All eyes on Howard Stern as America’s Got Talent returns

For the seventh season opening of "America's Got Talent”, the spotlight was on new judge Howard Stern. Stern proved to be less grumpy than former judge Piers Morgan while far more excited about some of the performances.

The San Francisco auditions began with host Nick Cannon yelling on top of the Golden Gate Bridge. There were some really entertaining acts that won hearts of the judges.

David and the CMYK's group break danced to some Mozart while creatively throwing paints on a huge canvas and the end result was the painting of the composer. Their act was thoroughly enjoyed and the audience gave them a standing ovation. David and the CMYK are definitely heading to the next round in Las Vegas.



17-year-old Cristin Sandu impressed the judges and audience with his brilliant balancing act. The judges, especially Sharon, were amazed to see the ‘balancer’. Thus, Cristin was shown a green signal for Vegas round.



An 80-year-old grandma came on stage with the aid of walker and announced that she would talk about family morals. The Grandma G. then took everybody by surprise when she rapped original song called "Horny Boys." It was so entertaining that she got three nods right away.

A contortionist dancer named Turf, who usually dances on the streets, won the praise of everyone with his extreme performance. He slow-walked, air-danced and twisted his body into almost impossible postures. The audience sat spell-bound when he performed his awesome act. Even Howard was speechless for some time. "I got one word: yes," he said.

The most emotional moment of the opening night came when Luiz Meneghin auditioned. Meneghin, who is a nurse and sings to his patients, comes from a poor family in Brazil and his father recently died, left the audience in tears with his mesmerizing performance. Tears welled up in the judges’ eyes and Howard remarked that he has become an opera fan because of Luiz's sentimental act.

Acts which failed to move on to the next round included a man dressed like a bird and riding on a bicycle while playing a Trumpet, few players using suitcases as musical instruments, a dog on a pony, and a man dressed up as an alien. Another hopeful Kotton Kandy showed up all dressed as a Vegas showgirl. None of the judges enjoyed his act, but host Nick Cannon really seemed to like him. He went onstage to join Kotton for an intense dance duet that ultimately failed to impress the judges.



Some excellent acts which are going to Vegas include Lisa Clark dancers, who know all kinds of dance including ballet, jazz and modern, a magician and his partner, who plays piano even after being cut in half, an aspiring 14-year-old singer and a juggler. Other talented contestants include an impressionist, a keyboard player and singer, two more dance groups, a comedian, a country music band, and a deceiving gatekeeper who makes beautiful melody with his broom and dustpan.