America's Got Talent
Season 1
Broadcast from	June 21, 2006 – August 17, 2006
Judges	David Hasselhoff Piers Morgan Brandy Norwood
Host(s)	Regis Philbin
Broadcaster	NBC
Winner: Bianca Ryan
Bianca Ryan
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genre(s)	Gospel, Pop, R&B
Runner-up
All That & The Millers
Chronology
2006 ►

The first season of America's Got Talent premiered on June 21, 2006 and concluded on August 17, 2006. The audition tour took place in April 2006, stopping at Los Angeles, California, New York City, New York, Chicago, Illinois, and Atlanta, Georgia. Regis Philbin was the host for this season and David Hasselhoff, Brandy Norwood and Piers Morgan were the judges. This season's winner was Bianca Ryan.

Selection process[link]

For the audition round, each of the three judges has a button in front of them that they can press when they do not want the act to continue; the button rings an electronic bell and a large red X with the judge's name lights up over the stage. A louder buzzer indicates the third judge's button was pressed, and the contestant's performance is terminated. Then, the judges deliberate over the act and decide if it gets through to the live semi-finals. In the semi-finals, the judges have X's and check marks (ticks). Acts are divided into four groups of either 14 or 15, and only 10 of those acts in the group perform. They do not have the power to terminate an act in the middle of his/her performance. At the end of the performance, the judges give the act a check for approval, and an X if they did not like the act. At the end of the episode, the judges would pick an act and automatically move them through to the live finale. Then, the viewers at home would vote another act through to the finale, and that act would be announced in a live results show the next day. There was also a fifth wild card episode, where the judges picked ten acts who were previously eliminated and give them one more chance to perform. In the finale, there is no judges' choice, and the voting is entirely handed over to the viewers.

Auditions[link]

Los Angeles auditions[link]

Aired June 21, 2006, 2 hours

Acts that advanced to the second round include:

• Bobby Badfingers, a "professional finger snappist" from San Francisco, California. He danced to classic 1950s rock, as well.^[1]
• Dave the Horn Guy, a man with a plethora of horns attached to his body. He moved different parts of his body to honk the horns, making humorous music.
• At Last, a hip-hop a cappella quartet.
• Kenny Shelton, a juggler from Alpine, California, who was given three X's for dropping his props, and pleaded for another chance. He survived the first round by successfully juggling three swords on top of a Rola Bola for one minute.^[2]
• Bernie Barker, a 65-year-old male stripper from San Diego whose underwear was censored by the show with a black rectangle. Morgan didn't like the act, but Brandy and Hasselhoff voted him through, with Brandy saying she could use him as a backup dancer for her next music video.
• Alexis Jordan, a 14-year old R&B singer. All three critics agreed that she had a 'perfect voice'. She performed the song, "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston.
• Kevin Johnson, a ventriloquist who threw his voice and the voices of his two puppets out of synchronization with lip movements, à la the English-language dub of Godzilla.
• Vladimir Malachikhin, a hand balancing acrobat.
• Team AcroDunk, a group of acrobats from Houston, Texas, who shot basketballs while doing somersaults, backflips, and other tricks on a trampoline. Morgan didn't feel they were right for the competition, though he did agree that they could be the next Harlem Globetrotters. Brandy and Hasselhoff gave their total praise for them though.
• Ivan Pecel, a juggler. He did some technical juggling, which didn't impress Hasselhoff or Morgan, though Brandy supported him. Morgan reluctantly voted yes on the condition that Ivan step up his performance in the semi-finals.
• Nathan Burton, a magician who performed the Bowl-A-Rama magic trick, making a bowling ball appear from a drawing in a large sketchpad. Then, he did a disappearing act involving the "Microwave of Death"
• Vladik Miagkostoupov, a juggler. All three critics agreed that he was the only good juggler performing that day.
• Michael Speaks, a gospel singer. The judges unanimously sent him through for his great energy and his pop-gospel vibe.
• J. R. Johns and His Best Friends, a dog trainer who did some acrobatic and fast paced dog tricks.
• Rappin' Granny, a 73-year-old rapping grandmother from Castaic, California.
• Sydney "Syd the Kid" Park, a young stand-up comedian,^[3] and gospel singer Michael Speaks, also advanced to the second round from the L.A. auditions, but didn't compete in any of the semifinal episodes, for reasons not disclosed.

Eighteen additional acts from Los Angeles that also made it to the second round were briefly shown at the end of the show, since there were too many performers to fit into a two hour episode. They include: Celtic Spring, Sugar n' Spice, Jessica Sanchez, N'Versity, Rabbi Baptiste, George Kelly, Andy Chitanga, Conrad Wright, Shawn Ryan, Sean and John, Natasha Le, Realis, Caitlyn Taylor Love, Marla and Michelle, Hell If I Know, Jesschelle, Trey Knight's Stilt World, Hoopalicious, and Desperation Squad.

Acts that were eliminated include:

• Blue Velvet, a singing trio, was voted out as soon as they sang their name. They mentioned that they were missing out on their music.
• Shadow Dancers, a troupe of performers who used costumed actors and a donkey to tell some sort of allegorical tale. Neither the judges nor the audience could understand it. The judges refused to vote; the audience was allowed to vote in their place.
• Eddie Haskell, who played a saw as a musical instrument. He was voted off very quickly, and was visibly angry with the judges as a result.
• Kathy Kavanaugh, a singing harpist. Morgan commented that he would like her to sing at his funeral, as the music was deep and touching, but said it was not the right kind of talent for the show.
• Eric "Harry Carrey" Mol, who tried to impersonate the voices of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Yoda and Shaggy Rogers from Scooby-Doo, but appeared to have failed on all accounts.
• Jay Myl, a man in a pirate costume playing "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" on a nose flute. After being eliminated, he started insulting the judges.
• Betty Victor, a 76-year-old woman singing "God Bless America". Morgan single-handedly stopped the act by pushing all three X buttons.
• The Boofont Sisters, a singing duo featuring a woman and a cross-dressing man in matching outfits, singing "Total Eclipse of the Heart".
• Holy Cow, a man breakdancing in a cow suit that shot milk at the judges. Morgan said he would be popular with children, but not with adults.
• Wildlife Wendy, a zookeeper with an African Grey Parrot named Wazoo, that was trained to make various sound effects. The judges weren't impressed, but Wendy shot back, emphasizing the hard work and amount of time it took to train the parrot
• S. Frank Stringham, a performer who blew up balloons to make parts of a face, then put the parts on while singing Frank Sinatra's "All of Me". Despite not moving on, he presented Philbin with a mini replica of him made out of balloons.

New York auditions[link]

Aired June 28, 2006, 1 hour

Acts that advanced to the second round include:

• All That, a clog dancing group; the five men from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (who had auditioned in New York) danced with incredible rhythm and had the audience on their feet in no time. Brandy described the men as worthy of their title and Hasselhoff thought they were "up front", Morgan joked that he didn't like them, adding after the audience expressed, "because all the women in America will love you."
• Leonid the Magnificent from Russia; a tall, flamboyant Adonis with angel's wings, who balanced a sword tip to tip on a sword held in his mouth. He was noticeably nervous, dropped the sword during his first try, and was rejected. Later in the show, Brandy asked him to be brought back. Leonid cried and said he was on the show to make his dream come true.
• Elliot Zimet, a magician that made doves and a parrot appear in a more exciting and cool fashion. Piers said that he usually finds dove acts excrutiatingly boring, but that Zimet had managed to make it interesting, and all the judges agreed to put him through.
• Corina Brouder, a young Irish woman who played a harp while singing; the judges said that she and her voice were beautiful, and agreed to put her through.
• Dave Smith, a contortionist and musician who sang and played the song "Bend Me, Shape Me" on his guitar while his legs were wrapped behind his head. He amused Morgan and he wanted to see what other crazy stuff Dave could do.
• PBM, A rock band from Detroit, came on stage with hopes of dazzling the judges and the audience. Their music was a combination of rock and reggae, also known as ska or ska-punk. Morgan liked the band’s energy but wasn’t a big fan of the lead singer. Hasselhoff and Brandy wanted the band to come back. Brandy challenged PBM to prove Morgan wrong the next time they hit the stage.
• Michelle L'amour, dressed as Snow White, performed a burlesque striptease for the judges. This infuriated Brandy, who vigorously pushed Hasselhoff and Morgan's strike buttons. The two male judges enthusiastically gave their approvals for her to go on to the next round.
• Bianca Ryan, an 11-year old from Philadelphia, belted out the Jennifer Hudson cover of the Jennifer Holliday song "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from the 2006 motion picture adaptation of the 1982 Broadway musical Dreamgirls. Brandy gave Bianca a standing ovation and called her "my favorite contestant in this competition." Morgan told Ryan to change her hair, dress and shoes, "and you will win this tournament. ... You came on this stage, and you blew us away!" Hasselhoff called her "a star" and called for the audience to "get on your feet for this girl!"^[4]
• Side Swipe, a karate team who performed karate moves to music, also advanced to the second round from the New York auditions, but didn't compete in any of the semifinal episodes. In their audition for the second season of America's Got Talent in 2007, it was disclosed that the group had to withdraw from the competition in Season 1 because one of the members had injured his foot shortly after their first round performance.

Seven additional acts from New York that also made it to the second round were briefly shown at the end of the show, since there were too many performers to fit into a one hour episode. They include: The Hemphill Kids, Clarence Donaldson, Ten13 Concept, Billy Januario, The King Charles Unicycle Troupe, Aaron Burr, and Daniel Colin.

Acts that were eliminated include:

• William J. McGowan, an opera singer that sang "Cara Mia". Morgan called him the worst singer he'd ever heard.
• Frank Simon, a man who balanced a motorbike and then a stove on his lower jaw. Though extremely popular with the crowd, the judges felt that wasn't a level of talent. Morgan stated, "This is a talent show, not a freak show," which was followed by loud boos from the audience.
• Matthew Fuhrman, a navy reserve soldier from Miami Beach, Florida who attempted to beatbox. Though taking off his shirt won him some female audience support, the judges didn't like his audition.
• Marlon Reynolds, a man that sang "I Left My Heart In San Francisco", did not get a chance to sing the chorus. Morgan said he should have left his voice in San Francisco.

Chicago auditions[link]

Aired July 5, 2006, 1 hour

Acts that advanced to the second round include:

• The Passing Zone, two comedians/jugglers who juggled lit torches while on the 'Rola Bola of Death' as they make one-liners. Hasselhoff didn't like them, as with most of the other jugglers on the show, but Brandy and Morgan both said yes.
• The Millers, Cole on guitar and vocals, and L.D. on harmonica and backing vocals. They played Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama". Morgan said that L.D. was a terrible singer, but in contrast, was the best harmonica player he had ever seen.
• Lilia Stepanova, a contortionist who shot a bow and arrow with her feet while executing a handstand to Ecstasy by ATB.
• Mark Faje (aka Mark "The Knife"), the "world's most dangerous comic", kicked a burning bowling ball with two steak knives protruding from it to the side of his head after placing a live scorpion in his pants. The judges all voted yes (though Morgan thought he was "completely barking mad").
• Taylor Ware, a singer and yodeler who learned all her yodeling from a tape and instruction booklet. The judges were blown away by her performance ("You learned that from a tape," asked Hasselhoff, "and an instruction booklet?! You are a good student!").
• The Players Club, a group of people who were "Step dancers", which involves using only your body as musical instruments. Morgan didn't see that they had an audience for their talent, while Hasselhoff and Brandy liked the act, though Brandy wanted them to be tighter.
• Quick Change Artists, a magic duo who rapidly changed outfits, with no visible way of determining how they did it.

Three additional acts from Chicago that also made it to the second round were briefly shown at the end of the show, since there were too many performers to fit into a one hour episode. They include: K Turbo, Sonia Lee, and Chadwick.

Acts that were eliminated include:

• The Chicago Matadors, a group of overweight Chicago Bulls fans who danced to music.
• Shawn Crump, a singer who had only been singing for nine months. When asked by Brandy how good he was, he said he was awesome. Soon after starting "Suspicious Minds", he was quickly voted off.
• Sharon Kissane, a bird caller. She called birds that weren't there and made bird noises. Brandy wondered where the birds were that she was calling, Hasselhoff said she should be on medication, and Morgan said that she got off the wrong bus and came to the studio by mistake. He also said that he thought of the cuckoo when she was performing.
• Buster Balloon, a man who put himself inside a giant balloon. The balloon popped the first time, so he got another and did his act again. The judges were not very impressed, though.
• Flippy the Magnificent, a man wearing only a loincloth who imitated a hand-to-hand balancing act with an inflatable doll that looked like himself. When asked what was the "magnificent" part of the act, Flippy said that the judges did not give him a chance to bring out the magnificent part. Morgan said it was a ridiculous act and it was a waste of time.
• The Laughing Yogi (Yogi Ramesh), a man who did yoga that tried to make people laugh. However, nobody laughed and he was eliminated.

Semi-finals[link]

At this point, 58 of the 61 acts (29 with televised auditions and 29 without) that made it to the semifinals were divided into four groups. The 14 or 15 acts in each group had to perform a second audition in front of only the judges. Brandy, Hasselhoff, and Morgan then pick ten of these performers to continue onto the telecast. The contestants chosen to perform on stage were announced one at a time. Those acts that were not chosen did not find out until the last act is called, ending their chances to move on to the semifinals, unless a judge selected a nonperformer for the Wild Card show later in the season.

Three semifinalists: Sydney Park, Sideswipe, and Michael Speaks (all of which had televised auditions), didn't perform in the semifinals at all. No reason was given for their absence, but in 2007, it was revealed that Sideswipe had to withdraw because of a member's foot injury. Sydney Park was believed to be absent because of her career in acting.

All semifinal programs were two hours long. The results shows, airing the next day, were one hour long, except for the first results show which was 30 minutes long.

Part 1[link]

Eliminated by judges (These acts were not selected by the judges to perform in the episode, and were eliminated from the competition unless chosen for the Wild Card episode):

• Audition televised: Bernie Barker (auditioned in Los Angeles) and The Players' Club (Chicago)
• Audition not televised: Hell If I Know, Andy Chitanga, and Jessica Sanchez (all from Los Angeles)

Jessica Sanchez would appear in the Wild Card as the choice of Brandy.

Part 2[link]

Eliminated by judges:

• Audition televised: PBM (New York)
• Audition not televised: Rabbi Baptiste (Los Angeles), The Hemphill Kids (New York), K Turbo (Chicago), and Clarence Donaldson (New York)

The judges could not agree on a winner by the end of the performance episode, which upset Philbin and many of the audience members. Although Brandy revealed that she and Hasselhoff agreed on a choice, Morgan said he refused to add a third singing act to the two that had already made it to the finals, stating "this is not American Idol" and he "wanted a more diverse group of acts for the final". This indicated that At Last was Brandy and Hasselhoff's pick (as the other singing acts that night got an X on Brandy's part). Realis became the judges' selection, announced on the following day's results show, while At Last became the viewers' pick.

Part 3[link]

Eliminated by judges:

• Audition not televised: Billy Januario (New York), Marla & Michelle (Los Angeles), Jesschelle (Los Angeles), and Chadwick (Chicago)

Part 4[link]

Eliminated by judges:

• Audition televised: Ivan Pecel (Los Angeles)
• Audition not televised: Aaron Burr (New York), Daniel Colin (New York), and Conrad Wright (Los Angeles)

Wild Card[link]

Finals[link]

In the final round, the judges were still allowed to judge, but only the audience can decide the winners. In addition, each finalist had a celebrity coach to guide them.

Italics indicate that the act received three checks from the judges.

The winner of the one-million-dollar grand prize was 11-year-old singer Bianca Ryan. The ten finalists were first split into two groups. Group A consisted of Realis, At Last, Rappin' Granny, The Passing Zone and Quick Change. Out of the ten finalists, they received the lowest number of votes. The five finalists that received the most votes were The Millers, Taylor Ware, Bianca Ryan, Celtic Spring and All That. Regis asked All That and The Millers to step forward, and announced that they did not win the grand prize but were both runners-up, and were ranked in either 2nd or 3rd place. These acts each won a 2007 Dodge Caliber RT. The remaining three were Taylor Ware, Bianca Ryan and Celtic Spring. Philbin announced that Bianca won the grand prize.

Crazy Caliber Talent[link]

1. Rudi Macaggi, Mike Lloyd, Kelvin Gordon, James Thompson Winner:Rudi Macaggi
2. The Douglas Lee, Nicolas Abramowitz, Larry Clark, Gery Deer and Scout, Camille Trout Winner:The Douglas Lee
3. Duane Flatmo, Mayling Garcia, Bandaloni, Zach Freeman, Arthur the One Man Band Winner:Duane Flatmo
4. Skylar Aud, Sammi Pryor, Alexis and Alysha, The Great Stamen Show Winner:The Great Stamen Show
5. Dave Nakfoor, The Rubberband Kid, Jim McDonald, Nikolo Ashford, Sizzle Twins Winner:Dave Nakfoor

On the Finals Results Show (August 17), acrobat Rudi Macaggi won the Weird and Wacky Talent Finale (aka Crazy Caliber Talent) when the 5 finalists competed for a 2007 Dodge Caliber RT. He tap danced and dribbled a basketball while in a handstand, and did a standing backflip and caught a trapeze with his feet. The other finalists were Duane Flatmo (who played the guitar with an egg beater and a weed whacker), The Great Stamen Show (who played music by tapping his teeth), The Douglas Lee (who played water-filled drinking glasses), and Dave Nakfoor (who caught hard boiled eggs in his mouth).

Performers on results shows[link]

• July 13 – Teddy Geiger
• July 20 – Jurassic 5
• July 27 – Cirque du Soleil
• August 3 – Tom Green
• August 10 – Penn & Teller
• August 17 – Aly & AJ, Blue Man Group

Contestants who appeared on other shows[link]

• Jessica Sanchez was in the final round of the eleventh season of American Idol. She is the second former America's Got Talent contestant to compete on American Idol, preceded by Thia Megia from America's Got Talent season 4 who competed in the tenth season of that show. She is the first female recipient of the judges' save, which was introduced in the eighth season of the show. She is also the first recipient of the judges' save to advance to the finale, but she lost to Phillip Phillips, who auditioned for America's Got Talent season 2 (unaired audition).

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website of America's Got Talent
• America's Got Talent (Season 1) at the Internet Movie Database
• America's Got Talent (Season 1) at TV.com

America's Got Talent (also known as AGT or Got Talent) is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, 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 one million dollars. The show debuted in June 2006 for the summer television season. From season three onwards, the prize includes the one million dollars, payable in a financial annuity over 40 years (or the present cash value of such annuity), and a show as the headliner on the Las Vegas Strip.

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, and was originally due to be a 2005 British series called Paul O'Grady's Got Talent^[1] but was postponed due to O'Grady's acrimonious split with broadcaster ITV (later launching as Britain's Got Talent. As such, the American version became the first full series of the franchise.

Despite Simon Cowell's involvement in the show's production, his contract with Fox for his involvement with American Idol prevented him from being involved in the show as a judge. After leaving Idol however, Cowell began to produce and judge a version of The X Factor for Fox in 2011.

Selection process[link]

Producers' auditions[link]

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.

Judges' auditions[link]

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 above the stage. If an act receives three X's, they must stop their performance. Since season three, 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[link]

Since season two, 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. 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[link]

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 two, 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 five, performances from finalists of YouTube 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 three, a chance to headline a show on the Las Vegas Strip. During seasons one through six, the live shows were in Hollywood. Beginning with season seven, the live shows are at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

Since season five, 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.^[2][3]

Regular cast[link]

Key:

     Previous

     Current

Hosts[link]

Judging panel[link]

Season overview[link]

Season 1 (2006)[link]

In May 2006, NBC announced the new show. The audition tour took place in June. Auditions were held in the following locations: Los Angeles, New York City, New York, Chicago and Atlanta. Some early ads for the show implied that the winning act would also headline a show at a casino, 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 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 reported.^[4] On the season finale, there was an unaired segment that was scheduled to appear after Aly & AJ. The segment featured Tom Green dressing in a parrot 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 and judged by actor David Hasselhoff, singer Brandy Norwood, and journalist Piers Morgan.

The winner of the season was 11-year old singer Bianca Ryan, and the runners-up were clogging group All That, and musical group The Millers.

Season 2 (2007)[link]

After initially announcing in June 2006 that season two would premiere in January 2007 and would air at 8 PM on Sunday nights, with no separate results show, the network changed that, pushing 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, which has a similar premise and is more popular. In AGT's 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.^[5] In March 2007, NBC announced that Philbin would not return as host of the show, and that Jerry Springer would succeed him as host,^[6] with Sharon Osbourne (formerly a judge on Cowell's UK show The X Factor) succeeding Brandy as a judge. This means the show, ironically, had two British judges and one American one.

Season two 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 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, a ventriloquist who is also a singer, being named the winner, and singer Cas Haley as runner-up.

Season 3 (2008)[link]

NBC announced in August 2007 that the network had renewed the show for a third season. It premiered on June 17, 2008. Auditions took place in Charlotte, Nashville, Orlando, New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago from January to April. A televised MySpace audition also took place. Sharon Osbourne, Piers Morgan and David Hasselhoff returned as judges. Jerry Springer also returned as host.

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

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

Season 4 (2009)[link]

Season four premiered on Tuesday, June 23. Season four is the first to be broadcast in high definition. Auditions for this season were held in more than nine major cities including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC, Atlanta, Miami, Tacoma, Boston and Houston. Los Angeles Auditions kicked off the tour January 29–31 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, followed by Atlanta Auditions February 7–8. New York 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 four offered the opportunity for acts to upload their video direct at NBC.com/agt with their registration. This year's host is Nick Cannon, who replaced Jerry Springer. Springer said that he could not host due to other commitments.^[7] All judges from season three returned for this season.^[8]

The audition process in season four is the same as the previous season, but the 'Las Vegas Callbacks' was renamed 'Vegas Verdicts'. This was the first season since season one 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, the show's executive producer, called the judges by phone while they were flying back to Los Angeles, 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.^{[citation needed]} 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, an American country music singer, was named the season's winner. The grand prize was one million dollars and a 10-week headline show at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.[1]

Season 5 (2010)[link]

For season five, 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.^[9] 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.

For the 2010 season, David Hasselhoff left to host a new television show,^[10] and was replaced by comedian and Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel. This made Piers Morgan the only original judge left in the show.^[11] 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.^[12]

On September 15, 2010, Michael Grimm, an American singer/songwriter, was named the winner of season five. 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, Fighting Gravity, Prince Poppycock, and the other top ten finalists.^[2][3]

Season 6 (2011)[link]

Season six premiered on Tuesday, May 31, 2011 for a two-hour special. Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne continued as judges after taking jobs on Piers Morgan Tonight and The Talk, respectively. On The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on July 27, 2010, Morgan officially stated that he has signed a three year contract to stay on Talent.^[13] In addition, Howie Mandel returned as a judge, and Nick Cannon returned as host. ^[14]

The show held televised auditions in Los Angeles, New York City, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Seattle, and Houston. Untelevised producers' auditions were also held in Denver and Chicago. Previews of auditions were shown during NBC's The Voice premiere on April 26, 2011. Online auditions via YouTube 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 five.

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 season six. Dance group Silhouettes 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.

Season 7 (2012)[link]

On August 12, 2011, NBC confirmed that it was renewing America's Got Talent for a seventh season, which premiered on May 14, 2012.

The first round of auditions, which are usually judged by producers were held in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Tampa, Florida; Charlotte, North Carolina; Austin, Texas; Anaheim, California; St. Louis, Missouri; and San Francisco, California from October 2011 to February 2012.^[15] The show began its live theater performances in New York City on February 27.

On November 11, 2011, Piers Morgan announced he will not be returning as a judge for season seven, due to his work hosting CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight. ^[16]

On December 15, 2011, Howard Stern announced live on his SiriusXM radio show that he is replacing Piers Morgan as judge for season seven. In addition, since Stern took the job, the show will move to New York City. ^[17] Simon Cowell, the show's executive producer, also announced on The New York Post in December 2011 that the show will be receiving a "top-to-bottom makeover", confirming that there will be new graphics, lighting, theme music, show intro, logo, and a larger live audience.

Judges Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel, as well as host Nick Cannon, continued for the seventh season.

In April 2012, it was announced that the 2012 season's production would take place at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.^[18]

[edit] 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 four finale. Former host of the series, Jerry Springer, emceed, commuting weekly between Stamford, Connecticut tapings of his self-named show and Las Vegas.^[19]

In 2010, on the first live show of season five, 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.^{[citation needed]}

America's Got Talent Live returned for its third run in 2011.^{[citation needed]}

Overall ratings summary[link]

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 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, 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 and the highly promoted world premiere of Glee, posting 9.7 million viewers, compared to only 6.5 million viewers for So You Think You Can Dance and 7.1 million viewers for Glee. 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 four. The most-watched episode has been the finale of season five, with 16.41 million viewers. The series premiere, and an episode featuring the first part of Las Vegas Week in season six, have each tied for highest rating among adults 18-49, both having a 4.6 rating.

The show is rated TV-PG.

Awards and nominations[link]

Top selling albums[link]

This section may stray from the topic of the article. Please help improve this section or discuss this issue on the talk page.

The sales numbers are American sales only.

Artists with RIAA certified albums[link]

Artists without RIAA certified albums[link]

Contestants who appeared on other talent shows[link]

Three former America's Got Talent contestants appeared on American Idol:

• Thia Megia from season four of America's Got Talent finished in the Top 11 of season ten of American Idol.
• Jessica Sanchez from season one of America's Got Talent is the runner-up of season eleven of American Idol. She is the first female recipient of the Judges' Save, which was introduced in season eight of American Idol and the only recipient to reach the finale.
• Phillip Phillips from season two of America's Got Talent (unaired audition) is the winner of season eleven of American Idol^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

• Got Talent
• The X Factor

References[link]