America’s Got Talent Brief History, Bio, Wiki, Host, Judges, Winners, and Auditions

America’s Got Talent Bio | Wiki

America’s Got Talent is a televised American talent competition that was founded by Simon Cowell and is also part of the Global Talent franchise. In addition, the program is produced and distributed by Syco Entertainment and also broadcasted on the NBC television network. Following the suspension of the plan for a British edition in the year 2005, after a dispute inside the British broadcaster known as ITV, production was later commenced in the year 2007, after the success of the first season.

Every season is mostly run throughout the network’s summer schedule and has featured numerous hosts over the years of operation with Terry Crews being the current host. The program captivates a number of participants from all over the United States to participate and who have some form of talent with acts varying from dancing, singing, magic, comedy, stunts, and many other genres. Every participant who auditions makes an effort to secure a place in the live episodes of a season by making an impression on the panel of judges which consists of Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, Howie Mandel, and Heidi Klum.

Those who succeed in the live episodes compete against themselves for both the judges as well as public’s vote for them to reach the live final, where the winner acquires a large cash prize, that is paid over a period of time, and ever since the third season, an opportunity to headline a show on the Las Vegas Strip. In addition, the show has been a rating success for the NBC network, as it attracts an average of around 10 million viewers every season.

In the year 2013, a book titled Inside AGT: The Untold Stories of America’s Got Talent was published, providing a description of the seasons, judges, contestants, as well as production techniques of the show together with detailed interviews with contestants from all seasons till the date of the book’s release.

America Got Talent has operated for a total of fifteen seasons and produced two spin-off competitions called America’s Got Talent: The Champions which began operating in January 2019, and also the upcoming series called AGT: Extreme which will begin operating midseason of summer 2021. Currently, a sixteenth season is premiering in June 2021 with all the judges as well as hosts of the last season returning.

America’s Got Talent Host

AGT has had many hosts since its first season including Regis Philbin, Jerry Springer, Nick Cannon, Tyra Banks, and Terry Crews, the current host. Terry Crews who goes by the name Terry Jeffords on NBC’s Golden Globe Award-Wining comedy known as ” Brooklyn Nine-Nine” has been AGT’s host since season fourteen in the year 2019. In addition, Crews is also an action-movie hero, pitchman, sitcom star, playable video game character, competition show host, human rights activist, as well as a high-end furniture designer.

He was born Terrence Alan Crews on July 30, 1968, in Flint Michigan, in the United States. Crew’s parents’ names are Patricia and Terry Crews. He was raised mostly by his mother in a strict Christian household based in Flint. His father on the other hand was an alcoholic and also abusive to his mother. In addition, Crews tied the knot with his wife Rebecca King on July 29, 1989, and is blessed with five kids and one grandchild.

America’s Got Talent Judges

Since AGT began premiering it has had a number of judges over the years as well as guest judges such as Michael Buble, Neil Patrick Harris, Piers Morgan, Marlon Wayans, and many others. The current judges include Sophia Vergara, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, and Simon Cowell.

1. Sofia Vergara

Sofia Vergara is a Colombian-American actress, model, television producer, and also presenter who was born on July 10, 1972, in Barranquilla, Colombia. She is currently married to Joe Manganiello and is a proud mother of one, a son named Manolo. She was born to her parents Margarita Vergara de Vergara who was a homemaker and Julio Enrique Vergara who served as a cattle rancher for the meat industry. Vergara has five siblings as well as many cousins. Her older brother named Rafael was killed in an attempt to kidnap him.

 

2. Howie Mandel

Howie Mandel is a television personality, producer, screenwriter, comedian, entrepreneur, actor, game show host, director, and also an author. He was born Howie Michael Mandel on November 29, 1955, in the Willowdale, area of North York (which is now in the north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada). Mandel exchanged wedding vows with his wife Terry Mandel in 1980 and is a proud dad to three children two daughters and one son named, Jackie, Riley, and Alex. In addition, he disclosed having obsessive-compulsive disorder which can take many forms such as mysophobia.

3. Heidi Klum

Heidi Klum is a German-American television host, producer, model, and businesswoman who was born on June 1, 1973, in Bergisch Gladbach, a city close to Cologne, West Germany. She was born to her parents Erna, who is a hairdresser, and Gunther Klum, who serves as a cosmetics company executive. She is currently married to Tom Kaulitz and is a mother of four, two sons, and two daughters.

Simon Cowell

Simon Philip Cowell is an English television personality, record executive, and entrepreneur who was born on October 7, 1959, in London, England. Apart from serving as an AGT judge since 2016, Cowell has also judged on the British television talent competition series called The X Factor UK, Pop Idol, Britain’s Got Talent, The X Factor US, and American Idol. He was born to his parents Julie Brett who was a socialite as well as a ballet dancer and Eric Selig Phillip Cowell who was a property developer, estate agent, and also music industry executive.

Cowell has a younger brother named Nicholas Cowell as well as half-siblings named Tony, John, June Cowell, and Michael Cowell. He has been married to his wife Lauren Silverman since 2013 and shares a son named Eric who was born on February 14, 2014.

America’s Got Talent Winners

Since America’s Got Talent began airing its first season in 2006 it has had several winners, with one winner every season. The winner is usually given an enormous cash prize that is paid over a duration of time as well as an opportunity to headline a show on the Las Vegas Strip. AGT winners include:

• Bianca Ryan season one winner in 2006.
• Terry Fator season two winner in 2007.
• Neal E. Boyd season three winner in 2008.
• Kevin Skinner season four winner in 2009.
• Michael Grimm season five winner in 2010.
• Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr. season six winner in 2011.
• Olate Dogs season seven winner in 2012.
• Kenichi Ebina season eight winner in 2013.
• Mat Franco season nine winner in 2014.
• Paul Zerdin season ten winner in 2015.
• Grace VenderWallo season eleven winner in 2016.
• Darci Lynne season twelve winner in 2017.
• Shin Lim season thirteen winner in 2018.
• Kodi Lee season fourteen winner in 2019.
• Brandon Leake season fifteen winner in 2020.
• Dustin Tavella season sixteen winner in 2021.
• Aidan Bryant season seventeen winner in 2022.

America’s Got Talent Auditions

Every year’s competition starts with a set of auditions, the first of which is known as “Producers’ Auditions”, and is conducted by the production team across several cities in the USA. This stage is usually open to all kinds of acts and is judged by an independent group, and thus determines who will participate in the next stage of auditions called “Judges’ Auditions”, which are conducted in a public venue within chosen cities all over the country and are also attended by the judges handling that year’s contest.

Every participant that makes it to this stage of auditions is held offstage from the main performing area in a waiting room and is given a number that indicates when they will perform. On being called to perform before the judges, the participant is given 90 seconds to illustrate their act, with a live audience present for all performances. Every judge is given a buzzer and may use it throughout a performance if they hate what is being performed, feel the act is a waste of their time, or are unimpressed. If a performer happens to be buzzed by all the judges, then their performance is automatically over.

At the end of each performance, the judges provide positive criticism and feedback regarding what they saw, whereafter they each give a vote. A participant needs a majority vote accrediting their performance to continue to the next stage, otherwise, they will be removed from the program at that stage. Many acts that continue may be cut by producers and may also be forced to give up their place due to the limited slots available for the next stage. Filming for every season always commences when the Judges’ Auditions are happening with the show’s presenter standing in the wings of each venue’s stage to interview and also provide personal commentary concerning a participant’s performer.

Acts who did not attend live auditions from the fifth to seventh seasons could instead submit a taped audition online through YouTube. Acts from the online auditions were later selected to compete before the judges as well as a live audience throughout the “live shows” part of the season, before the semi-finals. Prior to the addition of this round, the show had a different audition episode in Seasons 3 and 4 for contestants who posted videos on MySpace.

In the ninth season, AGT included a new format to the auditions in the form of the “Golden Buzzer” which started to make an appearance with the Got Talent franchise as it was first introduced on Germany’s Got Talent. Throughout auditions, every judge is permitted to use the Golden Buzzer to send an act automatically into the live shows, in spite of the opinion of the other judges. When the Golden Buzzer was initially used, it simply prevented the act from being eliminated. The only rule to the buzzer was that a judge could only use it once per season. In addition, the host was then permitted to use the Golden Buzzer for an act beginning the eleventh season.

America’s Got Talent Brief History

The concept of America’s Got Talent was invented by the X Factor and Sony Music executive called Simon Cowell who attempted to create a talent competition far more impressive than those of other televised talent contests. His proposition, which was first made to a British television network known as ITV in the year 2005, was for a competition in which participants of any location and age could enter with any form of talent they selected to decide to perform.

The network recommended the concept as well as green-lit production of a pilot episode to test out the format, along with Cowell forming a panel that consisted of himself and other two judges, including a tabloid journalist named Piers Morgan. The pilot had proven to be a success and the initial plan for the program was for a British edition to be produced and also broadcast between the years 2005 and 2006, hosted by Paul O’Grady, a British television personality who also helped with the plot.

However, Paul O’Grady who was supposed to be the show host became involved in a disputation with ITV during work on the new program, eventually terminating his contract with the network and deserting to another British network. That being the case, Cowell suspended work on the British edition and made haste his efforts on launching the format in America. After approaching numerous networks, he got an offer from NBC to produce his televised competition for their network and later concurred to a contract to produce fifteen episodes for the summer schedule.

Cowell worked diligently with the production of America’s Got Talent working with Fremantle and also his company known as Syco Entertainment, but decide not to become a judge but instead served as executive producer. He along with his producers hired Regis Philbin to serve as a host for the new program with Brandy Norwood, Morgan, and David Hasselhoff agreeing to be judges for the first season. The first season of America’s Got Talent proved to be a success leading to the commission of additional seasons by NBC and also encouraging ITV to contact Cowell with the intention of restarting production on the British edition of the year 2007.

The accomplishment of Britain’s Got Talent together with the American original’s own further success, successfully led Cowell to take offers for the rights to the competition and its format, hence creating the got talent franchise.

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