.’ We have the same reactions people at home sitting on their couch are having. It’s real.
America’s Got Talent is now on Season 13. Do you ever wonder if you’re going to run out of talent?
As long as we don’t run out of humans, it’s impossible. People are coming from all over the world now. Our show is global. Ultimately whatever they’ve done in their own country, when they show up on our stage it brings them to another level of recognition and professionalism and credibility. And it helps them pursue their dreams and have their passions come true.
Before this, what happened to all the people with talent?
Well, there was a lag. There was vaudeville, then there was The Ed Sullivan Show, after that it was The Tonight Show, and then, for awhile, there was no other one place that launched people. American Idol came along, but that was just singing. Now there’s us, and we’ve put more people in business than any one show has. We have four stages going right now in Las Vegas from Terry Fator to Matt Franco, the magician. Then there are people that are touring. Darci Lynne Farmer from last year is selling out all over the place. Grace VanderWaal, my Golden Buzzer from two years ago, she’s touring with Imagine Dragons. It’s a big thing.
Can you still point to one moment on AGT that stunned you more than any other?
Grace VanderWaal, my golden buzzer moment from Season 11. I saw this little girl I didn’t expect to be amazing. She came out with her ukulele and started singing and the words – here was a 12-year-old girl who was waxing poetic about everybody’s life. I still remember those lyrics (from her song I Don’t Know My Name) — “I don’t play by the rules of the game.” We’re all like that. We’re all walking through life where people don’t know us. Maybe if we break the rules that’s how you can make some waves.
What was it like when Simon Cowell joined America’s Got Talent?
I was nervous because he had a reputation that preceded him. But we have legitimately become good friends. I find him to be one of the smartest, silliest, wittiest and most compassionate people I’ve ever met. Even if he’s brutally honest with a contestant, what people at home often don’t see is he’s the first one to jump off the stage and go over to them and make them feel good before they leave the building. He’s an amazing guy and it’s no surprise to me now that I know him that he’s one of the most successful entrepreneurs working in our business. This is the biggest show in the world and there are four or five people on the Billboard charts that he owns (laughs) and it’s pretty exciting.
Okay, a lot of shows from the ’80s and ’90s are getting a reboot. Is there a chance that St. Elsewhere will come back?
(Laughs) That one is not going to get a reboot, but I’m thrilled I was a part of it.
America’s Got Talent airs Tuesdays on NBC and Citytv.
Twitter: @markhdaniell
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