The fourteenth season of American
talent show
A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...
competition series ''
America's Got Talent
''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...
'' was broadcast on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
from May 28 to September 18, 2019. Following the previous season,
Tyra Banks
Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), also known as BanX, is an American television personality, model, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15, and was the first Africa ...
left the program to focus on other projects, leading to
Terry Crews
Terry Alan Crews (born July 30, 1968) is an American actor, television host, and former American footballer. He played Julius Rock in the UPN/ CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris'', which aired from 2005 to 2009, and portrayed Terry Jeffords in ...
replacing her as host following his involvement on ''
America's Got Talent: The Champions'' earlier that year. In addition, both
Mel B
Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Melanie B or Mel B, is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sc ...
and
Heidi Klum
Heidi Klum (; born 1 June 1973) is a German-American model, television host, producer, and businesswoman. She appeared on the cover of the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' in 1998 and was the first German model to become a Victoria's Secre ...
also left the program, with their replacements as judges being
Gabrielle Union
Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade ( Union; born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on television sitcoms, prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films ''She's All That' ...
and
Julianne Hough
Julianne Alexandra Hough (; born July 20, 1988) is an American dancer, actress, and singer. In 2007, she joined the cast of ABC's ''Dancing with the Stars'' as a professional dancer, winning two seasons with her celebrity partners. After leaving ...
.
The guest judges for this season's Judge Cuts stage included
Brad Paisley
Bradley Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting with his 1999 debut album ''Who Needs Pictures'', he has released eleven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashvil ...
,
Dwyane Wade
Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. (; born January 17, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Wade spent the majority of his 16-year career playing for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and won three NBA champi ...
,
Ellie Kemper
Elizabeth Claire Kemper (born May 2, 1980) is an American actress and comedian. She has been nominated for a Critics' Choice Movie Award, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, three Satellite Awards, and seven Scre ...
and
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...
.
The semi-finals involved two additional guest judges, a first in the program's history, with
Sean Hayes
Sean Patrick Hayes (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He is best known for playing Jack McFarland on the NBC sitcom ''Will & Grace'', for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award, four SAG Awards, and one American Come ...
and
Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...
.
The fourteenth season was won by singer and pianist
Kodi Lee, with choir Detroit Youth Choir finishing second, and stand-up comedian Ryan Niemiller placing third.
During its broadcast, the season averaged around 9.12 million viewers.
Season overview
Open auditions were held in late 2018, within
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
,
Knoxville
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...
,
Tampa
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
,
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
,
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
and
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. As with the previous year, the judges' auditions were held in March 2019, at the
Pasadena Civic Auditorium
The Pasadena Convention Center is a convention center in Pasadena, California. It consists of three buildings.
Pasadena Civic Auditorium
The Civic Auditorium, one of the major structures in the Pasadena Civic Center District, was built in 1931 an ...
in Los Angeles. The Judge Cuts stage of the competition included singer
Brad Paisley
Bradley Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting with his 1999 debut album ''Who Needs Pictures'', he has released eleven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashvil ...
, former basketball player
Dwyane Wade
Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. (; born January 17, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Wade spent the majority of his 16-year career playing for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and won three NBA champi ...
, actress
Ellie Kemper
Elizabeth Claire Kemper (born May 2, 1980) is an American actress and comedian. She has been nominated for a Critics' Choice Movie Award, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, three Satellite Awards, and seven Scre ...
and host
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...
.
Following the previous season,
Tyra Banks
Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), also known as BanX, is an American television personality, model, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15, and was the first Africa ...
left the program to focus on other television projects, announcing her decision in late December 2018. Due to her departure,
Terry Crews
Terry Alan Crews (born July 30, 1968) is an American actor, television host, and former American footballer. He played Julius Rock in the UPN/ CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris'', which aired from 2005 to 2009, and portrayed Terry Jeffords in ...
became her replacement beginning in April 2019, after being popular with viewers as host of the first season of the
spin-off series ''
America's Got Talent: The Champions''.
In addition to the departure of Banks, two judges were replaced due to conflicting obligations in 2019.
Mel B
Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Melanie B or Mel B, is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sc ...
could not return since she was needed to headline the
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Vict ...
reunion tour that year, while
Heidi Klum
Heidi Klum (; born 1 June 1973) is a German-American model, television host, producer, and businesswoman. She appeared on the cover of the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' in 1998 and was the first German model to become a Victoria's Secre ...
signed on to producing a
new fashion competition series for
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
and could not remain committed to ''AGT''. Therefore, actress
Gabrielle Union
Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade ( Union; born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on television sitcoms, prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films ''She's All That' ...
and dancer
Julianne Hough
Julianne Alexandra Hough (; born July 20, 1988) is an American dancer, actress, and singer. In 2007, she joined the cast of ABC's ''Dancing with the Stars'' as a professional dancer, winning two seasons with her celebrity partners. After leaving ...
were offered the role of judges, with the announcement of their predecessor's replacements being made at the same time as Crews in April 2019.
This season had a minor change to the format of the program, with the semi-finals featuring two guest judges. Their inclusion would only be for feedback on the performances of the semi-finalists, not for stopping a performance with a buzzer nor having any involvement with the judge votes. The judges recruited for this format in this season were
Sean Hayes
Sean Patrick Hayes (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He is best known for playing Jack McFarland on the NBC sitcom ''Will & Grace'', for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award, four SAG Awards, and one American Come ...
and
Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...
.
Other than this change, an undisclosed issue forced the judges' vote to be suspended during first quarter-final's results. While the top six quarter-finalists voted for by the public were advanced, those placed 7th, 8th and 9th respectively faced only the online vote as a result.
Of the participants who auditioned for this season, thirty-six secured a place in the live quarter-finals, with twelve quarter-finalists in each one. Among these included: singer and pianist
Kodi Lee, singer and rapper Joseph Allen, violinist Tyler Butler-Figueroa the Detroit Youth Choir, and singer Luke Islam, who had each received a Golden Buzzer from the main judges and host; singer and guitarist Sophie Pecora, acrobatic dance group
V.Unbeatable
V. Unbeatable (also known as Vikas Unbeatable) is a Mumbai-based dance crew. They rose to fame in India when they took part in the dance series '' Dance Plus'' for season 4 in 2018 and finished in the top 4. They received international coverage wh ...
, light-up dance group Light Balance Kids and opera singer
Emanne Beasha
Emanne Beasha ( ar, إيمان بيشة; born 18 September 2008) is a Circassian American classically-trained singer. She is the winner of the fifth season of the program '' Arabs Got Talent'' and finished in 9th place on fourteenth Season of ...
,
who had each received a Golden Buzzer from the guest judges; singer Ansley Burns, mentalists The Sentimentalists and aerialist Matthew Richardson, who were chosen as Wildcard quarter-finalists. About twenty-two quarter-finalists advanced and were split between the two semi-finals, including dog tricks act Lukas & Falco (chosen as the Wildcard semi-finalist), with ten semi-finalists securing a place in the finals. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this season:
: , , , ,
: ,
Wildcard Quarter-finalist ,
Wildcard Semi-finalist
:
Golden Buzzer - Auditions ,
Golden Buzzer - Judge Cuts
* Ages denoted for a participant(s), pertain to their final performance for this season.
* The latter value denotes the age of the dog, as disclosed by its owner.
Quarter-finals summary
:
Buzzed Out ,
Judges' choice ,
: , ,
Quarter-final 1 (August 13)
Guest Performers, Results Show:
Shin Lim
Liang-Shun Lim (born September 25, 1991), known professionally as Shin Lim, is a Canadian-American magician, recognized for his use of card manipulation and sleight of hand. He is known for elaborate close-up card magic routines, during which h ...
,
Bianca Ryan
Bianca Taylor Ryan (born September 1, 1994) is an American musician, singer and songwriter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ryan was the first winner of NBC's ''America's Got Talent'' at the age of eleven. Singing two Broadway show tunes along t ...
, Brian King Joseph, and Sofie Dossi
* Due to an undisclosed technical issue, the judges' vote was not held for this quarter-final; the results pertain to the standard public vote for the top 6 quarter-finalist, and the online vote for the 7th favored by the public.
Quarter-final 2 (August 20)
Guest Performer, Results Show:
Susan Boyle
Susan Magdalane Boyle (born 1 April 1961) is a Scottish singer. She rose to fame in 2009 after appearing as a contestant on the third series of ''Britain's Got Talent'', singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from '.
Boyle's debut studio album, ''I D ...
Quarter-final 3 (August 27)
Guest Performers, Results Show: Celestia, and Deadly Games
* Due to the majority vote for Marcin Patrzalek, Hough's voting intention was not revealed.
Semi-finals summary
:
Buzzed Out ,
Judges' choice ,
: , ,
Semi-final 1 (September 3)
Guest Performers, Results Show:
Darci Lynne
Darci Lynne Farmer (born October 12, 2004) is an American ventriloquist, singer and actress. Lynne has been credited with the revival of ventriloquism, earning praise and numerous accolades for her work.
Born in Oklahoma, Lynne developed an int ...
, and
Preacher Lawson
*
Sean Hayes
Sean Patrick Hayes (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He is best known for playing Jack McFarland on the NBC sitcom ''Will & Grace'', for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award, four SAG Awards, and one American Come ...
was included with the judging panel for this semi-final, but could only provide feedback; he did not have anything to do with the judges' vote or buzzing semi-finalists.
Semi-final 2 (September 10)
Guest Performers, Results Show:
Tokio Myers
Torville Jones (born 6 April 1984), better known by his stage name Tokio Myers, is a British pianist and record producer, who was born in London, England. He won reality show ''Britain's Got Talent'' in 2017 playing Debussy's " Clair de lune", w ...
&
Stewart Copeland
Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is a Scottish-American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the English rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with th ...
, and
Piff the Magic Dragon
John van der Put (born 9 June 1980) is a magician and comedian from the United Kingdom who performs under the stage name Piff the Magic Dragon. A winner of multiple awards from British magic societies, he toured as a supporting act for Mumfo ...
*
Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...
was included with the judging panel for this semi-final, but could only provide feedback; she did not have anything to do with the judges' vote or buzzing semi-finalists.
* Although Mandel's buzzer was pressed by Lukas & Falco during their performance, he admitted he would have done so himself regardless of their action.
Finals (September 17–18)
Guest Performers, Finale:
Cher
Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...
, and
Lilly Singh
Lilly Saini Singh (born September 26, 1988) is a Canadian YouTuber. Singh began making YouTube videos in 2010. She originally appeared under the pseudonym Superwoman (stylized IISuperwomanII), her YouTube username until 2019. In 2016, she was in ...
: , , ,
* Ndlovu Youth Choir & Detroit Youth Choir conducted two joint routines for their second performance, and thus shared the same guest performer for each.
* Abdul was not revealed until after the performance.
* Ryan Niemiller's second performance with Chris Jericho was pre-recorded before the finale.
Ratings
References
{{America's Got Talent, state=expanded
2019 American television seasons
America's Got Talent seasons