America's Got Talent

Mel told the band ... she's not a fan of brass music. Bad move in The Big Easy. The audience went nuts on her, screaming "Go home," and "No respect."

Mel became unglued, and leaned over to Howie, who comforted her.

Heidi did fine. We're guessing being really, really hot helped.

Heidi Klum is ready to hit the big red button on "America's Got Talent" -- telling TMZ, she's super excited to judge on the upcoming season ... and Howie Mandel is already taking every opportunity he can to make inappropriate jokes at her expense.

Howie called in to TMZ Live today to talk about Heidi ... and before we knew it, she jumped on the phone to tell us how excited she was to be on the show, saying, "I'm about to hit the 'X'!"

We won't give away Howie's retort ... but you can probably guess where it's going (hint: it involves Seal) ... and it's hilarious. You gotta watch the clip.

Sharon Osbourne took a vicious parting shot at NBC -- the day after the network rolled out its new "America's Got Talent" judges -- and made it clear ... you'll NEVER see her face on the Peacock again.

Sharon was leaving Madeo when she shot down rumors she quit 'AGT' over a feud with fellow judge Howard Stern -- and lay blame squarely on NBC for dissing her son.

As we previously reported, NBC cut Jack Osbourne from a reality show last year -- and Sharon believes they did it because he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

So, we asked Sharon if she's willing to let bygones be bygones, and she said ... "Over my dead body!"

"America's Got Talent" just got a lot hotter ... because TMZ has learned Heidi Klum has just signed on to be a fourth judge on the reality TV show ... which begins taping tomorrow.

Sources close to NBC tell TMZ that "AGT" scored the smokin' hot model in a last minute negotiation and Heidi hopped on a plane to New Orleans today ... where the show is holding its first audition rounds.

TMZ obtained a photo of the "AGT" set taken today ... which clearly displays the name "HEIDI" underneath her own personal judge's "X" ... which she'll use to crush people's dreams.

"America's Got Talent" is working to fill the vacant spot at the judge's table left by the departure of Sharon Osbourne ... and TMZ knows the identities of the 3 women the show has targeted.

According to our sources, producers have their eyes on Shannen Doherty, Carly Simon and Leann Rimes. We're told the show is looking for a strong and opinionated woman -- and they're thinkin' any one of them would fit the bill.

The judge's spot became available over the summer after Sharon Osbourne decided to quit the show after she claimed NBC dropped her son Jack from a reality show due to his MS diagnosis.

It's possible the producers could have other seats to fill -- we're told Howard Stern and Howie Mandel are not under contract for next season ... so it's conceivable the show could have an all-new judge's table.

As for Doherty, Simon and Rimes, we're told no offers have been made ... yet.

The nut-smashing "America's Got Talent" star who became famous for abusing his testicles on TV was seriously injured in a stunt-gone-wrong ... suffering several broken bones and a soiled pair of underpants, TMZ has learned.

The man at the center of the painful situation appeared on the show as "The Horse" -- real name Zac Gordon.

Gordon tells us he was filming a stunt last weekend with some of his "AGT" buddies in which he was supposed to jump from a two-story roof and land crotch-first on a wooden plank.

In the video ... you see Horse hit the plank -- but he says he ultimately landed on a bucket of cement that was being used to hold the wood in place.

Horse tells us the impact was so intense ... he broke several ribs and defecated in his shorts upon impact.

The amateur daredevil says he refused to go to the hospital ... but consulted with a doctor afterward just to be safe.

"America's Got Talent" finalists The Untouchables -- that sweet group of adorable kids -- were almost thrown out of their NYC hotel this week after raising hell and creating chaos ... TMZ has learned.

Multiple sources tell us ... the hotel was flooded with complaints from guests who claim the dance squad -- composed of kids ranging between the ages of 8 and 13 -- were causing all sorts of noise and even throwing objects out of their windows.

We're told the hotel threatened to boot the kids from the premises ... but "AGT" producers swooped in at the last minute and begged management to let them stay. The hotel agreed, but made it clear -- if they heard one more complaint from other guests, the group would be forced to hit the road.

A rep for the hotel tells TMZ ... "We gave them a verbal warning to let them know if the problem persisted they would be kicked out of the hotel."

So far, we're told the kids got the message loud and clear ... and the gang is still staying at the hotel.

Orthodox Jewish teen Edon Pinchot just hit the mother lode ... even though he's been booted from "America's Got Talent," he's getting a bunch of free stuff!

If you didn't catch it ... 14-year-old Edon -- who wore Yarmulkes for his singing performances -- was brutally eliminated in the semi-final round.

But it's not all bad news ... The owner of Cool Kippahs -- a NJ Yarmulke store -- tells us he's a huge fan of the "Jewish Justin Bieber" ... and it doesn't hurt that Edon was already a customer. The store owner is impressed that Edon proudly sports the Jewish head piece, so he's sending the kid 3 or 4 of them ... gratis!

A former "America's Got Talent" contestant is suing the L.A. hotel where his wife was murdered back in 2010 ... claiming the hotel's head of security snapped photos of his wife's half-naked lifeless body and then showed them off at the hotel bar ... just for kicks.

The man behind the lawsuit is Joe Finley -- who was staying at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in L.A. with his wife the night before he was scheduled to audition for "AGT." But before the audition, Joe's wife's body was discovered at the bottom of a hotel staircase, wearing only pants ... naked from the waist up.

Joe believes his wife was killed by vagrants who entered through an unlocked door and attacked his wife while she was getting ice from the hotel ice machine.

But in new legal docs just filed in L.A. County Superior Court, Joe -- along with the couple's children -- claims hotel personnel acted in a disgusting manner in the moments following the tragedy.

Joe claims the Biltmore's Head of Security, Arthur Smith, "took a gruesome death picture of [Laura Finley] and disseminated that photo to the general public."

Joe claims Smith even flashed the topless death pic at the hotel bar for "no investigative purposes, but for macabre effect."

Joe filed the new allegations as part of his wrongful death lawsuit against the Biltmore. He's now seeking additional unspecified damages for emotional distress and invasion of privacy.

America's got talent, but it no longer has Sharon Osbourne ... 'cause the AGT judge says she's QUITTING the TV show for good.

Osbourne -- who has been with "America's Got Talent" since Season 2 -- cryptically announced her exit from the show via Twitter on Tuesday, saying "My darling @howardstern, money is not the reason I'm not returning to @nbcagt, it's because ..."

It's unclear if she was informing Howard about her departure ... or blaming him.

Sources from NBC say Sharon's exit is a surprise to them as well ... claiming they have not been personally informed of her departure yet.

Florence Griffith-Joyner's daughter is following in her mother's famous Olympic footsteps ... heading to the U.S. Track and Field trials later this month ... but the only thing she'll be running is her mouth.

Mary Joyner -- a 21-year-old aspiring singer -- recently competed on "America's Got Talent" ... and impressed some of the honchos who run the Team USA Olympic Track and Field Team.

In fact, a rep for the org. tells TMZ ... they were so blown away by her performance, they extended her an offer to sing the national anthem at the U.S Track and Field trials in Eugene, Oregon later this month.

The rep says, "It's great to see that Mary is achieving her goals and dreams just as her mother did."

In case you didn't know ... Mary's mother -- who passed away in 1998 -- won 3 Olympic gold medals in the 1988 Seoul games and was considered the fastest woman on the planet ... she holds the world record for both the 100 m and 200 m sprints.

Mary might strike gold herself ... she got 3 yes votes on "AGT," and will advance to the next round (below).

Nick Cannon KNEW something was up with stuttering "America's Got Talent" fraud Timothy Poe from the get-go -- telling TMZ, one glaring clue gave the guy away ... the night of his audition.

You've all seen the footage ... Timothy Poe put on a stuttering spectacle last week on the "AGT" stage -- claiming he developed his speech impediment from war injuries. TMZ showed you his story was holier than the Pope.

And last night in L.A., Nick told us he had a gut feeling Timothy was a fraud too -- as soon as the guy stepped off the stage -- because once the cameras were off him ... Tim stopped stuttering.

The family of the stuttering veteran Timothy Poe who sang on "America's Got Talent" tell TMZ they have been receiving death threats since our stories revealed Poe is a fraud.

As we reported, Poe gave producers of "AGT" a photo which he claimed showed him in Afghanistan, but in reality the pic is of someone else. And Poe could produce no documentation to prove he suffered a debilitating brain injury in the war -- as he claimed on the show.

Poe's family tells us ... several family members have been getting death threats. We're told Poe's sister-in-law went to the store Thursday with her kids and someone came up to them and said, "We're going to kill you and the whole family."

Several family members have received phone calls. We're told Poe's fiancee answered the phone (after Poe's number was leaked on social media) and the caller said, "You made American vets look bad and now you're going to suffer."

And we're told another vet called to warn that he and others would be coming to Poe's house, so "watch out."

As for Poe himself, a family member says she fears he's suicidal. He hasn't left the house since the scandal broke, and he's been crying incessantly. One family member says Poe is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.

Producers of "America's Got Talent" are going to edit stuttering G.I. fraud Timothy Poe's appearance in the upcoming Las Vegas show ... the open question is whether Poe will be 86'd from the show altogether.

TMZ broke the story ... Timothy is NOT the soldier in a photo used during his melodramatic audition segment Monday night -- and the army has no record he was ever injured in Afghanistan ... as he had claimed.

"AGT" producers told TMZ Tim gave them the photo -- and they aired it without questioning him.

Sources connected with the show tell us ... there will "definitely be edits" and producers are currently discussing exactly what they will cut and what if anything they will keep.

We just spoke with "AGT" judge Howie Mandel, who tells us, "I was blown away that I was totally taken in," adding, "I'm really angry with the guy."

Stuttering "America's Got Talent" contestant Timothy Poe is NOT the soldier in the photo displayed during his tearjerker audition this week -- it's someone else ... and the REAL soldier is pissed.

Staff Sgt. Norman Bone tells TMZ, he first heard about the photo from his ex-wife who was watching "AGT" -- Norman thought it was part of a tribute to the troops ... and didn't think twice about it.

Tuesday night, one of the guys Bone served with in Afghanistan sent him a message on Facebook -- telling him the "AGT" segment was must-see TV ... so Bone finally checked it out online ... and now, he's livid. (Skip to 1:29 to see the photo)

Bone -- who currently serves in El Paso, TX -- tells us, "First thing that came to my mind was 'Why would this lying son of a bitch do this?'" ... adding, "I'm absolutely furious. Been seeing red all day."

Bone says he's never even heard of Timothy Poe -- and he's going to meet with the Army legal department to explore his options.

The photo in question was originally posted here -- on the U.S. Department of Defense website -- along with the caption, "U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Norman Bone directs movement as his patrol turns around on a narrow path in the mountains of Parwan province in Afghanistan on Oct. 25, 2006."

Timothy Poe has insisted from the beginning his story is legit. We called him about the photo. He hasn't gotten back to us.

Timothy Poe -- the stuttering "America's Got Talent" contestant who says he developed his speech impediment from a war injury in Afghanistan -- is firing back at allegations he made up the whole thing ... telling TMZ, his injury and stutter are 100% legit.

Poe's audition aired Monday night -- the singer told the judges about a 2009 incident when he sustained serious injuries during an RPG blast in Afghanistan.

Poe spoke with a pronounced stutter during the audition -- which he claims he developed as a result of his war injuries.

But reports surfaced yesterday that the singing veteran was full of crap -- because no such RPG injuries were ever reported.

Poe tells TMZ, the fact that there is no record of the incident is a common problem -- one that Poe says is endemic when it comes to reporting soldiers' injuries in Afghanistan.

We asked Tim to prove it really happened. He said he received treatment at a military medical facility in Afghanistan before being transferred to a medical center in Landstuhl, Germany. Tim says he was then transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. He did not produce any documents to support his claim.

Tim says he plans to sue his ex-wife and several others for telling the media he was lying.

We asked Tim for ANY hard proof to back his claims -- he gave us nothing, saying he can't release pics or documents for legal reasons. So we gotta ask ...