Last night marked the debut of the first season of America’s Got Talent: All-Stars, bringing together former winners, solid performers, and memorable contestants from prior USA and International incarnations of the show.
This could possibly be a replacement for their other spinoff, America’s Got Talent: Champions, which featured a similar pool of former contestants. Despite the “Champions” moniker, not all contestants were former winners so perhaps it made more sense for production to go with an All-Stars title that doesn’t indicate an all-winner lineup.
Viewers that tuned in may have noticed that judge Sofia Vergara was missing from the judges’ panel. Simon Cowell, Howie Mandell, Heidi Klum, and Terry Crews all returned to their usual roles, and no judge was installed to replace Vergara.
There has been no formal announcement regarding Vergara’s status from her, AGT production, or NBC. Sofia is currently spending time with her husband at their vacation home in the Caribbean according to her Instagram account.
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There were also no odds for betting on America’s Got Talent All-Stars posted online. Creating pre-season betting lines for AGT is impossible with regard to candidates because audiences are not given any advance notice of who will be competing in the show.
That comes later after the auditions are completed and the AGT finalists are known.
However, there are typically some entertainment prop bets present on the boards asking the gender of the winner and other vague topics that don’t require a list of contestants.
One element of AGT All-Stars that could prompt more betting lines is that the season began with the elimination rounds. Each week, the winner of that grouping of contestants moves on to the finals, creating a finite list of potential winners as each episode airs.
Last night’s winners were the Bello Sisters, an acrobatic trio that made it to the top 10 before being eliminated during Season 15 of America’s Got Talent.
While there is no doubt that the Bello Sisters’ performance was an incredible feat of human strength, choreography, and concentration, fans and bettors alike were shocked when they were named the winners of the debut episode.
Why? Most were expecting fan-favorite and America’s Got Talent Season 2 winner Terry Fator to take the day.
Terry is now a seasoned veteran performer on the Las Vegas circuit with his popular ventriloquist act, but now that he’s been eliminated, perhaps the Bello Sisters should be considered the front-runners.
There was also a Golden Buzzer award used last night. Judge Howie Mandell used the buzzer to keep Light Balance Kids, a Ukrainian youth dance team that uses neon lights on their outfits to emphasize the performance.
Because the Golden Buzzer was used on Light Balance Kids, they’ll also be a part of the America’s Got Talent All-Stars finals alongside the Bello Sisters once all preliminary rounds are completed.
Odds may not debut at offshore entertainment sportsbook sites until all finalist positions are secured. Tune in to NBC next Tuesday night at 8:00 PM to see who will make up the next batch of all-star hopefuls.
Source – Good Housekeeping, Peacock TV, Yahoo! Entertainment
