"Cherishing this beautiful trip filled with incredible memories of love, laughter and pure bliss with my family and very delicious food!”
Tom Sandoval is proving that redemption is only one buzzer away.
The 42-year-old “Vanderpump Rules” alum is ditching his status as a reality star and moving past his 2023 cheating scandal to show the world who he is as a musician on “America’s Got Talent.”
His recent audition (with his band The Most Extras) airs on national television June 24.
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On June 20, “America’s Got Talent” released a sneak peek of the audition on YouTube and, while it doesn’t include the judges’ reactions, fans were quick to applaud the performance in the comments.
“This performance was solid and I went in hoping to laugh. I'm very impressed,” one fan wrote.
“I LOVED it! He sounded great and just as good as the original. I always loved this song. WELCOME BACK TOM!” another fan commented.
Sandoval and his band performed a cover tribute to A-ha’s hit 1985 song “Take On Me.”
Prior to the performance, Sandoval was asked why he decided to take his talents to the stage after 11 seasons on Bravo’s popular reality show “Vanderpump Rules.”
“A couple of years ago, I was involved in a scandal and I was labeled as ‘the most hated man in America’ by New York Times,” Sandoval told the AGT audience.
“It was really, really rough and I was in a very, very dark place. I felt as though I had nothing in my life,” he continued. “But this band was the only thing that kept me going.”
Now, Sandoval is ready to attempt his comeback.
As for what he hopes to gain from his “America’s Got Talent” audition, Sandoval told the judges that he wants his band to become the “ultimate cover band” or “party band.”
See how the judges responded to their audition below:
Sandoval opens up about pressure after years of criticism
Sandoval’s AGT audition comes two years after he found himself in hot water for having a months-long affair with his “Vanderpump Rules” co-star, Rachel Leviss.
Sandoval was in a decade-long relationship with his other co-star, Ariana Madix, at the time.
The scandal, which has since been dubbed “Scandoval” by fans, was all over the news as Sandoval became a target of public criticism and hate — with many viewers quickly turning against him.
In his AGT introduction, Sandoval said that his affair “pretty much destroyed my life.”
He admitted to making “some really bad choices” and acknowledged that he “let down a lot of people,” but was ultimately surprised at how much backlash he received from the scandal.
“It was absurd how much coverage and how big it became,” he told the cameras.
“Ever since then, it’s like everything I do is completely criticized,” he added. “I feel a lot of pressure. I just hope the audience and judges see who I am as a musician versus just someone on a reality show.”
The AGT performance also comes nearly two years after he opened up about the scandal on the “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast with AGT judge Howie Mandel.
Both Sandoval and Mandel drew criticism for the podcast episode.
In fact, Andy Cohen called both men out for the interview and theorized that the only reason why the podcast happened was because Sandoval’s drummer is married to a producer of Mandel’s podcast.
“Howie Mandel apparently didn’t know what he was getting himself into with his interview of Tom Sandoval today,” Cohen said at the time, per Us Weekly.
Before Sandoval’s AGT performance, cameras (and mics) caught Sofia Vergara asking Howie Mandel what the scandal was all about.
“He slept with his girlfriend’s best friend,” Mandel says to Vergara, to which Mel B replied, “No wonder nobody likes him then.”
“Do you know how not interested I am in any of that stuff?” Cowell said to the other three judges.
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In addition to “Vanderpump Rules,” Sandoval has also appeared on “The Traitors” and “Special Forces: World's Toughest Test.”
