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AGT 2026: 10 interesting facts to know

By Sohail Khan 23 September 2026, 1:11 pm

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Business News›News›International›Global Trends›America's Got Talent Season 21 finale: $1 million on the line, 10 facts about the show's 20-year run

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America's Got Talent Season 21 finale: $1 million on the line, 10 facts about the show's 20-year run
Synopsis

America's Got Talent will conclude its 21st season with a live finale featuring ten finalists. The finale will take place on Wednesday and will showcase various acts including dance crews and singers. For the first time, Simon Cowell will not be present during the finale as he recuperates from back surgery. Viewers can vote for their favorite acts via multiple platforms, allowing for up to ten votes.

America’s Got Talent Season 18: Check full list of finalists, Premiere date, time and more — AGT 2026: Interesting facts to know about America's Got Talent

America's Got Talent will crown its Season 21 winner on Wednesday, closing a two-night live finale that has pulled 10 acts, from a dancing dog troupe to a robot dance crew, into a race for the show's $1 million grand prize.

For the first time all season, the judge who created the show will not be in the room to see it.

Simon Cowell has been away from the live shows since August while recovering from a back surgery linked to injuries from a 2020 e-bike accident, and NBC has confirmed YouTube star KSI will fill his seat for the finale alongside Howie Mandel, Sofía Vergara and Mel B.

1. The American show came first: The Got Talent format was created by Simon Cowell for British TV, but a contract dispute with ITV delayed it. America's Got Talent, launched in 2006, ended up being the franchise's first-ever series, a year before Britain's Got Talent.

2. It's a Guinness World Record holder: Got Talent was declared the world's most successful reality TV format in 2014, with 59 versions running in 58 countries at the time, pushing Strictly Come Dancing into second place.

3. The "$1 million" prize isn't really $1 million: NBC's own end-credits disclaimer says the prize is paid out as $25,000 a year for 40 years, unless the winner takes a smaller lump sum instead.

4. The youngest winner was just 11: Bianca Ryan won Season 1 at age 11 and still holds the record. The oldest winner, Richard Goodall, was 55.

5. One winner first appeared on the show as a child: Season 20 champion Jessica Sanchez competed on AGT's very first season as a kid, then returned nearly two decades later, pregnant with her first child, to finally win.

6. The Golden Buzzer is only 11 years old: It debuted in 2014, in Season 9, purely as a tie-breaker tool for judges. It only became the instant-ticket-to-live-shows moment fans know now the following season.

7. A ventriloquist turned his win into $100 million: Season 2 winner Terry Fator called his post-AGT Las Vegas deal with The Mirage "the biggest deal in the history of Las Vegas up to that point."

Also read: Nene Royal reaches America’s Got Talent final: The 16-year-old Thai singer from Phuket who makes the grand finale with a Live Golden Buzzer

8. It took nine seasons for a magician to win: Mat Franco broke the streak in Season 9. Shin Lim later became the only act to win AGT twice.

9. Dogs have won it twice: Olate Dogs in Season 7, and Adrian Stoica with his Border Collie Hurricane in Season 18. Two dog acts, Acro Canine Crew and Olivia Befus, are in this year's finale too.

10. One audition has 124 million YouTube views: Kenichi Ebina's robotic dance audition from Season 8 remains the most-watched in AGT history.

The Season 21 winner will be revealed when the results show airs at 9 pm ET on NBC, 6:30 am IST Thursday.

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