America's Got Talent (season 10)

America's Got Talent
Season 10
Broadcast from	May 26 – September 16, 2015
Judges	Howie Mandel Howard Stern Mel B Heidi Klum
Host(s)	Nick Cannon
Broadcaster	NBC
Winner
Paul Zerdin
Origin	London, England
Genre(s)	Ventriloquist
Runner-up
Drew Lynch

Season ten of the reality competition series America's Got Talent was the 10th anniversary of the reality series and premiered on May 26, 2015.^[1] It concluded on September 16, 2015. Nick Cannon returned as host for his seventh season. Howie Mandel returned for his sixth season as judge while Howard Stern returned for his fourth and final season. Mel B and Heidi Klum both returned for their third season on the judging panel.^[2]

On July 29, the show aired a special two-hour tenth anniversary retrospective episode. The series returned to Radio City Music Hall in New York for the live shows, which began Tuesday, August 11.^[3]

Stern announced on his radio show, that this season would be his last season as a judge due to a busy work schedule.^[4]

Dunkin' Donuts replaced Snapple as sponsor of the show after three seasons. Four guest judges were invited to judge during the judge's cuts; actor Neil Patrick Harris, singer Michael Bublé, actor Marlon Wayans and former judge Piers Morgan. This was the first season to have an all-male finale. Ventriloquist Paul Zerdin was voted the winner for the season on September 16, 2015. Comedian Drew Lynch was the runner-up, and magician Oz Pearlman came in at third place. This season is called the season of the magician, as at least 4 magicians made it to the finals. Piff The Magic Dragon was named the most memorable act this season, or the fan favorite.

Changes

Among the changes for the season are more extreme acts, an enhanced Golden Buzzer, and new elements in the boot camp round. The live shows began on Tuesday, August 11 and the later rounds returned to Radio City Music Hall.^[1]

Some auditions were held outdoors to showcase big danger acts. Acts both in the theater and outdoors were filmed in the Fairplex in Pomona, California.^[1]

The Golden Buzzer was also enhanced this year with an act going straight through to the live shows should a judge hit the buzzer (the same format as that of Britain's Got Talent, rather than a free pass to boot camp in the previous season). Like the previous season, the Golden Buzzer could only be used once by each judge and by each guest judge.

The enhanced bootcamp round began July 14, 2015, to determine which acts would become a part of the Top 36 to perform for America's vote. Unlike previous seasons, the live shows will only feature 36 acts instead of the normal 48. The bootcamp round also lasted several weeks compared with just one week in previous seasons.^[1] Celebrity guest judges were featured to assist the regular judges with their decision, including Neil Patrick Harris, Michael Buble, Piers Morgan, and Marlon Wayans.^[5][6]

A special two hour retrospective aired on July 29 this season to celebrate the ten years of AGT. The show featured some of the best acts of the series, the most heartwarming stories, the oddest personalities, and the biggest show-stopping moments from the last 10 years, as well as updates on what some of these acts are currently doing.^[1]

Preliminary auditions

Producer auditions began on November 2, 2014 in Tampa, Florida. Other auditions sites include Nashville, Richmond (New York), Chicago, St. Louis, San Antonio, Albuquerque, San Francisco, Seattle, Boise, Los Angeles, Las Vegas. Online auditions were also accepted.^[7] Auditions in front of the judges were held March 2–9 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. They continued at the Manhattan Center in New York City and the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. A special "extreme" audition session was held outside at the Fairplex in Pomona, California.

Golden Buzzer acts

Each of the four judges had one chance to use the Golden Buzzer. Mandel was the first one whose use of the Golden Buzzer was aired, doing so on stuttering comedian Drew Lynch.^[8] Contemporary dance duo Freckled Sky became the second Golden Act whose performance was aired, with Stern using the Golden Buzzer on them.^[9] Brown was the third judge seen using the Golden Buzzer, this time on gospel singer Sharon Irving.^[10] Klum was the last to utilize the Golden Buzzer, with 11-year-old opera singer Arielle Baril being its recipient.^[11]

The guest judges each also had one chance to use the Golden Buzzer on any act during their participation without consultation from the regular panel. Like the Golden Acts selected by the regular judges, the Golden Acts chosen by the guest judges also went straight to the live rounds.^[6] On the July 14 episode, Neil Patrick Harris used his golden buzzer on magician Piff the Magic Dragon.^[12] On the July 21 episode, Michael Buble used his golden buzzer on singing duo The CraigLewis Band, although he was initially hesitant to do so.^[13] Marlon Wayans used his buzzer on ventriloquist comedian Paul Zerdin on the July 28 episode.^[14] Japanese light-and-sound dance troupe Siro-A became the last Golden Buzzer act of the season when former judge Piers Morgan used the Golden Buzzer on them.^[15]

Freckled Sky was eliminated in the quarterfinals after losing the Judges' Choice to the rock band 3 Shades of Blue. Arielle Baril, Sharon Irving and Siro-A were all eliminated in the semifinals.

Judge Cuts

The Judge Cuts began on Tuesday, July 14, 2015. This round replaces the "Vegas Week" or "Judgment Week" rounds that were used in previous seasons. As noted above one guest judge joined the judges' panel in each week. Each guest judge was given one golden buzzer opportunity to send an act straight to the live shows. Twenty acts were shown each week, and seven advanced, including one from the guest judge's golden buzzer. Guest judges were not given a red buzzer to use. Any act that received all four red buzzers was to be immediately eliminated from the competition.

Key	Buzzed	Golden Buzzer	Advanced to the live shows	Did not advance to the live shows	Eliminated immediately	Advanced immediately

Week 1

Guest judge: Neil Patrick Harris

Act	Order	Performance type	Buzzes					Result
			Mandel	Brown	Harris	Klum	Stern
Freelusion Dance Company	1	Videomapping dance group						Advanced
Paul Ponce	2	Extreme juggler						Eliminated
Silvia Silvia[note 1]	3	Extreme crossbow archer						Advanced
Chapkis Dance Company	4	Dance troupe						Advanced
Samantha Hess	5	Professional cuddler						Eliminated immediately
Elin and Noah	6	Child dance duo						Eliminated
Los Angeles Children's Orchestra	7	Children's orchestra						Eliminated
Alondra Santos[note 2]	8	Mariachi singer						Eliminated
Michael John	9	Magician						Eliminated
Piff the Magic Dragon	10	Comic-magician						Advanced Immediately
Duo Ignite	11	Acrobatic aerialist duo						Eliminated
Myq Kaplan	12	Comedian						Advanced
Nick and Eddie	13	Singing duo						Eliminated
Keith Klein	14	Singer						Eliminated
3 Shades of Blue	15	Acoustic rock band						Advanced
Marc & Kiri	16	Ballroom dance duo						Eliminated
Vibez	17	Contortionist dancer						Eliminated
X-Treme Tricking & Tumbling	18	Extreme gymnastic group						Eliminated
Grand Master Qi Feilong	19	Kung Fu artist						Eliminated Immediately
Samantha Johnson	20	Singer						Advanced

Note

1. ↑ Silvia Silvia subsequently dropped out of the competition, even after advancing to the next round. Silvia Silvia is appearing in a new show in Israel, with conflicting dates for AGT.
2. ↑ Alondra was originally eliminated in Judge Cuts week 1, but was brought back as a replacement to compete in the quarterfinals after extreme crossbow archer, Silvia Silvia, dropped out.

Week 2

Guest judge: Michael Bublé

Act	Order	Performance type	Buzzes					Result
			Mandel	Brown	Bublé	Klum	Stern
Aiden Sinclair	1	Magician						Eliminated
Jenna Renae	2	Singer & pianist						Eliminated
Shirley Claire	3	Singer						Eliminated
Daniella Mass	4	Opera singer						Advanced
Ira	5	Singing puppet						Advanced
Benjamin Yonnatan	6	Contemporary dancer						Advanced
Facinet Sylla	7	Street tumbling						Eliminated
Nastasya Generalova	8	Acrobatic gymnast						Eliminated
Wes Barker	9	Comedic straight-jacket escapist						Eliminated
Uzeyer Novruzov	10	Ladder acrobat						Advanced
Ryan Shaw	11	Singer						Eliminated
The CraigLewis Band	12	Singing duo						Advanced immediately
Dr. Danger's Daredevil All Stars	13	Daredevil stunts group						Eliminated
Center Stage	14	Dance troupe						Eliminated
DADitude![note 1]	15	Dance group						Eliminated
DM Nation	16	Dance troupe						Advanced
The Chippendoubles	17	Variety act						Eliminated Immediately
Chris Jones	18	Hypnotist						Eliminated
Scott Heierman	19	Cross-dressing comedian						Eliminated
Selected of God Choir	20	Gospel choir						Advanced

Note

1. ↑ DADitude! was originally eliminated in Judge Cuts Week 2, but was brought back as a replacement to compete in the quarterfinals after extreme aerial act, Duo Volta presumably dropped out.

Week 3

Guest judge: Marlon Wayans

Act	Order	Performance type	Buzzes					Result
			Mandel	Brown	Wayans	Klum	Stern
Triple Threat	1	Music group						Advanced
Honor Roll Skate Crew	2	Dance group						Eliminated
Evoke Tap Movement	3	Dance group						Eliminated
The Squad	4	Dance group						Eliminated
Animation Crew	5	Dance crew						Advanced
Oleksiy Mogylnyy	6	Acrobat						Eliminated
Johnny Shelton	7	Singer						Eliminated
Dana Daniels	8	Magician and parrot						Eliminated
Paul Zerdin	9	Ventriloquist						Advanced immediately
Oz Pearlman	10	Mentalist						Advanced
Brittney Allen	11	Singer						Eliminated
Paul Blair	12	Hula-Hoop performer						Eliminated immediately
Pretty Big Movement	13	Dance troupe						Eliminated
Stacey Kay	14	Singer						Eliminated
Mountain Faith Band	15	Bluegrass band						Advanced
Randy Roberts	16	Cross-dressing singer						Eliminated
Vita Radionova	17	Contortionist						Advanced
Cailyn Mathis	18	Dancer						Eliminated
Haley Glass	19	Martial artist						Eliminated
Benton Blount	20	Singer/guitarist						Advanced

Week 4

Guest judge: Piers Morgan

Act	Order	Performance type	Buzzes					Result
			Mandel	Brown	Morgan	Klum	Stern
The Gentlemen	1	Hip-hop dance duo						Advanced
Technicianz	2	Dance group						Eliminated
Duwende	3	Singing group						Eliminated
Leroy Patterson	4	Novelty act						Eliminated
Derek Hughes	5	Magician						Advanced
Duo Vladimir	6	Acrobatic duo						Eliminated
Duo Volta[note 1]	7	Static trapeze duo						Advanced
Jamie Costa	8	Comedian						Eliminated immediately
Xavier Mortimer	9	Juggler						Eliminated immediately
Alicia Michilli	10	Singer						Advanced
The Move	11	Dance group						Eliminated
Semeneya	12	Latin dance trio						Eliminated
Aaron Smyth	13	Contemporary dancer						Eliminated
Siro-A	14	Dance group						Advanced immediately
Kacey Jones	15	Country singer						Eliminated
Gary Vider	16	Comedian						Advanced
Kayvon Zand	17	Singer						Eliminated immediately
Vox	18	Opera quartet						Eliminated
Alex Boye	19	Singer						Eliminated
Stevie Starr	20	Regurgitator						Advanced

Note

1. ↑ Duo Volta has presumably dropped out of the competition, even after advancing to the next round. According to the Duo Volta website they no longer perform as a duo.

Top 36 acts

Key	Winner	Runner-up	Third Place	Top 5	Finalist	Semifinalist (lost judges' vote)	Semifinalist (lost audience vote)	Quarterfinalist (lost judges' vote)	Quarterfinalist (lost audience vote)	Golden buzzer	Judges' wild card (quarterfinals)	Judges' wild card (semifinals)

Name of act	Age(s)	Genre	Act	Hometown	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Result
Paul Zerdin	42	Comedy	Ventriloquist	London, England	1	2	Winner
Drew Lynch	23	Comedy	Comedian	Las Vegas, Nevada	1	1	Runner-Up
Oz Pearlman	32	Magic	Mentalist	New York, New York	3	1	Third Place
Stevie Starr	52	Variety	Regurgitator	Glasgow, Scotland	3	2	4th Place
The CraigLewis Band	30 & 33	Singing	Singing Duo	Atlanta, Georgia	2	1	5th Place
Piff the Magic Dragon	34	Magic	Comic Magician	London, England	1	2	Finalist (won public vote)
Benton Blount	35	Singing	Singer/Guitarist	North Carolina	1	1	Finalist (won Dunkin' Save vote)
Derek Hughes	43	Magic	Comedian Magician	Los Angeles, California	2	1	Finalist (won public vote)
Gary Vider	31	Comedy	Comedian	New York City	3	2	Finalist (won judges' vote)
Uzeyer Novruzov	39	Acrobatics	Ladder Acrobat	Eysk, Russia	2	2	Finalist (won Dunkin' Save vote)
Freelusion Dance Company	27-29	Dance	Videomapping Dance Group	Hungary, Aisa	3	2	Eliminated (lost judges' vote)
Samantha Johnson	26	Singing	Singer	New Bedford, Massachusetts	1	1	Eliminated (lost judges' vote)
3 Shades of Blue	19-20	Band	Pop Rock Band	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	2	2	Eliminated
Alicia Michilli	23	Singing	Singer	Detroit, Michigan	3	2	Eliminated
Alondra Santos	13	Singing	Mariachi Singer	El Monte, California	1	2	Eliminated
Arielle Baril	11	Singing	Opera Singer	Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania	2	1	Eliminated
Daniella Mass	22	Singing	Opera Singer	Barranquilla, Colombia	3	2	Eliminated
Ira	32	Comedy	Singing Puppet	Los Angeles, California	2	1	Eliminated
Metal Mulisha Fitz Army	25-30	Stunt	Motocross Team	Omaha, Nebraska	3	1	Eliminated
Mountain Faith Band	19-51	Band	Bluegrass Band	Sylva, North Carolina	3	1	Eliminated
Sharon Irving	29	Singing	Gospel Singer	Chicago, Illinois	2	2	Eliminated
Siro-A	23-36	Dance	Video Projection Dance Group	Sendai, Japan	1	1	Eliminated
Benjamin Yonattan	14	Dance	Contemporary dancer	Kalamazoo, Michigan	3	N/A	Eliminated (lost judges' vote)
Freckled Sky	20 & 28	Dance	Video Projection Dance Duo	Chicago, Illinois	2	N/A	Eliminated (lost judges' vote)
The Gentlemen	9 & 12	Dance	Hip-Hop Dance Duo	Fairfield, California	1	N/A	Eliminated (lost judges' vote)
Animation Crew	25-33	Dance	Popping Dance Crew	South Korea	2	N/A	Eliminated
Chapkis Dance Family	14-35	Dance	Hip-Hop Dance Group	Suisun City, California	3	N/A	Eliminated
Craig and Micheline	56 and 56	Dance	Acrobatic Dance Duo	South Africa	1	N/A	Eliminated
DADitude!	42-55	Dance	Comedy Dance Group	Los Angeles, California	3	N/A	Eliminated
Damone Rippy	16	Stunt	Flyboarder Act	Austin, Texas	2	N/A	Eliminated
DM Nation	14-29	Dance	Hip-Hop Dance Crew	Lévis, Canada	2	N/A	Eliminated
Myq Kaplan	36	Comedy	Stand-up Comedian	Brooklyn, New York	2	N/A	Eliminated
Selected of God	21-52	Singing	Gospel Choir	Detroit, Michigan	3	N/A	Eliminated
Showproject	21-33	Gymnastics	Gymnastics Team	Armenia, Czech Republic, Germany	1	N/A	Eliminated
Triple Threat	21	Singing	Vocal Trio	Benton, Arkansas	1	N/A	Eliminated
Vita Radionova	33	Gymnastics	Contortionist Dancer	Ukraine	1	N/A	Eliminated

Quarterfinals

The live quarterfinals began on August 11 and were broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Each week, twelve acts performed and seven advanced. One or more guest artists or acts performed during each results show.

The four judges were still able to press the red buzzers to show disapproval of an act. If any act received all four buzzes, their performance would be ended prematurely, but the act would not necessarily be eliminated immediately. The golden buzzer did not appear in the live rounds. This season marked the first time Mel B and Heidi used their buzzers in the live rounds. This season also marked the first time an act received four 's during a live round in America's Got Talent history. Season 10 also has the least amount of Quarter Finals in America's Got Talent history. Previous years have had 4 Quarter Finals while this season only had 3.

The Dunkin' Save, originally called the Snapple Save, was continued from the previous season. Each week during the quarterfinals, the acts with the 6th, 7th and 8th most votes were subject to a new vote during the live results shows to send one of them to the semifinals. Out of the remaining two acts, one was selected by the judges to move on to the next round. In the event of a tie, the act with the most votes from the previous night would move on.

Key	Buzzed	Advanced	Judges' Choice	Won Judges' Choice	Lost Judges' Choice	Dunkin' Save	Judges' Wildcard

Week 1 (August 11–12)

Guests: The Rockettes, Mat Franco, OMI

Act	Order	Performance description	Buzzes and judges' choices				Result
			Mandel	Brown	Klum	Stern
Siro-A	1	Video-mapping dance group performed a fast paced routine including programmed judge cameos, to the Lenny Kravitz song "Are You Gonna Go My Way"					Advanced	3rd, 12.7%
Alondra Santos	2	Mariachi singer performed "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" by Selena					Judges' Choice	6th, 6.2% - 3rd, 22.5%
Vita Radionova	3	Contortionist performed a routine consisting of contortions and acrobatic stunts to "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" by Monophonics					Eliminated	10th, 0.5%
Triple Threat	4	Singing trio performed "Say My Name" by Destiny's Child					Eliminated	12th, 0.1%
The Gentlemen	5	Child dancing duo performed a self-choreographed routine with backup dancers to "Time of Our Lives" by Pitbull Ft. Ne-Yo					Eliminated	7th, 4.3% - 2nd, 32.6%
Piff the Magic Dragon	6	Comic magician performed a routine in which his chihuahua, Mr. Piffles, was inside one of four numbered boxes; each box that judge Howie Mandel guessed did not contain Mr. Piffles was destroyed, and the dog was found in the remaining box					Advanced	2nd, 21.5%
Benton Blount	7	Singer/guitarist performed an acoustic version of "Say Something" by A Great Big World					Advanced	5th, 9.3%
Craig and Micheline	8	Dancers performed an acrobatic dance routine to "Tainted Love" by Marilyn Manson					Eliminated	9th, 0.9%
Drew Lynch	9	Comedian performed a stand-up routine about his stutter and his service dog					Advanced	4th, 10.2%
Showproject	10	Acrobatic gymnastic group performed a routine on parallel gym bars to "Chains" by Nick Jonas					Eliminated	11th, 0.2%
Paul Zerdin	11	Ventriloquist performed a routine in which he left his puppet, Sam, on the stage after an argument; Sam raised its head and began talking, but acted lifeless once Zerdin returned onstage					Advanced	1st, 31.6%
Samantha Johnson	12	Singer performed her rendition of "California Dreamin'" by The Mamas & The Papas					Dunkin' Save	8th, 2.5% - 1st 44.9%

Week 2 (August 18–19)

Guests: Emily West, William Close

Act	Order	Performance description	Buzzes and judges' choices				Result
			Mandel	Brown	Klum	Stern
DM Nation	1	Female dance troupe performed an army-style routine in their signature black uniforms to "Run the World (Girls)" by Beyoncé					Eliminated (10th)
Derek Hughes	2	Comedian magician performed a trick with Mel B that involved how to cheat at playing cards by making cards appear and disappear in his pocket					Advanced (4th)
3 Shades of Blue	3	Acoustic rock band performed a version of "Chains" by Nick Jonas					Judges' Choice (7th)
Animation Crew	4	Popping dance crew performed a hip-hop-style routine with a video game themed background					Eliminated (9th)
Arielle Baril	5	Child opera singer sang "Pie Jesu" by Andrew Lloyd Webber with a backup choir					Advanced (3rd)
Uzeyer Novruzov	6	Ladder acrobat showed a series of small ladder tricks before climbing an 18-foot ladder and balancing on top of it					Advanced (5th)
Ira	7	Singing puppet sang "It's Not Unusual" by Tom Jones on a cruise ship set with backing puppets					Dunkin' Save (8th)
Damone Rippy	8	Flyboarder performed a routine over the Hudson River that included a triple back flip to "Come Get It Bae" by Pharrell Williams (recorded live prior to broadcast)					Eliminated (12th)
Myq Kaplan	9	Comedian performed a stand-up routine about kids and airports					Eliminated (11th)
The CraigLewis Band	10	Male singing duo sang a rendition of "Try a Little Tenderness" by Otis Redding					Advanced (2nd)
Freckled Sky	11	Visual-dance act performed with projections and water effects to the song "Can't Pretend" by Tom Odell					Eliminated (6th)
Sharon Irving	12	Gospel singer performed the Golden Globe-winning song "Glory" from the film Selma					Advanced (1st)

^1 Klum's voting intention was not revealed.

Week 3 (August 25–26)

Guests: Le Rêve

Act	Order	Performance description	Buzzes and judges' choices				Result
			Mandel	Brown	Klum	Stern
Chapkis Dance Family	1	Dance group performed a jungle-themed dance to a remix of "Run Boy Run" by Woodkid, "No Twerk" by Apashe, and "Animals" by Martin Garrix, with flips and movement					Eliminated (10th)
Metal Mulisha Fitz Army1	2	Extreme stunt motorcyclists rode off of a ramp, performing danger tricks in mid-air with the NYC skyline behind them					Judges' Wildcard (11th)
DADitude!2	3	Dance group danced an old-school back in time routine to "Living in New York City" by Robin Thicke					Eliminated (12th)
Alicia Michilli	4	Singer sang a passionate rendition of "I Put a Spell on You" by Screamin' Jay Hawkins					Advanced (3rd)
Gary Vider	5	Comedian told jokes about his dating life and his materialistic roommate					Dunkin' Save (8th)
Mountain Faith Band	6	Bluegrass band played and sang "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon					Advanced (5th)
Oz Pearlman	7	Mentalist performed a trick in which he asked the judges to guess how many gumballs were in a jar. In an Instagram video, he predicted that Mel B would be off by 2: the actual number was 327; her guess was 325. He then showed a receipt for the gumballs purchased with all the judges' numbers printed on top as the order number.					Advanced (1st)
Selected of God	8	Gospel choir performed their rendition of the song "Impossible" by Shontelle					Eliminated (9th)
Stevie Starr	9	Regurgitator swallowed Heidi Klum's $500,000 ring and then swallowed a lock and key; regurgitated the ring now in the lock; initially could not get the key up but swallowed a Pool ball to force the key up and regurgitated both					Advanced (2nd)
Benjamin Yonattan	10	Contemporary dancer performed an inspiring and energized routine with jumps and aerials to "One Life" by Boyce Avenue					Eliminated (6th)
Daniella Mass	11	Opera singer sang a cover of "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables					Judges' Choice (7th)
Freelusion Dance Company	12	Video-mapping dance group performed a routine symbolizing a couple is separated by a volcano and reunited in heaven					Advanced (4th)

^1 Though they were eliminated in the quarterfinals, Metal Mulisha Fitz Army were the judges' wildcard pick, and they came back for the first week of the semifinals.

^2 DADitude! is the first act to get 4 Xs during the live rounds. This is also the first time that Heidi has buzzed an act during the live shows.

Semifinals

The live semifinal round began on September 1 at Radio City Music Hall in NYC, with two weeks of competition. Because only 22 acts advanced to the semifinals, eleven acts perform each week, and five acts advance each week. Special guest acts or artists will perform each week during the live results shows.

The four judges will still be able to press the red buzzers to show disapproval of an act. If any act receives all four buzzes, their performance would be ended prematurely, but the act would not necessarily be eliminated immediately.

The Dunkin' Save continued into the semifinals, with the three acts in danger of elimination being those voted in 4th, 5th, and 6th place.

Key	Buzzed	Advanced	Judges' Choice	Won Judges' vote	Lost Judges' Choice	Dunkin' Save

Week 1 (September 1–2)

Guests: The Illusionists, Taylor Williamson

Act	Order	Performance description	Buzzes and judges' choices				Result
			Mandel	Brown	Klum	Stern
Ira	1	Singing puppets Ira and his mother, performed a comic skit and then sang about Ira's mother and father's courtship to Barry Manilow's "Copacabana"					Eliminated
Mountain Faith Band	2	Bluegrass band performed a cover of The Weeknd's "Can't Feel My Face"					Eliminated
Metal Mulisha Fitz Army	3	Stunt motorcyclists performed dangerous jumps and flips on their motorcycles with one shooting sparks from his tailpipes; another rider was set on fire before making a jump					Eliminated
Samantha Johnson	4	Singer performed a cover of The Weeknd's "Earned It"					Eliminated
Derek Hughes	5	Comedian magician performed a trick in which he told a story then ripped up a sheet of paper, dropped a piece, then restored the paper together and the piece he dropped was the missing piece					Advanced
Drew Lynch	6	Comedian performed a routine about both his high-pitched voice and his stutter giving him problems when talking to people on the phone					Advanced
The CraigLewis Band	7	Male vocal duo sang Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come"	1				Judges' Choice
Oz Pearlman	8	Mentalist set out cups with various drinks and then, while blindfolded by Heidi, predicted which drinks Howard would choose and in what order; then predicted Mel's drink of choice and a treat that Howie was thinking of					Advanced
Benton Blount	9	Singer performed a cover of Rachel Platten's "Fight Song"					Dunkin' Save
Siro-A	10	Video projection dance group performed a routine including colorful squares, duplicates of themselves, and various special effects, such as the dancers turning upside down, set to "Summer" by Calvin Harris					Eliminated
Arielle Baril	11	Child opera singer performed "Nessun Dorma"					Eliminated

^1 After Mandel's vote tied the Judges' Choice, The CraigLewis Band went through to the finals on account of gaining more votes than Samantha Johnson during the previous night's voting.

Week 2 (September 8–9)

Guests: Little Mix, AcroArmy

Act	Order	Performance description	Buzzes and judges' choices				Result
			Mandel	Brown	Klum	Stern
3 Shades of Blue	1	Acoustic rock band sang "Sail" by AWOLNATION					Eliminated
Gary Vider	2	Comedian performed a routine where he joked about working out in a 24-hour gym, wanting to be walked home in a dangerous neighborhood, pumping oxygen into a casino, Jewish people raising their hands, and staring at Mel in an elevator				1	Judges' Choice
Alondra Santos	3	Mariachi singer performed "La Copa de la Vida" by Ricky Martin					Eliminated
Freelusion Dance Company	4	Video-mapping dance group danced with realistic special effects, including a 3-D robot					Eliminated
Alicia Michilli	5	Singer performed a cover on "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers					Eliminated
Piff the Magic Dragon	6	Comic magician performed a routine where he first mentioned that it was just going to be him and his case. Then, toasted some bread, then he asked Klum, Mel, and Stern to pick a random card. Then, one of the cards was printed on the toast, the other card was revealed was when he bit out of the toast, and the last one was revealed by Piff going into the TV that Mr. Piffles was in, got the last card and ran back to the stage					Advanced
Daniella Mass	7	Opera singer, performed an operatic version of "Crying" by Roy Orbison					Eliminated
Uzeyer Novruzov	8	Ladder acrobat performed a routine in which he span in a Cyr wheel, climbing up a free-standing ladder, and standing on the end caps. He then caught two rings thrown by his assistants and attempted to get a hoop under his foot while balancing. Unfortunately, he fell off the ladder while attempting the trick and injured himself.					Dunkin' Save
Stevie Starr	9	Regurgitator swallowed smoke from two cups, liquid soap, and water to blow bubbles, then exhaled half of the smoke into a large bubble, and then swallowed and regurgitated a raw egg					Advanced
Sharon Irving	10	Gospel singer performed "Imagine" by John Lennon					Eliminated
Paul Zerdin	11	Ventriloquist, used Mandel as a dummy (through a remote-controlled mask), then switched places with Mandel by pretending to be a judge while forcing a struggling Mandel to twerk and Irish dance on stage					Advanced

^1 After Stern's vote tied the Judges' Choice, Gary Vider went through to the finals on account of gaining more votes than Freelusion during the previous night's voting.

Top 10 (finals)

The live finale took place at Radio City Music Hall in NYC on September 15 with the live results show taking place on September 16. The finale spanned only one week with the top 10 acts performing one more time before a winner was selected. The judges had the option to use their buzzer, though none of them did so. Five acts advanced into the top 5.

Act	Order	Performance description	Result
Oz Pearlman	1	He performed a trick in which he handed Mandel five envelopes so he could shuffle them. He then asked each of the judges to "swear" on their close friends not to cheat on Oz's act. He then had each judge sit on four separate covered chairs on stage. Each judge picked one of the five envelopes and opened the envelope to reveal four different-colored X's. Oz opened the fifth envelope to reveal a picture of his face. The chairs were uncloaked to reveal colors matching those of the envelopes. He then revealed on the back of his picture the information the judges provided in the beginning of the act and the corresponding chair colors.	Advanced
Uzeyer Novruzov	2	Novruzov climbed up a free-standing ladder, hopping up a flight of stairs, and hanging off a ladder hanging from the ceiling to resemble a helicopter. Guest performer: Freelusion	Top 10
Benton Blount	3	Blount sung an acoustic rendition of "Story of My Life" by One Direction. Guest performer: Rachel Platten	Top 10
Gary Vider	4	Vider joked about North Korea setting everybody's dollar value to zero (and erasing his debt), not knowing about Caitlyn Jenner's transition, his respect of Ryan Gosling, having a restraining order against him, and being stingy because he's Jewish. Guest performer: Jeff Ross	Top 10
Piff the Magic Dragon	5	The comic magician had Howie Mandel sign a 20-dollar bill, and then changing it to a voucher for one free magic trick. He then took Heidi's ring and gave it to Mr. Piffles. He then placed him in a cannon and launched him through a hoop. A robotic Mr. Piffles then walked on the stage. When it fell, Piff covered it with a cloth and then revealed the real Mr. Piffles. Inside a walnut released by Mr. Piffles was the original 20-dollar bill signed by Howie. Guest performer: Penn & Teller	Top 10
Paul Zerdin	6	He performed with his puppet Sam's grandpa Albert. He joked about Albert's hearing aid not working, and Albert having issues with his suppository. He then sang a song to make the baby sleep. He then brought Sam out. He swapped voices with Sam. Paul then had a conversation with all three puppets at once. Guest performer: Terry Fator	Advanced
The Craig Lewis Band	7	The R&B duo sang "Beggin'" by The Four Seasons. Sung "What Love Is" by Foreigner with Guest performers: Yolanda Adams and Harlem Gospel Choir	Advanced
Derek Hughes	8	The magician introduced his act as the first three minutes of his Vegas show with a DJ and two backup dancers. Derek took three ropes of the same length. He bantered with Howie Mandel about being impressed with the ropes being the same size. He then had Stern cut a piece rope in half and then put the ropes back together. Guest performer: Mat Franco	Top 10
Stevie Starr	9	Starr swallowed five push pins and a strong magnet. He then asked Heidi to pick a number to bring up, and she chose 4. He then brought up the four pins on the magnet and then the preceding one left over. He then swallowed flammable gas, and had Nick light a lighter, in which he created a big explosion by blowing the gas into a bubble and lighting the bubble with the lighter.Guest performer: Penn & Teller	Advanced
Drew Lynch	10	The comedian joked about lacking conviction in his voice, spending too much time giving his phone number to his girlfriend, and his girlfriend's bust. Guest performer: Jeff Ross	Advanced

Finale

Act	Result
Paul Zerdin	Winner
Drew Lynch	Runner-up
Oz Pearlman	3rd place
Stevie Starr	4th place
The Craig Lewis Band	5th place

U.S. Nielsen ratings

Show	Episode title	First air date	Rating (18–49)	Share (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	Time slot rank	Nightly rank	Weekly rank
1	Auditions Week 1 (Premiere)	May 26, 2015	2.6	9	11.09[16]	1	1	1[17]
2	Auditions Week 2	June 2, 2015	2.4	9	10.84[18]	1	1	3[19]
3	Auditions Week 3	June 9, 2015	2.3	8	10.44[20]	2	2	4[21]
4	Auditions Week 4	June 16, 2015	2.3	8	10.18[22]	1	2	4[23]
5	Auditions Week 5	June 23, 2015	2.6	10	11.08[24]	1	1	1[25]
6	Auditions Week 6	June 30, 2015	2.5	9	10.74[26]	2	2	3[27]
7	Auditions Week 7	July 7, 2015	2.3	8	10.57[28]	1	1	1[29]
8	Judge Cuts Week 1	July 14, 2015	2.4	9	10.82[30]	1	2	2[31]
9	Judge Cuts Week 2	July 21, 2015	2.3	9	10.50[32]	1	1	1[33]
10	Judge Cuts Week 3	July 28, 2015	2.1	8	10.33[34]	1	1	3[35]
11	Judge Cuts Week 4	August 4, 2015	2.2	8	10.21[36]	1	1	3[37]
12	Quarterfinals Week 1 (Performances)	August 11, 2015	2.5	9	11.43[38]	1	1	1[39]
13	Quarterfinals Week 1 (Results)	August 12, 2015	1.6	6	8.83[40]	2	2	6[39]
14	Quarterfinals Week 2 (Performances)	August 18, 2015	2.3	8	10.86[41]	1	1	1[42]
15	Quarterfinals Week 2 (Results)	August 19, 2015	1.6	6	9.12[43]	2	2	7[42]
16	Quarterfinals Week 3 (Performances)	August 25, 2015	2.2	8	10.34[44]	1	1	2[45]
17	Quarterfinals Week 3 (Results)	August 26, 2015	1.6	6	8.46[46]	2	2	7[45]
18	Semifinals Week 1 (Performances)	September 1, 2015	2.3	8	10.55[47]	1	1	2[48]
19	Semifinals Week 1 (Results)	September 2, 2015	1.7	7	9.29[49]	2	2	6[48]
20	Semifinals Week 2 (Performances)	September 8, 2015	2.1	7	10.53[50]	1	1	9[51]
21	Semifinals Week 2 (Results)	September 9, 2015	1.8	7	9.46[52]	2	2	12[51]
22	Finals (Performances)	September 15, 2015	2.4	9	11.33[53]	1	1	6[54]
23	Finale	September 16, 2015	2.1	7	9.54[55]	1	1	9[54]

Specials

Show	Episode title	First air date	Rating (18–49)	Share (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	Time slot rank	Nightly rank	Weekly rank
S1	Best of Season 10 Auditions	July 22, 2015	1.2	5	5.66[56]	3	4	12[33]
S2	10th Anniversary Special	July 29, 2015	1.6	6	5.80[57]	2	2	8[35]
S3	World's Got Talent	August 5, 2015	1.5	6	6.99[58]	2	2	9[37]
S4	Finale Performance Recap	September 16, 2015	1.2	4	5.65[55]	3	4	19[54]

References

External links

• Official website
• IMDB America's Got Talent website