Season 6
America's Got Talent, from American Idol producers FremantleMedia North America and Simon Cowell's SYCO Television, returns with the hottest performers from across America ready to compete in the blockbuster reality show's sixth season.
Celebrity judges are Howie Mandel, Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan, while actor/producer/comedian Nick Cannon returns as host.
With the talent search open to acts of all ages, America's Got Talent has brought the variety format back to the forefront of American culture by showcasing performers from across the country.
The series is a true celebration of the American spirit, featuring a colourful array of hopeful stars including singers, dancers, comedians, contortionists, impressionists, jugglers, magicians and ventriloquists, all vying for their chance to strut and perform on stage hoping to win America's hearts - and the one million dollar prize.
Mississippi-born soul singer Michael Grimm was crowned the winner of the fifth season's competition. The win moved the humble soul singer to tears as he took home the show's one million dollar prize. He has since signed a record deal with Epic records.
Season 4 winner Kevin Skinner released his debut album, "Long Ride." One of last season's finalists, Recycled Percussion, is currently headlining its own show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and Barbara Padilla, last season's runner-up, is working on albums in Spanish and Italian.
Season 2 winner Terry Fator - a ventriloquist from Dallas, Texas - achieved his lifelong dream when he was crowned the second season champion. After the win, he went on to sign a five-year, one hundred million dollar deal to headline at the Mirage in Las Vegas.
The first season was hosted by talk show host Regis Philbin. He was replaced for Season 2 by Jerry Springer, who himself was replaced by Nick Cannon from Season 4 onwards.
In Season 2, Brandy was replaced by Sharon Osbourne as one of the judges. Howie Mandel replaced David Hasselhoff in Season 5 and Howard Stern replaced Piers Morgan in Season 7.
Osbourne left the show after Season 7 and was replaced by Mel B and Heidi Klum, who joined the juding panel for Season 8.
America's Got Talent is produced by FremantleMedia North America and Simon Cowell's SYCO Television. Simon Cowell, Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Jason Raff, Ken Warwick and Georgie Hurford-Jones are executive producers.
Broadcast Notes
Season 6 originally aired on M-Net from 1 November, 2011 to 13 January, 2012, from Mondays to Thursdays at 18h30. New episodes broadcast from Mondays to Thursdays at the same time except for the final week, which ended on Friday 13 January 2012.