{"id":2109551,"date":"2026-08-24T20:29:47","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T17:29:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2109551"},"modified":"2026-08-24T20:29:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T17:29:47","slug":"simon-cowell-to-undergo-surgery-amid-americas-got-talent-live-shows-celeb-guests-to-fill-in-as-judges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2109551","title":{"rendered":"Simon Cowell to Undergo Surgery Amid \u2018America\u2019s Got Talent\u2019 Live Shows, Celeb Guests to Fill in as Judges"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2240766005-e1787600779720.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tTrending on Billboard\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tSimon Cowell will miss several weeks of America\u2019s Got Talent<\/em>\u2018s live shows as he undergoes routine surgery on his back, Billboard<\/em> can confirm.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn his place, a lineup of celebrity guests \u2014 which AGT <\/em>is still in the process of booking \u2014 will reportedly take over his spot as he receives the procedure and recovers. TMZ <\/em>was the first to report the news.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tNCT 127 Hits \u2018Kick It\u2019 And \u2018Pi\u00f1ata\u2019 Medley on \u2018AGT\u2019:\u00a0Watch\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tBrook Lynn Delivers \u2018Amazing\u2019 Performance of Original Song For \u2018AGT\u2019 Quarterfinals:\u00a0Watch\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tBird & Byron Fly Into Live Rounds on \u2018AGT\u2019 With \u2018Haunting\u2019 Original Song:\u00a0Watch\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Billboard <\/em>has reached out to Cowell\u2019s rep for further details.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe competition show\u2019s season 21 live quarterfinals kicked off Aug. 18 and will continue through Sept. 8. The live semifinals will take place Sept. 15 with results airing the following day, after which the live finals will unfold on Sept. 22, followed by a live finale on Sept. 23.<\/p>\n

\n\tCowell\u2019s upcoming surgery is possibly linked to his 2020 e-bike accident, which resulted in the music mogul needing a surgery that lasted several hours and involved the placement of a metal rod in his back. \u201cSome good advice\u2026 If you buy an electric trail bike, read the manual before you ride it for the first time,\u201d he wrote on X shortly after the accident. \u201cI have broken part of my back. Thank you to everyone for your kind messages.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the time, Kelly Clarkson filled in for Cowell as a guest judge on AGT<\/em>. Two years later, the Syco Entertainment founder suffered a less severe injury in another e-bike incident, breaking his arm.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn addition to AGT<\/em>, Cowell is a long-running judge on Britain\u2019s Got Talent<\/em>, which completed its 19th season this spring. Its 20th installment is expected to premiere in early 2027, with the former American Idol <\/em>judge returning to the panel alongside Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and KSI.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn the ongoing season of the American iteration of the show, Cowell\u2019s co-judges are Howie Mandel, Mel B and Sof\u00eda Vergara.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/culture\/tv-film\/simon-cowell-surgery-missing-weeks-agt-live-shows-1236323325\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2240766005-e1787600779720.jpg?w=1024″] Trending on Billboard Simon Cowell will miss several weeks of America\u2019s Got Talent\u2018s live shows as he undergoes routine surgery on his back, Billboard can confirm. In his place, a lineup of celebrity guests \u2014 which AGT is still in the process of booking \u2014 will reportedly take over his spot as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-2109551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2109551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2109551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2109551\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2109551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2109551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2109551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}