‘America’s Got Talent’ Season 12 Judge Cuts Sends Angelica Hale To Live Shows; Who Was Sent Home?

“America’s Got Talent” Season 12 aired its first judge cuts episode on Tuesday night.

“Talking Dead” host Chris Hardwick joined Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Mel B and Howie Mandel as guest judge. The funnyman did not also waste the opportunity to send one contestant straight to the live shows. Filipino-American contestant Angelica Hale received Hardwick’s golden buzzer after her impressive performance of Alicia Keys’ hit song, “Girl on Fire.”

Read: Dancing Pumpkin Man, Mariachi Nuevo Santander head to “America’s Got Talent” Season 12 judge cuts

The 9-year-old singer previously won the hearts of all the judges, most especially Mel B, during her audition. However, she did not receive a golden buzzer at the time. Hardwick’s gift to the young talent somehow puts her on the same spot as previous golden buzzer recipients Darci Lynne Farmer, Mandy Harvey, Christian Guardino, Angelina Green and the Light Balance dancers.

But if Hale had a successful judge cuts moment, other early favorites did not follow in her footsteps and were sent home. Out of the 20 acts that performed on Tuesday night’s episode, only seven made it to the next round. Cab driver and opera singer Carlos De Antonis, comedian Harrison Greenbaum, singer Darcy Callus, projection dancer Canion Shijirbat, acrobatic performer Yosein-chee and magician Tom London didn’t make it past the judge cuts round.

Other acts who made it included escape artist Demian Aditya, dog act contestant Sara Carson and Hero, Donald Trump impressionist The Singing Trump, dance group Just Jerk, magician Eric Jones and singing trio The Masqueraders.

According to Just Jared, 36 contestants will be selected after all four judge cuts episode. This means that up to nine acts per episode may be chosen by the judges and guest judges. Other guest judges who will grace the hit NBC reality TV competition in the coming weeks include Laverne Cox, DJ Khaled and Seal.

Since only seven acts were selected on Tuesday night, over nine acts may be selected in the coming weeks. There have also been some instances wherein the judges would invite an evicted contestant back after watching their act on replay.

“America’s Got Talent” Season 12 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EDT on NBC.