America's Got Talent

America's Got Talent
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Created by	Simon Cowell Ken Warwick  Cécile Frot-Coutaz Jason Raff
Judges	Season Two Piers Morgan Sharon Osbourne David Hasselhoff Season One Piers Morgan Brandy Norwood David Hasselhoff
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	20
Production
Executive producers	Simon Cowell Ken Warwick
Running time	Varies
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	June 21, 2006 – present

America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network. It is a talent show that features amateur singers, dancers, magicians, comedians and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of US$1 million. The show debuted in June 2006 for the summer television season.

The show concept can be traced back to the British talent contest Opportunity Knocks, which started as a radio program in 1949 before moving to television in 1956. Among its significant features were that it gave an opportunity to talented amateurs or unknown performers and its results were decided by a public vote.

America's Got Talent began airing season one in the United Kingdom on ITV2 on 22 June 2007, and in New Zealand on Prime Television New Zealand on 9 July 2007.

NBC has announced that America's Got Talent has been renewed for a third season. [1]

Selection/elimination process

For the audition round, each of the three judges has a button in front of them that they can press when they do not want the act to continue; in season one, the button rings an electronic bell and a large red X with the judge's name lights up over the stage. A louder buzzer indicates the third judge's button was pressed, and the contestant's performance is terminated. In season two, only a buzzer is heard when a judge hits his/her button. If all three judges hit their X in season 2, the performer is illuminated in a lonely blue spotlight, indicating that they've been struck out. This is not as significant as it might be, since the judges occasionally cheat and press one another's buttons to abort even if a consensus of disapproval has not been reached. Then, the judges are asked whether the contestant should continue to the next round, with the approval of two out of three judges required. The button voting is not final, and occasionally a supporting judge can talk a disapproving one into switching sides. From there, the contestant is either rejected or passed to the next round of performance. The process is similar to the classic spoof amateur show The Gong Show, except that an act was ended by just one judge on Gong with no deliberations to follow.

The acts who pass the auditions will attend a Las Vegas bootcamp, where they will have a chance to perfect their craft. At this point, acts are divided into 2 groups, "music", and "variety". The music acts consist of singers and instrument players. The "variety" group consists of other acts. The "music" acts performs first, followed by the "variety" acts. Each act will perform for 3 minutes, and their performance will not be terminated, as the judges have no buttons to press. After each group has finished, the judges will split the groups into lines, either a "yes" line, or a "no" line. The ones who the judges said yes to will go to the short list of 35 acts. The acts which the judges have said no to will go home. After that, the judges will cut the short list of 35 to 20 final acts. In the semifinal episodes, the 20 acts will be first split into 2 groups of 10. America will vote and eliminate 5 out of the first group, than 5 out of the second. The remaining 10 will perform head to head in the next round, where the field will be narrowed each week.

Voting in the Semifinal

Unlike in Season 1, where there is a judges' choice, and a viewers' choice, the voting is completely handed over to the viewers. There will be no checks, but just Xs. The judges may press the Xs if they do not want the act to continue and they may also comment on acts.

Season 1

Main article: America's Got Talent (season 1)

In June 2006, NBC announced the new show. The audition tour took place in June. Auditions were held in the following locations: Los Angeles, California, New York City, New York, Chicago, Illinois, and Atlanta, Georgia. Some early ads for the show implied that the winning act would also headline a show at a casino, possibly in Las Vegas; however, this was replaced with $1,000,000 due to concerns of minors playing in Las Vegas, should one become a champion. More than 12 million viewers watched the season premiere (which is more than American Idol got during its premiere back in 2002). The two-hour broadcast was the night's most-watched program on U.S. television and the highest-rated among viewers aged 18 to 49 (the prime-time audience that matters most to advertisers), Nielsen Media Research reported.. On the season finale, there was an unaired segment that was scheduled to appear after Aly and AJ. The segment featured Tom Green dressing in a parrot costume, and squawking with a live parrot, to communicate telepathically. Green then proceeded to fly up above the audience, shooting confetti streamers out of his costume onto the crowd below.

In season one, the show was hosted by Regis Philbin and judged by actor David Hasselhoff, singer Brandy, and journalist Piers Morgan.

Finalists

• The Millers (Judges' choice, July 12): A musical group consisting of two brothers. Cole, age 20, plays guitar, and L.D., age 12, plays harmonica.
• Taylor Ware (Viewers' choice, July 13): An 11 year old yodelist.
• Realis (Judges' choice, July 20): An acrobatics mixed pair performing hand-to-hand balancing and releases.
• At Last (Viewers' choice, July 20): An a cappella act, performing R&B songs with a hip hop beat.
• Rappin' Granny (real name: Vivian Smallwood) (Judges' choice, July 26): A 73 year old rapper.
• Bianca Ryan (Viewers' choice, July 27): An 11 year old singer.
• The Passing Zone (Judges' choice, August 2): A comedy/juggling act.
• Celtic Spring (Viewers' choice, August 3): A family Irish step dancing/fiddling act.
• All That (Judges' choice, August 9): A clogging ensemble.
• Quick Change (Viewers' choice, August 10): Clothes-changing magic act

Winner

• Bianca Ryan

Season 2

Main article: America's Got Talent (season 2)

After initially announcing in May 2006 that the second season of America's Got Talent would debut in January 2007 at 8 PM on Sunday nights, with no separate results show, the network has changed its mind and pushed the show back to the summer, where the first season had great success. This move will keep the show out of indirect competition with American Idol, which has a similar premise and is more popular. In AGT's place, another reality-based talent show, Grease: You're The One That I Want, began airing on Sunday nights in the same timeslot on NBC beginning in January. In March 2007, NBC announced tabloid talk show host Jerry Springer would succeed Philbin as host, with Sharon Osbourne succeeding Brandy as a judge. This means the show, ironically, has two British judges and one American one.

The second season has no results show, replaced by results on the performance show night instead.

Currently, only 4 acts remain. The finale of the season will be shown on Tuesday, August 21, 2007, and a winner will be shown.

Acts Remaining (Last Three)

• Butterscotch - beatboxer/singer from Davis, California

• Cas Haley - singer/guitarist from Arlington, Texas

• Terry Fator - ventriloquist/impressionist/singer from Dallas, Texas

Fourth Place

• Julienne Irwin - 14-year old singer from Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland

Acts Eliminated (from Top 8)

• Jason Pritchett - singer/guitar player from Independence, Missouri

• The Glamazons - group of female burlesque singers

• Robert Hatcher - singer from Cincinnati, Ohio

• Sideswipe - Martial Arts group; made an appearance in Season 1

Acts Eliminated (from Top 10)

• The Calypso Tumblers - tumbling act

• The Duttons - family band

Season 3

NBC announced in August 2007 that the network renewed the show for a third season, scheduled for summer 2008.

Judging styles

In the audition phase, Morgan was usually fastest hitting his X (strike) button, expressing disapproval even when Brandy and Hasselhoff did not (loosely mirroring Simon Cowell's disapproval of the audition when Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson did not on American Idol). On several occasions after pressing his strike button, he reached over and pressed Brandy's button, and on occasion, stood up to press Hasselhoff's button, singlehandedly stopping the act. Occasionally, Hasselhoff would be the last one who had not hit the X button, letting the act still go on despite Brandy and Morgan having long hit their buttons (Brandy and Morgan attempted a few times to hit Hasselhoff's button to end the act, a couple of times succeeding, but Hasselhoff always tried to block them). Also, when burlesque dancer Michelle L'amour started to strip on one episode, Morgan and Hasselhoff tried to hold back Brandy as she tried to strike their buttons. Morgan will often strike his button to see if the noise would break the performer's concentration, even if he approves of the act.

When Osbourne replaced Brandy in Season 2, she became the judge who usually takes the longest time to hit the button (except in the case of musical acts, in which case she sometimes buzzes them well before Morgan and Hasselhoff). Judges hitting other judges' buttons became a rare occurrence, although Morgan did hit Osbourne's button once in order to end an act he disliked.

Unlike in Season 1, the panel of judges have allowed fewer children in, possibly in reaction to Bianca Ryan's win. Piers was usually the first to buzz the child acts, although he did like a few, including 14-year old Julienne Irwin, and The Rascals. Sometimes David would follow, but Sharon usually would let the acts finish. Sharon would also constructively criticize the children, while Piers would say their act wasn't worth a million dollars, and David said they weren't ready yet.

On the first semifinal show, after the performance of the Millers, Morgan suggested that the younger brother L.D. should sack his fairly average brother Cole if he wanted to be a superstar, driving L.D. to tears. Nonetheless, the Millers were put through to the finals by the three judges. On the fourth semifinal show, Morgan found fault with the family group Celtic Spring, saying that the group should "sack mum, dad, and [the] little brother," in another case of unequal talent. The youngest brother and sister cried, and the rest of the siblings stood their ground, saying their mom and dad were part of their backup. The viewers put Celtic Spring through to the finals.

In the audition stages of Season 2, the trend continued with The Duttons, consisting of 14 performers from one family. Morgan suggested that if they kept the children off the stage, they could be a winning act. On the other hand, when rapper Abenz was eliminated by the judges, the trio invited backup singer Byrain Winbush to return to the stage for his own audition (he advanced to the second round despite the short notice).

On the wild card show, Morgan criticized the two members of David & Dania - Quick Change, "Are you deaf? Are you dumb? Or are you just so arrogant about that act that you think that's all you have to do?" David responded with a warning not to call him dumb, and pointed out that they were the only act of their kind on the show. Dania later left the stage in tears, and said backstage that his comments were hurtful. Once again, viewers voted for this group to perform in the finals. Sources such as USA Today have said these moments were among the worst in the show.

On the second semifinal show, the judges were unable to reach a unanimous decision for their choice by the end of the episode. On the results show, Morgan revealed that he refused to add a third singing act to the two that had already made it to the finals (The Millers and Taylor Ware), stating "this is not American Idol" and he "wanted a more diverse group of acts for the final". The judges chose Realis as a result, and the viewers chose another singing act, At Last, to go through.

On the first semifinal in the second season, Morgan, with his new ability to be able to press buttons to intterupt an act, striked his X twice on Kashif during the middle of his performance and Kevin James at the end of his act. Morgan has buzzed at least one act in each performance show, excluding the finale.

Ratings

The performance shows are rated TV-PG and the results shows are rated TV-14.

Ever since the show has debuted in 2006, its ratings have outpaced over every other broadcast of the night, and even, sometimes, of the week. Regular TV audiences total an average of usually 10 million a night, giving NBC an average 6.0/10 rating every Tuesday, over CBS, ABC, and FOX. Total ratings have overrated FOX's hit reality show, So You Think You Can Dance, which airs on Wednesday, by over one million viewers. In the summer of 2006, Talent was summer's most watched TV program, and it is likely that the show will become summer 2007's winner, too.

International spinoffs

Australia

In February 2007, Australia's Got Talent debuted on Seven Network. Grant Denyer is the host, with Dannii Minogue, Red Symons and Tom Burlinson judging the performances. It has a top prize of AU$250,000 (Jul 2007, approximately £107,000; US$220,000). Bonnie Anderson was the first winner of the grand prize.

United Kingdom

In 2007, ITV debuted Britain's Got Talent (however, the original idea for America's Got Talent was a British invention - as Paul O'Grady did a pilot for ITV, however it wasn't picked up until after the American version of the show was broadcast). The series started on 9 June, 2007 with Piers Morgan, Simon Cowell, and Amanda Holden as judges, and Ant & Dec as hosts of the show. The top prize is at least £100,000 (Jul 2007, approximately US$205,000). In addition the winner will perform at the Royal Variety Performance in front of Her Majesty The Queen. Paul Potts, winner of the first series also earns a recording contract. .

France

On November 2, 2006, M6 debuted their adaptation of the show, named Incroyable Talent (Incredible Talent). Alessandra Sublet is the host. The €150,000 top prize (Jul 2007, approximately US$205,000) was recently won by a popper/b-boy "Salah". The show is set to return sometime in 2007.

Portugal

On January 28 2007, Aqui Há Talento (There's Talent Here) premiered on public channel RTP, hosted by Sílvia Alberto (former hostess ofthe Pop Idol and Strictly Come Dancing Portuguese spinoffs) and judged by actors Joaquim Monchique and Sílvia Rizzo and producer Paulo Dias. The top prize is €75,000.

Russia

Минута славы (A Minute of Fame) premiered on February 17, 2007 on Channel 1, the most watched Russian channel. There are also three judges and X buzzers, and is hosted by Garik Morterasian (a comedian originally from Armenia). The judges are Iosif Kobzon (a Russian singer), Tatyana Tolstaya (a Russian author), and Alexander Maslyakov (host of KVN, the Russian humor show). There are also semifinals and finals. The prize is 1,000,000 rubles (Jul 2007, approximately US$39,000).

Greece

Ελλάδα, έχεις ταλέντο (Greece, You Have Talent) premiered in March 2007 on ANT1. It is hosted by actress and TV presenter Sofia Aliberti, and with judges from Greek show business Ilias Psinakis, Vaggelis Perris and Matthilda Maggira. It will likely not only feature Greek nationals, but also contestants from the Greek Diaspora. The prize is €150,000.

Belgium

The Belgian version called Supertalent in Vlaanderen. (Supertalent in Flanders) airs on VT4. Dré Steemans ("Felice", who also hosts the current Belgian version of Deal or No Deal) and Ann van Elsen host. On the jury are Paul Jambers, Martine Prenen, and Gert Verhulst. Prize is €50,000.

Netherlands

The Dutch version called Bijna Beroemd (Almost Famous) and is broadcasted by NRCV on Nederland 1 and hosted by Jochem Van Gelder and Jetkste Van der Elsen. Grand prize is €100,000.

Sweden

The Swedísh version called Talang 2007 airs on TV4 (Sweden). The host is Peppe Eng. The jury is Bert Karlsson, Hanna Hedlund and Tobbe Blom. The prize is 1,000,000 Swedish kronor (Jul 2007, approximately £73,000; US$148,000; AU$174,000).

China

There is a Chinese version airing on CCTV 2. The format is similar to the US version, but new competitors compete each episode. Each winner gets 100,000 Chinese yuan.

Germany

For the new season 2007/2008 RTL Television, one of the main German TV stations, has anounced Das Supertalent. The prize will be €100,000. Details concerning host and jury are not intimated yet. RTL Television is the main broadcasting arm of RTL Group, which also owns the "Got Talent" production company FremantleMedia.

Israel

On June 26, 2007, Reshet debuted their adaptation of the show, named הדבר הגדול הבא (Ha'Davar Ha'Gadol Ha'Ba = The Next Big Thing). Noa Tishby is the host. The prize is ₪500,000 (Jul 2007, approximately US$125,000).

Finland

Finland will start its version of the show in autumn 2007. The show is simply called Talent and it's aired on Nelonen. The main prize is €30,000.

International broadcasts

Country	Channel
Canada	CTV, TVA (French)
United Kingdom	ITV2
Ireland	TV3
Belize	Tropical Vision Limited Sundays, 4:00 PM CST
New Zealand	Prime Television New Zealand Mondays, 8.30 PM
Hong Kong	TVB Pearl Saturdays, 8:30 PM HKT
Philippines	RPN 9 Sundays, 6:00 PM
Sweden	TV4
Finland	Nelonen
Australia	Seven Network

References

• NBC show site
• CTV show site
• Prime TV show site

External links

• America's Got Talent at The Internet Movie Database
• Top Ten Videos - America's Got Talent
• KashifMemon.com official site of the Season 2 star
• Kashif Memon and South Asian reaction