The sixth season of 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 ...

'' was broadcast 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 ...

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 silhouett ...

dance group Silhouettes finishing in second, and glow-light dance group Team iLuminate 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, in eight cities in the United States including

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, and

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

. Auditions held within

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

and

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

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 television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of the '' Late Night'' franchise. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon,

'', Howie Mandel said the program was 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 and established a new world record, during one of his live round performances for the highest shallow dive. Of the participants who auditioned for the season, sixty-one secured a place in the live quarter-finals, with twelve quarter-finalists in each one. Eleven of the acts were given a second chance in the Wildcard quarter-final, after losing their initial quarter-final. About twenty-four 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. Below are the results of each participant's overall performance in the 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. She is a key musician in popularizing pop-punk music, as she paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in the early 2000s. List of awa ...

, and cast of ''

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert ''The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' is a 1994 Australian road comedy film written and directed by Stephan Elliott. The plot follows two drag queens (played by Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce) and a transgender woman (Terence St ...

''. * 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. Their debut album, '' Lovesick Electric'', was released on October 27, 2009. They gained widespread attention for their 201 ...

, 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, 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, releasing the album ...

, Fighting Gravity, and ''

The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (; ) 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 created and introduced as a series of comic characters by ...

Quarter-final 4 (August 2)

Guest performers, Results Show:

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

, and Jason Derülo

Quarter-final 5 - YouTube Round (August 9)

Guest performers, Results Show:

OK Go OK Go is an American Rock music, rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois, now based in Los Angeles, California. The band is composed of Damian Kulash (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, guitar), Tim Nordwind (bass guitar, bass, backing vocalist, v ...

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 h ...

Keenan Cahill Keenan Cahill (March 20, 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. He went on to become a singer-songwriter and ...

Rebecca Black Rebecca Renee Black (born June 21, 1997) is an American singer, songwriter, YouTuber, and DJ. She gained extensive media coverage when the music video for her 2011 debut single "Friday (Rebecca Black song), Friday" went viral video, viral on You ...

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 on the social networking website Myspace in 2005. She signed with Universal Republic Records to release her debut studio album, '' Coco'' (2007), w ...

, and cast of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

Semi-finals summary

Buzzed Out , Crystal Clear app clean

Judges' choice , : ,

Semi-final 1 (August 23)

Guest Performers, Results Show:

Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne "Demi" Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), she starred in the Disney Channel short series ...

, Prince Poppycock, and

New Boyz New Boyz were an American hip hop duo consisting of rappers Earl "Ben J" Benjamin (born October 13, 1991) and Dominic "Legacy" Thomas (born October 12, 1991) They debuted in the spring of 2009 with their viral hit " You're a Jerk" taken from t ...

* 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 record producer. He has sold over 10 million albums and 65 million singles globally, with more than 30 billion streams on Spotify. Guetta was voted the number one DJ in the DJ Mag ...

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), known professionally as Flo Rida ( ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 debut and breakout single "Low (Flo Rida song), Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the ...

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

, and

Susan Boyle Susan Magdalane Boyle (born 1 April 1961) is a Scottish singer who 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 '. As of 2021, Boyle has sold 25 ...

* Gymkana's performance was stopped early when one of the group members caught on fire while attempting to flip through the fire hoop, taking it down in the process.

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 multinational classical crossover vocal group. Formed in the United Kingdom in 2003, it is a male quartet that was created and then promoted by British media magnate Simon Cowell for Syco Music, a record label that he had ...

(Results Show).

Grand-final (September 13)

Guest Performers: Terry Fator (Performance Episode);

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drummer), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar, ...

OneRepublic OneRepublic is an American pop rock band from Colorado Springs, Colorado, formed in 2002. The lineup currently consists of Ryan Tedder (lead vocals, piano), Zach Filkins (guitar, viola), Drew Brown (musician), Drew Brown (guitar), Brent Kutzle ( ...

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

and

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, singer, and actress. She has received various accolades, including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe ...

, cast of

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

's ''Iris'', and

Jackie Evancho Jacqueline Marie Evancho ( ; born April 9, 2000) is an American singer who gained wide recognition at an early age, singing primarily crossover music#Classical crossover, classical crossover covers. Since 2009, she has issued nine albums, a pla ...

(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