The thirteenth 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 29 to September 19, 2018. There were no major changes to the program during the season; the guest judges for this season's Judge Cuts episodes were

Ken Jeong Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong ( ; ; born July 13, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and physician. He rose to prominence for playing Leslie Chow in ''The Hangover'' film series (2009–2013) and Ben Chang in the NBC sitcom ''Community'' ...

Olivia Munn Lisa Olivia Munn (born July 3, 1980) is an American actress. After an internship at a news station in Tulsa, she moved to Los Angeles where she began her professional career as a television host for the gaming network G4, and on the series '' ...

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and relocated to Nashville, T ...

, and

Chris Hardwick Christopher Ryan Hardwick (born November 23, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, television and podcast host, writer, and producer. He hosted '' Talking Dead'', an hourlong aftershow on AMC affiliated with the network's zombie drama series '' ...

. The thirteenth season was won by close-up magician

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 wh ...

, with acrobatic group Zurcaroh finishing second, and electric violinist Brian King Joseph placing third. During its broadcast, the season averaged around 11.15 million viewers.

Season overview

Open auditions were held in late 2017 within

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

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 ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, and

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, ...

(while online auditions were accepted). As in previous years, the judges' auditions were held and filmed in March 2018 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 ...

in Los Angeles. The Judge Cuts episodes included actor

, actress

, singer

, and comedian

appearing as guest judges. Thirty-six of the participants auditioning secured a place in the live quarter-finals, with twelve quarter-finalists appearing in each of the shows. Among the contestants: acrobatic group Zurcaroh, singer Michael Ketterer, singer

Courtney Hadwin Courtney Hadwin is an English singer-songwriter. She rose to fame by competing prominently on the first season of ITV's '' The Voice Kids UK 2017'' and the 13th season of the NBC competition show ''America's Got Talent'' (AGT) the next year. ...

, singer Amanda Mena, and singer Makayla Phillips who had each received a golden buzzer from the main judges and host; choir Voices of Hope, choir

Angel City Chorale Angel City Chorale (ACC) is a Los Angeles choir conducted by founder and artistic director Sue Fink. The group consists of 160 singers. It is recognized for its signature blend of musical styles and commitment to community, Angel City Chorale s ...

, ballroom dancers Quin and Misha, and rapper Flau’jae who had each received a Golden Buzzer from the guest judges; opera singer Daniel Emmet, novelty water-spitting act Human Fountains, and multimedia performance group Front Pictures who were chosen as Wildcard quarter-finalists. Twenty-two quarter-finalists advanced and appeared in two semi-finals (eleven in each show), including Front Pictures which was chosen again by the judges (as the Wildcard semi-finalist); ten semi-finalists securing a place in the finals. The chart below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this season: : , , , , : , Playing card club A

Wildcard Quarter-finalist , Playing card heart A

Wildcard Semi-finalist : Yellow ffff00 pog

Golden Buzzer - Auditions , Crystal Clear action bookmark

Golden Buzzer - Judge Cuts * Ages denoted for a participant(s), pertain to their final performance for this season.

Quarter-finals summary

Buzzed Out , Crystal Clear app clean

Judges' choice , : , ,

Quarter-final 1 (August 14)

Guest Performer, Results Show:

Darci Lynne Darci Lynne Farmer (born October 12, 2004) is an American ventriloquist and singer. She has been credited with the revival of ventriloquism, earning praise and numerous accolades for her work. Born in Oklahoma, Farmer developed an interest in s ...

Quarter-final 2 (August 21)

Guest Performers, Results Show:

The Illusionists The Illusionists is a touring magic production which features a rotating cast of 5 to 8 magicians who all specialise in specific branches of magic from stage illusions to mind reading to escapology and comedic magic. Scheck, Fran"'The Illusionists ...

, and Light Balance * Cowell and Mel B both originally buzzed Yumbo Dump, but later retracted their buzzers. * Front Pictures were later appointed as the judges' WildCard semi-finalist.

Quarter-final 3 (August 28)

Guest Performers, Results Show: Cast of '' Beautiful: The Carole King Musical''

Semi-finals summary

Buzzed Out , Crystal Clear app clean

Judges' choice , : , ,

Semi-final 1 (September 4)

Semi-final 2 (September 11)

Guest Performers, Results Show:

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...

and cast of ''A Magical Cirque Christmas''

Finals (September 18–19)

Guest Performers, Finale:

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

: , , , * Brian King Joseph & Duo Transcend conducted a joint routine for their second performance, and thus shared the same guest performer.

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: Specials

References

{{America's Got Talent, state=expanded 2018 American television seasons America's Got Talent seasons