America's Got Talent (season 3)
The third season of America's Got Talent, an American talent show competition, began broadcasting in the United States during 2008, from June 17 to October 1 on NBC; due to the network's live coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics, the program was forced to take a hiatus in August to avoid clashing with this. While there were no changes to the judging panel or the host of the program, the third season brought in a number of changes to the program, including additional episodes of auditions for its broadcast schedule, the involvement of quarter-finals alongside semi-finals and the final, doubling the number of participants that advanced from the bootcamp stage, and cosmetic revamps to set pieces used on the program.
America's Got Talent | |
---|---|
Season 3 | |
Hosted by | Jerry Springer |
Judges | |
Winner | Neal E. Boyd |
Runner-ups |
|
No. of episodes | 20 |
Release | |
Original network | NBC |
Original release | June 17 – October 1, 2008 |
Additional information | |
Website | Official website |
Season chronology |
The third season was won by opera singer Neal E. Boyd, with singer and pianist Eli Mattson finishing in second place, and violinists Nuttin' But Stringz placing third. During its broadcast, the season averaged over 10 million viewers.
Season Overview
Following the previous season, auditions took place within five major cities - New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Atlanta - with an additional round of auditions made online via Myspace and Facebook. Production staff had make changes to the schedule of their live episodes, after having to take into account the 2008 Summer Olympics - because the event would receive live coverage on NBC, the production staff had to place the program on a hiatus between August 7–26, in order to avoid it clashing with the network's schedule of the sporting event.
The third season saw a number of additional changes put into place with the program's format following the second season, two of which brought it along a similar arrangement used for Britain's Got Talent. Editing of filmed auditions for their respective episodes were conducted in a similar manner to the British edition, in that footage in each episode consisted of a montage chosen from each major city whose venue featured audition sessions - for example, a collection of auditions, both minor and notable from Dallas, would precede those from another major city following a commercial break. Participants in live rounds now would be determined by two separate votes - the public would decide the first four to advance, while the judges would chose the fifth participant to join them from those who placed 5th and 6th respectively in the public vote. The remaining changes included an expanded number of participants for the "Las Vegas Callback" stage of auditions, along with cosmetic updates to the program - alongside a new title card, the judges' table and the red Xs were re-styled to match the design of those used in Britain's Got Talent. Results episodes for this season were arranged on a sporadic schedule alongside live episodes, rather than a pre-ordained arrangement - quarter-finals had their results announced on the same day; semi-finals and the knockout final amongst the top 10 were done the day after the performance episode had been broadcast; while the grand-final's results were aired a week after the performance episode.
Of the participants who auditioned for this season, 40 secured a place in the live quarter-finals, with ten quarterfinalists in each. Around 20 from these rounds advanced and were split between the two semi-finals, with around 10 semi-finalists securing a place in the final, and 5 finalists securing a place in the season's grand-final. 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
Participant | Genre | Act | Quarter-final | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
Beyond Belief Dance Company | Dance | Dance Troupe | 2 | Eliminated |
Bruce Block | Magic | Magician | 3 | Eliminated |
Bryan Cheatham | Singing | R&B Singer | 4 | Eliminated |
Dallas Desperados Dancers | Dance / Variety | Cheerleading Dance Team | 4 | Eliminated |
Daniel Jens | Singing / Music | Singer & Musician | 2 | Semi-Finalist |
DC Cowboys | Dance | Dance Troupe | 1 | Eliminated |
Derrick Barry | Singing / Variety | Britney Spears Impersonator | 1 | Eliminated |
Donald Braswell II 1 | Singing | Singer | 4 | Grand-finalist |
Dorae Saunders | Singing / Variety | Tina Turner Impersonator | 4 | Eliminated |
Eli Mattson | Singing / Music | Singer & Pianist | 4 | Runner-up |
Elite | Acrobatics / Variety | Martial Artist | 1 | Eliminated |
Extreme Dance FX | Dance / Variety | Contemporary Modern Clog Dance Troupe | 1 | Semi-Finalist |
Flambeaux | Danger | Fire Breather | 4 | Eliminated |
George the Giant | Variety | Carnival Side Show Performer | 2 | Eliminated |
Indiggo | Singing | Duet Twin Singers | 4 | Eliminated |
Jessica Price | Singing / Music | Singer & Musician | 1 | Finalist |
Jonathan Arons | Dance / Music | Dancing Trombonist | 2 | Eliminated |
Jonathan Burkin | Variety | Baton Twirler | 3 | Semi-finalist |
Joseph Hall | Singing / Variety | "Young Elvis" Impersonator | 3 | Finalist |
Kaitlyn Maher | Singing | Singer | 4 | Finalist |
Kazual | Singing | Vocal Group | 2 | Eliminated |
Matthew Piazzi | Comedy | Impressionist | 3 | Eliminated |
Michael Strelo-Smith | Singing | Classical Crossover Singer | 3 | Eliminated |
Neal E. Boyd | Singing | Opera Singer | 1 | Winner |
Nuttin' But Stringz | Music | Violinist Duo | 4 | Third place |
Paul Salos | Singing / Variety | Frank Sinatra Impersonator | 2 | Finalist |
Queen Emily | Singing | Singer | 2 | Grand-finalist |
Ronny B | Singing / Dance | Singer & Dancer | 1 | Eliminated |
Sarah Lenore | Singing / Music | Singer & Musician | 3 | Semi-finalist |
Shequida Hall | Singing / Variety | Drag Opera Singer | 3 | Eliminated |
Shimshi | Magic | Magician | 1 | Eliminated |
Sick Step | Dance | Hip-hop Dance Crew | 3 | Semi-finalist |
Slippery Kittens | Dance / Variety | Burlesque Dance Group | 2 | Eliminated |
Taubl Family | Music | Family Musical Group | 3 | Semi-finalist |
The Cadence | Music | Percussion Group | 1 | Semi-finalist |
The James Gang | Singing | Hip-hop Rap Quartet | 1 | Semi-finalist |
The Tapping Dads | Dance | Tap Dancing Group | 4 | Semi-finalist |
The Texas State Strutters | Dance | Precision Dance Team | 3 | Eliminated |
The Wright Kids | Music | Bluegrass Trio | 2 | Finalist |
ZOOperstars! | Dance / Variety | Mascot Dance Troupe | 2 | Semi-finalist |
- ^1 This act was originally eliminated during the bootcamp stage, but was advanced into the contest, via a public vote, after another act was forced to step down for medical reasons.
Quarter-final summary
Buzzed Out | Judges' choice | Advanced to Semi-finals- Won Judges' Vote | Lost Judges' Vote
Quarter-final 1 (August 26)
Quarter-Finalist | Order | Act | Buzzes and Judges' Vote | Result | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hasselhoff | Osbourne | Morgan | ||||
Extreme Dance FX | 1 | Contemporary Modern Clog Dance Troupe | Advanced | |||
The James Gang | 2 | Hip-hop Rap Quartet | 2 | ![]() |
![]() |
Won Judges' Vote |
Derrick Barry | 3 | Britney Spears Impersonator | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
Elite | 4 | Martial Artist | 2 | Lost Judges' Vote | ||
Ronny B | 5 | Singer & Dancer | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
The Cadence | 6 | Percussion Group | Advanced | |||
Jessica Price | 7 | Singer & Musician | Advanced | |||
Shimshi | 8 | Magician | Eliminated | |||
DC Cowboys | 9 | Dance Troupe | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
Neal E. Boyd | 10 | Opera Singer | Advanced |
- ^2 Because of the majority vote for The James Gang, Hasselhoff's voting intention was not disclosed as a result.
Quarter-final 2 (August 27)
Quarter-Finalist | Order | Act | Buzzes and Judges' Vote | Result | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hasselhoff | Osbourne | Morgan | ||||
Beyond Belief Dance Company | 1 | Dance Troupe | ![]() |
Lost Judges' Vote | ||
Paul Salos | 2 | Frank Sinatra Impersonator | Advanced | |||
Kazual | 3 | Vocal Group | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
ZOOperstars! | 4 | Mascot Dance Troupe | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Won Judges' Vote |
The Wright Kids | 5 | Bluegrass Trio | Advanced | |||
Jonathan Arons | 6 | Dancing Trombonist | Eliminated | |||
Daniel Jens | 7 | Singer & Musician | Advanced | |||
Slippery Kittens | 8 | Burlesque Dance Group | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
George the Giant | 9 | Carnival Side Show Performer | ![]() |
![]() |
Eliminated | |
Queen Emily | 10 | Singer | Advanced |
Quarter-final 3 (September 2)
Quarter-Finalist | Order | Act | Buzzes and Judges' Vote | Result | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hasselhoff | Osbourne | Morgan | ||||
The Texas State Strutters | 1 | Precision Dance Team | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Eliminated |
Michael Strelo-Smith | 2 | Classical Crossover Singer | ![]() |
![]() |
Lost Judges' Vote | |
Bruce Block | 3 | Magician | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
Shequida Hall | 4 | Drag Opera Singer | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
Taubl Family | 5 | Family Musical Group | Advanced | |||
Jonathan Burkin | 6 | Baton Twirler | Advanced | |||
Sarah Lenore | 7 | Singer & Musician | Advanced | |||
SickStep | 8 | Hip-hop Dance Crew | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Won Judges' Vote |
Matthew Piazzi | 9 | Impressionist | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
Joseph Hall | 10 | "Young Elvis" Impersonator | Advanced |
Quarter-final 4 (September 3)
Quarter-Finalist | Order | Act | Buzzes and Judges' Vote | Result | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hasselhoff | Osbourne | Morgan | ||||
Dallas Desperados Dancers | 1 | Cheerleading Dance Team | ![]() |
![]() |
Eliminated | |
Bryan Cheatham | 2 | R&B Singer | ![]() ![]() |
Lost Judges' Vote | ||
Flambeaux | 3 | Fire Breather | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Eliminated |
Kaitlyn Maher | 4 | Singer | Advanced | |||
Dorae Saunders | 5 | Tina Turner Impersonator | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
Donald Braswell II | 6 | Singer | Advanced | |||
Indiggo | 7 | Duet Twin Singers | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
The Tapping Dads | 8 | Tap Dancing Group | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Won Judges' Vote |
Eli Mattson | 9 | Singer & Pianist | Advanced | |||
Nuttin' But Stringz | 10 | Violinist Duo | Advanced |
Semi-final Summary
Buzzed Out | Judges' choice | Advanced to Finals- Won Judges' Vote | Lost Judges' Vote
Semi-final 1 (September 9)
Semi-Finalist | Order | Act | Buzzes and Judges' Vote | Result (September 11) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hasselhoff | Osbourne | Morgan | ||||
The Cadence | 1 | Percussion Group | Eliminated | |||
Queen Emily | 2 | Singer | Advanced | |||
The Wright Kids | 3 | Bluegrass Trio | Advanced | |||
The James Gang | 4 | Hip-hop Rap Quartet | Eliminated | |||
Daniel Jens | 5 | Singer | ![]() |
![]() |
Lost Judges' Vote | |
ZOOperstars! | 6 | Mascot Dance Troupe | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
Neal E. Boyd | 7 | Opera Singer | Advanced | |||
Jessica Price | 8 | Singer & Musician | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
Won Judges' Vote | |
Extreme Dance FX | 9 | Contemporary Modern Clog Dance Troupe | Eliminated | |||
Paul Salos | 10 | Frank Sinatra Impersonator | Advanced |
Semi-final 2 (September 10)
- Guest performer: Terry Fator
Semi-Finalist | Order | Act | Buzzes and Judges' Vote | Result (September 11) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hasselhoff | Osbourne | Morgan | ||||
SickStep | 1 | Hip-hop Dance Crew | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
Donald Braswell II | 2 | Singer | Advanced | |||
Joseph Hall | 3 | "Young Elvis" Impersonator | ![]() |
![]() |
Won Judges' Vote | |
Taubl Family | 4 | Family Musical Group | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
Sarah Lenore | 5 | Singer | Eliminated | |||
Nuttin' But Stringz | 6 | Violinist Duo | Advanced | |||
Kaitlyn Maher | 7 | Singer | Advanced | |||
The Tapping Dads | 8 | Tap Dancing Group | Eliminated | |||
Eli Mattson | 9 | Singer & Pianist | Advanced | |||
Jonathan Burkin | 10 | Baton Twirler | ![]() |
Lost Judges' Vote |
Finals Summary
- Winner (Top 5 Final Only) | Runner-up (Top 5 Final Only) | 3rd place (Top 5 Final Only)
- Advanced (Top 10 Finals only) | Eliminated |
Buzzed Out (Top 10 Finals only)
Final - Top 10 (September 17)
- Guest Performer, Results Show: Natasha Bedingfield
Top 10 Finalist | Order | Act | Buzzes | Result (September 18) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hasselhoff | Osbourne | Morgan | ||||
Paul Salos | 1 | Frank Sinatra Impersonator | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
Kaitlyn Maher | 2 | Singer | Eliminated | |||
Donald Braswell II | 3 | Singer | Advanced | |||
Jessica Price | 4 | Singer & Musician | Eliminated | |||
Joseph Hall | 5 | "Young Elvis" Impersonator | Eliminated | |||
Neal E. Boyd | 6 | Opera Singer | Advanced | |||
The Wright Kids | 7 | Bluegrass Trio | Eliminated | |||
Queen Emily | 8 | Singer | Advanced | |||
Nuttin' But Stringz | 9 | Violinist Duo | Advanced | |||
Eli Mattson | 10 | Singer & Pianist | Advanced |
Grand-final (September 24)
Grand-finalist | Order | Act | Result (October 1) |
---|---|---|---|
Nuttin' But Stringz | 1 | Violinist Duo | 3rd |
Donald Braswell II | 2 | Singer | 4th |
Neal E. Boyd | 3 | Opera Singer | 1st |
Eli Mattson | 4 | Singer & Pianist | 2nd |
Queen Emily | 5 | Singer | 5th |
Ratings
Show | Rating | Rating/Share (18-49) |
Viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 7.8 | 3.8/10 [1] | 12.80 |
2 | 7 | 3.1/9 | 11.51 |
3 | 7.5 | 3.2/10 | 11.98 |
4 | 7.6 | 3.3/9 | 12.40 |
5 | 7.8 | 3.1/9 | 12.53 |
6 | 7.8 | 3.3/10 | N/A |
7 | 7.9 | 3.6/10 | 13.61 |
8 | 7.8 | 3.5/10 | 12.42 |
9 | N/A | 2.7/8 | 8.57 |
10 | N/A | 3.1/9 | 10.96 |
11 | N/A | 2.7/8 | 10.13 |
12 | N/A | 6.5/10 | 10.58 |
13 | N/A | 2.7/7 | 10.15 |
14 | 7.1 | 2.6/10 | 11.60 |
15 | N/A | 2.5/8 | 11.49 |
16 | N/A | 2.3/8 | 9.64 |
17 | N/A | 3.1/9 | 12.05 |
18 | N/A | 2.3/7 | 9.83 |
19 | 6.6 | 2.7/7 | 10.23 |
20 | 7.7 | 3.3/8 | 12.55 |
References
- "Tuesday 6/17/08". June 18, 2008. Archived from the original on June 22, 2008. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
External links
- Official NBC America's Got Talent website
- "America's Got Talent" on IMDb
- America's Got Talent (Season 3) at TV.com