Spoilers ahead for the June 27 episode of America's Got Talent Season 18.
America's Got Talent was relatively lowkey in the new episode on June 27 in the 2023 TV schedule, with none of the competitors winning a golden buzzer to advance straight to the live shows from the auditions. Of course, there are only Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara left with a buzzer to hit, and it's not unprecedented for an auditions episode to end without any golden confetti, but I for one was a little surprised that music teacher Lachuné's performance of Coldplay's "Yellow" didn't have Klum or Vergara reaching for the button.
The 31-year-old South Carolina native arrived at AGT as a music teacher and student, and Lachuné revealed that she came from a singing family but was held back by her doubts about having a future on stage. Her role as an encouraging teacher helped her realize that she needed to take her own advice and take initiative. With that reveal, Simon Cowell wished her luck and told her that they were all rooting for her, and she began a cover of "Yellow" that wowed everybody in the theater. Take a look:
An emotional performance of a well-known song from a talented singer, who also happens to have an emotional backstory and had her audition air at the very end of an episode? Of course I thought that Lachuné was about to get a golden buzzer! She even got a song from The Greatest Showman playing over the judge feedback portion of the audition. Neither Heidi Klum nor Sofia Vergara looked particularly more swept off their feet than Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, and Terry Crews (all of whom already hit their buzzers), but I was half expecting for the episode to end with golden confetti coming from the ceiling.
I would have been all for it, and that's coming from somebody who generally prefers when golden buzzers don't just go to solo singers year in and year out over more unique acts, especially if they do covers. I don't know where I would rank Lachuné among all of those who have already gotten the buzzer in Season 18, but I don't think anybody watching AGT would have been shocked if she had become one of them.
Simon Cowell seemed like he might have if he had another golden buzzer to spare, but he'd already hit his for the season for teenage musician Putri Ariani after she stunned him with a second song, and the bonus buzzer went to Mzansi Youth Choir with their Nightbirde tribute in the Season 18 premiere. So, if neither Sofia Vergara nor Heidi Klum was going to hit the button for Lachuné, then she wasn't going to be sent straight to the live shows.
That's good news for fans who want to hear her sing again sooner rather than later, although it's worth noting that the majority of AGT champions did win a golden buzzer first in their seasons, so Lachuné's future on the show is far from guaranteed at this point.
Fortunately, fans can always revisit her performance of "Yellow" above and even rewatch the full episode streaming with America's Got Talent Season 18 available with a Peacock Premium subscription. To see who gets the golden buzzers from Sofia Vergara and Heidi Klum, keep tuning in to NBC on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET for new episodes of AGT!
