America's Got Talent (season 16)
| America's Got Talent | |
|---|---|
| Season 16 | |
 Promotional poster for season 16, featuring (L to R) judges Mandel, Vergara, Cowell, host Crews, and judge Klum | |
| Hosted by | Terry Crews |
| Judges | |
| Winner | Dustin Tavella |
| Runner-ups |
|
| No. of episodes | 21 |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | June 1 – September 15, 2021 |
| Season chronology | |
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, producers were able to involve live audiences 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,[1] the Judges Cuts round was replaced by him with a new deliberation format arrangement similar to that used in Britain's Got Talent.[2] A planned break in the season's broadcast was also scheduled between July 20 to August 10, to avoid clashing with the network's live coverage of the 2020 Summer Olympics after they had been postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19.
This season saw the first group Golden Buzzer in the program's history,[3] and the creation of a "Wildcard" special, aired via online streaming service Peacock on August 10, 2021, following the withdrawal of a Golden Buzzer participant.[4] The sixteenth season was won by magician Dustin Tavella, with aerialist Aidan Bryant finishing second, and stand-up comedian Josh Blue placing third.[5] During its broadcast, the season averaged around 6.6 million viewers, excluding its online Wildcard special.
Season overview[]
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.[6] 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,[7] with production staff scheduling a two-week hiatus in the program's broadcast between July and August to avoid clashing with NBC's coverage of the 2020 Summer Olympics (which had been postponed for a year due to the pandemic).[2]
Production was still impacted by government regulations within California to combat the spread of COVID-19 – although live audiences were allowed to attend, they were required to wear masks, with closed audition sessions having reduced numbers as a precaution.[8] In the final edit of audition episodes, an illusion of increased numbers viewing performances was done through a combination of virtual audience reactions and footage of audiences that attended session in previous seasons. To avoid criticism of breaking state government regulations, this editing trick was made clear to viewers during the end credits for these episodes.[9]
After the Judges Cuts format was suspended in the previous season due to COVID-19, Cowell decided to replace it altogether for the second stage of auditions.[2] His idea was to change it to a deliberation format, similar to the one used on Britain's Got Talent. Under this new format, the judges would confer together at another site after all auditions had been completed, and deliberate on which successful participants from these they had voted for would proceed to the live rounds.[10] 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 program.[11]
During auditions, the judges and host agreed to grant a group Golden Buzzer for the first time in the program's history.[3] Although this would have meant six guaranteed places in the quarter-finals, one participant (singer Nightbirde) later withdrew from the competition to focus on her battle with cancer, despite receiving a Golden Buzzer.[4] 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.[12]
Of the participants who auditioned this season, 36 secured a place in the live quarterfinals, with 12 quarter-finalists in each quarterfinal episode. Among these included: Northwell Nurse Choir,[13][14] 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.[15] Around 22 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
Wildcard Quarter-finalist | 
Wildcard Semi-finalist | 
Golden Buzzer Audition
| Participant[16][17] | Age(s) 1 | Genre | Act | From | Quarter-Final | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1aChord | 19-22 | Singing / Music | Vocal Harmony Trio | Greensboro, North Carolina | 1 | Semi-finalist |
| Aidan Bryant | 16 | Acrobatics | Aerialist | Prince George, Virginia | 2 | Runner-up |
| ANICA | 51 | Singing | Singer | New Brunswick, Canada | 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 | TBA | Dance | Dance Group | Daejeon, South Korea | 2 | Eliminated |
| Dustin Tavella | 35 | Magic | Magician | Virginia Beach, Virginia | 1 | Winner |
| Gangstagrass | TBA | Singing / Music | Hip-Hop & Bluegrass Band | New York City | 1 | Eliminated |
| Gina Brillon | 41 | Comedy | Stand-up Comedian | New York City | 1 | Finalist |
Jimmie Herrod 
|
30 | Singing | Singer | Portland, Oregon | 1 | Finalist |
| Johnny Showcase | TBA | Singing | Music Performance Group | Philadelphia | 2 | Eliminated |
| Josh Blue | 42 | Comedy | Stand-up Comedian | Denver, Colorado | 2 | Third place |
| Kabir Singh | TBA | Comedy | Stand-up Comedian | Los Angeles | 1 | Semi-finalist |
| Keith Apicary | 35 | Dance | Dancer | Portland, Oregon | 3 | Eliminated |
| Klek Entos | TBA | Magic | Magician | France | 3 | Eliminated |
| Korean Soul | TBA | Singing | Vocal Harmony 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 & Musician | Los Angeles (originally Boyceville, Wisconsin) | 1 | Semi-finalist |
| Matt Johnson | TBA | Danger | Escape Artist | Chilliwack, Canada | 1 | Eliminated |
| Michael Winslow | 62 | Comedy | Voicetramentalist | Orlando | 3 | Semi-finalist |
| Northwell Nurse Choir
|
TBA | Singing | Choir | Long Island, New York | 2 | Finalist |
| Peter Antoniou | TBA | Magic | Mentalist | Seattle | 2 | Semi-finalist |
| Peter Rosalita | 10 | Singing | Singer | Philippines | 1 | Semi-finalist |
| Positive Impact Movement | TBA | Acrobatics | Acrobatic Group | Los Angeles | 2 | Eliminated |
| Rialcris | TBA | Acrobatics | Acrobatic Trio | Ensenada, Mexico | 3 | Semi-finalist |
| Sethward | 32 | Comedy | Novelty Act | Los Angeles | 1 | Eliminated |
| Shuffolution | TBA | Dance | Shuffling Group | Los Angeles | 2 | Eliminated |
Storm Large 
|
51 | Singing | Singer | Southborough, Massachusetts | 3 | Eliminated |
| T.3 | TBA | Singing | Vocal Harmony Trio | New York City | 2 | Eliminated |
| The Canine Stars | TBA | Animals | Dog Act | Denver, Colorado | 1 | Eliminated |
| The Curtis Family C-Notes | TBA | Singing / Music | Family Band | San Francisco | 3 | Eliminated |
| Tory Vagasy | 20 | Singing | Singer | Pompano Beach, Florida | 2 | Semi-finalist |
| UniCircle Flow | TBA | Variety | Unicycle Group | Japan | 3 | Semi-finalist |
| Victory Brinker
|
9 | Singing | Opera Singer | Latrobe, Pennsylvania | 2 | Finalist |
| World Taekwondo Demo. Team
|
TBA | Acrobatics | Martial Arts Group | 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[16][17]
| Quarter-Finalist[16][17] | Order | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Result (August 11) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell | Vergara | Klum | Mandel | |||
| The Canine Stars | 1 | Eliminated | ||||
| Peter Rosalita | 2 | Advanced | ||||
| Beyond Belief Dance Company 2 | 3 | 
|
|
Eliminated (Judges' Vote Tied - Lost by Public Vote) | ||
| Madilyn Bailey | 4 |
|
|
Advanced (Judges' Vote Tied - Won by Public Vote) | ||
| Kabir Singh | 5 | Advanced (Online Public Vote) | ||||
| Dustin Tavella | 6 | Advanced | ||||
| 1aChord | 7 | Advanced | ||||
| Gina Brillon | 8 | Advanced | ||||
| Gangstagrass | 9 | Eliminated | ||||
| Sethward | 10 | 
|
Eliminated | |||
| Matt Johnson | 11 | Eliminated | ||||
| Jimmie Herrod | 12 | Advanced | ||||
Quarter-final 2 (August 17)[]
Guest Performers, Results Show: Kodi Lee, The Clairvoyants,[16][17] and H.E.R.[19]
| Quarter-Finalist[16][17] | Order | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Result (August 18) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell | Vergara | Klum | Mandel | |||
| T.3 | 1 |
|
|
Eliminated (Judges' Vote Tied - Lost by Public Vote) | ||
| Dokteuk Crew | 2 | Eliminated | ||||
| Johnny Showcase | 3 |
|
|
Eliminated | ||
| Tory Vagasy | 4 | Advanced (Online Public Vote) | ||||
| Shuffolution | 5 | Eliminated | ||||
| Aidan Bryant | 6 | Advanced | ||||
| Northwell Nurse Choir | 7 | Advanced | ||||
| Positive Impact Movement | 8 |
|
Eliminated | |||
| Peter Antoniou | 9 | Advanced | ||||
| Korean Soul | 10 |
|
|
Advanced (Judges' Vote Tied - Won by Public Vote) | ||
| Josh Blue | 11 | Advanced | ||||
| Victory Brinker | 12 | Advanced | ||||
Quarter-final 3 (August 24)[]
Guest Performers, Results Show: Shin Lim & Lindsey Stirling[16][17]
| Quarter-Finalist[16][17] | Order | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Result (August 25) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell | Vergara | Klum | Mandel | |||
| UniCircle Flow | 1 |
|
|
|
Advanced (Won Judges' Vote) | |
| ANICA | 2 | Eliminated | ||||
| Léa Kyle | 3 | Advanced | ||||
| The Curtis Family C-Notes | 4 | Eliminated | ||||
| Keith Apicary | 5 |
|
Eliminated | |||
| Michael Winslow | 6 | Advanced (Online Public Vote) | ||||
| Brooke Simpson | 7 | Advanced | ||||
| Rialcris | 8 | Advanced | ||||
| ChapKidz | 9 | Advanced | ||||
| Storm Large | 10 |
|
Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote) | |||
| Klek Entos | 11 |
|
Eliminated | |||
| World Taekwondo Demo. Team | 12 | Advanced | ||||
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[20] & Preacher Lawson[21]
| Semi-Finalist[22][23] | Order | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Result (September 1) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell | Vergara | Klum | Mandel | |||
| Peter Rosalita | 1 | Eliminated | ||||
| Michael Winslow | 2 | 3 | Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote) | |||
| Beyond Belief Dance Company | 3 | Eliminated | ||||
| Aidan Bryant | 4 | Advanced | ||||
| Tory Vagasy | 5 | Eliminated | ||||
| World Taekwondo Demo. Team | 6 |
|
|
|
3 | Advanced (Won Judges' Vote) |
| Madilyn Bailey | 7 | Eliminated | ||||
| Dustin Tavella | 8 | Advanced | ||||
| Korean Soul | 9 | Eliminated | ||||
| Gina Brillon | 10 | Advanced | ||||
| Jimmie Herrod | 11 | Advanced (Online Public Vote) | ||||
- ^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[24] & Duo Transcend[25]
| Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Result (September 8) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell | Vergara | Klum | Mandel | |||
| 1aChord | 1 | Eliminated | ||||
| UniCircle Flow | 2 |
|
Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote) | |||
| Léa Kyle | 3 | Advanced (Online Public Vote) | ||||
| Kabir Singh | 4 |
|
Eliminated | |||
| Northwell Nurse Choir | 5 | Advanced | ||||
| Peter Antoniou | 6 |
|
Eliminated | |||
| Victory Brinker | 7 |
|
|
|
Advanced (Won Judges' Vote) | |
| ChapKidz | 8 | Eliminated | ||||
| Rialcris | 9 |
|
Eliminated | |||
| Josh Blue | 10 | Advanced | ||||
| Brooke Simpson | 11 | Advanced | ||||
Finals (September 14–15)[]
Guest Performer, Finale: Idina Menzel[26][27]
- Winner | Runner-up | 3rd place | Top 5
| Finalist | Performed with (2nd Performance) |
Result (September 15) |
|---|---|---|
| Aidan Bryant | Jordan Chiles and MyKayla Skinner 4 | 2nd |
| Brooke Simpson | Bishop Briggs | Grand-finalist |
| Dustin Tavella | Mat Franco and Rico Rodriguez | 1st |
| Gina Brillon | George Lopez | Finalist |
| Jimmie Herrod | Idina Menzel 5 | Finalist |
| Josh Blue | Kenichi Ebina, Piff the Magic Dragon, Preacher Lawson, Taylor Williamson, and Tom Cotter | 3rd |
| Léa Kyle | Heidi Klum | Grand-finalist |
| Northwell Nurse Choir | Idina Menzel 5 | Finalist |
| Victory Brinker | Pentatonix | Finalist |
| World Taekwondo Demo. Team | Jordan Chiles and MyKayla Skinner 4 | Finalist |
- ^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[]
| No. | Title | Air date | Timeslot (ET) | Rating (18–49) |
Viewers (millions) |
DVR (18–49) |
DVR viewers (millions) |
Total (18–49) |
Total viewers (millions) |
Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Auditions 1" | June 1, 2021 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 1.0 | 7.37 | 0.3 | 1.91 | 1.3 | 9.28 | [28] |
| 2 | "Auditions 2" | June 8, 2021 | 0.9 | 7.22 | 0.3 | 1.88 | 1.3 | 9.10 | [29] | |
| 3 | "Auditions 3" | June 15, 2021 | Tuesday 10:00 p.m. | 0.6 | 4.21 | 0.4 | 2.65 | 1.0 | 6.85 | [30] |
| 4 | "Auditions 4" | June 22, 2021 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 0.9 | 7.01 | 0.3 | 1.94 | 1.2 | 8.95 | [31] |
| 5 | "Auditions 5" | June 29, 2021 | 1.0 | 7.08 | 0.3 | 1.99 | 1.3 | 9.08 | [32] | |
| 6 | "Auditions 6" | July 6, 2021 | 0.9 | 7.24 | 0.3 | 1.94 | 1.2 | 9.17 | [33] | |
| 7 | "Auditions 7" | July 13, 2021 | 0.9 | 7.10 | 0.3 | 1.90 | 1.2 | 9.00 | [34] | |
| 8 | "Auditions 8" | July 20, 2021 | 0.9 | 6.81 | 0.3 | 1.71 | 1.1 | 8.51 | [35] | |
| 9 | "Quarterfinals 1" | August 10, 2021 | 1.0 | 7.14 | 0.3 | 1.62 | 1.2 | 8.76 | [36] | |
| 10 | "AGT: America's Wildcard6" | August 10, 2021 | Tuesday 10:58 p.m. | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | [37] |
| 11 | "Quarterfinals Results 1" | August 11, 2021 | Wednesday 8:00 p.m. | 0.6 | 5.67 | 0.2 | 1.25 | 0.8 | 6.92 | [38] |
| 12 | "Quarterfinals 2" | August 17, 2021 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 0.9 | 6.86 | 0.2 | 1.40 | 1.2 | 8.26 | [39] |
| 13 | "Quarterfinals Results 2" | August 18, 2021 | Wednesday 8:00 p.m. | 0.7 | 5.74 | 0.2 | 1.26 | 0.9 | 7.00 | [40] |
| 14 | "Quarterfinals 3" | August 24, 2021 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 0.9 | 6.78 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | [41] |
| 15 | "Quarterfinals Results 3" | August 25, 2021 | Wednesday 8:00 p.m. | 0.7 | 5.79 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | [42] |
| 16 | "Semi-Finals 1" | August 31, 2021 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 0.7 | 7.19 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | [43] |
| 17 | "Semi-Finals Results 1" | September 1, 2021 | Wednesday 8:00 p.m. | 0.6 | 6.10 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | [44] |
| 18 | "Semi-Finals 2" | September 7, 2021 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 0.9 | 6.90 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | [45] |
| 19 | "Semi-Finals Results 2" | September 8, 2021 | Wednesday 8:00 p.m. | 0.6 | 5.95 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | [46] |
| 20 | "Finale" | September 14, 2021 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 0.9 | 7.42 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | [47] |
| 21 | "Finale Results" | September 15, 2021 | Wednesday 9:00 p.m. | 0.7 | 6.39 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | [48] |
References[]
- ^ Kim Willis; Bill Keveney (August 9, 2020). "Simon Cowell breaks his back falling off electric bicycle, will miss this week's AGT live shows". USA Today. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
- ^ a b c Emily Aslanian (May 25, 2021). "Simon Cowell & Sofia Vergara Talk What's Back, What's Been Cut on AGT". TV Insider. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
- ^ a b Charles Trepany (July 6, 2021). "AGT: Simon Cowell breaks show's rules so 9-year-old opera singer could make history". USA Today. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Cydney Henderson (September 16, 2021). "America's Got Talent finale: Magician Dustin Tavella wins Season 16 in star-studded finale". USA Today. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
- ^ "America's Got Talent Judges Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel and Sofia Vergara to Return for Season 16 Set to Air This Summer on NBC" (Press release). NBC. February 24, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2021 – via The Futon Critic.
- ^ Peter White (March 9, 2021). "Making It Moves To June As NBC Kicks Off Unscripted Summer Season With Return Of America's Got Talent & American Ninja Warrior". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
- ^ Karen Mizoguchi (June 1, 2021). "AGT's Howie Mandel on Welcoming Back Simon Cowell and a Live Audience for Season 16". People. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
- ^ Beth Heyn (June 8, 2021). "America's Got Talent 2021: Did the Auditions Film With a Live Audience?". Heavy. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
- ^ Paulette Cohn (July 20, 2021). "See Inside Simon Cowell's Malibu Mansion for Tonight's America's Got Talent Judge Cuts". Parade. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
- ^ Paulette Cohn (July 20, 2021). "Check Out the Acts Auditioning on Night 8 for America's Got Talent Season 16". Parade. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
- ^ Andy Swift (August 5, 2021). "America's Got Talent Reveals 35 Acts Going Live in Season 16 — Plus, Which Wildcard Hopeful Gets Your Vote?". TVLine. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
- ^ Zach Seemayer (June 1, 2021). "America's Got Talent: Inspiring Choir, Emotional Magician and Musical Trio Shine in Season 16 Premiere". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
- ^ Andy Swift (June 1, 2021). "America's Got Talent Premiere: Who Got the First Golden Buzzer of Season 16?". TVLine. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
- ^ Cydney Henderson (August 24, 2021). "AGT: Wild card winner Storm Large returns to competition, but fails to impress Simon Cowell". USA Today. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g Natalie Stone (August 5, 2021). "AGT Will See 36 Acts Perform During Season 16 Live Shows — Including 1 Wildcard Chosen by Viewers!". People. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g "NBC Reveals 35 Acts to Perform on America's Got Talent Live Shows Kicking Off on Tuesday, Aug. 10 on NBC" (Press release). NBC. August 5, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021 – via The Futon Critic.
- ^ America's Got Talent [@AGT] (August 30, 2021). "Back, back, back AGAIN! @BeyondBeliefDC is this season's Semifinals Wildcard and we can't wait for them to slay the #AGT stage!