America's Got Talent Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids America's Got Talent

Genre	Reality Talent contest
Created by	Simon Cowell
Directed by	Russell Norman
Creative director(s)	Brian Friedman
Presented by	Regis Philbin Jerry Springer Nick Cannon Tyra Banks Terry Crews
Judges	Piers Morgan David Hasselhoff Brandy Norwood Sharon Osbourne Howie Mandel Howard Stern Mel B Heidi Klum Simon Cowell Julianne Hough Gabrielle Union
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	14
No. of episodes	349
Production
Executive producer(s)	Simon Cowell Sam Donnelly Jason Raff Rob Wade Trish Kinane Richard Wallace
Running time	60–120 minutes
Production company(s)	Fremantle USA Syco Entertainment
Distributor	Fremantle
Release
Original network	NBC
Picture format	NTSC (480i) (2006–08) HDTV 1080i (2009–)
Original release	June 21, 2006 (2006-06-21) – present
Chronology
Related shows	America's Got Talent: The Champions

America's Got Talent (often called AGT) is a popular talent show on American television. It's part of a bigger show idea called the Got Talent franchise, which was created by Simon Cowell. The first episode of AGT aired on June 21, 2006. Each year, the show usually runs during the summer. Many different hosts have presented the show over the years.

The show invites all kinds of performers from the United States and other countries. They come to share their special skills. These acts can include singing, dancing, comedy, magic, stunts, and many other unique talents.

To get into the live shows, performers must impress a group of judges. The current judges include Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Julianne Hough, and Gabrielle Union. If they make it to the live shows, contestants compete against each other. They need votes from both the judges and the public to reach the final round. The winner gets a big cash prize. Since the third season, they also get a chance to perform their own show in Las Vegas.

Since it began, America's Got Talent has helped many new performers become famous. It has also boosted the careers of artists who were already known. The show is very popular, with about 10 million people watching each season.

America's Got Talent has had thirteen seasons so far. It also has a spin-off show called America's Got Talent: The Champions. This show features popular contestants from AGT and other Got Talent shows around the world. America's Got Talent: The Champions first aired on NBC on January 7, 2019.

How the Show Works

Simon Cowell created America's Got Talent. He has been a judge on AGT since May 2016.

The process for each season starts with open auditions. These auditions are held in different cities across the United States. They happen several months before the main auditions with the judges. People who pass these first auditions then get to perform in the "Judges' Auditions." These are held in specific cities and the actual judges are there.

Each performer waits for their turn to show their act to the judges. They have 90 seconds to perform in front of a live audience. After the performance, the judges give helpful advice and opinions about what they saw. Then, each judge votes. If a performer gets enough "yes" votes from the judges, they move on to the next stage. If not, they are out of the competition.

Each judge has a buzzer. They can use it during a performance if they don't like the act or think it's not good enough. If all the judges press their buzzers, the performance stops right away. Many acts that move on might not get to perform again because there are only a few spots available.

From season five to seven, people who couldn't attend live auditions could send in a video audition online through YouTube. Some of these online acts were then chosen to perform for the judges and a live audience during the "live shows" part of the season. This happened before the semi-finals.

In season nine, a new feature called the "Golden Buzzer" was added to the auditions. During the auditions, each judge can use the Golden Buzzer once per season. If a judge presses it, that act automatically goes straight to the live shows. This happens no matter what the other judges think. When it was first used, the Golden Buzzer simply saved an act from being eliminated.