America's Got Talent (season 15)


The fifteenth season of America's Got Talent, an American talent show competition, began broadcasting in the United States on May 26, 2020, on NBC. Following the previous season, Julianne Hough and Gabrielle Union were let go from the program, leading to Heidi Klum returning to her role as judge, alongside new judge Sofía Vergara. This season is most notable for its production being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, alongside other television programs, which impacted the program's broadcast schedule for that year, the Judges' Cut round of the contest, and production on live round episodes.

Season overview

Open auditions were held in late 2019, though production staff faced the task of finding replacement judges before the main audition sessions began. Following the previous season, Julianne Hough and Gabrielle Union were let go from the series, and the eventual search for their replacements led to the producers announcing on February 27, 2020, that Heidi Klum would be returning to America's Got Talent in her former role, alongside newcomer Sofía Vergara.
Production on the season was dramatically impacted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic with complications, which was already affecting television and film shoots across the globe; during filming, Klum fell ill, leading to Eric Stonestreet standing in for her during an audition session. As the United States furthered restrictions to combat the spread of COVID-19, the program initially moved to filming without an audience present at auditions, before production was ultimately suspended; additional auditions were later allowed, but these had to be conducted online as a safety precaution. By April 27, production staff decided that the season would be broadcast as planned and premiere on May 26, though with the season featuring a hiatus after the audition episodes had been aired with the footage that had already been filmed.
In mid-June, Californian state government changed guidelines on media production, allowing it to resume across the state on condition of agreements on safe working conditions between industry unions, producers and local officials. Production staff choose an outdoor venue in Simi Valley, California, per attestations from state counties, for filming of the Judge Cuts stage on June 22, implementing several health and safety protocols: judges would view all performances via videoconferencing on a cinema screen; masks would be mandatory for all personnel when off-camera; enforced social distancing would be used; and regular testing would be conducted. To ensure these protocols were maintained, the format of the stage was amended, reducing the number of auditionees that moved into this stage from 72 to 60, no involvement of guest judges and thus additional Golden Buzzers, and each participant given a verdict after their performance. All footage was condensed into a single episode, which Cowell approved due to his dislike of the stage's format in previous seasons.
By the end of July, production staff began focusing on how to produce the live round episodes for the season, in hopes of airing these by August 11. A decision was reached to include a virtual audience for these rounds - applications being made available within the week of July 28 - in order to maintain safe working conditions for all involved, with Universal Studios Hollywood chosen as the venue for performances to take place within, and an expansion in the number of quarter-finalists for the season, including an additional quarter-final. Of the participants who auditioned for this season, 44 secured a place in the live quarter-finals, with 11 quarter-finalists in each one - amongst these included: singer Roberta Battaglia, choir Voices of our City Choir, spoken word poet Brandon Leake, singer Cristina Rae, and dance group W.A.F.F.L.E. Crew, who had each received a golden buzzer from the main judges. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this season:
ParticipantAge GenreActFromQuarter-FinalResult
Alan Silva38AcrobaticsAerialistLas VegasTBATBA
Alex Hooper34ComedyStand-up ComedianBaltimore, MarylandTBATBA
Alexis Brownley9AnimalsDog Tricks ActWeston, FloridaTBATBA
Annie Jones12SingingSingerVictoria, AustraliaTBATBA
Archie Williams59SingingSingerBaton Rouge, Louisiana1TBA
BAD Salsa16, 21DanceSalsa DuoIndiaTBATBA
Bello & Annaliese Nock50, 23DangerDaredevil DuoTBA1TBA
Bello Sisters14-22AcrobaticsAcrobatic TrioItalyTBATBA
BONAVEGA31SingingSingerToledo, OhioTBATBA
Bone Breakers22-24DanceContortion Dance GroupConakry, Republic of GuineaTBATBA
Brandon Leake 27VarietySpoken Word PoetStockton, CaliforniaTBATBA
Brett Loudermilk31DangerSword SwallowerNorth CarolinaTBATBA
C.A. Wildcats13-29DanceCheerleading GroupDallas, TexasTBATBA
Celina Graves30SingingSingerSan Diego, CaliforniaTBATBA
Cristina Rae 30SingingSingerNashville, TennesseeTBATBA
Dance Town Family8-35DanceDance GroupMiamiTBATBA
Daneliya Tuleshova14SingingSingerAstana, KazakhstanTBATBA
Divas & Drummers of Compton3-20Dance / MusicDance & Percussion GroupLos Angeles1TBA
Double Dragon32SingingSinging DuoSan Francisco1TBA
Feng E13MusicUkulelistTapei, Taiwan1TBA
FrenchieBabyy25DanceContortionist DancerTBA1TBA
Jonathan Goodwin40DangerDaredevilPembrokeshire, United KingdomTBATBA
Kameron Ross30SingingSingerDallas, TexasTBATBA
Kelvin Dukes14SingingSingerBurtonsville, MarylandTBATBA
Kenadi Dodds15Singing / MusicSinger & GuitaristSalt Lake City, UtahTBATBA
Lightwave Theatre Company32-35VarietyPuppeteer ActBucharest, RomaniaTBATBA
Malik Dope27MusicDrummerWashington, D.C.TBATBA
Max Major33MagicMagicianLas VegasTBATBA
Michael Yo45ComedyStand-up ComedianHouston1TBA
Noah Epps12DanceDancerVirginiaTBATBA
Nolan Neal39Singing / MusicSinger & GuitaristNashville, TennesseeTBATBA
Pork Chop Revue9-68AnimalsPig Tricks ActMiami1TBA
Resound26-30SingingVocal Harmony TrioTBATBATBA
Roberta Battaglia 10SingingSingerToronto, Canada1TBA
Shaquira McGrath26SingingSingerKennesaw, Georgia1TBA
Sheldon Riley21SingingSingerSydney, AustraliaTBATBA
Simon and Maria12, 10DanceSalsa DuoColombia1TBA
Spyros Brothers23, 25VarietyDiabolo DuoNew York CityTBATBA
The Shape15-19DanceDance GroupAlhambra, CaliforniaTBATBA
Thomas Day17SingingSingerBrentwood, CaliforniaTBATBA
Usama Siddiquee29ComedyStand-up ComedianNew York CityTBATBA
Vincent Marcus30ComedyImpressionistLos AngelesTBATBA
Voices of our City Choir 21-80SingingChoirSan Diego, CaliforniaTBATBA
W.A.F.F.L.E. Crew 23-26DanceDance GroupNew York CityTBATBA