AGT judge Howie Mandel vanishes briefly after unexpected twist from an act

Howie Mandel briefly vanished before an exciting moment on the latest America's Got Talent episode.

On the June 25 show, 17-year-old dancer Zach from Sydney, Australia, performed solo, explaining his long journey to be there.

Zach's routine started with him dancing in white in front of a black curtain. The act took a twist as hands emerged from behind the curtain.

The curtain fell, revealing about 30 dancers dressed like Zach. They captivated the audience with their synchronized moves, flips, and jumps.

The group, named Brent Street, received a standing ovation from the audience and judges Howie, Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, and Heidi Klum, who praised the performance.

"This was a very, very, very, very exciting dance... it was also something we haven't seen before," Heidi said as Sofía declared, "That's my favorite part of being a judge of AGT is to be able to watch dancers ... that was for sure the coolest thing I've seen today."

Simon echoed their praise, calling the routine a "really well-thought-out, creative, original [idea]" and noted how "that's the kind of audition we love on this show."

When it was Howie's turn to give feedback, he was missing from his seat. As everyone looked around for him, he suddenly started speaking from beneath the judges' desk.

"Yeah, I thought everything you did was amazing, it was a surprise," he said, mimicking the dance group's movements with one hand before hitting his Golden Buzzer.

What led Howie to hide under the judges' desk before hitting his Golden Buzzer?

"Oh, I was just replicating what blew me away," he explains.