America's Got Talent 2026 Judges' Callback & Live Recap: Week 2

NBC

We are one week away from the live shows on “America’s Got Talent” Season 21 on NBC. Before those kick off, we have one more week of this brand new round on “AGT” Season 21. The “AGT” judges — Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Mel B, and Sofia Vergara — are giving us Week 2 of the Judges’ Callbacks. More acts will be added to the Top 44 tonight during this round. Watch with us during our “America’s Got Talent” 2026 live recap below.

Judges’ Callbacks Continue Tonight on ‘AGT’

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We have another big night for these “AGT” acts, as they will be fighting for a spot in the Top 44 and the live shows. For Week 2 of these Judges’ Callbacks, we are going to see Sofia’s and Howie’s picks.

As we saw last week on “America’s Got Talent” 2026, these acts will be heading to the homes of the judges. They will get some time with the judge and then get one final performance to wow them. If they do, the judge can pick them to move on to the live shows. If not, they will be eliminated from the competition. In total, eight more acts moved on to the Top 44 and the live shows on “AGT” Season 21.

We round out the Top 44 tonight, but who makes it? We find out soon, so follow along with our live recap below!

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD: THIS LIVE RECAP WILL BE UPDATED THROUGHOUT THE EPISODE, SO DO NOT KEEP READING IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO READ SPOILERS.

August 11 Live Recap – Judges’ Callbacks Week 2

KEEP REFRESHING THE PAGE FOR THE LATEST “AGT” LIVE RECAP UPDATES.

Week 2 of Judges’ Callbacks Begins

We have Howie and Sofia tonight. Howie is in his podcast studio, and Preacher Lawson is gathering Howie’s acts to bring them to the studio. They arrive at Howie’s fun house. Howie comes in, and MrBeast is on the phone with Howie! He gives the contestants some advice before their big moment this week.

Howie tells them he can’t bring them all through. They need an audience, so they will be going to the Laugh Factory. Howie shocks them, as they will be performing tonight! The acts are blown away and nervous now.

Laugh Factory Time

The contestants get to the Laugh Factory. Their photos are on the billboard, so they are ecstatic about that. They go inside, and it’s intense. Howie will be joined by Nikki Glaser for tonight’s performances. The audience is coming in, so we are going right into this tonight, huh?

Nene Royal

Howie said she has the talent, but can she win the show? It’s about showmanship, so find those moments to pause and let the audience scream. She always looks so nervous, but then just rips it up when she starts that guitar. She is definitely a good singer and guitarist. This song was not it for me, though.

Judges’ Feedback: Nene said she thinks she played perfect, which Nikki said we agree. Howie said it seems like she has more confidence. Nikki said she wants more and wants to go see the show. Nikki said voice alone and guitar alone, she would go see that.

Cris Sosa

He said this is what he’s here for; this is what he does. This could change his life. I like Cris. Some of his jokes were good, but this seemed a little slow to me. The jokes weren’t big enough for me. I think he overdoes it too much.

Judges’ Feedback: Nikki said great motions. Stop using the crutches of asking about who has bartended. He’s good. Howie said it took him so long to get to his material. Just get to the joke.

Naimana & Daniele

Howie said he loved their audition. He suggested they not do opera music because they want to connect with everyone, and not everyone will connect to opera music. They decided to go with a pop/opera blend. I think they can sing that opera, but I don’t know how they got called back.

Judges’ Feedback: Nikki said it’s so weird, but definitely entertaining. Howie said they were wonderful, but they didn’t veer from opera. “AGT” is the only place you would see something like this.

Daniel Alvarez on ‘AGT’ 2026

He is newer to comedy. He’s been doing comedy for 4 1/2 years. Howie tells him he is the most authentic comedian he’s ever seen. His material is just about him. He has good jokes. It does seem to move fast from one joke to the next, but I like his material.

Judges’ Feedback: Nikki said he is so likable. She said if he moves on, listen to the other comedians and have a tag back to their set. She said you could tell he was nervous.

Rynia Kando

Howie said the fact that she committed to something so simple and was repetitive with it, it was great. He said to stick with that. For tonight, she reads a children’s story about being backstage at an award show. She brings out the impressions, and she is just so good with these impressions. However, how can she make this a big stage act?

Judges’ Feedback: Nikki said she is so talented. Great job tonight. Howie said she’s got some tools that other people don’t. However, he doesn’t know how well she stepped up.

Bird & Byron

They feel like they were born to do music. Howie thought they were great, but he needs more showmanship from them. They shut themselves down, which means there is no show. His voice is so darn good. However, he does seem to close his eyes while singing, or it appears they are closed. It does make him closed off to the audience. However, I love his voice.

Judges’ Feedback: Nikki said he never opens his eyes. So, is he really feeling it or trying to stay closed off? Howie said he is great, but the showmanship. Nikki said be the frontman. Open your eyes and see we’re all vibing with you.

Howie’s Results

Howie has made his final decisions, so time to tell these acts the results. He brings the acts in to deliver the results. The acts moving on to the live shows are:

Nene Royal
Cris Sosa
Daniel Alvarez
Bird & Byron

The acts eliminated tonight on “AGT” 2026 are:

Naimana & Daniele
Rynia Kando

Howie is done for the night. Now moving on to Sofia next!

Sofia’s Acts Arrive

Sofia’s acts are arriving in Los Angeles and heading to her house. All of the acts are in the van and heading to her house. The pressure is on, for sure. Sofia welcomes them to her house. They are going to perform for her tomorrow. This will be their last chance, and not all of them can make it. Two magicians in the house.

Sofia sits down with the acts and gives them some advice and feedback. She said she brought two magicians (Kameron Marshall and Darrell Moten), but only has room for one. Darrell is struggling with what to do, as he doesn’t think he can do his act at her house. Now he has to spend all night figuring out what his act is going to be.

Performance Day

The acts get ready to head over to Sofia’s house. However, Darrell is nowhere to be found! This shocks everyone, but they have to move on. At the house, Sofia is shocked that Darrell isn’t there, but the day goes on. Sofia’s guest judges are social media sensation Lele Pons and Latin Grammy-winning superstar Sebastián Yatra.

Vahtang

He was beatboxing in Russia. Sofia said his audition was one of her favorites, as he surprised everyone. She told him to show her that fire. He is surprised to have to perform outside and thinks he sounds better inside. This one starts very slow for me. It just seems to be a mashup of notes and randomness. He has some amazing moments in there, but he lost me.

Judges’ Feedback: Sofia said that was amazing. Sebastián said it’s amazing to see in person. Sofia said it’s even better on stage and inside. She did say his audition song was better.

Kameron Marshall

He said he’s been doing magic for 14 years and wants to have his own show. This show is how he can make his dreams come true. He does a card trick, which always blows my mind. I just never know how they do these things.

Judges’ Feedback: Sofia said amazing job. She said so good. The way he does it is so natural and interactive. There are a lot of magicians, so Kameron is good, but who knows.

Olivia Befus on ‘AGT’ 2026

She said she was always shy. However, she adopted a dog, and it just brought her out of her shell. She is self-taught, which Sofia said is amazing. It is amazing how she can do all of these tricks, and the dog just goes along with them all. That is a lot of work. Out comes a second dog, and so much activity.

Judges’ Feedback: Sebastián said she did have some issues at the end. Lele said yes, but she did it all by herself. They like her, but were the mistakes too much?

Brook Lynn

She comes from a small village in the Netherlands. She suffers from social anxiety, so she struggles to come outside at times. This is her dream and what she wants. Sofia said she wants her to show them a different side today. During rehearsals, her voice was cracking, and her nerves were getting to her.

Sofia said she has one of the best voices, but the nerves take over. She may be nervous, but this girl can sing. I love the sound of her voice. She has this rasp and tone to her voice that’s just so good.

Judges’ Feedback: Lele said she’s so nervous, but she’s so good. Sofia said the live shows are different than being here, so if she can’t handle it here, then how can she handle those? They said she can be a global superstar, but Sebastián said she needs to believe that, and she doesn’t right now.

Darrell Moten Returns

As Sofia is saying goodbye to Lele and Sebastián, a producer comes in with an iPad, and on it is Darrell! He said he didn’t want to be embarrassed, so he asks if he can do the act over Zoom. He does some tricks, but then the Zoom breaks out. He says it was all pre-recorded, but then Darrell shows up in a yellow Lamborghini with the #17 on the front license plate.

Judges’ Feedback: Sofia said that was a surprise.

They discuss things, and Sofia said this is the part she hates.

Sofia’s Results

Sofia has made her final decisions, so time to tell these acts the results. She brings the acts in to deliver the results. The acts moving on to the live shows are:

Kameron Marshall
Olivia Befus
Brook Lynn