America's Got Talent (season 13)
The thirteenth season of America's Got Talent, an American talent show competition, began broadcasting in the United States during 2018, from May 29 to September 19 on NBC. The season saw no major changes in format, nor with the host and judging panel. The guest judges for Judge Cuts this season included Ken Jeong, Olivia Munn, Martina McBride, and Chris Hardwick.
The thirteenth season was won by close-up magician Shin Lim, with acrobatic group Zurcaroh finishing second, and electric violinist Brian King Joseph placing third. During its broadcast, the season averaged around 11.15 million viewers.
Season Overview
Open auditions were held in late 2017, within Orlando, Cincinnati, Savannah, Milwaukee, Houston, Las Vegas, New York City, Nashville, and Los Angeles, with producers also accepting online auditions. As with the previous year, the judges' auditions were held and filmed in March at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles. The Judge Cuts stage of the competition saw the involvement of actor and comedian Ken Jeong, actress Olivia Munn, singer Martina McBride, and comedian Chris Hardwick. There were no major changes made to the program in any aspects, but the season is notable for Simon Cowell halting the performances of two participants, both singers, during the Judge Cuts and asking them to do a different song, after he disliked their original choice.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: acrobatic Zurcaroh, singer Michael Ketterer, singer Courtney Hadwin, singer Amanda Mena, singer Makayla Phillips, who had each received a golden buzzer from the main judges; choir Voices of Hope, choir Angel City Chorale, ballroom dancers Quin and Misha, rapper Flau’jae, who had each received a golden buzzer from the guest judges; and opera singer Daniel Emmet, novelty water-spitting act Human Fountains, multimedia performance group Front Pictures, who were chosen as WildCard quarter-finalists. Around 22 quarter-finalists advanced to and split between the two semi-finals - including Front Pictures, chosen again by the judges, this time as their 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:
| Participant | Age | Genre | Act | From | Quarter-Final | Result |
| Aaron Crow | 49 | Danger | Danger Act | Bruges, Belgium | 3 | |
| Amanda Mena | 16 | Singing | Singer | Boston | 1 | |
| Angel City Chorale | 19-88 | Singing | Choir | Los Angeles | 1 | |
| Brian King Joseph | 27 | Music | Electric Violinist | Los Angeles | 3 | ' |
| Christina Wells | 42 | Singing | Singer | Houston | 3 | |
| Courtney Hadwin | 14 | Singing | Singer | County Durham, England | 1 | ' |
| Da RepubliK | 15-32 | Dance | Dance Group | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | 3 | |
| Daniel Emmet | 25 | Singing | Opera Singer | Las Vegas | 3 | ' |
| Duo Transcend | 29, 32 | Acrobatics | Trapeze Duo | Salt Lake City | 2 | ' |
| Flau'jae | 14 | Singing | Rapper | Savannah, Georgia | 1 | |
| Front Pictures | 41, 43 | Variety | Multimedia Performance Group | Kiev, Ukraine | 2 | |
| Glennis Grace | 40 | Singing | Singer | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 2 | ' |
| Hans | 19 | Variety | Singer, Accordionist & Dancer | Adelaide, Australia | 1 | |
| Human Fountains | 24 - 29 | Variety | Novelty Water-spitting Act | Los Angeles | 1 | |
| Joseph O'Brien | 20 | Singing / Music | Singer & Pianist | Columbia, Tennessee | 3 | |
| Junior New System | 18–25 | Dance | Dance Group | Manila, Philippines | 1 | |
| Lord Nil | 38 | Danger | Escape Artist | Italy | 1 | |
| Makayla Phillips | 16 | Singing | Singer | Canyon Lake, California | 2 | |
| Michael Ketterer | 40 | Singing | Singer | Anaheim, California | 3 | ' |
| Mochi | 29 | Variety | Multimedia Diabolo Act | Shizuoka, Japan | 1 | |
| Noah Guthrie | 24 | Singing / Music | Singer & Guitarist | Greer, South Carolina | 2 | |
| Quin & Misha | 70, 35 | Dance | Ballroom Dancers | Orlando, Florida | 2 | |
| Rob Lake | 35 | Magic | Illusionist | Norman, Oklahoma | 3 | |
| Samuel J. Comroe | 30 | Comedy | Stand-Up Comedian | Los Angeles | 2 | ' |
| Shin Lim | 26 | Magic | Close-up Magician | Boston | 1 | ' |
| The Future Kingz | 7–23 | Dance | Dance Group | Chicago | 3 | |
| The PAC Dance Team | 15–18 | Dance | Dance Group | Sahuarita, Arizona | 1 | |
| The Sacred Riana | 25 | Magic | Illusionist | Jakarta, Indonesia | 2 | |
| The Savitsky Cats | 24, 45 | Animals | Cat Tricks Act | Ukraine | 2 | |
| UDI | 20–37 | Dance | Black-light Dance Group | Tomsk, Russia | 3 | |
| Us the Duo | 27, 28 | Singing / Music | Singing Guitarist & Percussionist | Los Angeles | 3 | |
| Vicki Barbolak | 60 | Comedy | Stand-up Comedienne | Oceanside, California | 1 | ' |
| Voices of Hope | 5–17 | Singing | Choir | Orange County, California | 2 | |
| We Three | 21–27 | Singing / Music | Pop Band | McMinnville, Oregon | 1 | |
| Yumbo Dump | 31, 34 | Comedy | Comic Duo | Okayama, Japan | 2 | |
| Zurcaroh | 8–39 | Acrobatics | Acrobatic Group | Götzis, Austria | 3 | ' |
- Ages denoted in this column pertain to a participant age in their final performance for this season.
Quarter-final Summary
Quarter-final 1 (August 14)
Guest Performer, Results Show: Darci LynneQuarter-final 2 (August 21)
Guest Performers, Results Show: The Illusionists, and Light Balance- Front Pictures were later appointed as the judges' WildCard semi-finalist.
Quarter-final 3 (August 28)
Semi-final Summary
Semi-final 1 (September 4)
Semi-final 2 (September 11)
Guest Performers, Results Show: BTS and cast of A Magical Cirque ChristmasFinals (September 18-19)
Guest Performers, Finale: Kiss| Finalist | Act | Performed with | Result |
| Brian King Joseph | Electric Violinist | Lindsey Stirling | ' |
| Daniel Emmet | Opera Singer | Plácido Domingo | |
| Vicki Barbolak | Stand-up Comedian | David Spade | |
| Glennis Grace | Singer | Bebe Rexha | |
| Zurcaroh | Acrobatic Group | Lindsey Stirling | ' |
| Samuel J. Comroe | Stand-up Comedian | N/A | ' |
| Courtney Hadwin | Singer | The Struts | |
| Shin Lim | Close-up Magician | Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila | ' |
| Duo Transcend | Trapeze Duo | Lindsey Stirling | |
| Michael Ketterer | Singer | N/A |
- Brian King Joseph & Duo Transcend conducted a joint routine for their second performance, and thus shared the same guest performer.
Ratings
| Episode | Title | First air date | Timeslot | Rating | Share | Viewers | Nightly Rank | Weekly Rank |
| 1 | Auditions Week 1 | May 29, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.5 | 11 | 12.16 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Auditions Week 2 | June 5, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.2 | 10 | 11.27 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Auditions Week 3 | June 12, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.3 | 10 | 11.46 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Auditions Week 4 | June 19, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.2 | 10 | 11.86 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | Auditions Week 5 | June 26, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.0 | 9 | 11.32 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | Auditions Week 6 | July 10, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.1 | 9 | 11.55 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | Judge Cuts 1 | July 17, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.1 | 9 | 11.33 | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | Judge Cuts 2 | July 24, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.0 | 8 | 11.68 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Judge Cuts 3 | July 31, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.1 | 9 | 11.83 | 1 | 1 |
| 10 | Judge Cuts 4 | August 7, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 1.9 | 9 | 11.04 | 1 | 1 |
| 11 | Quarterfinals, Week 1 | August 14, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.1 | 10 | 11.10 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | Quarterfinals, Week 1 | August 15, 2018 | Wednesday 8:00 p.m. | 1.5 | 8 | 9.85 | 2 | 2 |
| 13 | Quarterfinals, Week 2 | August 21, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.1 | 9 | 11.21 | 1 | 1 |
| 14 | Quarterfinals, Week 2 | August 22, 2018 | Wednesday 8:00 p.m. | 1.6 | 8 | 9.69 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 | Quarterfinals, Week 3 | August 28, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 1.9 | 8 | 10.78 | 1 | 1 |
| 16 | Quarterfinals, Week 3 | August 29, 2018 | Wednesday 8:00 p.m. | 1.5 | 7 | 9.90 | 2 | 2 |
| 17 | Semifinals, Week 1 | September 4, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 1.8 | 8 | 10.69 | 1 | 5 |
| 18 | Semifinals, Week 1 | September 5, 2018 | Wednesday 8:00 p.m. | 1.5 | 7 | 9.89 | 2 | 7 |
| 19 | Semifinals, Week 2 | September 11, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 1.9 | 8 | 10.75 | 1 | 4 |
| 20 | Semifinals, Week 2 | September 12, 2018 | Wednesday 8:00 p.m. | 1.6 | 8 | 10.15 | 1 | 5 |
| 21 | The Finals | September 18, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.3 | 10 | 12.99 | 1 | 2 |
| 22 | Season Finale | September 19, 2018 | Wednesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.1 | 10 | 12.88 | 1 | 3 |
Specials
| Specials | Title | First air date | Timeslot | Rating | Share | Viewers | Nightly Rank | Weekly Rank |
| S1 | Best of Auditions | July 11, 2018 | Wednesday 8:00 p.m. | 0.9 | 5 | 5.98 | 2 | 4 |
| S2 | Road to Lives | August 9, 2018 | Thursday 8:00 p.m. | 0.7 | 3 | 3.82 | 2 | 21 |