America's Got Talent (season 11)


The eleventh season of America's Got Talent, an American talent show competition, began broadcasting in the United States during 2016, from May 31 to September 11 on NBC; due to the network's live coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics, the program was forced to take a hiatus in August to avoid clashing with this. Following the previous season, Howard Stern left the program, leading not only to him being replaced by Simon Cowell, but with live rounds being moved back to Los Angeles, and held in the Dolby Theatre. In addition, the golden buzzer format was amended further, allowing the host to use it in the first stage of auditions. The guest judges for Judge Cuts this season included George Lopez, Reba McEntire, Ne-Yo, and Louis Tomlinson. This was Nick Cannon’s final season.
The eleventh season was won by singer and ukuleleist Grace VanderWaal, with mentalist duo The Clairvoyants finishing second, and magician Jon Dorenbos placing third. During its broadcast, the season averaged around 11.44 million viewers. The eleventh season became most notable in the program's history for broadcasting a stunt on live television that later went wrong and almost fatally for its performer.

Season Overview

Open auditions for the eleventh season began in late 2015, and were held within Detroit, New York City, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, San Jose, San Diego, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Orlando, and Dallas, with online auditions also accepted by producers. Unlike previous years which had used multiple venues, sessions of the judges' auditions were held at a fixed venue, taking place around March 2016 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. The Judge Cuts stage of the competition saw the involvement of actor George Lopez, singer and actress Reba McEntire, singer Ne-Yo, and singer and television personality Louis Tomlinson as guest judges for this stage.
During production on the tenth season, Howard Stern revealed on his radio show that it would be the last season he would work on the program, as his work schedule in the coming year would make him unable to remain committed to performing as a judge on America's Got Talent. His announcement led to the producers debating on who to hire to replace him for the next season, after NBC renewed the program for another year. The debate eventually led to the program's executive producer and AGT creator, Simon Cowell, nominating himself as Stern's replacement for the upcoming season; his work schedule on other projects would not hinder his involvement, including his role for the new season of Britain's Got Talent in the same year.
Stern's departure had a profound impact on the program, as it meant that the live rounds were no longer restricted by contractual agreement to being held within New York at the Radio City Music Hall. The producers decided that the live rounds for the new season would be brought back to Los Angeles, and held within the Dolby Theatre. Other than the change in venue, the production staff also amended the rules of the "Golden Buzzer" to finally allow the host of the program to be able to use it, although only in the first stage of auditions, and not in the Judge Cuts. Alongside the changes, the producers had to also take into account the 2016 Summer Olympics - as the sporting event would receive coverage by the network, the scheduling of the eleventh season included not only a hiatus between August 9–17, but also having the episodes for the Judge Cuts rounds being squeezed into two weeks with two per week to ensure the hiatus could take place.
Of the participants who auditioned for this season, 36 secured a place in the live quarter-finals, with twelve quarter-finalists in each one - amongst these included: opera singer Laura Bretan, singer and ukuleleist Grace VanderWaal, jazz singer Sal Valentinetti, singer Calysta Bevier, and burlesque dancer Dorothy Williams, who had each received a golden buzzer from the main judges; magician Jon Dorenbos, contortionist and aerialist Sofie Dossi, malambo group Malevo, and singer Jayna Brown, who had each received a golden buzzer from the guest judges; and dance group Flip, video-mapping dance duo Sila Sveta, and magician Steven Brundage, who were chosen as WildCard quarter-finalists. Around 22 quarter-finalists advanced to and split between the two semi-finals - including juggling duo The Passing Zone, chosen as the WildCard semi-finalist - with 10 semi-finalists securing a place in the finals. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this season:
ParticipantAge GenreActFromQuarter-FinalResult
Alla & Daniel8, 32DanceBallroom DancersUpland, California3
Blake Vogt27MagicMagicianLebanon, Indiana3
Brian Justin Crum28SingingSingerSan Diego, California3'
Calysta Bevier 16SingingSingerGrand Rapids, Ohio2
Daniel Joyner17SingingSingerAlamo, Tennessee1
Deadly Games32, 34DangerExtreme Knife ThrowersLas Vegas1
Dorothy Williams 91DanceBurlesque DancerHilo, Hawaii1
Edgar15–36Singing / MusicFamily BandLos Angeles3
Flip 14–17DanceDance GroupLévis, Canada2
Grace VanderWaal 12Singing / MusicSinger & UkuleleistSuffern, New York3'
Hara25MagicIllusionistJapan1
Jayna Brown 14SingingSingerBaltimore, Maryland1
Jon Dorenbos 35MagicMagicianPhiladelphia1'
Julia Scotti63ComedyStand-up ComedianWhiting, New Jersey3
Kadan Bart Rockett & Brooklyn10, 10MagicIllusionistsLos Angeles3
Kadie Lynn Roberson12Singing / MusicSinger & GuitaristKemp, Texas2
Laura Bretan 14SingingOpera SingerChicago1'
Linkin' Bridge36–41SingingVocal GroupLouisville, Kentucky3'
Lori Mae Hernandez13ComedyStand-up ComedianLancaster, California1
Malevo 17–42DanceMalambo Dance GroupBuenos Aires, Argentina3
Moya Angela32SingingSingerLas Vegas2
Musicality15–18SingingA-cappella GroupChicago1
Outlawz17–20DanceHip-hop Dance GroupGilbert, Arizona1
Ronee Martin62SingingSingerColumbia, Virginia3
Ryan Stock & AmberLynn34, 34DangerCarnival DaredevilsLas Vegas2
Sal Valentinetti 21SingingJazz SingerBethpage, New York2'
Sila Sveta 20–35DanceVideo-mapping Dance DuoLos Angeles1
Sofie Dossi 15AcrobaticsAerialist ContortionistCypress, California2'
Sos & Victoria37, 44MagicQuick-change DuoMannheim, Germany2
Steven Brundage 25MagicMagicianSaratoga Springs, New York2
Tape Face37ComedyMimeCanterbury, New Zealand1'
The Clairvoyants28, 29MagicMentalistsVienna, Austria2'
The Passing Zone 49JugglingJuggling DuoHermosa Beach, California3
ThroWings25, 29AcrobaticsAcrobatic DuoBoston2
Vello Vaher52AcrobaticsAcrobatic ContortionistTallinn, Estonia3
Viktor Kee45VarietyJugglerPriluki, Ukraine2'

Quarter-final 1 (July 26)

Guest Performers, Results Show: Mat Franco, and Paul Zerdin
Guest Performers, Results Show: Fitz and The Tantrums featuring Team iLuminate

Quarter-final 3 (August 23)

Guest Performers, Results Show: Recycled Percussion, and Michael Phelps

Semi-final 1 (August 30)

Guest Performers, Results Show: The Illusionists

Semi-final 2 (September 6)

Guest Performers, Results Show: Andra Day, and Blue Journey

Finals (September 13–14)

Guest Performers, Finale: Pitbull, LunchMoney Lewis
FinalistActPerformed with
Result
Sal ValentinettiSingerJersey Boys'
Sofie DossiAerialist ContortionistIl Volo
Linkin' BridgeVocal GroupSilhouettes
Laura BretanOpera SingerIl Volo
The ClairvoyantsMentalistsPaula Abdul '
Brian Justin CrumSingerN/A'
Tape FaceMimeShon China Lacy
Viktor KeeJugglerIl Volo
Jon DorenbosMagicianPaula Abdul '
Grace VanderWaalSinger & UkuleleistN/A

The following ratings are based upon those published by Nielsen Media Research after this season's broadcast:
ShowEpisode titleFirst air dateTimeslot Rating
Share
Viewers
Nightly
rank		Weekly
rank
1Auditions Week 1 May 31, 2016Tuesday 8:00 p.m.2.61011.6713
2Auditions Week 2June 7, 2016Tuesday 8:00 p.m.2.3810.7913
3Auditions Week 3June 14, 2016Tuesday 8:00 p.m.2.61011.5415
4Auditions Week 4June 21, 2016Tuesday 8:00 p.m.2.3911.7311
5Auditions Week 5June 28, 2016Tuesday 9:00 p.m.2.4911.2111
6Auditions Week 6July 5, 2016Tuesday 8:00 p.m.2.71012.8111
7Judge Cuts 1July 12, 2016Tuesday 8:00 p.m.2.4911.5411
8Judge Cuts 2July 13, 2016Wednesday 8:00 p.m.2.4911.8512
9Judge Cuts 3July 19, 2016Tuesday 8:00 p.m.2.3911.1012
10Judge Cuts 4July 20, 2016Wednesday 8:00 p.m.2.3910.7811
11Quarterfinals, Week 1 July 26, 2016Tuesday 8:00 p.m.2.3910.4711
12Quarterfinals, Week 1 July 27, 2016Wednesday 8:00 p.m.1.889.5213
13Quarterfinals, Week 2 August 2, 2016Tuesday 8:00 p.m.2.5911.5714
14Quarterfinals, Week 2 August 3, 2016Wednesday 8:00 p.m.1.879.391 8
15Quarterfinals, Week 3 August 23, 2016Tuesday 8:00 p.m.2.4911.2611
16Quarterfinals, Week 3 August 24, 2016Wednesday 9:00 p.m.2.1810.671 2
17Semifinals, Week 1 August 30, 2016Tuesday 8:00 p.m.2.61012.2812
18Semifinals, Week 1 August 31, 2016Wednesday 9:00 p.m.2.0810.5014
19Semifinals, Week 2 September 6, 2016Tuesday 8:00 p.m.2.5911.9616
20Semifinals, Week 2 September 7, 2016Wednesday 9:00 p.m.2.0710.6129
21Finals September 13, 2016Tuesday 8:00 p.m.2.81013.9714
22FinaleSeptember 14, 2016Wednesday 8:00 p.m.2.81014.4114

Specials
ShowEpisode titleFirst air dateTimeslot Rating
Share
Viewers
Nightly
rank		Weekly
rank
S1Best of Season 11 AuditionsJuly 6, 2016Wednesday 8:00 p.m.1.878.4825
S2Quarterfinals Week 3 RecapAugust 24, 2016Wednesday 8:00 p.m.1.467.26213
S3Semifinals Week 1 RecapAugust 31, 2016Wednesday 8:00 p.m.1.276.46216
S4Holiday SpectacularDecember 19, 2016Monday 8:00 p.m.1.869.5415

Incidents

Live Round Stunt Accident
Accidents across the Got Talent franchise are frequently uncommon - when they do happen, it will often occur with participants who conduct performances that involve dangerous stunts and routines. As a precaution in the live rounds, for those whose performances involve elements such as these, production staff often ensure that a set of necessary precautions are put in place in terms of health and safety, including the provision of paramedics should a stunt go wrong, and in most cases pre-recording the routine before the episode is due to be aired. However, the involvement of carnival daredevils Ryan Stock and AmberLynn on the eleventh season of America's Got Talent saw staff allowing their stunt for the quarterfinal to be aired live rather pre-recorded, leading to viewers witnessing the routine go wrong and nearly turn into a fatal accident on national television.
The stunt they performed involved Ryan Stock holding a lamp in his mouth with a target on the end, with his partner AmberLynn sitting on the top of a stepladder and shooting it with a lighted bolt from a crossbow. However, the bolt missed its target and strike Stock's neck instead, bouncing off of it without penetrating the skin. Although he was able to move, the blow required him to be later examined by paramedics off-stage to ensure he had not suffered any serious injury. Both performers later revealed that the accident was caused by the notch that held the crossbow bolt to AmberLynn's equipment breaking at the moment it was fired, resulting in the bolt mis-firing at the wrong angle. Production staff later altered official clips of the performance to not include anything that would distress those would watch the scene online.