Tom Sandoval is stepping out into the blinding lights.

The Vanderpump Rules alum and his band Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras made it to the quarterfinals of America's Got Talent , performing a cover of The Weeknd 's "Blinding Lights" during the Aug. 19 of the NBC competition.

While judges Howie Mandel , Mel B and Sofía Vergara applauded Tom for his energy, Simon Cowell felt the overall performance fell flat, hitting the buzzer halfway through and telling the frontman, "That did not sound good I'm afraid."

Tom's response to the criticism? "Right before I went on, my in-ears kinda went out," he said of the audio monitors, "so I was flying in the dark there."

Still, Tom insisted he was "not" making excuses for his shaky performance when Mel B called him out.

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