The fifth season of America's Got Talent, an American television reality show talent competition, premiered in the United States on the NBC network and on Canada's Global on June 1, 2010. Soul singer Michael Grimm was named the winner on September 15, 2010.

The season 5 selection process appears to carry over that of the past two seasons, but the Las Vegas Round was changed to that of the second and third seasons, which gave the performers a second chance to showcase their act. Instead of an audition consisting of performers who submitted their acts on MySpace, as has been done in previous seasons, the year contained a quarterfinal made up of twelve acts who submitted their auditions on YouTube (eleven selected by the judges and one selected by online voters). Because of the inclusion of an additional quarterfinal, only four acts were selected to move on each week, instead of five. Additionally, there was also a separate wild card show (the first since season 1), consisting of acts brought back by the judges to perform after being originally eliminated in either Las Vegas Week or previous quarterfinals. The semifinal consisted of 24 acts this year. Ten of the 24 passed through to the Top 10 round, from which six were eliminated, leaving four to compete in the finals.

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 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.

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."

Poppycock came to national attention in 2010 when he competed on the fifth season of America's Got Talent. On September 15, 2010, he was voted fourth place in the final four.

Quale was raised on a horse farm in Great Falls, Virginia. As a child, he sang "incessantly" and was a member of several children's choirs. His first public performance was at age 11 at Kennedy Center in the Children's Choir of the Washington National Opera. In his teenage years, Quale developed a love for writing music and became "enamored" with David Bowie, Depeche Mode, opera, madrigals, Gregorian chant, the Smiths and Gilbert and Sullivan. He also began recording his own music. While in high school, he spent several summers at Interlochen Arts Camp, a competitive performing arts program of the Interlochen Center for the Arts. His "flair for theater and arts made his teen years particularly tough," and bullying led him to drop out of high school in his junior year. Quale has since earned a GED. Quale performed and toured with musicals and choirs throughout high school and college. In December 2001, Quale joined Chicago synth-pop band Endora as lead singer and songwriter. Quale moved to Los Angeles around 2005 and studied musical theatre at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. Quale wrote and released a solo album, Worldview, and was one of several young gay performing artists profiled in Brian Gleason's documentary Rise Up and Shout!.

Jacqueline Marie "Jackie" Evancho ( /iːˈveɪŋkoʊ/ ee-VAYNG-koh; born April 9, 2000) is an American classical crossover singer who has gained wide recognition at an early age.

Between 2008 and 2010, Evancho entered several talent competitions; made singing appearances, mostly in Pennsylvania; issued an independent album, Prelude to a Dream; and attracted interest on YouTube. Later in 2010, at the age of 10, she gained wider popularity with her performances in the fifth season of the America's Got Talent (AGT) competition, finishing in second place. With the subsequent release of her O Holy Night EP, she became the best-selling debut artist of 2010, the youngest top-10 debut artist in U.S. history and the youngest solo artist ever to go platinum. In June 2011, her first full-length major-label album, Dream With Me, debuted at #2 on American album charts, and she became the youngest top-5 debut artist in UK history. Billboard ranked Evancho the top Classical Albums Artist for 2011.

Evancho impressed composers Tim Janis and David Foster, each of whom included her in his concerts beginning in 2009. Foster later produced Evancho's album, Dream With Me, and subsequent PBS special for the television series, Great Performances. Evancho performed in front of U.S. President Barack Obama at the 2010 National Christmas Tree lighting in Washington, D.C. She is the ambassador for "Mission: Humane", a Humane Society program which encourages children's involvement in the protection of animals. She features songs from Dream With Me in a 2011–12 concert tour with symphony orchestras. Evancho released another studio album, Heavenly Christmas, in November 2011. The same month, she became the youngest person ever to give a solo concert at Lincoln Center in New York City. A national cotillion organization listed her as one of the "ten best-mannered people of 2011".