America’s Got Talent‘s 20th season is officially coming to an end.
After a season full of heartfelt moments, amazing performances, and exciting Golden Buzzers, this season’s Top 10 contestants met their fate during the second half of AGT Season 20’s two-part finale on Wednesday, September 24.
As always, judges Simon Cowell, Mel B., Sofía Vergara, and Howie Mandel gave their thoughts on the night’s acts, but it was ultimately left to America to decide which lucky contestant would take home this season’s $1 million prize — Jessica Sanchez, LightWire, Mama Duke, Sirca Marea, Micah Palace, the Leo High School Choir, Chris Turner, Jourdan Blue, Team Recycled, or Steve Ray Ladson.
The night kicked off with all 10 acts on stage together, singing an energetic Happy 20th Birthday song with musician Eric Lloyd, followed by a recap of the the previous night’s finale performances.
Multi-platinum singer Manuel Turizo kept the fun going with a performance of his song “La Bachata.” Palace joined his fellow artist on stage for a duet of his own track “RINKIKI,” after which Turizo delcared, “He’s gonna win.”
For the second performance of the night, the Leo High School Choir ended their AGT journey with a joint performance of the “The Man” with Grammy nominee Aloe Blacc. The group’s performance went right into Blue’s rendition of The Script’s “Breakeven,” which he sang alongside the band’s frontman, Danny O’Donoghue.
The Leo High School Choir returned to the stage to serve as Ladson’s backup dancers and vocalists for another memorable country track. Following the performances, Blacc encouraged the choir to “dream even bigger dreams” and “never give up.” O’Donoghue loved performing with Blue so much that he offered to take the aspiring singer out on tour with The Script.
LightWire’s latest display of lighting design and dance served as the backdrop for Grammy nominee Leona Lewis‘ performance of her song “Run.”
AGT alums Shin Lim, Mat Franco, and Piff the Magic Dragon later appeared in a prerecorded package promoting the upcoming film Now You See Me: Now You Don’t. The trio answered the call of the film’s stars Ariana Greenblatt, Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, Jesse Eisenberg to pull off a magic trick worthy The Four Horsemen. Joining the judges live in the AGT studio, the magicians cracked open a diamond which contained the name of the night’s winner.
As the night went on, Ciara got the AGT audience cheering with her song “Low” before being joined by finalists Team Recycled for an epic performance of “Level Up.” Sanchez, meanwhile, reprised her Semifinals song choice, “golden hour” by JVKE, as Sirca Marea displayed their acrobatic talents behind her in a joint final performance.
Season 19 winner Richard Goodall also returned to the AGT stage during the Finale. Accompanied by Journey founder Neal Schon, the champion paid tribute to his journey on the NBC series with his original song “Long Time Coming.”
For his last freestyle rap on AGT, Turner brought Bozoma Saint John and her fiancé, Keely Watson, on stage to use facts about their love story in her lyrics. For the final contestant performance of the night, Mama Duke sang her hit song “Feels So Good To Be You” with the AGT fan favorite choir Sainted.
NBC
All 10 acts returned to the stage as host Terry Crews announced the first five eliminations of the night. The contestants who did not make it into the Top 5 included Mama Duke, Sirca Marea, Ladson, Palace, and Team Recycled. Before sharing more results, Crews announced that the winner would also receive a complimentary trip to Universal Orlando Resort.
Coming in fifth place on AGT Season 20 was LightWire, followed by the Leo High School Choir in fourth. Cowell didn’t let the latter group go before offering some kind words, stating, “You are gonna inspire so many people, and I really mean that. And I’m so proud of what you’ve achieved.”
Blue ultimately ended the season in third place, leaving Turner and Sanchez as Season 20’s final two contestants. “I think you leveled up your life and your career to the stratosphere,” Mandel said to Blue. “This is not the end. I believe this is the beginning.”
So who won Season 20? Sanchez completed her AGT redemption arc, beating out Turner for the title of this season’s champion and the winner of $1 million. “This is amazing! Thank you so much to America,” she said through tears before being congratulated by the judges her fellow Top 10 acts.
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