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
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