Mayyas is a dance group from Season 17 of America's Got Talent. They were the winners of the competition, claiming the $1,000,000 prize, and the headlining of a show in Las Vegas.
Background[]
Mayyas: The Proud Walk of a Lioness
The Mayyas troupe is from Beirut, Lebanon, and is comprised of 36 girls from across the country. They are directed by a multi-talented dancer and choreographer Nadim Cherfan. They are known for delivering impressive dance acts with the accompaniment of songs and musical instruments. In 2019, the group competed in the sixth series of Arabs Got Talent, wherein they received judge Najwa Karam's Golden Buzzer, before later going on to win the competition. Later in the same year the group participated in Britain's Got Talent: The Champions, wherein they were eliminated in the preliminaries.
They were inspired to audition for AGT through the words of the late Nightbirde: “we can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy.”
Audition[]
Mayyas' audition in Episode 1704 consisted of performing an intricate dance routine which included choreography making shapes with their arms and bodies. Mesmerized by their performance, Sofia Vergara pressed the Golden Buzzer, sending them directly to the Semifinals.
Semifinals[]
Mayyas' Semifinals performance in Episode 1718 consisted of performing an intricately-choreographed dance routine telling the story of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara and Simon Cowell all gave them standing ovations. They received enough votes to enter the Top 5 of the night in Episode 1719 along with Mervant Vera instead of Jordan Conley, and the Top 3 instead of Kristen Cruz and urbancrew (Flyers of the South). They advanced to the Finals along with Kristy Sellars instead of Mervant Vera.
Finals[]
Mayyas' Finals performance in Episode 1720 consisted of performing an intricately-choreographed dance routine incorporating giant feathers to create the illusion of a dress on the lead dancer (resembling a snow-covered Lebanese cedar tree) and balls of light. Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara and Simon Cowell all gave them standing ovations.
Finale[]
For the finale in Episode 1721, Mayyas performed a dance collaboration with Kristy Sellars. They received enough votes to enter the Top 5 instead of Yu Hojin. Mayyas were announced as the winner of Season 17 ahead of Kristy Sellars, Drake Milligan, Metaphysic and Chapel Hart, winning $1,000,000, a new Kia car and the headlining of the AGT Live show in Las Vegas.
After the Show[]
Since their victory, the Mayyas troupe have been performing all over the world, most notably in a concert in Dubai with Beyoncé. They returned to the AGT stage in Episode 1821 to perform a dance based on the story of the phoenix rising from the ashes.
Trivia[]
- Mayyas are...
- ...the first dance act to win since Kenichi Ebina in Season 8.
- ...the first foreign act to win since Paul Zerdin in Season 10.
- ...the first female act to win since Darci Lynne in Season 12, as well as the first female act over the age of 12 to win the competition with the youngest being 13.
- ...the first non-singing act and first group act to receive the Golden Buzzer from Sofia Vergara.
- ...Sofia Vergara’s second consecutive Golden Buzzer to be televised on the fourth audition episode.
- ...Sofia’s third consecutive Golden Buzzer act to reach the Final.
- ...the first all-female group in America's Got Talent history to receive the Golden Buzzer.
- ...the first women of color to win the competition.
- Throughout their run on the show, they were often erroneously referred to as "The Mayyas," most noticeably whenever Terry Crews announced their name in a results segment.
- Their win gave Sofia her first Golden Buzzer win since she joined the judging panel in Season 15.
- As a token of their gratitude, the girls gave Sofia a necklace with a cedar tree pendant, which is the national symbol of Lebanon.
- They are among a group of acts that received a Golden Buzzer on both AGT and an international version of the Got Talent franchise.
- They are the first act to win America's Got Talent, and an international version of the Got Talent franchise (Arabs Got Talent). However, they are the second act in Got Talent history to win more than one version of the international Got Talent franchise. This tremendous feat was first accomplished by Salah Benlemqawanssa, who won the first season of France's Got Talent in 2006 and the fourth season of Arabs Got Talent in 2015.
- They were originally invited to participate in Season 15, however they were unable to travel to California due to the pandemic.
- They were nominated for a People's Choice Award for Competition Contestant of 2022.
- Season 18 act Chibi Unity were inspired by Mayyas to audition for the show. They received the group Golden Buzzer in the final audition episode.
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