Tom Sandoval Owns His ‘Most Hated Man in America’ Reputation as He Auditions for America’s Got Talent with His Band

Tom Sandoval is stepping into the AGT spotlight.

The Vanderpump Rules alum, 42, auditions for America’s Got Talent with his band, Tom Sandoval and the Most Extras, in an episode set to air on Tuesday, June 24.

His audition comes a little over two years after he was involved in a major cheating scandal with his Vanderpump Rules costar Rachel “Raquel” Leviss. At the time, Sandoval was in a longterm relationship with girlfriend Ariana Madix, and the affair marked the end of their nine-year romance.

“My name is Tom Sandoval, I was the most hated man in America,” Sandoval says ahead of his audition, which was teased in a clip on AGT‘s Instagram on June 20. “This is the chance to show who I am as a musician.”

Another clip shared by the show’s account shows the moment that Sandoval takes the stage with his band and delivers an upbeat performance to “Take on Me” by A-ha.

Sandoval, wearing a sparkly emerald jacket, black pants and sneakers, bops around the stage as he sings the famous ’80s tune and rocks out with his band.

Judges Simon Cowell, Sofía Vergara and  Mel B watch on with skeptical looks initially, but Simon eventually cracks a smile towards the end as Sandoval continues dancing around the stage. He also gets the crowd hyped up when he hits multiple high notes throughout his performance.

While Sandoval ends the audition with the crowd on their feet, fans will have to wait until June 22 to find out what the judges thought and if he’ll move on to the next round.

Sandoval’s audition comes two years after his affair with Leviss, dubbed Scandoval, came to light.

Sandoval and Madix had been in a committed relationship for nine years when news broke that he had been cheating on her with her friend and their costar for months. The Love Island USA host accidentally discovered explicit texts between Leviss and Sandoval while supporting her then-boyfriend at a Tom Sandoval & the Most Extras show, ultimately ending their relationship.

News of their affair also emerged after filming had wrapped on season 10 of the show, with the Bravo cameras picking back up to capture the fallout. Leviss later went on to enter a mental health treatment center, and opted not to return to the series for season 11.

Sandoval has since apologized multiple times for his part in the affair, with the first one coming just days after the news had broke. He issued a public apology to Madix via Instagram at the time, saying in part: “I made mistakes, I was selfish, and made reckless decisions that hurt somebody I love. No one deserves to feel that pain so traumatically and publicly.”

He continued: “I can only imagine how devastating this has been for Ariana and everyone around us. I feel really horrible about that. My biggest regret is that I dishonored Ariana. I never meant to disappoint so many people, including our loving families and friends … I owed Ariana better.”

Madix has since moved on with boyfriend Daniel Wai, while Sandoval has been dating model girlfriend Victoria Lee Robinson.

Fans may remember that Sandoval has an underlying connection to one of AGT’s judges.

During the fallout of his affair with Leviss, Sandoval went on judge Howie Mandel’s podcast, Howie Mandel Does Stuff, to set the record straight and share his side of the situation. The podcast episode in April 2023 marked Sandoval’s first on-air appearance after the explosive scandal.

However, at the time of the episode’s release, Andy Cohen and many Bravo fans called out Mandel for not doing enough prep for the interview. Mandel later admitted that he only “started watching” Vanderpump Rules after the interview and defended himself by saying that the reason he didn’t push back on anything Sandoval said was in an effort to make him feel comfortable.

“I think the reason that he’s here, unlike any other place, is because he knows he’s in an ignorant place where there’s no challenge and he doesn’t have to defend himself,” Mandel said at the time.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

America’s Got Talent airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.