NBC’s America’s Got Talent is kicking off its 18th season on Tuesday (May 30), and Billboard is looking back at the 17 talented winners who made history on the series so far.
Created by former American Idol judge, X Factor mastermind and Syco Entertainment founder Simon Cowell, the global talent competition premiered in the U.S. on NBC in 2006. The idea was to find the best talent of any age in the country — whether they specialized in singing, dancing, performing magic tricks, acting as a ventriloquist or even training dogs to do tricks — and then have them headline a show on the Las Vegas Strip on top of winning a $1 million cash prize.
The show is currently hosted by Terry Crews and features Cowell, Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara and Howie Mandel as the judges, who recruit viewers’ help to crown the most talented contestant, and each season’s top pick runs the gamut of skill sets.
A handful of musicians have come out on top in the past, including the show’s first-ever champ, then-11-year-old singer Bianca Ryan, whose tiny frame belied her massive pipes on the Dreamgirls showstopper “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.” Other musical winners include late opera singer Neal Boyd (season 3), jazz singer Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. (season 6), then 12-year-old singer/songwriter Grace VanderWaal (season 11), and blind and autistic singer Kodi Lee (season 14). Two singing ventriloquists have taken home the prize too, with Terry Fator winning season 2 and then-12-year-old performer Darci Lynne winning season 12.
Below is a complete list of which talented act won at the end of every season.
Winner: Bianca Ryan
At only 11 years old, the Philadelphia-based singer performed the Dreamgirls‘ showstopper “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” for her viral audition — and the only place she was going after that was straight to the finale.
Winner: Terry Fator
With more than 20 years of experience and opening gigs for country superstars like Reba McEntire and Garth Brooks, the Dallas native became the first ventriloquist to win the talent competition series.
Winner: Neal E. Boyd
The Sikeston, Missouri-based classical opera singer won the competition in its third season and eventually landed a top 10 classical album with 2009’s My American Dream. He sadly died a decade after his victory on June 10, 2018.
Winner: Kevin Skinner
The Kentucky-based country singer and guitar player quickly became a fan favorite in the fourth season with his stirring cover of Garth Brooks’ “If Tomorrow Never Comes.” The judges compared him to a diamond in the rough, and his unique ability carried him all the way to the end of the competition.
Winner: Michael Grimm
The Colorado-born, Mississippi-raised blues singer had love on the brain during the competition and revealed that his girlfriend at the time, Lucie Zolcerova, inspired his finale performance of Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman.” Not only did he win the fifth season, but he also got the girl at the end: He proposed to Zolcerova during a taping of Ellen just a day after he claimed victory (and she said yes!).
Winner: Landau Eugene Murphy Jr.
The Logan County, West Virginia, native and jazz singer let the spirit of Frank Sinatra guide him all the way to the end of the competition, starting with his audition performance of “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” to covering “My Way” in the finale.
Winner: Olate Dogs
Richard and Nicholas Olate, the Houston-based Chilean-American father-son duo of dog trainers, and their crew of rescue pups had the judges flipping out at the sight of all their tricks.
Winner: Kenichi Ebina
The Japanese dancer might have been a solo act, but he immersed himself so well with his surroundings that he acted as each of the characters in the video screen behind him.
Winner: Mat Franco
The Johnston, Rhode Island, native became the first magician to win the talent competition series. But his sleight-of-hand style of magic didn’t just secure him an AGT victory. His ongoing Las Vegas show, Magic Reinvented Nightly, earned him the best magic show award at the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Best of Las Vegas Awards and is the top-rated magic show in Vegas.
Winner: Paul Zerdin
The internationally renowned British comedian and ventriloquist, who had even performed in front of the Queen, had the judges giving him (and his puppet Sam) standing ovations round after round.
Winner: Grace VanderWaal
One of the most memorable wins in AGT history goes to the Lenexa, Kansas-born singer-songwriter and ukulele player, who took home the title at age 12. In the immediate years following her victory, VanderWaal released the full-length album Just the Beginning, accepted the Rising Star Award at Billboard‘s Women in Music, won a Radio Disney Music Award and Teen Choice Award, and toured with Imagine Dragons.
Winner: Darci Lynne
The Oklahoma native (and her puppet Petunia) became the second singing ventriloquist to win AGT following her “idol” Terry Fator and went on to sell out headlining shows across the country, perform at the Grand Ole Opry, open for Fergie at Caesars Palace and star in her own NBC Christmas special My Hometown Christmas.
Winner: Shin Lim
The Canada-born, Massachusetts-based act became the second magician to win AGT following Mat Franco. The fellow “sleight-of-hand artist” also became the 2015 International Federation of Magic Societies (FISM) champaign for the close-up card tricks he always has up his sleeve.
Winner: Kodi Lee
The Lake Elsinore, California-based singer, who is blind and autistic, took home the title after a string of stirring performances at the piano. His flawless cover of Donny Hathaway’s “A Song for You” earned Lee the first golden buzzer of the competition from judge Gabrielle Union, securing his title as the favorite ever since.
Winner: Brandon Leake
The Stockton, California, native blew away the competition and captivated millions with his emotional spoken-word pieces before finally taking the crown.
Winner: Dustin Tavella
The magician was a man of many talents during his season 16 run. He impressed in the first round with his card trickery, then pulled out his mentalist skills in the semis, and in the final stretch, floored everyone with routines that fused storytelling and eye-popping magic.
Winner: Mayyas
The Lebanese all-women dance group was a strong contender from the start, earning a golden buzzer from judge Sofia Vergara during the June 21 episode. They even managed to impress Simon Cowell that night, with the acerbic judge noting at the time, “It was arguably the best dance act we’re likely to have ever seen. And we are honored to have you here.”
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