Why Is Simon Cowell Not Talking on AGT? Read What Happened to the Judge During Season 18
“America’s Got Talent” airs Tuesdays on NBC at 7 p.m. MDT, although the show will not air on July 4.
Why Simon Cowell isn’t talking on ‘America’s Got Talent’
Simon Cowell has long had a reputation of being the harsh critic on reality TV competition shows
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Judges Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara and Simon Cowell on “America’s Got Talent.”
Trae Patton, NBC
Whether on “American Idol,” “The X Factor” or “America’s Got Talent,” Simon Cowell has long had a reputation of being the harsh critic on reality TV competition shows.
So fans tuning into new episodes of “America’s Got Talent” may be surprised to see that Cowell is no longer voicing his opinions — although his facial expressions can still get the message across.
Why isn’t Simon Cowell talking on ‘AGT’?
Cowell unexpectedly lost his voice early into the filming for “AGT” Season 18, when something got stuck in his throat.
“I think what happened was the acid from my stomach literally burned my vocal cords,” Cowell told USA Today. “So this doctor came over and put a camera up my nose, down my throat, and I could actually see how badly burnt they were.”
The “AGT” judge had to go on “immediate vocal rest,” which caused a significant change in filming, according to USA Today.
“It was torture. There was so much I wanted to say, and I literally could not talk,” Cowell said, per USA Today. “We tried writing things. At one point, I used this kind of iPad device where I had things I’d said before. I tried to use Sofia (Vergara) to translate for me, and she deliberately said the wrong things, so it was just chaos.”
“Who would have thought that season 18 would have left Simon literally speechless?” Vergara joked in an interview with People. “And of course Simon nominated me to give his reactions. He’s passing notes to me like we are back in school.”
Cowell lost his voice partway through the fourth round of auditions, which aired last week, according to NBC.com. During the fifth round, which aired June 27, the judge started gaining his voice back during an audition from 10-year-old magician Ryland Petty, who appeared in the Season 15 semifinals of “Britain’s Got Talent.”
At the halfway point of the episode — which appears to be a different day of filming due to the judges wearing different outfits — Cowell’s voice is in full form.
When does ‘America’s Got Talent’ air?
“America’s Got Talent” airs Tuesdays on NBC at 7 p.m. MDT, although the show will not air on July 4.
Why Is Simon Cowell Not Talking on ‘AGT’? Read What Happened to the Judge During Season 18
The American Idol alum is recovering from a surprise medical condition.
We’re deep into America’s Got Talent season 18, and the competition is getting fierce. Each week, viewers tune in to watch brave contestants attempt to impress judges Simon Cowell, Sofía Vergara, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel. But one of them hasn’t been as vocal as of late.
As fans may know, at the end of the auditions, the quartet delivers feedback and decides if the act will make it to the next round. While episodes at the start of the season featured Simon giving his honest opinion on the NBC competition series, folks noticed that the American Idol alum stopped speaking.
After realizing that Simon was no longer using his voice during presentations, some began to wonder what caused him not to talk on a show that he’s famous for speaking on. After doing a bit of research, we managed to uncover what potentially led Simon to stop speaking in certain episodes of AGT.
Why is Simon Cowell not talking on America’s Got Talent?
The reason why Simon isn’t talking in specific episodes of AGT is due to an unforeseen health issue. In an interview with USA Today, the longtime judge revealed that he lost his voice after he discovered something got stuck in this throat. As a result, he required medical attention and vocal rest.
‘America’s Got Talent’
‘America’s Got Talent’
“I think what happened was the acid from my stomach literally burned my vocal cords,” he told the outlet. “So, this doctor came over and put a camera up my nose, down my throat, and I could actually see how badly burnt they were.”
“There was so much I wanted to say [about auditions], and I literally could not talk,” he continued. “We tried writing things. At one point, I used this kind of iPad device where I had things I’d said before. I tried to use Sofía to translate for me, and she deliberately said the wrong things. So, it was just chaos.”
While Simon didn’t expect to endure a medical condition this season, injuries on vocal cords are common for those who use their voice for work. The University of Pennsylvania writes that vocal cord strain happens when the muscles and vocal cords are overused. Materials from Penn Medicine indicate that some of the symptoms can include a hoarse voice for more than two weeks, pain in the throat when using the voice, a vocal pitch change or even speech that sounds odd.
As for how to treat a case like Simon’s, Penn Medicine recommends the patient undergo speech therapy to strengthen the muscles. The treatment can also be made up of exercises that include breathing control and ways to protect the vocal airways when attempting to swallow.
Though it might seem that the AGT star was quiet for weeks, it was only for a week of filming season 18 episodes. On the upside, Simon discovered that the unique opportunity allowed the rest of the judges to be more open about their thoughts.
“For about seven days, I had to sit there and not say anything, so all I could do was just listen to them. And it was very interesting, because they’ve all got enough confidence now that they have their own preferences,” he told USA Today. “So we probably disagreed more this year, but in a healthy way. You can’t be an expert on everything when you judge this show, because of the variety of acts.”
As the entertainment and news editorial assistant for Good Housekeeping, Adrianna (she/her) writes about everything TV, movies, music and pop culture. She graduated from Yeshiva University with a B.A. in journalism and a minor in business management. She covers shows like The Rookie, 9-1-1 and Grey’s Anatomy, though when she’s not watching the latest show on Netflix, she’s taking martial arts or drinking way too much coffee.