Speaking to PEOPLE about Brent Street’s performance, Howie Mandel says the dance group “truly are worthy” of claiming his Golden Buzzer: 

“Everything about them was unexpected”

Howie Mandel briefly disappeared before an exciting moment on the latest episode of America’s Got Talent.

To close out the June 25 show, viewers were introduced to 17-year-old dancer Zach

 who took the stage alone and explained that he had traveled all the way from Sydney, Australia to perform.

After beginning his dance routine, which featured Zach in all white dancing in front of a black curtain with a spotlight on him, 

things took a twist when a bunch of hands popped out from behind the curtain.

The curtain eventually dropped, revealing approximately 30 dancers all matching Zach in white outfits. 

The group then mesmerized audiences as they danced, flipped, and jumped their way across the stage.

Brent Street, as the group later introduced themselves, then received a standing ovation from the crowd and judges Howie, Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, and Heidi Klum as they raved about the performance.

“This was a very, very, very, very exciting dance… it was also something we haven’t seen before,” Heidi said as Sofía declared, “That’s my favorite part of being a judge of AGT is to be able to watch dancers … that was for sure the coolest thing I’ve seen today.”

Simon echoed their praise, calling the routine a “really well-thought-out, creative, original [idea]” and noted how “that’s the kind of audition we love on this show.”

But when it was Howie’s turn to offer feedback, the former Deal or No Deal host was not sitting at his chair — and in fact, nowhere to be found. As the judges and crowd looked around and questioned Howie’s whereabouts, suddenly he began talking from beneath the judges’ desk.

“Yeah, I thought everything you did was amazing, it was a surprise,” he said before lifting a single hand to imitate the dance group’s movements and hitting his Golden Buzzer.

“Getting Howie’s Golden Buzzer was a dream come true!” Zach tells PEOPLE after the big moment. “I felt a mixture of complete shock and extreme joy. My heart rate tripled and all of a sudden, I was overcome with emotions.”

Howie also says he was blown away by the dance group’s performance and tells PEOPLE he knew he had to use his Golden Buzzer on their talents.

“At this time in our life, I don’t care what your art form is, in order to make noise, you have to be unexpected. And everything about them was unexpected,” he explains. “Anybody who shows up on our show, for the most part, has talent. And then, every so often, something great, surprising, and original pops, and that’s what Brent Street is.”

“The beauty of what they did as a troupe in their presentation, in their energy, in their originality, in their costumes, in the way that they decided to surprise and make it different,” he continues. “We just thought there was one guy there, and boom, we see all those hands, the way they use props. It’s not just a large group of people moving their bodies in time with music… [they] add originality, add inventiveness, add new presentation, add a costume. That’s what a dance troupe should be.”

Adding that he needs to feel a “wow” factor in order to press his Golden Buzzer, Howie says, “Brent Street is something that really excited me in the moment. I’ve watched it back since, and I agree with what I’ve done. And I thought it was amazing. And they are amazing, and they truly are worthy.”

So what prompted Howie to hide underneath the judges’ desk before hitting his Golden Buzzer?

“Oh, I was just replicating what blew me away,” he explains. “I had this kid standing there who I thought was going to be a dancer, and then it went black, and then I saw him stuck through a sheet, a black sheet, and then there was nobody else. Then boom, hands came out of nowhere, and they were dancing. So I kind of just, in my mind, replicated what I was so excited about. Out of nowhere, the hand comes out, pops up, and gives you the ticket to move on.”

But Zach thought otherwise, as he recalls to PEOPLE, “I honestly thought that he hated the dance and left the chair to go and do something else, like get his makeup touched up. My heart sunk for a second. I thought that we had no chance of moving forward to the next round. Nevertheless, we certainly are!”

“We plan to top that performance with bigger ideas, more passion, and more vulnerability than ever before,” Zach adds. “It takes a huge amount of time and sacrifice to create art like this, let alone perfect our performance, but I know that our dedication and passion for our craft will shine through on stage… We want to convey real life emotions and feelings in a passionate way, we just ask that you join us for the ride.”

Now that Brent Street has a straight shot to the live shows, Howie says he’s looking forward to seeing their next performance — and witnessing the stakes get even higher in the competition.

“There’s a lot of pressure and excitement because you’re watching people’s hopes and dreams unfold right in front of you in real time,” he says. “As exciting, and as thrilling, and as scary, and as much pressure as they were under to show up and make their way into the competition and move on, it’s amped up … because it is live. Millions of people are watching in real time. Anything can happen.”

“When we get to the live shows, it’s about not being eliminated. So it’s the do or die, it’s go big or go home,” he adds. “This is a fun and elevated season. I know I always say that, but I feel like it just keeps getting better and better.”

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Source: New York Post