An “America’s Got Talent” auditionee earned Sofia Vergara’s golden buzzer after his stunning performance of the song “Tomorrow.”
The 48-year-old “Modern Family” actress pushed the golden buzzer for Jimmie Herrod after his goosebumps-inducing performance.
The Portland native sang “Tomorrow” from the musical “Annie,” a song that Simon Cowell said is his “worst song in the world.”
Cowell, 61, told the AGT hopeful that his song choice was Simon’s worst audition song. He advised him to do another song, but Herrod didn’t have anything else prepared, so he just went through with it.
It turned it to be the right decision because the contestant ended up captivating the judges and the audience with his soulful rendition.
Herrod’s performance was so outstanding that he changed Cowell’s mind about the Broadway ballad.
“Wow, wow, it’s not my worst song anymore, unbelievable,” Cowell said after his performance.
Judges Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, and Cowell all gave Herrod a standing ovation. On the other hand, Vergara remained seated and tricked everyone by pretending she wasn’t impressed with the audition.
“Um, I have to say that I didn’t like it that much,” she said.
The comment received boos from the crowd until Vergara followed it up with, “But I loved it!”
She then hit the golden buzzer, sending Herrod straight to the live shows. As gold confetti rained down on the singer, Vergara came up to the stage to congratulate Herrod, telling him that she just “had to” and that he deserves it.
When she returned to the dais, Cowell told her that he fell for her act and legitimately thought she didn’t like the performance.
“I didn’t think you liked him, you weren’t standing up. I thought you hated it,” Cowell told her. “That was unbelievable, that was incredible.”
In an interview with PEOPLE, Vergara gushed about Herrod’s memorable audition.
“Jimmie’s performance was so powerful and he completely blew me away. His voice, his presence, the song – it was all incredible!” she recalled. “Every part of me just knew that I needed to push the Golden Buzzer. I absolutely loved his performance and he deserved it!”
Herrod, who worked as an adjunct professor of voice for a jazz program after earning his music degree, is an experienced performer who started touring with the band Pink Martini in 2017. His first single with the band is called “Exodus,” a song he recorded in 2018.
He has also been involved in the performing arts for years, having played the roles of the Queen of the Underworld in “The Ballad of Ishtar” and Extraordinary Girl in “American Idiot.” Herrod also played the Beggar Woman in “Sweeney Todd,” which he says is his “favorite character to date.”
Even before joining AGT, Herrod has been posting song covers and original music on social media. So if his “Tomorrow” performance left you wanting to witness more of his talent, you could check out his Instagram to hear his music.
Luckily for his fans, he has been posting his masterpieces on the platform throughout the pandemic.
In the audition phase of AGT, a contestant needs to get a “yes” from at least three of the four judges to qualify for the next round. If two or more judges buzz the act, they are automatically eliminated from the competition.
Each judge and host, Terry Crews, has one chance to hit the golden buzzer. Aside from Herrod, the lucky ones who have earned the golden buzzer so far this season are Nightbirde (Cowell), Northwell Nurse Choir (Mandel), and World Taekwondo (Crews).
Watch Jimmie Herrod’s soulful rendition of “Tomorrow” in the video below.