America’s Got Talent Judges” is a televised talent competition in the Got Talent franchise created by Simon Cowell. Producers Fremantle USA (as well as distributors) and Syco Entertainment produce the program, which airs on NBC. After plans for a British edition in 2005 were suspended due to a dispute within the British broadcaster, ITV, it premiered on June 21, 2006. Production resumed in 2007 following the success of the first season. Each season of the program has primarily been aired during the network’s summer schedule and has featured a variety of hosts. The show is currently hosted by Terry Crews. The program draws a variety of participants from across the United States and abroad. From singing to dancing to comedy, magic, stunts, variety, and other genres, acts are varied. During auditions, participants or acts compete for a place in the live episodes of a season by impressing a panel of judges. There is currently a line-up consisting of Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, and Sofia Vergara. In order to reach the live final, contestants who make it onto the live episodes compete against each other for both the judges’ and public’s votes.
History
Simon Cowell, creator, and executive of X-Factor, came up with the concept of America’s got talent judges to be a much grander talent competition than most others on televised. In 2005, he first pitched a competition idea to British television network ITV where participants of any age and location could showcase any talent they wished. The network approved the concept and green-lit production of a pilot episode to test out the format, with Cowell leading a panel of three judges (including tabloid journalist Piers Morgan). The pilot episode was a success. Originally, a British edition of the show was planned to be produced and broadcast between 2005 and 2006, hosted by British television personality Paul O’Grady, who assisted Cowell with the pilot (before he proposed the format for American television). While working on the new show, O’Grady was involved in a dispute with ITV, ultimately terminating his contract with them and defecting to another British network.
Auditions
Each year, the competition begins with a set of audition stages, the first being the “Producers’ Auditions” in various cities across the United States. The participants in this stage are judged by an independent group, and thus determine whether they will participate in the judging stage of auditions for America’s Got Talent. The events are held in select cities across the country and are attended by the judges for the previous year’s contest. Auditionees who reach this stage of the audition process are seated in a waiting room offstage from the main stage, and given a number that indicates the time they will perform. Each participant is given 90 seconds to demonstrate their act to the judges, with a live audience present during all performances. Each judge is givenA judge is given a buzzer, and can use it during a performance if they are unimpressed, dislike what they are seeing, or feel the act is a waste of time.s buzzed by aWhenever all judges buzz a participant,ally over.
Season 1 (2006)
america’s got talent judges aired its first season between June 21 and August 17 of the same year. Later episodes of the series pre-record auditions at earlier dates, but this season, auditions were conducted at New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles venues. The live-round episodes were held in Los Angeles. The contest was originally advertised as offering a $1 million cash prize, but this was later dropped due to concerns about awarding such a prize to a minor.
The second season (2007)
NBC ordered additional episodes after the previous season’s success, but originally planned to air the new season during winter 2007. Due to the potential for direct competition with American Idol for viewers, the network decided against this and kept America’s Got Talent within its summer 2007 schedule instead. Season two aired from June 5 to August 21, 2007. Before filming began, Philbin left the program and was replaced by Jerry Springer. Sharon Osbourne replaced Norwood after she dropped out of the race due to a legal problem. This season’s auditions were held in the same cities as the previous season, but with Dallas included on the competition schedule.
Season 3 of 2008
It aired from June 17 to October 1, 2008, with a break between August 7–26 to avoid conflict with NBC’s Summer Olympics live broadcasts. auditions took place much earlier in the production schedule to allow for editing recordings, taking place between January and April across the same cities as the previous season, with a new venue in Atlanta. Unlike last season, the Las Vegas callback episodes doubled the number of semi-finalists participating in the live rounds.
