The seventeenth season of the American

talent show A talent show or talent contest 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 p ...

competition series ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is an 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 distributed by) and ...

'' premiered on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

on May 31, 2022, and concluded on September 14, 2022. This season featured the return of a full audience without

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

restrictions, which had begun during the fifteenth season. The season was won by dance group

Mayyas The Mayyas () are a Lebanese all-female alternative precision dance group. The company has 36 dancers, and their routines are choreographed by Nadim Cherfan. The group's name means "the proud walk of a lioness" in Arabic. In 2019, the Mayyas rea ...

, with pole dancer Kristy Sellars finishing second, and singer and guitarist Drake Milligan placing third. During its broadcast, the season averaged around 6.14 million viewers.

Production

On March 31, 2022, it was announced that the entire main cast from the previous season would return for the new season and that the season would premiere on May 31. Originally, host

Terry Crews Terry Alan Crews (born July 30, 1968) is an American actor, television host, and former professional American football, football player. He played Julius Rock in the UPN/The CW Television Network, CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris'', which air ...

announced the 'end of an era' in September 2021, stating that the season sixteen finale of ''America's Got Talent'' and the

series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, ...

of ''

Brooklyn Nine-Nine ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural sitcom television series that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox, and later on NBC, from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Dan G ...

'' had marked the end of his deal with NBC. Judge

Howie Mandel Howard Michael Mandel (born November 29, 1955) is a Canadian comedian, television personality, actor, and producer. Mandel is known for voicing Gizmo in the 1984 film ''Gremlins'' and the 1990 sequel ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'', playing rowd ...

was partially absent from the June 14, July 19, and August 2 episodes, and was entirely absent in the July 12 episode, due to contracting

at the

2022 Kids' Choice Awards The 35th Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards ceremony was held on April 9, 2022, at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California with Miranda Cosgrove and Rob Gronkowski serving as hosts. It aired live on Nickelodeon and in a domestic simul ...

. Additionally, judge

Sofía Vergara Sofía Margarita Vergara Vergara (; born July 10, 1972) is a Colombian and American actress and television personality who received five nominations each at the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards. She is one of the highest-paid a ...

was absent from the judge deliberations at

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...

's house. The live shows for the season were held at the

Pasadena Civic Auditorium The Pasadena Convention Center is a convention center in Pasadena, California, United States. It consists of three buildings. Pasadena Civic Auditorium The Civic Auditorium, one of the major structures in the Pasadena Civic Center District, was ...

, the same venue where auditions have been filmed since season eleven. The live shows had been held at the

Dolby Theatre The Dolby Theatre (formerly known as the Kodak Theatre) is a live-performance auditorium in the Ovation Hollywood shopping mall and entertainment complex, on Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue (Los Angeles), Highland Avenue, in the Holly ...

since the same season, excluding season fifteen, during which the live shows were held at

Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and Amusement park, theme park located in Universal City, California, near Hollywood, Los Angeles. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood film studios still in use. Its official marketin ...

Season overview

Judge

and host

named their favorite

Golden Buzzer ''Got Talent'' is a British talent show TV format conceived and owned by Simon Cowell's Syco Entertainment. It has spawned spin-offs in over 60 countries, in what is now referred to as the 'Got Talent' format, similar to that described by Freman ...

recipients from the previous seasons in a special

retrospective A retrospective (from Latin ', "look back"), generally, is a look back at events that took place, or works that were produced, in the past. As a noun, ''retrospective'' has specific meanings in software development, popular culture, and the arts. ...

episode on July 5. Singer

Nightbirde Jane Kristen Marczewski (December 29, 1990 – February 19, 2022), better known by her stage name Nightbirde, was an American singer-songwriter. Previously having released two EPs and several singles, Nightbirde auditioned on ''America's Got T ...

from season sixteen was ranked as the number one Golden Buzzer in ''AGT'' history. Inspired by Nightbirde, who died from cancer in February 2022, Lebanese dance group

previously honored her during an audition episode on June 21. They received a Golden Buzzer from judge

. For the second time in ''AGT'' history (the first in season sixteen), a group Golden Buzzer was given by all the judges and host on the July 19 episode, to country trio

Chapel Hart Chapel Hart, originally known as Hyperphlyy, is an American country music vocal group from Poplarville, Mississippi. The group consists of sisters Danica Hart and Devynn Hart and their cousin Trea Swindle, all three of whom are vocalists. Chapel ...

for their original song " You Can Have Him Jolene". Unlike previous seasons of ''AGT'', the live show format was changed to accommodate the top 55 acts, which were divided into five qualifying rounds of eleven acts (two acts from each qualifying round plus a wildcard advanced to the finals), instead of the usual quarter-final and semi-final rounds. In the judge deliberations portion of the episode aired on August 2, the judges selected 54 of the top 55 spots. Following this episode, a public vote was opened to allow viewers to vote the last act into the live shows. Danger act Auzzy Blood, singers Ben Waites and Debbii Dawson, and comedian Jordan Conley were all in contention for the final spot in the top 55. During the August 9 live show, it was announced that Conley had won the America's Wildcard vote. During the final qualifying round results show on September 7, an Instant Save vote was held for viewers to send a final wildcard into the finals. The four acts included in this vote were acts that were eliminated in the live shows, with each act selected by one of the judges;

Mandel Mandel is a surname (and occasional given name) that occurs in multiple cultures and languages. It is a Dutch, German and Jewish surname, meaning "almond", from the Middle High German and Middle Dutch ''mandel''.''Dictionary of American Family Name ...

selected Don McMillan, Klum selected Lily Meola, Vergara selected Celia Muñoz, and Cowell selected Players Choir. Celia Muñoz ultimately won the public vote, taking the last spot in the season's finals. : , , , , : Playing card club A

America's Wildcard , Playing card heart A

Final Wildcard , Yellow ffff00 pog

Golden Buzzer Audition

Qualifiers summary

Buzzed Out , , ,

Qualifier 1 (August 9)

Guest Performer, Results Show: Dustin Tavella with

Sarah Hyland Sarah Jane Hyland (born November 24, 1990) is an American actress. Born in Manhattan, she attended the Professional Performing Arts School before having minor roles in the films '' Private Parts'' (1997), '' Annie'' (1999) and '' Blind Date'' ...

* Klum's buzzer was pressed by Cowell at the end of Ben Lapidus' performance.

Qualifier 2 (August 16)

Guest Performer, Results Show: Jon Dorenbos

Qualifier 3 (August 23)

Guest Performers, Results Show: Kodi Lee with

Teddy Swims Jaten Collin Dimsdale (born September 25, 1992), known professionally as Teddy Swims, is an American singer and songwriter. Known for creating genre-blending music, which include elements of soul, country, and pop, Swims originally began to att ...

and

Neal Schon Neal Joseph Schon (born February 27, 1954) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist for the rock band Journey. He is the last original member to remain throughout the group's history. He was a memb ...

* Celia Muñoz was later brought back as a Wildcard act for the Finals.

Qualifier 4 (August 30)

Guest Performers, Results Show:

Piff the Magic Dragon John van der Put (born 9 June 1980) is an English magician and comedian, 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 Mumford and Sons an ...

and ''

Riverdance ''Riverdance'' is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions J ...

Qualifier 5 (September 6)

Guest Performer, Results Show: Cast of ''

& Juliet ''& Juliet'' is a 2019 coming-of-age story, coming-of-age jukebox musical featuring the music of Swedish pop (music), pop songwriter Max Martin, with a book by David West Read. The story focuses on a "what if" scenario, where Juliet decided not ...

Finals (September 13–14)

Guest Performers, Results Show:

Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...

and Light Balance : , , , * Nicolas RIBS and Yu Hojin conducted a joint routine for their second performance, and thus shared the same guest performer. * Chapel Hart and Drake Milligan conducted a joint routine for their second performance, and thus shared the same guest performers. * Metaphysic and Mike E. Winfield conducted a joint routine for their second performance, and thus shared the same guest performers. * Kristy Sellars and Mayyas conducted a joint routine for their second performance.

Ratings

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:America's Got Talent (Season 17) 2022 American television seasons America's Got Talent seasons