America's Got Talent contestant freaks out the judges — and the audience — in season 19 premiere
Published on January 15, 2026 EDT Simon Cowell expected a Disney routine from the 13-year-old dancer, but she channeled "The Exorcist" instead.

There were some scary moments on Tuesday's season 19 premiere of America's Got Talent, courtesy of contestant Arshiya.

The shy, smiling 13-year-old girl introduced herself by saying that she'd come all the way from India to compete. Her talent, she explained, was dancing, but she'd added some gymnastics and flexibility. And she sure had! Although Arshiya had said she was nervous, her performance was scary good — like something right out of a horror film.

"Well, you said your dance was different," judge Heidi Klum told the teen before she began her performance. "We love different around here, so we're very excited to see what you've got."

The crew then wheeled out what looked like a small wooden house decorated with a few old dolls. Arshiya crawled out with faux blood all over and, as a creepy soundtrack played, moved around like a monster. See for yourself in the video below.

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Within a few seconds, judge Simon Cowell quipped, "God, she's changed."

The terrified audience screamed as Arshyia, now wearing a bloody dress with cracked teeth and chilling contact lenses, contorted her body in seemingly impossible ways, bending over backwards and forwards, even doing splits in multiple directions. Some people turned their heads.

Judge Sofia Vergara said, "I don't like this."

"It's like The Exorcist," Cowell said.

At the end, she flung herself backwards to land very close to flat across the stage, prompting Vergara to scream. Then, all four of the judges — Klum, Cowell, Vergara, and Howie Mandel — stood and clapped.

"When you said you were gonna leave to change [before the performance]," Klum said, "I thought you were gonna come back with a pretty dress."

She added that she thought the contestant was "one of the best contortionists we've ever seen."

Mandel advised that young girls watching at home do not attempt any of the moves without a lot of training.

She had been so sweet, Cowell said, that he thought she was going to do "a Disney routine or something" but, instead, "you come back as Linda Blair," star of 1973's The Exorcist. "It was just so unexpected and frightening and brilliant at the same time."

"The Chihuahua turned into a werewolf," he said as he cast his vote on whether Arshiya would remain in the competition, "and we love you. Four yeses."

Just offstage as she reunited with her proud mom, Arshiya promised host Terry Crews that she would shock again in the next round.

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