America's Got Talent season 4

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America's Got Talent
Season 4
ShowrunnerJason Raff [1]
Hosted by Nick Cannon
Judges
Winner Kevin Skinner
Runner-up
No. of episodes26
Release
Original network NBC
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

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 | Playing card club A.svg Judges' Wildcard Quarter-Finalist
ParticipantAge(s) 1 GenreActFromQuarter-FinalResult
African High Flyers24-35AcrobaticsAcrobatic Group Orlando 4Eliminated
Alizma23Singing / MusicViolin Trio Las Vegas 2Eliminated
Anthony & Matt24 & 22Singing / DanceSinger & Tap Dancer New York City 4Eliminated
Arcadian Broad13DanceDancerOrlando1Semi-finalist
Bárbara Padilla 36SingingOpera Singer Houston 4Runner-up
Beale Street Flippers Playing card club A.svg 20-26AcrobaticsAcrobat Group Memphis, Tennessee 2Eliminated
Breaksk821-30DanceDance Group Kokomo, Indiana 1Eliminated
BRI17Singing / MusicSinger & PianistLas Vegas3Eliminated
Carol Loo63DanceDancer Jersey City, New Jersey 2Eliminated
Charles DeWayne21Singing / MusicSinger & Pianist La Verne, California 2Eliminated
Coney Island Chris42Danger / ComedySideshow Performer Naugatuck, Connecticut 4Eliminated
Dave Johnson30Singing / ComedyComedy Singer Renton, Washington 3Eliminated
Diva League Playing card club A.svg 20-44DanceDance Group Washington, D.C. 1Eliminated
Drew Stevyns Playing card club A.svg 26Singing / MusicSinger & Guitarist Sykesville, Maryland 4Finalist
Drew Thomas Magic & Illusion40 2 MagicMagicianOrlando1Semi-finalist
Eleisha Miller8Singing / MusicSinger & Pianist Amarillo, Texas 2Eliminated
EriAm Sisters 11-16SingingVocal Trio Seattle 4Semi-finalist
Erik & Rickie8DanceBallroom DuoSeattle4Semi-finalist
Fab Five24-35DanceClogging Group Morgan, Utah 2Finalist
FootworKINGz16-24DanceDance Group Chicago 3Semi-finalist
G Force8-11Singing / MusicBand Amherst, Ohio 3Eliminated
Grandma Lee 75ComedyComedian Jacksonville, Florida 1Finalist
Hairo Torres23Dance / AcrobaticsContortionist Dancer Grants Pass, Oregon 3Finalist
Ishaara18–23DanceDance Group Berkeley, California 4Eliminated
Jay Mattioli Playing card club A.svg 27MagicMagician Manassas, Virginia 3Eliminated
Jeffrey Ou18MusicPianist Carrollton, Texas 3Semi-finalist
Kevin Skinner 35Singing / MusicSinger & Guitarist Mayfield, Kentucky 1Winner
Lake Houston Dance Playing card club A.svg 9-14DanceDance GroupHouston1Eliminated
Lawrence Beamen34SingingSinger Walnut Creek, California 3Finalist
Manuela Horn36MusicYodellerSeattle1Eliminated
Marcus Terrell & The Serenades22-28SingingVocal Group Kansas City, Missouri 3Eliminated
Mario & Jenny34 & 33VarietyJuggling DuoLas Vegas3Semi-finalist
Mia Boostrom16Singing / MusicSinger & Pianist North Dighton, Massachusetts 4Eliminated
Mosaic 30-34SingingA Cappella GroupLas Vegas1Eliminated
Pam Martin's Top Dog54 & 6AnimalDog Act Garland, Texas 4Eliminated
Paradizo Dance29 & 37AcrobaticsAcrobatic DuoNew York City2Semi-finalist
Pete Peterkin54ComedyImpressionistNew York City2Eliminated
Pixie Mystère9-11Dance / AcrobaticsContortionist Dance Group Cape May, New Jersey 3Eliminated
Platt Brothers22-27AcrobaticsAcrobat Trio San Diego, California 1Eliminated
Recycled Percussion 22-39MusicPercussion Group Goffstown, New Hampshire 4Third place
SQ Entertainment Playing card club A.svg 19-32DanceDance Group Boston 2Eliminated
Team Acrodunk 23-45AcrobaticsBasketball Stunt TeamHouston1Semi-finalist
The Lollipop Girls Playing card club A.svg 24-40DanceDance GroupSan Diego4Eliminated
The Texas Tenors 34-44SingingVocal TrioHouston2Finalist
The Voices of Glory9-16SingingVocal Trio Highland, New York 2Finalist
Thia Megia 14SingingSinger Redwood City, California 1Eliminated
Tony Hoard & Rory54 & 7AnimalDog Act New Castle, Indiana 2Semi-finalist
U4ria Dance Crew Playing card club A.svg 16-23DanceDance Group Coral Springs, Florida 3Eliminated

Quarter-finals summary

Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Buzzed Out | Crystal Clear app clean.svg 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-FinalistOrderBuzzes and Judges' VoteResult (August 5)
HasselhoffOsbourneMorgan
Breaksk81Eliminated
Thia Megia2 Crystal Clear app clean.svg Lost Judges' Vote
Platt Brothers3Eliminated
Diva League4 Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Eliminated
Manuela Horn5 Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Eliminated
Grandma Lee6Advanced
Mosaic7Eliminated
Team Acrodunk8Advanced
Arcadian Broad9 Crystal Clear app clean.svg Crystal Clear app clean.svg Won Judges' Vote
Drew Thomas Magic & Illusions10Advanced
Kevin Skinner11Advanced
Lake Houston Dance12Eliminated

Quarter-final 2 (August 11)

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

Quarter-FinalistOrderBuzzes and Judges' VoteResult (August 12)
HasselhoffOsbourneMorgan
Fab Five1Advanced
Charles DeWayne2 Crystal Clear app clean.svg Lost Judges' Vote
Carol Loo3 Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Eliminated
Tony Hoard & Rory4 Crystal Clear app clean.svg Crystal Clear app clean.svg Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Won Judges' Vote
Eleisha Miller5 Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Eliminated
Paradizo Dance6Advanced
The Texas Tenors7Advanced
SQ Entertainment8Eliminated
Pete Peterkin9 Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Eliminated
Alizma10 Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Eliminated
Beale Street Flippers11 Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Eliminated
The Voices of Glory12Advanced

Quarter-final 3 (August 18)

Guest Performers, Results Show: Ashley Tisdale and Daughtry

Quarter-FinalistOrderBuzzes and Judges' VoteResult (August 19)
HasselhoffOsbourneMorgan
FootworKINGz1 Crystal Clear app clean.svg Crystal Clear app clean.svg Crystal Clear app clean.svg Won Judges' Vote
Marcus Terrell and the Serenades2Eliminated
Pixie Mystère3Lost Judges' Vote
Jay Mattioli4 Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Eliminated
BRI5Eliminated
U4RIA Dance Crew6Eliminated
David Johnson7 Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Eliminated
Hairo Torres8Advanced
G-Force9 Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Eliminated
Jeffery Ou10Advanced
Mario & Jenny11Advanced
Lawrence Beamen12Advanced

Quarter-final 4 (August 25)

Guest Performer, Results Show: Reba McEntire

Quarter-FinalistOrderBuzzes and Judges' VoteResult (August 26)
HasselhoffOsbourneMorgan
Ishaara1Eliminated
Bárbara Padilla2Advanced
Pam Martin's Top Dogs3Eliminated
African High Flyers4 Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Eliminated
Mia Boostrom5 Crystal Clear app clean.svg Lost Judges' Vote
Erik & Rickie6 Crystal Clear app clean.svg Crystal Clear app clean.svg Won Judges' Vote
Coney Island Chris7 Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Eliminated
Matt & Anthony8 Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Eliminated
The Lollipop Girls9Eliminated
Drew Stevyns10Advanced
Recycled Percussion11Advanced
EriAm Sisters12Advanced

Semi-finals summary

Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Buzzed out |   Advanced

Semi-final 1 (September 1)

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

Semi-FinalistOrderBuzzesResult (September 2)
HasselhoffOsbourneMorgan
Team Acrodunk1Eliminated
The Texas Tenors2Advanced
Paradizo Dance3Eliminated
Drew Thomas Magic & Illusions4 Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Eliminated
Tony Hoard and Rory5Eliminated
The Voices of Glory 4 6Advanced
The Fab Five 4 7Advanced
Grandma Lee8Advanced
Arcadian Broad9Eliminated
Kevin Skinner10Advanced
  • 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-FinalistOrderBuzzesResult (September 9)
HasselhoffOsbourneMorgan
Recycled Percussion1Advanced
Lawrence Beamen2Advanced
Erik and Rickie3 Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Eliminated
Jeffrey Ou4 Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Eliminated
Hairo Torres5Advanced
EriAm Sisters6Eliminated
Mario and Jenny7 Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Eliminated
Drew Stevyns8Advanced
FootworKINGz9 Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Crystal Clear action button cancel.svg Eliminated
Bárbara Padilla10Advanced

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
FinalistOrderResult (September 16)
The Voices of Glory15th
Hairo Torres28th
Lawrence Beamen39th
Bárbara Padilla42nd
Fab Five56th
The Texas Tenors64th
Drew Stevyns710th
Grandma Lee87th
Kevin Skinner91st
Recycled Percussion103rd

Ratings

OrderEpisodeRatingShare Rating/Share
(18–49)
Viewers
(millions)
Rank (night)
(viewers)
Rank (week)
(viewers)
1"Auditions Episode 1"6.8123.3/10 [5] 11.30#1#1
2"Auditions Episode 2"6.2113.1/9 [6] 10.39#1#3
3"Auditions Episode 3"7.5133.7/11 [7] 12.91#1#1
4"Auditions Episode 4"6.8122.9/911.30#2#3
5"Auditions Episode 5"6.2103/9 [8] 10.43#1#2
6"Auditions Episode 6"6.9123.3/10 [9] 11.69#1#1
7"Auditions Episode 7"8133.6/10 [10] 13.17#2#2
8"Auditions Episode 8"6.9122.9/9 [11] 11.38#1#4
9"Auditions Episode 9"8.2143.4/10 [12] 13.75#1#1 [13]
10"Auditions Episode 10
Susan Boyle Interview"
6.6112.5/7 [14] 11.26#1#2 [13]
11"Vegas Verdicts (Part 1)"7.7133.4/10 [15] 12.76#1#1
12"Vegas Verdicts (Part 2)"6.4112.8/8 [16] 10.90#1#2
13"Quarterfinals, Group 1"7.7143.6/11 [17] 12.97#1#1
14"Quarterfinals, Group 1 Results"6102.9/9 [18] 10.68#1#2
15"Quarterfinals, Group 2"7.6133.4/1012.48#1#1
16"Quarterfinals, Group 2 Results"6.9122.9/911.42#1#4
17"Quarterfinals, Group 3"7122.9/9 [19] 11.59#1#2
18"Quarterfinals, Group 3 Results"6.4112.4/7 [20] 10.29#1#4
19"Quarterfinals, Group 4"6.9123/811.42#1#1
20"Quarterfinals, Group 4 Results"6.7112.9/810.87#1#2
21"Semifinals, Group 1"7.5133.2/9 [21] 12.81#1#1
22"Semifinals, Group 1 Results"7.4122.6/8 [22] 12.39#1#2
23"Semifinals, Group 2 "7.1122.9/8 [23] 12.03#1#5
24"Semifinals, Group 2 Results"692.1/5 [24] 10.06#1#10
25"Finals, Performances"8.5133.3/9 [25] 13.84#2#3
26"Finale"9.5163.5/10 [26] 15.53#1#2

References

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