Sofia Vergara’s America’s Got Talent co-star Howie Mandel makes awkward joke about her

Sofia Vergara returned to America’s Got Talent in the first episode of the Live performances… the first time she was at the judges table since her split with Joe Manganiello… which Howie Mandel poked some fun at.

All of the auditions were taped well in advance of her split, though Tuesday’s first live performance episode featured a joke from Howie Mandel, that Vergara took in stride.

Manganiello, 46, filed for divorce from Vergara, 51, in late July, citing ‘irreconcilable differences’ while there were numerous claims that he wanted children and she didn’t.

While the split wasn’t discussed in detail during the episode, Mandel was discussing a performance by 12-year-old magician and ventriloquist Brynn Cummings – where she tried to find a new mate for her rabbit puppet in the performance – when he cracked a joke.

‘If I have one word of advice, if you’re looking for eligible bachelors, you should have talked to Sofia because she’s in the market right now,’ referring to her recent split with Joe Manganiello.

For her part, Sofia took the joke in stride, raising her arms and screaming, ‘Yes’ with a laugh, as Terry said, ‘No we’re not doing that here.’

First up was True Villains, a rock band from Nashville who are always competing with country artists in their town.

They were singing one of their own original songs, with the group admitting before the performance, ‘It’s a big risk to bring an original. We’re trying to be an original band, not a cover band.’

Their original hard rock song called Dead to Me got raucous applause from the crowd.

Howie admitted, ‘You know, truly this is my favorite kind of music it’s my favorite kind of music it’s not that popular today. I thought you made a good choice on the audition to cover something. America is going to choose only two can go through. It’s a gamble to do the I love the original. Your voice is like the most original voice it’s like the best rock concert coming from a helium factory

Heidi added, ‘I loved it it brings me back to my 20s. We were listening to this music in my 20s, like Axel Rose. The band was super tight, two thumbs up.

Sofia added, ‘I love you guys. I love you more than the audition it’s amazing I’m so happy you guys brought this energy. We need it to start like this tonight. It’s up to America I think they’re going to love you.’

Simon added, ‘I loved your audition because you did something really different with a song we know really well. There’s no question you can play really well. You can sing really well,’ before admitting, ‘I hated the song, I did,’ causing the crowd to boo.

Next up is 10-year-old dancer Lambros Garcia, who performed a dance routine to Todrick Hall’s Vogue Zone.

He said in a video package, ‘I wanted to do this song because it has a good beat to it and it brings so much energy and that’s what I want to show. I want to show me. My big dream is to perform on Broadway this is my chance, but only two people this round are going to make it to the finals. I feel nervous, but I’m just going to bring Lambros 2.0.’

Heidi revealed after the performance, ‘I love you and I love everything about you. I love mostly that you do you and you don’t care about what anyone says. You don’t look back. You do you and you are perfect.’

Sofia added, ‘Lambros, I love who you have become. You’re so confident tonight. You were amazing my favorite part of your show is how happy you are when you’re doing it.’

Simon added, ‘You know what I loved, Lambros, was hearing you before you started about the reaction you had in school. You had a problem with bullies, didn’t you?

Lambros confirmed that he did, though he added that the bullies have, ‘totally’ gone away after his AGT audition.

Simon added, ‘We all loved you because you define the word personality.’

Howie added, ‘You know, Lambros, more than what you do, you’re the same little boy who was bullied and had this tough time. Then you showed the world who you are. This is not Lambros 2.0. You changed the world. It’s the world 2.0.’

Host Terry Crews asked, ‘Lambros, what advice do you have for other boys who love to dance?’

Lambros said, ‘As I stated in my first audition, not a lot of people respected who I am however, we cannot let other people break our dreams. Dreams do come true, right?’

Next up is Mitchell Mossell, who, like True Villains, opted to sing an original song, following another original he sang at his audition, which Howie predicted would go to number 1 on the country charts the next day.

Mitchell revealed Howie’s prediction was true, though it also went to #1 on four other genres as well.

His new song – entitled All I Need To See – went over well with the judges, as Sofia told him, ‘Mitch, you sing with such emotion it was such a catchy, romantic song I love you guys. I love country music I think you’re the perfect talent that America’s going to fall in love with.’

Simon added, ‘Howie got it right when he said I think this song will go to number one. That audition was a brilliant audition I saw you watching the film and getting emotional watching you with your family and, you know, the first part of the song you were almost choking up until you hit the first chorus let me tell you, you are the real deal. I really, really, really hope this works out for you. You are super talented, such a nice person, great band — sorry I don’t know your names, but everyone was amazing.’

Howie added, ‘I’m going to make my second prediction. This is also number one tomorrow at least on the country chart. You, for me, are the best act so far tonight. I think you are the act to beat, one of the two going through America, make me right.’

Heidi added, ‘You’re radio ready. Your songs are great. You have an amazing family. I wish you all the best.’

Terry asked Mitch how he thinks tonight’s song will do on the charts tomorrow, as he responded, ‘Oh, man, I’m hoping for the same results. That would be amazing.’

Next up is Oleksandr Leshchenko and Magic Innovations, who performed a storytelling illusion about his native Ukraine, which earned much applause, though Simon wasn’t entirely impressed.

‘I loved, loved your first audition I thought visually that was unbelievable. However, I thought the music almost ruined it. It needed a great, great, great song,’ Simon says, as Heidi argued, ‘It was dramatic though.

Simon countered, ‘It was just corny, the music. It wasn’t as good as it should have been in my opinion.’

Howie did not share the same opinion, adding, ‘I was at a different show tonight you are above and beyond anything we know the dancing, the story telling, the visual, the sounds, you check every box. You are doing so much more than most people and most groups that come on the stage. You just set a bar.’

Heidi was asked which of the men she agreed with and she said she agreed with Howie, adding, ‘I think you’re a great story teller I want to thank you and coming and telling your magic on the stage. You piled a whole lot of stuff into two minutes well done.’

Sofia loved the performance as well, adding, ‘ Sofia: That was such a highly technical performance. I can’t imagine how much it took you to nail every second of it. It was amazing you took it to another level today from the day of the audition.’

Next up is Adrian Stoica from Turin, Italy, with his adorable dog Hurricane, who, unlike most dog acts, don’t use any treats as a form of motivation.

‘When we perform, Hurricane goes rogue. She likes to improvise anything can happen. I do my best to support her. If something goes wrong, it’s not her. It’s me. Hurricane would love Las Vegas she’s ready to show she’s the best dog in the world,’ he said.

Howie added, ‘I was on my feet and then I sat down and I was on my feet it shows you how tough it is we didn’t know whether to stand or sit he’s a dog he gets more cues than we do it’s my favorite dog act ever on AGT.’

Heidi made a timely joke about Hurricane Hilary making landfall near Los Angeles, adding, ‘I love it. This is the type of hurricane we like in Hollywood.’

‘And it is mind blowing to me how you do this routine with him you don’t give him treats. He knows this entire routine it’s mind blowing, amazing,’ she added.

Sofia added, ‘That was perfection. I love the relationship you two have I love she’s having so much fun, the humor, the story I think hurricane is ready for Vegas!’

Simon said, ‘Honestly, I think this is — in terms of stepping up from the audition to the live show, this is the best act we’ve seen tonight it was amazing like I said at the start, this is live. That was a tricky routine,” asking if Hurricane was a he or she, as he confirmed Hurricane is a she.

Next up was the 26-member choir Sainted, lead by DJ Fannie and Dennis, who took to the stage in pink ensembles, singing a medley of hits like Nelly’s Hot In Here, Mark Morrison’s Return of the Mack.

Heidi revealed, ‘That was so much fun,’ while Sofia said, ‘You guys lifted the room up, that was amazing.’

Heidi added, ‘Every single one of you is bringing excellence to the stage,’ while Simon said, ‘It was like seeing 30 brilliant solo artists all together. It was so clever, cool, current, a step up. This must have taken a lot of prep this was what we were looking for. Brilliant.’

Next up was 12-year-old Michigan girl Brynn Cummings, who mixed magic and ventriloquism in her audition.

‘I just want to be my own self. I’m doing something for lives I’ve never done before and hopefully the reveal is crazy. I’m also adding audience elements, judge elements, comedic elements, props. I’m used to small theaters this is my biggest performance ever the fact it’s also live, it’s, like, whoa,’ Brynn said.

Instead of combining magic and ventriloquism, this time she combined ventriloquism with mentalism, with the help of Heidi.

She enlisted Heidi to help her puppet – who just suffered a breakup – find a new mate, enlisting her to pick a new mate based on brief descriptions, with Brynn revealing a photo of the mate after.

Heidi skipped over a ‘Lamborghini collector,’ a ‘beach lover,’ and a ‘poetry writer,’ before picking, ‘a world traveler.’

‘Oh, my gosh he’s a love bird now, Heidi could have picked a duck or a platypus, but no, she picked the bird. Now we’re going to meet him. I’m a magician remember out of all the dozens of options that Heidi could have picked, I knew she would pick the bird and now I’ll make him appear,’ Brynn said, before using her free hand to reveal the new puppet.

‘Love is like magic. Tonight the audience will contribute to that magic I promised to create a connection with the audience everybody, please hold up your papers and show America that love connection,’ Brynn said, as several audience members held up individual photos that revealed an image of the two lovebirds.

Heidi added, ‘I think we did a fantastic job, particularly you. I wish you luck,’ while Sofia said, ‘That was amazing it’s so unique we’ve seen so many ventriloquists. To see you doing the mentalism, it’s great to see the two things, the magic and the ventriloquism.’

Simon added, ‘I didn’t have a clue what’s going on. You have to remember what you do ventriloquism. You do it brilliantly.’

Next up was 59-year-old Bournemouth, England music teacher John Wines, who said his audition was, ‘scary, but also exhilarating.’

He said his students’ reaction to his performance was, ‘madness,’ adding, ‘you walk into a class and they just start clapping. I can’t get over I’m doing this. I’m a teacher.

He started with an opening of the rendition of America’s National Anthem before moving into a hard rock version of Black Eyed Peas’ Pump It Harder… though Simon surprised everyone by giving him a buzzer.

After the performance, Howie said the performance was like watching, ‘old man Halen,’ joking that, ‘With the girls coming out, that’s a great Viagra commercial the way you were able to keep that up the entire time. I loved it.’

Terry asked Simon why he used his buzzer, and he replied, ‘I just thought the whole thing — I don’t know what it was. It just felt strange. You’re very talented.’

Heidi joked, ‘Simon, didn’t you think it was in-shred-ible? I love it even more. I love your outfit. You went in front of the mirror and said, yes, this is how I’m going to lives I love it. You can shred it like no one can.’

Next up is Manhattan comedienne Maureen Langan, who opened up about her preparations for the show.

‘The way I prepare for the lives is just going out and doing three, four sets and keep doing it it’s intense it’s nerve wracking to go live in front of millions of people do I want to throw up in the corner maybe. I want to bring the same energy I brought before I want to show them I’m consistent this is the biggest performance of my life I’ve been plugging away for 20 years. I feel great,’ she said before the performance.

She told jokes about crocheting and menopause before joking she had gay ex-husband… adding, ‘Well, he was a golfer, it’s the same thing.’

She closed with a joke about her gynocologist telling her to ‘go to your special place,’ as she joked, ‘Well you’re so close, why don’t you go there.’

Her routine brought the crowd to their feet, as Sofia added, ‘Maureen, you can tell that you have been practicing and going out there. You feel so confident. You feel like you’re having fun. I can relate to all your jokes I love you,’ as Maureen joked, ‘If I could look like you, it would help me get through it.’

Simon said he thought it was, ‘good’ but he didn’t, ‘love the audition’ and he didn’t hear the one big moment where a joke really landed.

Howie disagreed, adding, ‘You said you wanted to be professional, consistent. You showed us you’re professional and consistent. This is a big family show. I’ve been married for a long time I think you did land big jokes for women out there that kind of understand and relate. Your closing joke for me was your special place, which is also my special place too.’

Next up is Ray Wold, who couldn’t find an assistant for his audition, so he turned to his 85-year-old mother, with the audition racking up 165 million views, the second highest total this season.

The routine involved Ray setting himself and his mother on fire and setting other things on fire on stage, with Ray’s mother even sliding herself through a flaming hoop… but Howie buzzed the act.

The finale involved Ray being submerged in a tank of water that was set on fire, as he was submerged for many seconds before emerging unscathed.

Heid joked, ‘What do I think? What do I not think? I mean, this act really flamed to please. All kidding aside, it was lit.’

Sofia added, ‘I don’t know what happened during the audition and I don’t know what just happened today. It’s the craziest pairing I’ve ever seen in my life it’s also very, very inspirational. I want to be you guys with my son in the future.’

Terry asked Howie how he could buzz the act, as Howie explained, ‘Because I love my mom and if you love your mom, you don’t set her on fire, even the safety guy has a helmet and visor. His mom has a straw hat and flame thrower. It’s just wrong.’

Simon, though, ‘thought it was beautiful. You know what, where else are you going to see a mum setting her son on fire? I’ve never seen this before. That’s why I love this act. I love you, both of you. It’s fantastic.’

The final act was Heidi’s golden buzzer, Lavender Darcangelo, a blind autistic singer from Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

She said in the video package before her performance, ‘Growing up people often put me in a box because of my disability who I am.’

‘The golden buzzer made me feel like the world is seeing me now. It was just so emotional for me,’ she added.

She decided to sing the 1984 Foreigner hit song I Want To Know What Love Is, adding before the performance, ‘I chose it because being on America’s Got Talent brought me so much confidence. This song definitely challenges my vocal range I know it’s a challenging song I start with the heart and the vocal choices will follow.’

Her powerful performance of the Foreigner hit brought both the judges and the crowd to its feet, with Heidi expressing how proud she was of her after the performance.

‘I am so proud of you I love you, Lavender I feel you when you are singing. I feel you. I hope everyone in this room does. I hope everybody at home felt you. I hope everyone will vote for you so we can go to the next round together please vote, America.’

Simon added, ‘It’s the most amazing feeling when a contestant who everyone loves nails it, and you can feel it behind you I got to tell you, the second half of that song, the way you sang it, the whole song, the lyric took on a completely different meaning for me it was beautiful.’

America’s Got Talent returns Wednesday night at 8 PM with the results of America’s voting on tonight’s performances, plus an AGT ‘super performance’ with five previous winners – Aidan Bryant, Pack Drumline, Human Fountains, Light Balance and Kodi Lee.