The sixth 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 31 to September 14, 2011. No major changes were made in the program's format, although a number of participants who auditioned later dropped out due to obligations outside the competition. However, the season attracted media attention after one of its participants established a world record during their performance on the program. The sixth season was won by jazz singer Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr., with

silhouette A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...

dance group Silhouettes finishing in second, and glow-light dance group

Team iLuminate iLuminate is a theatrical and technology company based in New York City, New York, New York, USA best known for competing in the America's Got Talent (season 6), sixth season of ''America's Got Talent''. They finished in third place. The dancers ...

placing third. During its broadcast, the season averaged around over 11.8 million viewers, with its opening episode attracting around 15.28 million viewers (the highest viewing figures for a season of ''America's Got Talent'' to premiere with).

Season overview

Auditions for the sixth season's competition took place during Winter until mid-Spring 2011, across eight cities in the United States. Filmed locations included

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' ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Auditions held within

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

were not filmed. Due to weather conditions, Piers Morgan was unable to attend some of the auditions held in Minneapolis, though this did not disrupt production. The sixth season had a number of participants who auditioned, but dropped out despite securing a place in the live rounds, after determining that it would conflict with other obligations each had. In an interview held during May 2011 on ''

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon. About pag ...

'', Howie Mandel described the program as the most dangerous, indicating that ambulances had to be called six times during auditions after a number of participants injured themselves during their act. One of the most significant events of this season involved Darren Taylor, who operated under his stage name of

Professor Splash Professor Splash (born March 8, 1961) is the show name of Darren Taylor. Taylor is an American show diver from Denver, Colorado. He is well known for breaking high diving records using small pools. He holds the ''Guinness World Records'' for hig ...

and established a new world record, during one of his live round performances for the highest shallow dive. Of the participants who auditioned for this season, sixty-one secured a place in the live quarter-finals, with twelve quarter-finalists in each one. Eleven of these acts were given a second chance in the Wildcard quarter-final, after losing their initial quarter-final. About twenty-four of these advanced and were split between the two semi-finals, with ten semi-finalists securing a place in the finals, and four finalists securing a place in the grand-final. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this season: : , , , , : , Playing card club A

Wildcard Quarter-finalist * Ages denoted for a participant(s), pertain to their final performance for this season. * These participants were entered into the Wildcard quarter-final after losing their initial quarter-final. * The ages of these participants were not disclosed on the program. * For health and safety reasons, Professor Splash had to perform outside the studio; judges were required view the performance in person, and used hand-carried signs in place of their buzzers.

Quarter-finals summary

Buzzed Out , Crystal Clear app clean

Judges' choice , : ,

Quarter-final 1 (July 12)

Guest Performers, Results Show:

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002), is the ...

, and cast of '' Priscilla, Queen of the Desert''. * Because of the majority vote for Miami All-Stars, Mandel's voting intention was not revealed.

Quarter-final 2 (July 19)

Guest Performers, Results Show:

Hot Chelle Rae Hot Chelle Rae ( ) (formerly known as Miracle Drug) is an American pop rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2005. The band currently consists of Ryan Follesé (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Nash Overstreet (lead guitar, backing vocals), a ...

, and TRACES

Quarter-final 3 (July 26)

Guest Performers, Results Show:

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...

, Fighting Gravity, and ''

The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and in ...

Quarter-final 4 (August 2)

Guest performers, Results Show:

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, drummer Matt ...

, and

Jason Derülo Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born September 21, 1989), known professionally as Jason Derulo (; formerly stylized as Derülo), is an American singer and songwriter.

Quarter-final 5 - YouTube Round (August 9)

Guest performers, Results Show:

OK Go OK Go is an American rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois, now based in Los Angeles, California. The band is composed of Damian Kulash (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Nordwind (bass guitar and vocals), Dan Konopka (drums and percussion), and ...

and

Pilobolus ''Pilobolus'' is a genus of fungi that commonly grows on herbivore dung. Life cycle The life cycle of ''Pilobolus'' begins with a black sporangium that has been discharged onto a plant substrate such as grass. A herbivorous animal such as a ho ...

Keenan Cahill Keenan Cahill (1995 – December 29, 2022) was an American YouTuber and Internet celebrity who gained fame in the early 2010s for his viral videos in which he lip synced to popular songs. Cahill launched his first lipsynced YouTube video on ...

Rebecca Black Rebecca Renee Black (born June 21, 1997) is an American singer and YouTuber. She gained extensive media coverage when the music video for her 2011 single "Friday" went viral on YouTube and other social media sites. "Friday" was derided by many ...

Tay Zonday Adam Nyerere Bahner (born May 21, 1982), better known by the pseudonym Tay Zonday or as "Chocolate Rain Guy",Fox News report about Numa Numa also mentions: ...fellow viral video star, 'Chocolate Rain Guy', aka Tay Zonday (Sep 22, 2010)Foxnews.co ...

, and Up and Over It.

Quarter-final 6 - Wild Card Round (August 16)

Guest Performers, Results Show:

Colbie Caillat Colbie Marie Caillat (; born May 28, 1985) is an American singer-songwriter. She rose to fame through social networking website Myspace. At that time, she was the number one unsigned artist of her genre. After signing with Universal Republic R ...

, and cast of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

Semi-finals summary

Buzzed Out , Crystal Clear app clean

Judges' choice , : ,

Semi-final 1 (August 23)

Guest Performers, Results Show:

Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992), known as Demi Lovato, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), Lovato rose to prominence for pl ...

, Prince Poppycock, and

New Boyz New Boyz was a hip-hop duo that consisted of rappers Earl "Ben J" Benjamin and Dominic "Legacy" Thomas. They debuted in the spring of 2009 with their viral hit "You're a Jerk" taken from their 2009 debut studio album '' Skinny Jeanz and a Mic''. ...

* Because of the majority vote for West Springfield Dance Team, Osbourne's voting intention was not revealed.

Semi-final 2 (August 30)

Guest Performers, Results Show:

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), better known by his stage name Flo Rida (, ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 breakout single " Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital dow ...

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...

, and

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 ...

Finals summary

: , , : , , Crystal Clear action button cancel

Buzzed Out (Top 10 Finals Only)

Final - Top 10 (September 6)

Guest Performers: Michael Grimm (Performance Episode); and

Il Divo Il Divo (; ) are a multi-national classical crossover vocal group. The male quartet, which originated in the United Kingdom in December 2003, consists of tenors Urs Bühler, David Miller, and Sébastien Izambard. It also included baritone ...

(Results Show).

Grand-final (September 13)

Guest Performers:

Terry Fator Terry Wayne Fator () is an American ventriloquist, impressionist, stand-up comedian, and singer. Born in Dallas, Texas, he developed an interest in ventriloquism from a young age, developing both this and a talent for singing. After initially per ...

(Performance Episode);

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), a ...

OneRepublic OneRepublic is an American pop rock band formed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2002. It consists of lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Tedder, lead guitarist and violist Zach Filkins, rhythm guitarist Drew Brown, bassist and cellis ...

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...

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 ...

, cast of

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

's ''Iris'', and

Jackie Evancho Jacqueline Marie Evancho ( ; born April 9, 2000) is an American crossover music#Classical crossover, classical crossover singer who gained wide recognition at an early age. Since 2009, she has issued a platinum-selling extended play, EP and nine ...

(Results Show).

Ratings

The following ratings are based upon those published by

Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

after this season's broadcast:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:America's Got Talent (Season 6) 2011 American television seasons America's Got Talent seasons