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America's Got Talent season 4

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America's Got Talent
Season 4
ShowrunnerJason Raff[1]
Hosted byNick Cannon
Judges
WinnerKevin Skinner
Runner-up
No. of episodes26
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseJune 23 (2009-06-23) –
September 16, 2009 (2009-09-16)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 3
Next →
Season 5
Judges and Host for America's Got Talent Season 4
Piers Morgan
Sharon Osbourne
David Hasselhoff
Nick Cannon

The fourth season of American talent show competition series America's Got Talent was broadcast on NBC from June 23 to September 16, 2009. Following the previous season, Jerry Springer left the show due to other commitments,[2] and was replaced as host by Nick Cannon.[3][4] A number of changes were also made to the program before filming commenced, which included replacing the "boot camp" stage with a round similar in format to that used by Britain's Got Talent, and changing the buzzer format to match that being used by the Got Talent franchise. In addition, the episodes for results in each live round of the competition were also modified. They were broadcast over a one-hour period, and would feature performances by guest stars.

The fourth season was won by country singer Kevin Skinner, with opera singer Bárbara Padilla finishing in second, and percussion group Recycled Percussion placing third. During its broadcast, the season averaged around over 11.9 million viewers, and was the first in the program's history to be aired in high definition.

Season overview

Auditions for the fourth season's competition took place across Winter until mid-Spring 2009, with auditions expanding to more cities. Filming for the audition episodes focused on those held in the cities of New York, Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Tacoma, and Seattle. Auditions were also held in Boston, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. but were not included in the televised episodes. Prior to auditions taking place, Jerry Springer announced he was unable to continue hosting AGT due to his talk show schedule, in addition to summer theater commitments he had.[2] As a result, the network recruited Nick Cannon to be his successor.[3]

The format for the second stage of auditions changed by removing the "boot camp" portion that had been used in the previous two seasons, in favor of using the selection process from Britain's Got Talent, under the title of "Vegas Verdicts". Instead, judges reviewed the tapes of participants who had made successful auditions, to determine who would advance into the live rounds. This stage would continue to divide participants into groups, allowing the judges to debate among themselves about which group of participants should earn a place in the live rounds, before bringing back each group to inform them of their decision about their progress in the competition. In some cases, participants were required to do a second performance to help the judges make their final decisions. The format for the buzzers in the live rounds was also altered to match that of the format across the Got Talent franchise, in that participants receiving buzzes from all the judges had to stop immediately, rather than being given a little more time to perform.

Two issues arose during this season during the competition. The first was the intervention of executive producer Simon Cowell, who felt "too much talent" had been eliminated during the new "Vegas Verdicts" stage. The judges decided to bring back several of the eliminated acts as Wildcards for the quarter-finals. The second was the judges' inability to determine which two acts they favored and would advance beyond the first semi-final. Eventually they opted to put both through without a vote in the second semi-final.

Forty-eight of the participants who auditioned for the season secured a place in the live quarter-finals (including those originally eliminated in the Vegas Verdicts stage before Cowell's intervention), with twelve quarter-finalists performing in each show. About twenty of these advanced and were split between the two semi-finals, with ten semi-finalists securing a place in the live final, which was a single stage rather than multiple rounds in previous seasons. Here are the results of each participant's overall performance during the season:

  Winner |   Runner-up |   Third place |   Finalist |   Semi-finalist
  Quarter-finalist | Judges' Wildcard Quarter-Finalist
Participant Age(s) 1 Genre Act From Quarter-Final Result
African High Flyers 24-35 Acrobatics Acrobatic Group Orlando 4 Eliminated
Alizma 23 Singing / Music Violin Trio Las Vegas 2 Eliminated
Anthony & Matt 24 & 22 Singing / Dance Singer & Tap Dancer New York City 4 Eliminated
Arcadian Broad 13 Dance Dancer Orlando 1 Semi-finalist
Bárbara Padilla 36 Singing Opera Singer Houston 4 Runner-up
Beale Street Flippers 20-26 Acrobatics Acrobat Group Memphis, Tennessee 2 Eliminated
Breaksk8 21-30 Dance Dance Group Kokomo, Indiana 1 Eliminated
BRI 17 Singing / Music Singer & Pianist Las Vegas 3 Eliminated
Carol Loo 63 Dance Dancer Jersey City, New Jersey 2 Eliminated
Charles DeWayne 21 Singing / Music Singer & Pianist La Verne, California 2 Eliminated
Coney Island Chris 42 Danger / Comedy Sideshow Performer Naugatuck, Connecticut 4 Eliminated
Dave Johnson 30 Singing / Comedy Comedy Singer Renton, Washington 3 Eliminated
Diva League 20-44 Dance Dance Group Washington, D.C. 1 Eliminated
Drew Stevyns 26 Singing / Music Singer & Guitarist Sykesville, Maryland 4 Finalist
Drew Thomas Magic & Illusion 40 2 Magic Magician Orlando 1 Semi-finalist
Eleisha Miller 8 Singing / Music Singer & Pianist Amarillo, Texas 2 Eliminated
EriAm Sisters 11-16 Singing Vocal Trio Seattle 4 Semi-finalist
Erik & Rickie 8 Dance Ballroom Duo Seattle 4 Semi-finalist
Fab Five 24-35 Dance Clogging Group Morgan, Utah 2 Finalist
FootworKINGz 16-24 Dance Dance Group Chicago 3 Semi-finalist
G Force 8-11 Singing / Music Band Amherst, Ohio 3 Eliminated
Grandma Lee 75 Comedy Comedian Jacksonville, Florida 1 Finalist
Hairo Torres 23 Dance / Acrobatics Contortionist Dancer Grants Pass, Oregon 3 Finalist
Ishaara 18–23 Dance Dance Group Berkeley, California 4 Eliminated
Jay Mattioli 27 Magic Magician Manassas, Virginia 3 Eliminated
Jeffrey Ou 18 Music Pianist Carrollton, Texas 3 Semi-finalist
Kevin Skinner 35 Singing / Music Singer & Guitarist Mayfield, Kentucky 1 Winner
Lake Houston Dance 9-14 Dance Dance Group Houston 1 Eliminated
Lawrence Beamen 34 Singing Singer Walnut Creek, California 3 Finalist
Manuela Horn 36 Music Yodeller Seattle 1 Eliminated
Marcus Terrell & The Serenades 22-28 Singing Vocal Group Kansas City, Missouri 3 Eliminated
Mario & Jenny 34 & 33 Variety Juggling Duo Las Vegas 3 Semi-finalist
Mia Boostrom 16 Singing / Music Singer & Pianist North Dighton, Massachusetts 4 Eliminated
Mosaic 30-34 Singing A Cappella Group Las Vegas 1 Eliminated
Pam Martin's Top Dog 54 & 6 Animal Dog Act Garland, Texas 4 Eliminated
Paradizo Dance 29 & 37 Acrobatics Acrobatic Duo New York City 2 Semi-finalist
Pete Peterkin 54 Comedy Impressionist New York City 2 Eliminated
Pixie Mystère 9-11 Dance / Acrobatics Contortionist Dance Group Cape May, New Jersey 3 Eliminated
Platt Brothers 22-27 Acrobatics Acrobat Trio San Diego, California 1 Eliminated
Recycled Percussion 22-39 Music Percussion Group Goffstown, New Hampshire 4 Third place
SQ Entertainment 19-32 Dance Dance Group Boston 2 Eliminated
Team Acrodunk 23-45 Acrobatics Basketball Stunt Team Houston 1 Semi-finalist
The Lollipop Girls 24-40 Dance Dance Group San Diego 4 Eliminated
The Texas Tenors 34-44 Singing Vocal Trio Houston 2 Finalist
The Voices of Glory 9-16 Singing Vocal Trio Highland, New York 2 Finalist
Thia Megia 14 Singing Singer Redwood City, California 1 Eliminated
Tony Hoard & Rory 54 & 7 Animal Dog Act New Castle, Indiana 2 Semi-finalist
U4ria Dance Crew 16-23 Dance Dance Group Coral Springs, Florida 3 Eliminated
  • ^1 Ages denoted for a participant(s), pertain to their final performance for this season.
  • ^2 The ages of Drew Thomas' assistants and Marcus Terrell's backing group were not disclosed during the season's broadcast.

Quarter-finals summary

Buzzed Out | Judges' choice |   Advanced to Semi-finals
  Won Judges' Vote |   Lost Judges' Vote

Quarter-final 1 (August 4)

Guest Performers, Results Show: Terry Fator and Mariah Carey

Quarter-Finalist Order Buzzes and Judges' Vote Result (August 5)
Hasselhoff Osbourne Morgan
Breaksk8 1 Eliminated
Thia Megia 2 Lost Judges' Vote
Platt Brothers 3 Eliminated
Diva League 4 Eliminated
Manuela Horn 5 Eliminated
Grandma Lee 6 Advanced
Mosaic 7 Eliminated
Team Acrodunk 8 Advanced
Arcadian Broad 9 Won Judges' Vote
Drew Thomas Magic & Illusions 10 Advanced
Kevin Skinner 11 Advanced
Lake Houston Dance 12 Eliminated

Quarter-final 2 (August 11)

Guest Performers, Results Show: LMFAO and Penn and Teller.

Quarter-Finalist Order Buzzes and Judges' Vote Result (August 12)
Hasselhoff Osbourne Morgan
Fab Five 1 Advanced
Charles DeWayne 2 Lost Judges' Vote
Carol Loo 3 Eliminated
Tony Hoard & Rory 4 Won Judges' Vote
Eleisha Miller 5 Eliminated
Paradizo Dance 6 Advanced
The Texas Tenors 7 Advanced
SQ Entertainment 8 Eliminated
Pete Peterkin 9 Eliminated
Alizma 10 Eliminated
Beale Street Flippers 11 Eliminated
The Voices of Glory 12 Advanced

Quarter-final 3 (August 18)

Guest Performers, Results Show: Ashley Tisdale and Daughtry

Quarter-Finalist Order Buzzes and Judges' Vote Result (August 19)
Hasselhoff Osbourne Morgan
FootworKINGz 1 Won Judges' Vote
Marcus Terrell and the Serenades 2 Eliminated
Pixie Mystère 3 Lost Judges' Vote
Jay Mattioli 4 Eliminated
BRI 5 Eliminated
U4RIA Dance Crew 6 Eliminated
David Johnson 7 Eliminated
Hairo Torres 8 Advanced
G-Force 9 Eliminated
Jeffery Ou 10 Advanced
Mario & Jenny 11 Advanced
Lawrence Beamen 12 Advanced

Quarter-final 4 (August 25)

Guest Performer, Results Show: Reba McEntire

Quarter-Finalist Order Buzzes and Judges' Vote Result (August 26)
Hasselhoff Osbourne Morgan
Ishaara 1 Eliminated
Bárbara Padilla 2 Advanced
Pam Martin's Top Dogs 3 Eliminated
African High Flyers 4 Eliminated
Mia Boostrom 5 Lost Judges' Vote
Erik & Rickie 6 Won Judges' Vote
Coney Island Chris 7 Eliminated
Matt & Anthony 8 Eliminated
The Lollipop Girls 9 Eliminated
Drew Stevyns 10 Advanced
Recycled Percussion 11 Advanced
EriAm Sisters 12 Advanced

Semi-finals summary

Buzzed out |   Advanced

Semi-final 1 (September 1)

Guest Performers, Result Show: Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog, and David Hasselhoff

Semi-Finalist Order Buzzes Result (September 2)
Hasselhoff Osbourne Morgan
Team Acrodunk 1 Eliminated
The Texas Tenors 2 Advanced
Paradizo Dance 3 Eliminated
Drew Thomas Magic & Illusions 4 Eliminated
Tony Hoard and Rory 5 Eliminated
The Voices of Glory 4 6 Advanced
The Fab Five 4 7 Advanced
Grandma Lee 8 Advanced
Arcadian Broad 9 Eliminated
Kevin Skinner 10 Advanced
  • 4 Both acts were advanced into the next stage, after the judges could not decide on who to vote for advancing further in the competition. This decision meant no Judges' Vote was held in the next semi-final.

Semi-final 2 (September 8)

Guest Performer, Results Show: Cast of musical Jersey Boys.

Semi-Finalist Order Buzzes Result (September 9)
Hasselhoff Osbourne Morgan
Recycled Percussion 1 Advanced
Lawrence Beamen 2 Advanced
Erik and Rickie 3 Eliminated
Jeffrey Ou 4 Eliminated
Hairo Torres 5 Advanced
EriAm Sisters 6 Eliminated
Mario and Jenny 7 Eliminated
Drew Stevyns 8 Advanced
FootworKINGz 9 Eliminated
Bárbara Padilla 10 Advanced

Final (September 14)

Guest Performers, Results Show: Thelma Houston, Shakira, Rascal Flatts, cast members of Cirque Du Soleil, Leona Lewis, and Susan Boyle.

  Winner |   Runner-up |   3rd place
Finalist Order Result (September 16)
The Voices of Glory 1 5th
Hairo Torres 2 8th
Lawrence Beamen 3 9th
Bárbara Padilla 4 2nd
Fab Five 5 6th
The Texas Tenors 6 4th
Drew Stevyns 7 10th
Grandma Lee 8 7th
Kevin Skinner 9 1st
Recycled Percussion 10 3rd

Ratings

Order Episode Rating Share Rating/Share
(18–49) 		Viewers
(millions) 		Rank (night)
(viewers) 		Rank (week)
(viewers)
1 "Auditions Episode 1" 6.8 12 3.3/10 [5] 11.30 #1 #1
2 "Auditions Episode 2" 6.2 11 3.1/9 [6] 10.39 #1 #3
3 "Auditions Episode 3" 7.5 13 3.7/11 [7] 12.91 #1 #1
4 "Auditions Episode 4" 6.8 12 2.9/9 11.30 #2 #3
5 "Auditions Episode 5" 6.2 10 3/9 [8] 10.43 #1 #2
6 "Auditions Episode 6" 6.9 12 3.3/10 [9] 11.69 #1 #1
7 "Auditions Episode 7" 8 13 3.6/10 [10] 13.17 #2 #2
8 "Auditions Episode 8" 6.9 12 2.9/9 [11] 11.38 #1 #4
9 "Auditions Episode 9" 8.2 14 3.4/10 [12] 13.75 #1 #1 [13]
10 "Auditions Episode 10
Susan Boyle Interview" 		6.6 11 2.5/7 [14] 11.26 #1 #2 [13]
11 "Vegas Verdicts (Part 1)" 7.7 13 3.4/10 [15] 12.76 #1 #1
12 "Vegas Verdicts (Part 2)" 6.4 11 2.8/8 [16] 10.90 #1 #2
13 "Quarterfinals, Group 1" 7.7 14 3.6/11 [17] 12.97 #1 #1
14 "Quarterfinals, Group 1 Results" 6 10 2.9/9 [18] 10.68 #1 #2
15 "Quarterfinals, Group 2" 7.6 13 3.4/10 12.48 #1 #1
16 "Quarterfinals, Group 2 Results" 6.9 12 2.9/9 11.42 #1 #4
17 "Quarterfinals, Group 3" 7 12 2.9/9 [19] 11.59 #1 #2
18 "Quarterfinals, Group 3 Results" 6.4 11 2.4/7 [20] 10.29 #1 #4
19 "Quarterfinals, Group 4" 6.9 12 3/8 11.42 #1 #1
20 "Quarterfinals, Group 4 Results" 6.7 11 2.9/8 10.87 #1 #2
21 "Semifinals, Group 1" 7.5 13 3.2/9 [21] 12.81 #1 #1
22 "Semifinals, Group 1 Results" 7.4 12 2.6/8 [22] 12.39 #1 #2
23 "Semifinals, Group 2 " 7.1 12 2.9/8 [23] 12.03 #1 #5
24 "Semifinals, Group 2 Results" 6 9 2.1/5 [24] 10.06 #1 #10
25 "Finals, Performances" 8.5 13 3.3/9 [25] 13.84 #2 #3
26 "Finale" 9.5 16 3.5/10 [26] 15.53 #1 #2

References

  1. ^ Hailu, Selome (October 28, 2024). "'America's Got Talent': Jason Raff Out as Showrunner After 19 Seasons Due to Budget Cuts". Variety. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Hibberd, James (February 7, 2009). "Jerry Springer Out as Talent Host". The Hollywood Reporter. Associated Press. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Nick Cannon's Got Talent". E! Online. February 9, 2009. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
  4. ^ "Nick Cannon replaces Jerry Springer as host of America's Got Talent". Blogs.tampabay.com. February 9, 2009. Archived from the original on February 14, 2009. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
  5. ^ "Tuesday Ratings: NBC's America's Got Talent Returns To Win, ABC's Superstars Hardly Super". June 24, 2009. Archived from the original on June 26, 2009. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
  6. ^ "Wednesday Ratings: Think You Can Dance? Keys Fox Win, Philanthropist Premiere Fair". June 25, 2009. Archived from the original on June 28, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
  7. ^ "Tuesday Ratings: NBC's Got Talent, ABC's Got Nothing". July 1, 2009. Archived from the original on July 4, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
  8. ^ "Tuesday Ratings: NBC's Tops With Talent, But Roadtrip Goes Nowhere". July 8, 2009. Archived from the original on July 10, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
  9. ^ "Wednesday Ratings: 'Talent' Tops 'Dance', But Fox Wins Night". July 9, 2009. Archived from the original on July 12, 2009. Retrieved July 9, 2009.
  10. ^ "Tuesday Ratings: Fox, AL, MLB All-Star Game Win; America's Got Talent Does Well At 9pm". July 15, 2009. Archived from the original on July 18, 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
  11. ^ "Wednesday Ratings: So You Think You Can Dance Wins Again For Fox On A Down Night". July 16, 2009. Archived from the original on July 18, 2009. Retrieved July 16, 2009.
  12. ^ "Tuesday Ratings: Hell's Kitchen Returns Down; Still Shouts Fox To Victory". July 22, 2009. Archived from the original on September 13, 2011. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  13. ^ a b "'America's Got Talent' is tops, but CBS had most viewers last week". July 28, 2009. Archived from the original on August 14, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
  14. ^ "Wednesday Ratings: The President Speaks; So You Think You Can Dance Wins". July 23, 2009. Archived from the original on July 25, 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  15. ^ "Tuesday Ratings: More To Love Premieres Light, But Hell's Kitchen Screams Fox To Victory". July 29, 2009. Archived from the original on August 1, 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  16. ^ "Wednesday Ratings: Think You Can Dance Beats Talent Head To Head As Fox Wins Night". July 30, 2009. Archived from the original on August 1, 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  17. ^ "NBC Ranks #2 for the week in viewers and ties for #1 in adults 25-54". August 11, 2009. Archived from the original on August 13, 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  18. ^ "NBC Ranks #2 for the week in viewers and ties for #1 in adults 25-54". August 11, 2009. Archived from the original on August 13, 2009. Retrieved August 11, 2009.
  19. ^ Weisman, Jon (August 19, 2009). "NBC top ratings with 'Talent'". Variety. Retrieved August 19, 2009.
  20. ^ "Weds TV Ratings: America's Got Talent tops Octomom, NBC wins night". August 20, 2009. Archived from the original on August 23, 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  21. ^ "TV Ratings Tuesday: America's Got Talent Helps NBC Edge Fox & Hell's Kitchen". September 2, 2009. Archived from the original on September 5, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  22. ^ Kissell, Rick (September 3, 2009). "'Wipeout,' 'Talent' top primetime ratings". Variety. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  23. ^ "TV Ratings Tuesday: 90210, Melrose Place Premiere Weak; Fox & Hell's Kitchen Rule". September 9, 2009. Archived from the original on September 13, 2009. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
  24. ^ "Updated TV Ratings: SYTYCD vs. POTUS and Glee premieres nicely". September 9, 2009. Archived from the original on September 12, 2009. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
  25. ^ "Updated TV Ratings: The Jay Leno Show premieres big, rises to 18.4 million in the final #s". September 26, 2009. Archived from the original on September 16, 2009. Retrieved September 15, 2009.
  26. ^ "Updated TV Ratings: AGT finale, Leno, Glee and The Beautiful Life". September 17, 2009. Archived from the original on September 22, 2009. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
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