America's Got Talent
Encyclopedia
America's Got Talent is an American reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...

 series on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...

, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of US$1 million. The show debuted in June 2006 for the summer television season. Starting in the third season, the Talent top prize included US$1 million, payable in a financial annuity over forty years (or the present cash value
Present value
Present value, also known as present discounted value, is the value on a given date of a future payment or series of future payments, discounted to reflect the time value of money and other factors such as investment risk...

 of such annuity), and a show as the headliner on the Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...

.

Among its significant features were that it gave an opportunity to talented amateurs or unknown performers, with the results decided by an audience vote. The format is a popular one and has often been reworked for television in the United States and the United Kingdom.

The current incarnation was created by Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...

, and was originally due to be a 2005 British series called Paul O'Grady
Paul O'Grady
Paul James Michael O'Grady MBE is an English comedian, television presenter, actor, writer and radio DJ. He is best known for presenting the daytime chat television series, The Paul O'Grady Show and, more recently, Paul O'Grady Live, as well as his drag queen comedic alter ego, Lily Savage, as...

's Got Talent but was postponed due to O'Grady's acrimonious split with broadcaster ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

. As such, the American version became the first full series of the Got Talent franchise. Despite being heavily involved in the show's production, Cowell does not appear as a judge. This is due to the conditions of his contract with Fox Network
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...

.

On November 10, Piers Morgan announced that he won't return to AGT and will instead focus more on his CNN show, Piers Morgan Tonight.

Hosts and judges

Years Host Seasons
2006 Regis Philbin
Regis Philbin
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin is an American media personality, actor and singer, known for hosting talk and game shows since the 1960s. Philbin is often called "the hardest working man in show business" and holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera...

 
1
2007–2008 Jerry Springer
Jerry Springer
Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is a British-born American television presenter, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991...

 
2–3
2009–present Nick Cannon
Nick Cannon
Nicholas Scott "Nick" Cannon is an American actor, comedian, rapper, entrepreneur, record producer, radio, and television personality. On television, Cannon began as a teenage sketch comedian on All That before going on to host The Nick Cannon Show, Wild 'N Out, and America's Got Talent...

 
4–present

Years Judge Seasons
2006–2009 David Hasselhoff
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...

 
1–4
2006 Brandy Norwood
Brandy Norwood
Brandy Rayana Norwood , known professionally as Brandy, is an American singer-songwriter, producer, actress, and dancer. In 2009, she introduced her rap alter-ego Bran'Nu....

 
1
2006–2011 Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan , known professionally as Piers Morgan, is a British journalist and television presenter. He is editorial director of First News, a national newspaper for children....

 
1–6
2007–present Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Rachel Osbourne is an English television host, author, music manager, businesswoman and promoter as well as the wife of heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne....

 
2–present
2010–present Howie Mandel
Howie Mandel
Howard Michael "Howie" Mandel is a Canadian stand-up comedian, television host, and actor. He is well known as host of the NBC game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's daytime and Canadian-English counterparts. Before his career as a game show host, Mandel was best known for his role on...

 
5–present

Producers' auditions

The general selection process of the show begins with separate untelevised producers' auditions, which come to various cities across the United States, some which will host the auditions held in theaters, and some which usually only host the producers' auditions. This round is held several months before the judges' audition in cities that would also host the televised second round. Acts that have made it through the producers' audition will then audition in front of the judges and a live audience.

Preliminary auditions

Following the producers' auditions, acts will audition in front of three celebrity judges. The judges may terminate an act's performance early by pressing their red buzzer, which lights up their corresponding X on stage. If an act receives three X's, they must stop their performance. Since Season 3, large audiences have also been a factor in the judging process, as their reaction to an act's performance may swing or influence a judge's vote. If an act receives two or more "yes" votes, they will move on to the next round.

Las Vegas Week

Since Season 2, Las Vegas Week has been an intermediary round between the auditions and live shows that takes place in a notable venue on the Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...

. Names for this round in previous seasons has included "Las Vegas Callbacks" and "Vegas Verdicts". The Las Vegas round generally consists of acts performing a second time for the judges (with the exception of Season 4), who then pick select acts to move on the live shows. An act eliminated in Las Vegas Week is not completely excluded from the live show competition, as several seasons have featured contestants being brought back from this round as "Wild Card" acts.

Prior to the inclusion of this round, the judges would have a list containing a number of acts which advanced past the auditions during each live show. The judges would then pick ten acts from that group each week, leaving several acts without the chance to perform.

Live shows

During the live shows, a group of acts ranging from only a Top 20 (Season 2), to as many as 48, compete for viewers' and judges' votes. In the first season, the judges could not end an act's performance, but could either "check" or "X" the performance during their critique. Since Season 2, judges have been able to end an act's performance early, and the "check" was removed. Acts generally perform in a first round consisting of a series of quarterfinals. These rounds may also consist of additional shows for "Wild Card" acts brought back from previous rounds, and, since Season 5, performances from finalists of YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

 auditions. From these shows, the existing group is cut in half through votes by the public and the judges. At this stage, the judges' vote is generally limited to critiques, although in all seasons (excluding Season 2), they have been able to put one act through to the next round during the first round of live shows. Acts then move on to a semifinal round, and even further rounds (such as a "Top 8" or a "Top 10", depending on the season) through a series of weekly shows, which trim the number of acts down each time based on a public vote. In the majority of seasons, judges have had no vote from the semifinals on. All these rounds culminate in a live final, which has consisted of anywhere from four to ten acts throughout the seasons. The act with the most votes is declared the winner, and given $1,000,000, and, since Season 3, a chance to headline a show on the Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...

.

Since Season 5, the show has also made the winner the headline act of a national tour with runners up following the final show, stopping in 25 cities in 2010.

Season 1 (2006)

In June 2006, NBC announced the new show. The audition tour took place in June. Auditions were held in the following locations: Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

, New York City, New York, Chicago, Illinois, and Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

. Some early ads for the show implied that the winning act would also headline a show at a casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...

, possibly in Las Vegas; however, this was replaced with $1,000,000 due to concerns of minors playing in Las Vegas, should one become a champion. More than 12 million viewers watched the season premiere (which is more than American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

 got during its premiere back in 2002). The two-hour broadcast was the night's most-watched program on U.S. television and the highest-rated among viewers aged 18 to 49 (the prime-time audience that matters most to advertisers), Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...

 reported. On the season finale, there was an unaired segment that was scheduled to appear after Aly and AJ. The segment featured Tom Green
Tom Green
Michael Thomas "Tom" Green is a Canadian actor, rapper, writer, comedian, talk show host and media personality. Best known for his shock humour brand of comedy, Green found mainstream prominence via his MTV television show The Tom Green Show...

 dressing in a parrot
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...

 costume, and squawking with a live parrot, to communicate telepathically. Green then proceeded to fly up above the audience, shooting confetti streamers out of his costume onto the crowd below.

In season one, the show was hosted by Regis Philbin
Regis Philbin
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin is an American media personality, actor and singer, known for hosting talk and game shows since the 1960s. Philbin is often called "the hardest working man in show business" and holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera...

 and judged by actor David Hasselhoff
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...

, singer Brandy Norwood
Brandy Norwood
Brandy Rayana Norwood , known professionally as Brandy, is an American singer-songwriter, producer, actress, and dancer. In 2009, she introduced her rap alter-ego Bran'Nu....

, and journalist Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan , known professionally as Piers Morgan, is a British journalist and television presenter. He is editorial director of First News, a national newspaper for children....

.

The winner of the season was 11-year old singer Bianca Ryan
Bianca Ryan
Bianca Taylor Ryan is an American singer and guitarist, who won the debut season of NBC's America's Got Talent at age 11....

, and the runners-up were clogging group All That, and musical group The Millers.

Season 2 (2007)

After initially announcing in May 2006 that the second season of America's Got Talent would debut in January 2007 at 8 PM on Sunday nights, with no separate results show, the network changed its mind and pushed the show back to the summer, where the first season had great success. This move kept the show out of direct competition with American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

, which has a similar premise and is more popular. In AGTs place, another reality-based talent show, Grease: You're The One That I Want, began airing on Sunday nights in the same timeslot on NBC beginning in January. In March 2007, NBC announced that Philbin would not return as host of the show, and that Jerry Springer
Jerry Springer
Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is a British-born American television presenter, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991...

 would succeed him as host, with Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Rachel Osbourne is an English television host, author, music manager, businesswoman and promoter as well as the wife of heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne....

 (formerly a judge on Cowell's UK show The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...

) succeeding Brandy as a judge. This means the show, ironically, had two British judges and one American one.

The second season had no results show, replaced by results on the performance show night instead; in addition, each Tuesday broadcast was repeated (along with The Singing Bee
The Singing Bee (US game show)
The Singing Bee is a karaoke game show that originally aired on NBC and now airs on CMT. Combining karaoke singing with a spelling bee-style competition, this show features contestants trying to remember the lyrics to popular songs...

 episode that followed the 90-minute editions of AGT) by NBC the following Saturday.

The finale of the season was shown Tuesday, August 21, 2007, with Terry Fator
Terry Fator
Terry Wayne Fator is a ventriloquist, impressionist, comedian, and singer from Dallas, Texas. Fator is capable of doing over 100 ventriloquial impersonations, and uses 16 different puppets in his act. He was the winner of Season 2 of America's Got Talent, and received the million dollar prize...

, a ventriloquist who is also a singer, being named the winner, and singer Cas Haley
Cas Haley
Cas Haley is an American singer/guitarist who was the runner-up on Season 2 of America's Got Talent.-Career:His self-titled album charted as the #8 Best selling reggae album of 2008 on the Billboard Charts....

 as runner-up.

Season 3 (2008)

NBC announced in August 2007 that the network had renewed the show for a third season. Auditions took place in Charlotte
CHARLOTTE
- CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...

, Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

, Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...

, New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago from January to April. A televised MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....

 audition also took place. Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Rachel Osbourne is an English television host, author, music manager, businesswoman and promoter as well as the wife of heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne....

, Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan , known professionally as Piers Morgan, is a British journalist and television presenter. He is editorial director of First News, a national newspaper for children....

 and David Hasselhoff
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...

 returned as judges. Jerry Springer
Jerry Springer
Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is a British-born American television presenter, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991...

 also returned as host. The show premiered on June 17, 2008.

The third season of the show differed from the previous two in many ways. Auditions were held in well-known theaters across the nation, and a new title card was introduced, featuring the American flag as background. The X's match the ones on Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...

 as does the judges table. Like the previous season, the Las Vegas callbacks continued, but there were forty acts selected to compete in the live rounds, instead of twenty. This season also contained several results episodes, but not on a regular basis.

The show took a hiatus for two and a half weeks for the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

, but returned with the live rounds on August 26, 2008.

Neal E. Boyd
Neal E. Boyd
Neal E. Boyd is an American pop opera singer. He is best known as the 2008 winner of America's Got Talent.-Early life:Neal E. Boyd, known worldwide as "The Voice of Missouri," grew up in Sikeston, Missouri...

, an opera singer, was named the winner on October 1, 2008.

Season 4 (2009)

NBC announced that America's Got Talent was renewed for a fourth season. Auditions for season 4 were held in more than 9 major cities including New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, Washington DC, Atlanta, Miami, Tacoma, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 and Houston. Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 Auditions kicked off the tour January 29–31 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, followed by Atlanta Auditions February 7–8. New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and Miami Auditions were held during March. Tacoma Auditions were held April 25 and 26. In addition to live auditions and the ability to send in a home audition tape, Season 4 offered the opportunity for acts to upload their video direct at NBC.com/agt with their registration. This year's host is Nick Cannon
Nick Cannon
Nicholas Scott "Nick" Cannon is an American actor, comedian, rapper, entrepreneur, record producer, radio, and television personality. On television, Cannon began as a teenage sketch comedian on All That before going on to host The Nick Cannon Show, Wild 'N Out, and America's Got Talent...

, who replaced Jerry Springer
Jerry Springer
Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is a British-born American television presenter, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991...

. Springer said that he could not host due to other commitments. All Season 3 judges returned for the fourth season. The fourth season premiered on Tuesday, June 23.

Season 4 of America's Got Talent borrowed the audition process from Season 3, but renamed the 'Las Vegas Callbacks' to 'Vegas Verdicts'. This was the first season since Season 1 where results episodes last one hour on a regular basis. The title card this year features bands of the American flag and stars waving around the America's Got Talent logo.

At the end of Las Vegas Week, Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...

, the executive producer of America's Got Talent, called the judges by phone while they were flying back to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, stating that he was unhappy with some of the eliminations the judges made. Cowell stated that this season had a lot of talent and presented the judges with eight acts he thought America should see again. As a result, two wild card acts performed each week along with the ten already scheduled to perform, expanding the Top 40 to the Top 48.

On September 16, 2009, Kevin Skinner
Kevin Skinner
Patrick Kevin Skinner , better known as Kevin Skinner, is an American country music singer from the Jackson Purchase region of Kentucky. He was the winner of the fourth season of America's Got Talent.- Early life :...

, an American Country music singer, was named the winner of America's Got Talent for season 4. His grand prize was one million dollars and a headline show at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino
Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino
Planet Hollywood Las Vegas, previously known as The Aladdin, is a casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip, in the unincorporated locale of Paradise, Nevada, United States. Westgate Resorts operates the condo portion of the property, known as PH Towers by Westgate.Planet Hollywood is owned by Caesars...

 on the Las Vegas Strip.

Season 5 (2010)

NBC announced that the show was renewed for its fifth season. The network had considered moving the show to the fall, after rival series So You Think You Can Dance transferred from the summer to fall season in 2009. However, NBC ultimately decided to keep Talent a summer show, which was also the fate of rival Dance.

Open auditions were held in the winter to early spring of 2010 in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York City, Orlando, and Portland. Untelevised producers' auditions were also held in Atlanta and Philadelphia. For the first time, online auditions were also held via YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

.

For the 2010 season, David Hasselhoff
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...

 left to host a new television show, and was replaced by comedian and Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel
Howie Mandel
Howard Michael "Howie" Mandel is a Canadian stand-up comedian, television host, and actor. He is well known as host of the NBC game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's daytime and Canadian-English counterparts. Before his career as a game show host, Mandel was best known for his role on...

. This made Piers Morgan the only original judge left in the show. The judging panel now consisted of two British judges and a Canadian one.

The show premiered Tuesday, June 1 at 8PM ET. Afterward, Talent resumed the same time slot as the previous season.

On September 15, 2010, Michael Grimm
Michael Grimm (singer)
Michael Joseph Grimm is an American singer/songwriter and winner of the fifth season of America's Got Talent.-Personal life:...

, an American singer/songwriter, was named the winner of the fifth season of America's Got Talent. He won a $1,000,000 prize and a chance to perform at the Caesar's Palace Casino and Resort on the Las Vegas Strip, as well as headline the 25-city America's Got Talent Live Tour along with Jackie Evancho
Jackie Evancho
Jacqueline Marie "Jackie" Evancho is an American child singer described as a classical crossover artist. After entering some talent competitions, issuing an independent album, Prelude to a Dream, and attracting interest on YouTube, she gained wider popularity in 2010 with her performances in the...

, Fighting Gravity
Fighting Gravity (performance artists)
Fighting Gravity is a performance art troupe from Blacksburg, Virginia, who utilize black light and phosphorescence effects to entertain crowds.The group was among the finalists on the fifth season of America's Got Talent...

, Prince Poppycock
Prince Poppycock
John Andrew Quale is an American singer, songwriter, and performer best known by the stage name and persona of Prince Poppycock. Quale, who specializes in musical theater and opera, describes Prince Poppycock on his website as a "roguish operatic dandy."...

, and the other top ten finalists.

Season 6 (2011)

NBC announced that the show has been renewed for a sixth season and premiered on Tuesday
Tuesday
Tuesday is a day of the week occurring after Monday and before Wednesday.According to international standard ISO 8601, it is the second day of the week, although in some traditions it is the third....

, May 31, 2011 for a two-hour special. Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan , known professionally as Piers Morgan, is a British journalist and television presenter. He is editorial director of First News, a national newspaper for children....

 and Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Rachel Osbourne is an English television host, author, music manager, businesswoman and promoter as well as the wife of heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne....

 continued as judges after taking jobs on Piers Morgan Tonight
Piers Morgan Tonight
Piers Morgan Tonight is a talk show on CNN, hosted by Piers Morgan. The show premiered on January 17, 2011 and filled the former Larry King Live timeslot. The theme music is written by Anthony James, composer and CEO of British company Music Candy, and his writing partner Yiorgos Bellapaisiotis,...

 and The Talk
The Talk (U.S. TV series)
The Talk is a talk show created by actress Sara Gilbert, who also serves as the executive producer. The show premiered on October 18, 2010, and airs on CBS as a part of CBS Daytime...

, respectively. On The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...

 on July 27, 2010, Morgan officially stated that he has signed a three year contract to stay on Talent. In addition, Howie Mandel
Howie Mandel
Howard Michael "Howie" Mandel is a Canadian stand-up comedian, television host, and actor. He is well known as host of the NBC game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's daytime and Canadian-English counterparts. Before his career as a game show host, Mandel was best known for his role on...

 returned as a judge, and Nick Cannon
Nick Cannon
Nicholas Scott "Nick" Cannon is an American actor, comedian, rapper, entrepreneur, record producer, radio, and television personality. On television, Cannon began as a teenage sketch comedian on All That before going on to host The Nick Cannon Show, Wild 'N Out, and America's Got Talent...

 returned as host.

The show held televised auditions in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Seattle, and Houston. Untelevised producers' auditions were also held in Denver and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

. Previews of auditions were shown during NBC's The Voice
The Voice (U.S. TV series)
The Voice is an American reality talent show that premiered on April 26, 2011 on the NBC television network. Based on the reality singing competition The Voice of Holland, the series was created by Dutch television producer John de Mol. It is part of an international series...

 premiere on April 26, 2011. Online auditions via YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

 were also held for the second time in the show's run, beginning on May 4, 2011. Finalists for this audition circuit competed live on August 9.

The format of the season is generally unchanged from Season 5.

Due to the live shows of The Voice in June, AGT was aired one hour earlier than its usual Tuesday timeslot, at 8/7c. The show resumed its regular 9/8c timeslot on Tuesdays at the start of the live shows on July 12, 2011. AGT retained its regular Wednesday 9/8c timeslot throughout the season.

On Wednesday, September 14, 2011, Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr., a Frank Sinatra style singer, was named the winner of the sixth season of America's Got Talent. Dance group Silhouettes
Silhouettes (dance group)
The Silhouettes are a dance group from Denver, Colorado. The group is best known for performing on the sixth season of America's Got Talent. Led by Lynne Patton, a choreographer from the Denver area, the 42 members of the Silhouettes range from 4-18 year olds...

 was runner-up. He won a $1,000,000 prize and will headline at Caesar's Palace Casino and Resort along with the other final four finalists as well as other fan favorites such as Anna Graceman and Landon Swank.

Leonid The Magnificent
Leonid the Magnificent
Leonid the Magnificent is a Russian performance artist born in 1973 in Siberia who now lives in Brooklyn, New York City. Leonid has been performing on stage since the age of 12. He finished Russian Circus School and University of Art and Culture to become an artist and a show creator...

 also came back to audition for a third time. Leonid was buzzed by Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan , known professionally as Piers Morgan, is a British journalist and television presenter. He is editorial director of First News, a national newspaper for children....

 in his audition but advanced to Vegas. He was eliminated in Vegas Week.

Season 7 (2012)

On August 12, 2011, Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Rachel Osbourne is an English television host, author, music manager, businesswoman and promoter as well as the wife of heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne....

 revealed that auditions for the next season of the show will be taking place soon, confirming that NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 had renewed America's Got Talent for a seventh run.

The first round of auditions, which are usually judged by producers, have been announced in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....

, Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

, Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

, and St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

.

On November 11, 2011, Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan , known professionally as Piers Morgan, is a British journalist and television presenter. He is editorial director of First News, a national newspaper for children....

 announced he will not be returning as a judge for the seventh season of America's Got Talent, insisting he is to focus on his work at CNN.

America's Got Talent Live

America's Got Talent Live is a show on the Las Vegas Strip that features the winner of each season of Talent as the main performance.

In 2009, America's Got Talent Live appeared on the Las Vegas Strip appearing Wednesday through Sunday at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, in a limited 10-week run starting in October, 2009 through January of the next year. It featured the final ten acts which made it to the Season 4 Finale. Former host of America's Got Talent, Jerry Springer, emceed, commuting weekly between Stamford, Connecticut tapings of his self-named show and Las Vegas.

In 2010, on the first live show of the fifth season, the winner headlined America's Got Talent Live from Caesar's Palace Casino and Resort on the Las Vegas Strip, which was part of a 25-city tour that featured the season's finalists. Jerry Springer returned as both host of the tour and the headline show.

America's Got Talent Live returned for its third run in 2011.

Overall ratings summary

Since the show's beginning, the show's ratings have been usually very high, ranging from 9 million viewers to as many as 16 million viewers, generally averaging around 12 million viewers. The show's has also ranked high in the 18-49 demographic, usually rating anywhere from as low as 2.0 to as high as 4.6 throughout its run. Average ratings have been around 3.0-3.9 for most seasons. Audition shows and performance shows rate higher on average than results shows.

Although the show's ratings have been high, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 has chosen not to place the show as a competitor in the fall or spring seasons for various reasons. A brief run by the show in the fall in 2008, which was due to NBC's coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

, proved to be underwhelming, with the series averaging only around 10 million viewers, and the finale down significantly from the previous year. During the first weeks of the fall season in 2009, however, a results show of America's Got Talent performed well against the season premiere of So You Think You Can Dance
So You Think You Can Dance (U.S. TV series)
So You Think You Can Dance is an American dance competition and reality show that airs on Fox in the United States.The series first premiered on July 20, 2005, and was created by American Idol producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and is produced by 19 Entertainment and Dick Clark Productions...

 and the highly promoted world premiere of Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...

, posting 9.7 million viewers, compared to only 6.5 million viewers for So You Think You Can Dance
So You Think You Can Dance (U.S. TV series)
So You Think You Can Dance is an American dance competition and reality show that airs on Fox in the United States.The series first premiered on July 20, 2005, and was created by American Idol producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and is produced by 19 Entertainment and Dick Clark Productions...

 and 7.1 million viewers for Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...

. However, rival SYTYCD delivered poorly in the fall, which was likely a factor in NBC's decision to keep Talent in the summer.

The highest rated season in overall viewers to date is Season 4. The most-watched episode has been the finale of the fifth season, with 16.41 million viewers. The series premiere, and an episode featuring the first part of Las Vegas Week in Season 6, have each tied for highest rating among adults 18-49, both having a 4.6 rating.

The performance shows are rated TV-14 and the results shows are rated TV-PG.
Season Timeslot (EDT) Season premiere Premiere
viewers
(in millions)
Season finale Finale
viewers
(in millions)
TV season Rank Season
average
(in millions)
1 Wednesday 8:00 P.M.
Thursday 9:00 P.M. (Results)
June 21, 2006 12.41 August 17, 2006 12.05 2006 #1 10.00
2 Tuesday 8:00 P.M. June 5, 2007 12.93 August 21, 2007 13.87 2007 #1 12.00
3 Tuesday 8:00 P.M. June 17, 2008 12.80 October 1, 2008 12.55 2008 #1 11.38
4 Tuesday 9:00 P.M.
Wednesday 9:00 P.M.
June 23, 2009 11.30 September 16, 2009 15.53 2009 #1 11.91
5 Tuesday 9:00 P.M.
Wednesday 9:00 P.M.
June 1, 2010 12.35 September 15, 2010 16.41 2010 #1 11.02
6 Tuesday 8:00 P.M. (May 31-July 5)
Tuesday 9:00 P.M. (after July 5)
Wednesday 9:00 P.M.
May 31, 2011 15.28 September 14, 2011 14.37 2011 #1 11.82

Awards and nominations

Year Presenter Award Result
2011 People's Choice Awards
37th People's Choice Awards
The 37th People's Choice Awards, honoring the best in popular culture for 2010, were held on January 5, 2011 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California, and were broadcast live on CBS at 9:00 pm ET...

Favorite Competition Show
Kids' Choice Awards
2011 Kids' Choice Awards
Nickelodeon's 24th Annual Kids' Choice Awards were held on April 2, 2011 at 8 p.m. ET at the Galen Center at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles's University Park neighborhood due to renovations disallowing use of traditional venue Pauley Pavilion until at least 2013. Jack Black...

Favorite Reality Show
Primetime Emmy Awards
63rd Primetime Emmy Awards
The 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, honoring the best in primetime television programming from June 1, 2010 until May 31, 2011, was held on September 18, 2011, at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California. Fox televised the ceremony within the United States. Actress Jane Lynch hosted...

Outstanding Hairstyling For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special

Artists with RIAA certified albums

Rank Former contestant
Total sales
Debut album Second album Third album Fourth album
1. Jackie Evancho
Jackie Evancho
Jacqueline Marie "Jackie" Evancho is an American child singer described as a classical crossover artist. After entering some talent competitions, issuing an independent album, Prelude to a Dream, and attracting interest on YouTube, she gained wider popularity in 2010 with her performances in the...

 
(Season 5, Runner-Up)
1,536,000
Prelude to a Dream
Prelude to a Dream
Prelude to a Dream is Jackie Evancho's debut album released on November 15, 2009. By early September 2010 it had been withdrawn from public sale...

 
(November 15, 2009)
Independent
n/a

4,000
Peak: #121
O Holy Night
O Holy Night (Jackie Evancho album)
O Holy Night is the official debut Christmas EP by American child singer, Jackie Evancho, who was ten years old when the album was released. The album was released in 2010, only months after Evancho rose to prominence as a finalist on the reality TV show America's Got Talent. It was certified...

 
(November 16, 2010)
SYCO/Columbia Records
Platinum

1,000,000
Peak: #2
Dream With Me
Dream With Me
Dream with Me, Jackie Evancho's second full-length album , was released on June 3, 2011 on digital download format and on June 14, 2011 in the standard CD format...

 
(June 14, 2011)
Sony Records
Gold

505,000
Peak: #2
Heavenly Christmas
Heavenly Christmas
Heavenly Christmas is American singer Jackie Evancho's first full-length Christmas album, and her fourth album overall. It contains ten tracks and was produced by Rob Mounsey, with arrangements by Mounsey and Ryan Shore for Sony Music Entertainment....

 
(November 1, 2011)
Sony Records
n/a

27,000
Peak: #16

Artists without RIAA certified albums

Former Contestant Total Sales Albums
2. Bianca Ryan
Bianca Ryan
Bianca Taylor Ryan is an American singer and guitarist, who won the debut season of NBC's America's Got Talent at age 11....

 
(Season 1, Winner)

150,000
  • Bianca Ryan
    Bianca Ryan (album)
    Bianca Ryan is the debut album from America's Got Talent Season 1 winner Bianca Ryan.The album features cover versions of "The Rose" and "I Believe I Can Fly" and original songs like "I Wish That" and "Pray for a Better Day"...

     (2006) #57
  • Christmas Everyday (2007) did not chart
  • The True Meaning of Christmas (2009) did not chart
3. Cas Haley
Cas Haley
Cas Haley is an American singer/guitarist who was the runner-up on Season 2 of America's Got Talent.-Career:His self-titled album charted as the #8 Best selling reggae album of 2008 on the Billboard Charts....

 
(Season 2, Runner-Up)

40,000
  • Cas Haley (2008) #8
  • Connection (2010) did not chart
  • 4. Michael Grimm
    Michael Grimm (singer)
    Michael Joseph Grimm is an American singer/songwriter and winner of the fifth season of America's Got Talent.-Personal life:...

     
    (Season 5, Winner)

    22,000
  • Michael Grimm
    Michael Grimm (album)
    Michael Grimm is the major-label debut album, and third overall, by America's Got Talent season five winner, Michael Grimm.-Background:...

     (2011) #13
  • 5. Donald Braswell II
    Donald Braswell II
    Donald Braswell II is an American actor, classical crossover tenor and composer. Braswell was on a fast track to become an internationally acclaimed opera singer when he suffered a car accident in 1995 that made him unable to speak for almost two years...

     
    (Season 3, 4th Place)

    12,500
  • New Chapter
    New Chapter
    New Chapter is the first studio album from American actor, composer and tenor Donald Braswell II, who has entertained audiences both internationally as well as shore to shore in the United States in concerts, television appearances, inspirational speaking and radio. He was also a finalist in the...

     (2007) did not chart
  • We Fall and We Rise Again
    We Fall and We Rise Again
    We Fall and We Rise Again is the second studio album from American actor, composer and tenor Donald Braswell II. The album was released on January, 2010. This album follows his 2007 release New Chapter and is the first to feature his own compositions....

     (2010) did not chart
  • Unchained (2011) did not chart
  • 6. Neal E. Boyd
    Neal E. Boyd
    Neal E. Boyd is an American pop opera singer. He is best known as the 2008 winner of America's Got Talent.-Early life:Neal E. Boyd, known worldwide as "The Voice of Missouri," grew up in Sikeston, Missouri...

     
    (Season 3, Winner)

    6,000
  • My American Dream
    My American Dream
    My American Dream is the debut studio album released by Neal E. Boyd on June 23, 2009.-Background:After Neal won the third season of America's Got Talent, Neal was signed to Decca Records...

     (2009) #195

  • See also

    • Got Talent
    • Idol series
      Idol series
      The British talent search television series Pop Idol has spawned spin-offs in 42 territories, in what is now referred to as the "Idols" format, as described by FremantleMedia...

    • The X Factor
      The X Factor (TV series)
      The X Factor is a television talent show franchise originating in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for Pop Idol. It is a singing competition, now held in various countries, which pits contestants against each other. These contestants are aspiring pop singers drawn from...

    • The Voice
      The Voice (U.S. TV series)
      The Voice is an American reality talent show that premiered on April 26, 2011 on the NBC television network. Based on the reality singing competition The Voice of Holland, the series was created by Dutch television producer John de Mol. It is part of an international series...


    External links

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