America's Got Talent (season 15)

The fifteenth season of America's Got Talent, an American talent show competition, began broadcasting in the United States on May 26, 2020, on NBC. Following the previous season, both Julianne Hough and Gabrielle Union were let go from the program, leading to the producers replacing one of the pair with Sofía Vergara, and bringing back Heidi Klum in her former role. This season is most notable for being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, alongside other television programs that year. Not only filming disrupted for episodes that had yet to be produced past the audition stages, requiring debate on creating safe working environments that minimised the risk of the infection being spread, it also affected the program's broadcast schedule for that year.

America's Got Talent
Season 15
Promotional poster for season 15, featuring (L to R) host Crews alongside judges Cowell, Vergara, Klum, and Mandel
Hosted byTerry Crews
Judges
No. of episodes13
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseMay 26, 2020 (2020-05-26) –
present
Additional information
WebsiteOfficial website
Season chronology

The most notable impact of the pandemic included a change in the format for the Judge Cuts - including being condensed into a single episode with no guest judges as in previous seasons - and the use of a virtual audience when production of live episodes could safely proceed. Prior to filming of the first quarter-final, Simon Cowell was forced to be absent following an accident, leading to production staff bringing in temporary stand-ins for some of the live rounds he was unable to attend.

Season overview
The departures of Union and Hough from AGT, led to the return of Heidi Klum and newcomer Sofía Vergara joining the judging panel, replacing each respectively for the 15th season

Open auditions were held in late 2019, with closed auditions held across January to March the following year. Prior to the main auditions taking place, production faced the task of finding replacements for Julianne Hough and Gabrielle Union, who had been let go from the program following the conclusion of the previous season.[1] Producers finalised a decision on February 27, 2020, announcing that Heidi Klum would be returning to America's Got Talent in her former role, alongside newcomer Sofía Vergara.[2]

Production on the season was dramatically impacted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic with complications, which was already affecting television and film shoots across the globe; during filming, Klum fell ill, leading to Eric Stonestreet standing in for her during an audition session.[3][4] As the United States furthered restrictions to combat the spread of COVID-19, the program initially moved to filming without an audience present at auditions, before production was ultimately suspended;[5][6][7] additional auditions were later allowed, but these had to be conducted online as a safety precaution.[8] By April 27, production staff decided that the season would be broadcast as planned and premiere on May 26,[9][10] though with the season featuring a hiatus after the audition episodes had been aired with the footage that had already been filmed.[11]

In mid-June, Californian state government changed guidelines on media production, allowing it to resume across the state on condition of agreements on safe working conditions between industry unions, producers and local officials.[12] Production staff choose an outdoor venue in Simi Valley, California, per attestations from state counties, for filming of the Judge Cuts stage on June 22,[13] implementing several health and safety protocols: judges would view all performances via videoconferencing on a cinema screen; masks would be mandatory for all personnel when off-camera; enforced social distancing (such as isolation pods) would be used; and regular testing would be conducted. To ensure these protocols were maintained, the format of the stage was amended, reducing the number of auditionees that moved into this stage from 72 to 60, no involvement of guest judges and thus additional Golden Buzzers, and each participant given a verdict after their performance.[13] All footage was condensed into a single episode, which Cowell approved due to his dislike of the stage's format in previous seasons.[14][13]

By the end of July, production staff began focusing on how to produce the live round episodes for the season, in hopes of airing these by August 11. A decision was reached to include a virtual audience for these rounds - applications being made available within the week of July 28 - in order to maintain safe working conditions for all involved, with Universal Studios Hollywood chosen as the venue for performances to take place within,[15][16][17][18] and an expansion in the number of quarter-finalists for the season, including an additional quarter-final, as well as an amendment to the number of semi-finalists each round produced. Prior to the first quarter-final's live broadcast, Cowell had an accident that left him with a severe back injury.[19][20][21] After undergoing surgery to help repair the damage, he was forced to temporarily stand-down his involvement in the live episodes until doctors would allow him to return to the program, leading to the production staff recruiting stand-ins for him during his absence.[22][23][24][25]

Of the participants who auditioned for this season, 44 secured a place in the live quarter-finals, with 11 quarter-finalists in each one - amongst these included: singer Roberta Battaglia, choir Voices of our City Choir, spoken word poet Brandon Leake, singer Cristina Rae, and dance group W.A.F.F.L.E. Crew, who had each received a golden buzzer from the main judges. 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 - Auditions
Participant[18] Age(s)1 Genre Act From Quarter-Final Result
Alan Silva 38 Acrobatics Aerialist Las Vegas TBA TBA
Alex Hooper 35 Comedy Stand-up Comedian Baltimore, Maryland TBA TBA
Alexis Brownley 9 Animals Dog Tricks Act Weston, Florida 2 TBA
Annie Jones 12 Singing Singer Victoria, Australia TBA TBA
Archie Williams 59 Singing Singer Baton Rouge, Louisiana 1 TBA
BAD Salsa 16, 21 Dance Salsa Duo India 2 TBA
Bello & Annaliese Nock 51, 23 Danger Daredevil Duo TBA 1 Eliminated
Bello Sisters 14-22 Acrobatics Acrobatic Trio Italy TBA TBA
BONAVEGA 31 Singing Singer Toledo, Ohio 2 TBA
Bone Breakers 22-24 Dance Contortion Dance Group Conakry, Republic of Guinea TBA TBA
Brandon Leake 27 Variety Spoken Word Poet Stockton, California TBA TBA
Brett Loudermilk 31 Danger Sword Swallower North Carolina 1 TBA
C.A. Wildcats 13-29 Dance Cheerleading Group Dallas, Texas TBA TBA
Celina Graves 30 Singing Singer San Diego, California TBA TBA
Cristina Rae 30 Singing Singer Nashville, Tennessee TBA TBA
Dance Town Family 8-35 Dance Dance Group Miami TBA TBA
Daneliya Tuleshova 14 Singing Singer Astana, Kazakhstan 2 TBA
Divas & Drummers of Compton 3-20 Dance / Music Dance & Percussion Group Los Angeles TBA TBA
Double Dragon 32 Singing Singing Duo San Francisco 1 TBA
Feng E 13 Music Ukulelist Tapei, Taiwan 1 Eliminated
FrenchieBabyy 25 Dance Contortionist Dancer TBA 1 Eliminated
Jonathan Goodwin 40 Danger Daredevil Pembrokeshire, United Kingdom 2 TBA
Kameron Ross 30 Singing Singer Dallas, Texas 2 TBA
Kelvin Dukes 14 Singing Singer Burtonsville, Maryland 2 TBA
Kenadi Dodds 15 Singing / Music Singer & Guitarist Salt Lake City, Utah TBA TBA
Lightwave Theatre Company 32-35 Variety Puppeteer Act Bucharest, Romania TBA TBA
Malik Dope 27 Music Drummer Washington, D.C. TBA TBA
Max Major 33 Magic Magician Las Vegas TBA TBA
Michael Yo 45 Comedy Stand-up Comedian Houston 1 Eliminated
Noah Epps 12 Dance Dancer Virginia TBA TBA
Nolan Neal 39 Singing / Music Singer & Guitarist Nashville, Tennessee TBA TBA
Pork Chop Revue 9, 68 Animals Pig Tricks Act Miami 1 Eliminated
Resound 26-30 Singing Vocal Harmony Trio TBA TBA TBA
Roberta Battaglia 11 Singing Singer Toronto, Canada 1 TBA
Shaquira McGrath 26 Singing Singer Kennesaw, Georgia 1 TBA
Sheldon Riley 21 Singing Singer Sydney, Australia TBA TBA
Simon and Maria 12, 10 Dance Salsa Duo Colombia 1 Eliminated
Spyros Brothers 23, 25 Variety Diabolo Duo New York City 2 TBA
The Shape 15-19 Dance Dance Group Alhambra, California 2 TBA
Thomas Day 17 Singing Singer Brentwood, California TBA TBA
Usama Siddiquee 29 Comedy Stand-up Comedian New York City TBA TBA
Vincent Marcus 30 Comedy Impressionist Los Angeles 2 TBA
Voices of our City Choir 21-80 Singing Choir San Diego, California 2 TBA
W.A.F.F.L.E. Crew 23-26 Dance Dance Group New York City TBA TBA
  • ^1 Ages denoted in this column pertain to a participant(s) age in their final performance for this season.

Quarter-final Summary
Buzzed Out | Judges' choice |   Advanced to Semi-finals
  Won Online Public Vote |   Won Judges' Vote |   Lost Judges' Vote

Quarter-final 1 (August 11)

Guest Performers, Results Show: Mat Franco and Kodi Lee

Quarter-Finalist[26] Order Act Buzzes and Judges' votes Result
Clarkson 2 Vergara Klum Mandel
Pork Chop Revue 1 Pig Tricks Act Eliminated
Feng E 2 Ukulelist Eliminated (Lost Judges’ Vote)
Shaquira McGrath 3 Singer Advanced
Simon and Maria 4 Salsa Duo Eliminated
FrenchieBabyy 5 Contortionist Dancer Eliminated
Bello & Annaliese Nock 6 Daredevil Duo Eliminated
Roberta Battaglia 7 Singer Advanced
Michael Yo 8 Stand-Up Comedian Eliminated
Double Dragon 9 Singing Duo Advanced (Won Judges’ Vote)
Brett Loudermilk 10 Sword Swallower Advanced (Online Public Vote)
Archie Williams 11 Singer Advanced
  • ^2 Kelly Clarkson temporarily stood in for Cowell, after an accident, a few days before this quarter-final, left him suffering a back injury that required him to rest under medical observation.[19][20][21][22][23]

Quarter-final 2 (August 18)

Guest Performers, Results Show: Darci Lynne[27] and Jabbawockeez[28]

Quarter-Finalist[29] Order Act Buzzes and Judges' votes Result
Thompson 3 Vergara Klum Mandel
Kelvin Dukes 1 Singer
The Shape 2 Dance Group
Kameron Ross 3 Singer
BAD Salsa 4 Salsa Duo
Vincent Marcus 5 Impressionist
Alexis Brownley 6 Dog Tricks Act
BONAVEGA 7 Singer
Spyros Brothers 8 Diabolo Duo
Daneliya Tuleshova 9 Singer
Jonathan Goodwin 10 Daredevil
Voices of our City Choir 11 Choir
  • ^3 Kenan Thompson will stand in for Cowell, who is still recovering from a back injury the previous week that required him to rest under medical observation.[24][25]


Ratings
Viewership and ratings per episode of America's Got Talent
No. Title Air dateRating
(18–49)		Viewers
(millions)		DVR
(18–49)		DVR viewers
(millions)		Total
(18–49)		Total viewers
(millions)		Ref(s)
1 "Auditions 1" May 26, 20201.59.880.42.111.911.98[30]
2 "Auditions 2" June 2, 20201.38.750.42.121.710.87[31]
3 "Auditions 3" June 9, 20201.38.630.31.851.710.48[32]
4 "Auditions 4" June 16, 20201.38.570.42.131.710.70[33]
5 "Auditions 5" June 23, 20201.38.720.42.091.710.81[34]
6 "Auditions 6" June 30, 20201.28.440.41.951.610.39[35]
7 "Auditions 7" July 14, 20201.17.630.41.911.59.54[36]
8 "AGT: Best of Auditions" July 21, 20200.75.080.10.600.85.68[37]
9 "Judge Cuts" July 28, 20201.06.120.21.301.27.42[38]
10 "AGT: 15th Anniversary Special" August 4, 20200.86.160.21.011.07.17[39]
11 "Live Show 1" August 11, 20200.96.75TBDTBDTBDTBD[40]
12 "Results Show 1" August 12, 20200.76.15TBDTBDTBDTBD[41]
13 "Live Show 2" August 18, 2020TBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBD[17]
14 "Results Show 2" August 19, 2020TBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBD[17]
15 "Live Show 3" August 25, 2020TBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBD[17]
16 "Results Show 3" August 26, 2020TBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBD[17]
17 "Live Show 4" September 1, 2020TBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBD[17]
18 "Results Show 4" September 2, 2020TBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBD[17]
gollark: ES8 is *soooo* last year.
gollark: I don't have that much money.
gollark: ++RUST
gollark: Yes, with a command to provide part of its source code.
gollark: <@509849474647064576> can make a discord bot these days.

References
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  2. Matt Donnelly; Joe Otterson (February 27, 2020). "Sofia Vergara, Heidi Klum Set as America's Got Talent Season 15 Judges". Variety. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  3. Michael O'Connell (March 11, 2020). "Eric Stonestreet Subs for Ailing Heidi Klum at AGT Taping". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  4. Nellie Andreeva (March 11, 2020). "Eric Stonestreet To Sub For Ill Heidi Klum Who Skips Second America's Got Talent Taping – 2nd Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  5. Sara Nathan (March 14, 2020). "America's Got Talent stops filming over coronavirus fears". Page Six. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  6. Will Thorne; Kate Aurthur (March 12, 2020). "All the Shows and Movies Shut Down or Delayed Because of Coronavirus". Variety. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  7. "Development Update: Monday, March 16". The Futon Critic. March 16, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  8. Peter White (April 1, 2020). "America's Got Talent: NBC Show Re-Opens Online Auditions As It Searches For More Stars During COVID-19 Shutdown". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  9. "NBC Announces Return of America's Got Talent, World of Dance" (Press release). NBC. April 27, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2020 – via The Futon Critic.
  10. Denise Petski (April 27, 2020). "America's Got Talent & World Of Dance Get Premiere Dates On NBC". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  11. Rick Porter (April 27, 2020). "America's Got Talent Sets Debut Date With Production in Limbo". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  12. Tom Tapp (June 5, 2020). "California Governor Gavin Newsom Announces Guidelines For Restarting Film & TV Production On June 12, If Local Conditions Permit". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  13. Bill Keveney (June 30, 2020). "Exclusive: How AGT is adjusting to COVID-19, from no-audience auditions to drive-in Judge Cuts". USA Today. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  14. Peter White (June 30, 2020). "America's Got Talent: How NBC's Talent Show Returned To Filming With Production Pods, Masks, & A Drive-In Movie Theater-Style Stage". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
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  24. Peter White (August 17, 2020). "Kenan Thompson To Serve As Guest Judge On America's Got Talent As Simon Cowell Continues To Recuperate". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  25. "Kenan Thompson Will Serve as a Guest Judge on This Tuesday and Wednesday's Live Telecasts of America's Got Talent" (Press release). NBC. August 17, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020 – via The Futon Critic.
  26. Find Out Who is Performing at the Live Shows Week 1 (Video). NBC. August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020 – via YouTube.
  27. America's Got Talent [@AGT] (August 14, 2020). "#AGTResults are this Wednesday and @ItsDarciLynne wouldn't miss it for the world!" (Tweet). Retrieved August 14, 2020 – via Twitter.
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  29. Find Out Who is Performing at the Live Shows Week 2 (Video). NBC. August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020 – via YouTube.
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