'AGT' 's Simon Cowell Warns Singer 'Don't Be Cocky' Before Asking Him to Learn New Audition Song

Simon Cowellhas seen his fair share of bad auditions throughout his time onAmerica’s Got Talent— and singer Lamont Landers could’ve had one of them.

The 27-year-old full-time musician’s talent nearly was overlooked had it not been for Cowell’s coaching on Tuesday’s episode. Landers, who is from Huntsville, Alabama, nervously began singing Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” before Cowell raised his hand to stop the audition.

“Lamont, I’m guessing you play with a band?” the judge said before Landers agreed. “That’s a very safe, what I would call, wedding song. What’s your other song?”

Landers was left scrambling before he said what Julianne Hough called another “safe” song: Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.”

Looking for the contestant to perform a “better song,” Cowell told Landers, “Your problem is you don’t take risks,” before the singer shrugged. “Lamont, I wouldn’t shrug to that. I wouldn’t. So you want to come back this afternoon with another song? It’s not me, it’s you,” Cowell warned.

Trae Patton/NBC

“You think ‘What’s Going On’ is what we want? I think you should come back later because right now we’re not understanding each other,” the British executive producer said.

Even Terry Crews was surprised when Landers asked for the audience’s response to performing the Marvin Gaye classic. “He went over Simon’s head!” theBrooklyn Nine-Nineactor said.

“Lamont, you are getting on my nerves right now because I actually like your voice so I would suggest you think about what I’m saying and am going to give you another shot,” Cowell said, before poignantly adding, “Don’t be cocky.”

Justin Lubin/NBC

In the midst of frustration and frantic last-minute prep, Landers told his friends and producers backstage: “I just wish I’d known ahead of time. It’s hard to prepare with like, an hour or two to come up with a whole new thing.”

Landers ultimately redeemed himself as Hough described it perfectly: “You’re like an egg right now and we’re cracking it open slowly but surely.”

Howie Mandel applauded Landers’ go-around, saying, “You stepped it up 10 levels.”

And Gabrielle Union commended the singer’s determination. “We literally threw everything at this young man, plus the kitchen sink. You went backstage, learned a song you never heard before, played before, nothing and the guitar and sang it,” she noted. “He came out here and blew us all away.”

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Ultimately, Cowell was the one Landers had to prove right.

“We don’t know each other well, Lamont, but I respect you for what you did. I think there is a wall in front of you, which is the fear of failure,” the judge said. “I think you have to let yourself go a little bit. There’s nothing wrong with looking emotional or happy or sad.”

Cowell also advised, “I know what it’s like, it’s frustrating to be criticized when you think you’re right but something’s getting in the way and you get frustrated. Sometimes someone gives a little bit of advice and it opens the door. I think the door just opened for you here.”

In the end, Landers’ perseverance paid off as he received four yeses to move on to the next round.

He previously appeared on a 2018 episode of Fox’sShowtime at the Apollowith his band to cover Bill Withers’ track “Use Me.” After the Fox episode aired, Landers also appeared onThe Steve Harvey Show, even being named one the host’s “new favorite bands.”

America’s Got Talentairs Tuesdays (8 p.m. ET) on NBC.

source: people.com