Michigan family band wins over AGT judges with emotional “Take Me Home, Country Roads” audition

America’s Got Talent returns to NBC on Tuesday, July 21, with another round of auditions, and one of the acts already getting attention is a country trio made up of a father and his two sons.

The group, called The Sound, traveled from Romeo, to perform for the judges. During their introduction, the family shared that they have been making music together for many years and that the two brothers began playing alongside their father when they were very young.

For their audition, they chose Take Me Home, Country Roads, the classic hit made famous by John Denver.

Before the performance began, the trio asked the audience to clap along and help create the beat. They opened the song completely a cappella, and their close harmonies immediately caught the judges’ attention and earned loud cheers from the crowd.

After the opening section, the three musicians picked up their instruments and continued with a full band arrangement. Throughout the performance, audience members could be heard singing along and applauding as the song built to its final chorus.

Just when it seemed the audition was over, the crowd jumped to its feet for a standing ovation. Judges Mel B and Sofía Vergara even stood up early, thinking the song had ended. The Sound then surprised everyone by returning for one final a cappella section, bringing the performance to a softer and more emotional close.

The judges were clearly impressed by the unexpected ending.

Mel B teased the father about choosing what she called the “coolest instrument in the band,” the bass guitar, before praising the trio’s vocal blend.

“I’m not really a huge country music fan, but this performance made me so happy,” she said. “Your harmonies were perfection.”

Howie Mandel joked that the fake ending had fooled everyone, including members of the production crew, who appeared to be getting ready to move the equipment before the trio started singing again.

Vergara called the audition “perfect” and predicted that viewers across the country would quickly become fans of the family band.

Simon Cowell also praised the performance, though he challenged the group to be bolder if they move forward in the competition.

“Everyone is going to like you. How could they not?” Cowell said. “But if I’m being honest, that was a very safe audition, and sometimes playing it safe is the biggest risk.”

He encouraged the trio to choose a more unexpected song in the next round and transform it into a country arrangement.

“We have to go beyond safe from here,” he added.

In the end, The Sound received four yes votes, sending the Michigan family band through to the next stage of America’s Got Talent Season 21.

Fans can watch the full audition when America’s Got Talent airs Tuesday night on NBC.