America’s Got Talent has been going for 18 years and 19 seasons, with Simon Cowell, Mel B, Howard Stern, and many others passing judgement on the contestants. But who actually made it through? Here are all America’s Got Talent winners, including the spin-offs.
Every Single America’s Got Talent Winner
While many of the winners across the years have been singers, there have also been dog acts, ventriloquists, and more. Here, via NBC, is everyone who has ever won one of the main seasons of America’s Got Talent’s main seasons.
Season 1 (2006): Bianca Ryan (Singer)
Bianca Ryan, then just 11 years old, was America’s Got Talent’s first winner. Boasting an unbelievably powerful voice, she wowed the judges with tunes like Dreamgirls’ “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”. She has continued her musical career to this day.
Season 2 (2007): Terry Fator (Ventriloquist)
Ventriloquist Terry Fator was Season 2’s winner, and it wasn’t just his voice-throwing talents that won him the competition. He pulled off some impressive puppet-assisted impressions and currently has his own Las Vegas show.
Season 3 (2008): Neal E. Boyd (Opera Singer)
Insurance salesman Neil E. Boyd stunned Piers Morgan and his fellow judges with his amazing operatic voice, going on to win Season 3 and release an album My American Dream. Sadly, he passed away in June 2018.
Season 4 (2009): Kevin Skinner (Country Singer)
This country singer won Season 4 with his performance of Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”. However, he’s remained largely out of the limelight since his win, only releasing two albums back in 2010 and 2011.
Season 5 (2010): Michael Grimm (Singer)
Another singer, this time with a focus on the blues, Grimm was the winner of Season 5 of America’s Got Talent. He revealed that his girlfriend Lucie Zolcerova inspired his performance of “When a Man Loves a Woman”, which may have helped sway the judges.
Season 6 (2011): Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. (Jazz Singer)
This soulful jazz singer from West Virginia won with his rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”, and went on to release four albums, including I’m Not Messing Around, which dropped this year.
Season 7 (2012): Olate Dogs (Dog Act)
Didn’t expect a dog act would win AGT? Neither would I after so many singers, but this act, which included doggy conga lines and dogs on scooters, won Season 7. They performed for some time after, but appear to have stopped because their website is down and their Instagram hasn’t been updated since 2018.
Season 8 (2013): Kenichi Ebina (Dancer and Performer)
Dancer and performer Kenichi Ebina impressed Season 8’s judges with his wild choreography and routines. He still performs, but he’s since gone on to become an artistic director with other troupes.
Season 9 (2014): Mat Franco (Magician)
This sleight-of-hand magician from Rhode Island was Season 9’s winner and, like Terry Fator, currently has a Las Vegas show.
Season 10 (2015): Paul Zerdin (Ventriloquist)
On top of winning Season 10, this ventriloquist got the opportunity to perform with America’s Got Talent’s first dummy-wielding winner, Terry Fator.
Season 11 (2016): Grace VanderWaal (Singer/Songwriter)
Only a year older than Bianca Ryan was when she won Season 1, Grace VanderWaal emerged as Season 11’s winner. She still sings and also appeared in Francis Ford Coppola’s divisive Megalopolis as Vesta Sweetwater.
Season 12 (2017): Darci Lynne Farmer (Ventriloquist and Singer)
Not only does Darci Lynne Farmer have talent, she also had a deeply unsettling puppet of Simon Cowell for one of her performancers. Despite that (or perhaps partly because of it), she went on to win Season 12 and still performs. Let’s hope that puppet was sealed in concrete and dropped in the ocean.
Season 13 (2018): Shin Lim (Magician)
Magician Shin Lim’s spectacular Season 13 performances proved that card tricks are anything but old hat, and he’s still performing today.
Season 14 (2019): Kodi Lee (Singer/Pianist)
Singer and pianist Kodi Lee, who is legally blind, won Season 14 and also returned for America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League. As with several other winners, he currently performs in Las Vegas.
Season 15 (2020): Brandon Leake (Poet)
Brandon Leake was the first spoken-word poet to feature on America’s Got Talent (or, at least to get through to the televised parts), and he ultimately walked away with the win. He still performs but also educates others on how to use their talents.
Season 16 (2021): Dustin Tavella (Magician)
Another winner who’s performing in Vegas, Dustin Tavella gave his magic an emotional spin which, depending on your perspective, was either utterly heartwarming or a clever bit of misdirection.
Season 17 (2022): The Mayyas (Dance Group)
This all-female Lebanese dance group was Season 17’s winner and, aside from their America’s Got Talent victory, also received the Lebanese Order of Merit. They even went on to share a stage with Beyonce.
Season 18 (2023): Adrian Stoica and Hurricane (Dog Act)
It took eleven years, but the show finally got another dog-related winner, in the form of Adrian Stoica and his border collie Hurricane.
Season 19 (2024): Richard Goodall (Singer)
2024’s winner was singing school janitor Richard Goodall who was egged on by the pupils to sign up for AGT. He’s now $1,000,000 richer and while he’s returned to work, don’t count on him staying in the job.
Every America’s Got Talent Spin-Off Winner
Those were America’s Got Talent’s main season winners, but what about the spin-off shows? There haven’t been as many as, say, Real Housewives, but this reality TV show has had a few spin-offs. Here’s who won each of them.
America’s Got Talent: The Champions
This spin-off featured previous contestants from the … Got Talent franchise. Here’s who came out on top.
Season 1 winner: Shin Lim
Shin Lim had previously won Season 13 of America’s Got Talent.
Season 2 winner: V. Unbeatable
V. Unbeatable is a Mumbai dance crew that first became finalists in Season 14 of the main show. The crew later returned for America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League.
America’s Got Talent: Extreme
This show focuses on stunt performers, and its single-season run meant it only ever crowned one winner.
Season Winner: Alfredo Silva’s Cage Riders
America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League
America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League is not unlike The Champions in that it brings back previous contestants. The twist is that the judges collect teams of performers and mentor them with the goal of getting one of them nominated the winner, similarly to The Voice. Premiering in 2024, it has only aired one season so far.
Season 1 Winner: Ramadhani Brothers
The Ramadhani Brothers are a pair of Tanzanian acrobats whose skills won them a $250,000 grand prize.
Those are the winners of every every season and spin-off of America’s Got Talent to date.
Published: Oct 10, 2024 08:55 pm