America's Got Talent season 16
Season of television series
America's Got Talent Promotional poster for season 16, featuring (L to R) judges Mandel, Vergara, Cowell, host Crews, and judge Klum
Showrunners
Jason Raff
Sam Donnelly[ 1]
Hosted by Terry Crews Judges Winner Dustin Tavella Runner-up
No. of episodes21 Original network NBC Original release June 1 (2021-06-01 ) – September 15, 2021 (2021-09-15 )
The sixteenth season of the American talent show competition series America's Got Talent was broadcast on NBC from June 1 to September 15, 2021. Although production was still impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic , live audiences were involved during audition sessions and live round stages of the competition. After Simon Cowell returned to his role on the program after an accident the previous year,[ 2] the Judges Cuts round was replaced by him with a new deliberation format arrangement similar to that used in Britain's Got Talent .[ 3]
This season included the first group Golden Buzzer in the program's history,[ 4] and the creation of a "Wildcard" special (which aired via online streaming service Peacock on August 10, 2021), following the withdrawal of a Golden Buzzer participant.[ 5] The sixteenth season was won by magician Dustin Tavella , with aerialist Aidan Bryant finishing second, and stand-up comedian Josh Blue placing third.[ 6] During its broadcast, the season averaged around 6.60 million viewers, excluding its online Wildcard special.
Production
On February 24, 2021, the new season's line-up of judges and host was announced, revealing that Cowell would be returning, following an accident the previous year that had forced him to be absent in the fifteenth season's live episodes.[ 7] Closed auditions were held across March and April, with footage taken from these undergoing final editing before the season's premiere at the beginning of June.[ 8] A two-week hiatus in the broadcast schedule was also made, to avoid the NBC's live coverage of the postponed 2020 Summer Olympics between July and August.[ 3]
The Judge Cuts round, which had been significantly modified in the previous season due to the disruption of production,[ 3] was replaced by the deliberation format used by Britain's Got Talent . The judges conferred after the conclusion of auditions, to determine which acts would proceed to the live rounds.[ 9] Some deliberations were filmed and used to fill in the remaining portions of the final audition episode for the season, as was done for the British edition of the show.[ 10]
Due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the auditions were conducted with smaller audiences, augmented with stock footage of audiences from previous seasons and other editing techniques.[ 11] [ 12] With restrictions eased in California effective June 15,[ 13] the live rounds returned to their usual home of the Dolby Theatre , but with audience members required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 and wear masks.[ 14]
Season overview
During auditions, the judges and host agreed to grant a group Golden Buzzer for the first time in the program's history.[ 4] Although this would have meant six guaranteed places in the quarter-finals, singer Nightbirde later withdrew from the competition to focus on her battle with cancer, despite receiving a Golden Buzzer.[ 5] As a result of this, her place was converted into a Wildcard slot, with the process conducted via a special episode on the streaming service Peacock on the same night as the first quarter-final. The process involved five participants picked from those who were eliminated during the deliberation phase, with viewers voting via Twitter over a three-day period on which of these would be their Wildcard in the third quarter-final.[ 15]
Of the participants who auditioned this season, thirty-six secured a place in the live quarterfinals, with twelve quarter-finalists in each quarterfinal episode. Among these included: Northwell Nurse Choir ,[ 16] [ 17] quick-change artist Léa Kyle , singer Jimmie Herrod, World Taekwondo Demonstration Team and classical singer Victory Brinker, who each received a Golden Buzzer; and singer Storm Large , a Wildcard act voted for during the Peacock special.[ 18] About twenty-two quarter-finalists advanced to and were split between the two semi-finals, with 10 semi-finalists securing a place in the finals. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this season:
Winner | Runner-up | Third place | Finalist | Semi-finalist | Quarter-finalist
America's Wildcard | Wildcard Semi-finalist | Golden Buzzer Audition
Participant[ 19] [ 20]
Age(s) 1
Genre
Act
From
Quarter-Final
Result
1aChord
19-22
Singing
Vocal Trio
Greensboro, North Carolina
1
Semi-finalist
Aidan Bryant
16
Acrobatics
Aerialist
Prince George, Virginia
2
Runner-up
ANICA
51
Singing
Singer
Grand Barachois, New Brunswick
3
Eliminated
Beyond Belief Dance Company
8-12
Dance
Dance Group
Mesquite, Texas
1
Semi-finalist
Brooke Simpson
30
Singing
Singer
Los Angeles
3
Grand-finalist
ChapKidz
12-18
Dance
Dance Group
Fairfield, California
3
Semi-finalist
Dokteuk Crew
—
Dance
Dance Group
Daejeon, South Korea
2
Eliminated
Dustin Tavella
35
Magic
Magician
Virginia Beach, Virginia
1
Winner
Gangstagrass
—
Singing / Music
Band
New York City
1
Eliminated
Gina Brillon
41
Comedy
Comedian
New York City
1
Finalist
Jimmie Herrod
30
Singing
Singer
Portland, Oregon
1
Finalist
Johnny Showcase
—
Singing
Singer
Philadelphia
2
Eliminated
Josh Blue
42
Comedy
Comedian
Denver
2
Third place
Kabir Singh
—
Comedy
Comedian
Los Angeles
1
Semi-finalist
Keith Apicary
35
Dance
Dancer
Portland, Oregon
3
Eliminated
Klek Entos
—
Magic
Horror Magician
France
3
Eliminated
Korean Soul
—
Singing
Vocal Group
Seoul, South Korea
2
Semi-finalist
Léa Kyle
25
Magic
Quick Change Artist
Bordeaux, France
3
Grand-finalist
Madilyn Bailey
28
Singing / Music
Singer & Pianist
Los Angeles
1
Semi-finalist
Matt Johnson
—
Danger
Escape Artist
Chilliwack, British Columbia
1
Eliminated
Michael Winslow
62
Comedy
Voicetramentalist
Orlando
3
Semi-finalist
Northwell Nurse Choir
—
Singing
Choir
Long Island, New York
2
Finalist
Peter Antoniou
—
Magic
Mentalist
Seattle
2
Semi-finalist
Peter Rosalita
10
Singing
Singer
Philippines
1
Semi-finalist
Positive Impact Movement
—
Acrobatics
Acrobatic Group
Los Angeles
2
Eliminated
Rialcris
—
Acrobatics
Acrobatic Trio
Ensenada, Mexico
3
Semi-finalist
Sethward
32
Comedy
Novelty Act
Los Angeles
1
Eliminated
Shuffolution
—
Dance
Dance Group
Los Angeles
2
Eliminated
Storm Large
51
Singing
Singer
Southborough, Massachusetts
3
Eliminated
T.3
—
Singing
Vocal Trio
New York City
2
Eliminated
The Canine Stars
—
Animals
Dog Act
Fort Collins, Colorado
1
Eliminated
The Curtis Family C-Notes
—
Singing / Music
Band
San Francisco
3
Eliminated
Tory Vagasy
20
Singing
Singer
Pompano Beach, Florida
2
Semi-finalist
UniCircle Flow
—
Variety
Unicycle Group
Japan
3
Semi-finalist
Victory Brinker
9
Singing
Opera Singer
Latrobe, Pennsylvania
2
Finalist
World Taekwondo Demo. Team
—
Acrobatics
Martial Arts Troupe
San Jose, California
3
Finalist
^1 Ages denoted for a participant(s), pertain to their final performance for this season.
Quarter-finals summary
Buzzed Out | Judges' choice | Advanced to Semi-finals
Won Online Public Vote | Won Judges' Vote | Lost Judges' Vote
Quarter-final 1 (August 10)
Guest Performers, Results Show: Brandon Leake & Darci Lynne [ 19] [ 20]
^2 Beyond Belief Dance Company were later brought back as a Wildcard act for the Semi-finals.[ 21]
Quarter-final 2 (August 17)
Guest Performers, Results Show: Kodi Lee , The Clairvoyants ,[ 19] [ 20] and H.E.R. [ 22]
Quarter-final 3 (August 24)
Guest Performers, Results Show: Shin Lim & Lindsey Stirling [ 19] [ 20]
Semi-finals summary
Buzzed Out | Judges' choice | Advanced to Finals
Won Online Public Vote | Won Judges' Vote | Lost Judges' Vote
Semi-final 1 (August 31)
Guest Performers, Results Show: Ben Platt [ 23] & Preacher Lawson [ 24]
^3 Due to the majority vote for World Taekwondo Demo. Team, Mandel's voting intention was not revealed.
Semi-final 2 (September 7)
Guest Performers, Results Show: Deadly Games[ 27] & Duo Transcend[ 28]
Finals (September 14–15)
Guest Performer, Finale: Idina Menzel [ 29] [ 30]
Winner | Runner-up | 3rd place | Top 5
^4 Aidan Bryant and World Taekwondo Demo. Team conducted a joint routine for their second performance, and thus shared the same guest performers.
^5 Jimmie Herrod and Northwell Nurse Choir conducted a joint routine for their second performance, and thus shared the same guest performer.
Ratings
^6 This episode was made available only online, via streaming service Peacock .
References
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^ a b Nola Ojomu (August 2, 2021). "America's Got Talent: Simon Cowell's Golden Buzzer act Nightbirde forced to pull out as cancer takes a 'turn for the worse' " . Metro . Retrieved August 2, 2021 .
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Seasons Winners Runners-up Third place Other notable contestants
Finalists Semi-finalists Quarter-finalists
Related