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Season 16 of America's Got Talent premiered on June 1, 2021. The entire judging panel from Season 15 returned, as well as the host. Simon Cowell has recovered from his back injury and returned to the judges desk this season after he had an electric bike accident since the live shows of Season 15.

Sonic is the official beverage sponsor of this season, having its products shown throughout the show and their cups on the judges' desks.





Judging Panel[]

Howie Mandel Heidi Klum Sofia Vergara Simon Cowell
Howiemandel16 Heidiklum16 Sofiavergara16 Simoncowell16

Host[]

Terry Crews
Terry

Episodes[]

Main article: Season 16 Episodes

Acts[]

Main article: Season 16 Acts

Auditions[]

Main article: Season 16 Auditions

Each act that performed in front of the judges was given 90 seconds to demonstrate their talents for the judges. If an act received at least three "Yes" votes from the judges, they were accepted to the next round. Otherwise, they were eliminated from the competition.

Deliberations[]

Main article: Season 16 Deliberations

Unlike previous seasons, rather than having a dedicated bootcamp round to determine the live show acts, the acts were selected from those in the auditions and the acts were not required to perform again. 36 acts progressed to the Quarterfinals. Although this was an official round, only five minutes of the deliberations were televised at the end of Episode 1608. The results were posted on Instagram two weeks after the episode premiered

Quarterfinals[]

Main article: Season 16 Quarterfinals

From the 36 Quarterfinalists, 12 acts performed each week over 3 weeks.  Each week, 7 acts moved on to the Semifinals.

The contestants that came in sixth, seventh and eighth place in America's Vote fought for votes online in the Instant Save. The act who received the most votes earned a spot in the Semifinals. The judges voted between the two remaining acts the last spot of the week in the Semifinals.


Symbol Meaning
Ovation Standing Ovation
X Buzzer
Check Judges' Choice Vote

Week 1[]

Name Act Howie Heidi Sofia Simon Result
1. Canine Stars Dog Act Eliminated
2. Peter Rosalita Singer Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On
3. Beyond Belief Dance Company Dance Group OvationCheck Check Ovation Eliminated (JC/WC)
4. Madilyn Bailey Singer Check OvationCheck Moved On (JC)
5. Kabir Singh Comedian Moved On (IS)
6. Dustin Tavella Magician Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On
7. 1aChord Vocal Trio Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On
8. Gina Brillon Comedian Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On
9. Gangstagrass Band Eliminated
10. Sethward Novelty Act X Eliminated
11. Matt Johnson Escape Artist Eliminated
12. Jimmie Herrod Singer Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On

Week 2[]

Name Act Howie Heidi Sofia Simon Result
1. T.3 Vocal Trio Ovation Check OvationCheck Eliminated (JC)
2. Dokteuk Crew Dance Group Eliminated
3. Johnny Showcase Singer X Ovation X Eliminated
4. Tory Vagasy Singer Ovation Ovation Moved On (IS)
5. Shuffolution Dance Group Eliminated
6. Aidan Bryant Aerialist Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On
7. Northwell Health Nurse Choir Choir Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On
8. Positive Impact Movement Acrobatic Group Ovation Ovation X Eliminated
9. Peter Antoniou Mentalist Ovation Moved On
10. Korean Soul Vocal Group OvationCheck Ovation Check Moved On (JC)
11. Josh Blue Comedian Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On
12. Victory Brinker Opera Singer Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On

Week 3[]

Name Act Howie Heidi Sofia Simon Result
1. UniCircle Flow Unicycle Group OvationCheck Ovation OvationCheck OvationCheck Moved On (JC)
2. Anica Singer Ovation Ovation Ovation Eliminated
3. Léa Kyle Quick Change Artist Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On
4. The Curtis Family C-Notes Family Band Eliminated
5. Keith Apicary Dancer X Eliminated
6. Michael Winslow Voicetramentalist Ovation Moved On (IS)
7. Brooke Simpson Singer Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On
8. Rialcris Acrobat Trio Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On
9. Chapkidz Dance Group Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On
10. Storm Large Singer OvationCheck Eliminated (JC)
11. Klek Entos Magician Ovation X Eliminated
12. World Taekwondo Demonstration Team Martial Arts Group Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On

Semifinals[]

Main article: Season 16 Semifinals

From the 22 Semifinalists, 11 acts performed each week over two weeks. Each week, 5 acts moved onto the Finals.

The contestants that came in fourth, fifth, and sixth place in America's Vote fought for votes online in the Instant Save. The act who received the most votes earned a spot in the Finals. The judges voted between the two remaining acts the last spot of the week in the Finals.

Week 1[]

Name Act Howie Heidi Sofia Simon Result
1. Peter Rosalita Singer Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Eliminated
2. Michael Winslow Voicetramentalist Eliminated (JC)
3. Beyond Belief Dance Company Dance Group Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Eliminated
4. Aidan Bryant Aerialist Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On
5. Tory Vagasy Singer Ovation Ovation Eliminated
6. World Taekwondo Demonstration Team Martial Arts Group Ovation OvationCheck OvationCheck OvationCheck Moved On (JC)
7. Madilyn Bailey Singer Eliminated
8. Dustin Tavella Magician Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On
9. Korean Soul Vocal Group Eliminated
10. Gina Brillon Comedian Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On
11. Jimmie Herrod Singer Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On (IS)


Week 2[]

Name Act Howie Heidi Sofia Simon Result
1. 1aChord Vocal Trio Ovation Ovation Eliminated
2. UniCircle Flow Unicycle Group OvationCheck Ovation Ovation Ovation Eliminated (JC)
3. Léa Kyle Quick Change Artist Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On (IS)
4. Kabir Singh Comedian X Eliminated
5. Northwell Health Nurse Choir Choir Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On
6. Peter Antoniou Mentalist X Eliminated
7. Victory Brinker Opera Singer Ovation OvationCheck OvationCheck OvationCheck Moved On (JC)
8. Chapkidz Dance Group Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Eliminated
9. Rialcris Acrobat Trio Ovation Ovation X Eliminated
10. Josh Blue Comedian Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On
11. Brooke Simpson Singer Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Moved On

Finals[]

Main article: Season 16 Finals

Name Act Howie Heidi Sofia Simon Result
1. Jimmie Herrod Singer Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Top 10
2. Léa Kyle Quick Change Artist Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation 5th Place
3. Victory Brinker Opera Singer Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Top 10
4. Gina Brillon Comedian Ovation Ovation Top 10
5. World Taekwondo Demonstration Team Martial Arts Group Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Top 10
6. Aidan Bryant Aerialist Ovation Ovation Ovation 2nd Place
7. Brooke Simpson Singer Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation 4th Place
8. Dustin Tavella Magician Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Winner
9. Josh Blue Comedian Ovation Ovation 3rd Place
10. Northwell Health Nurse Choir Choir Ovation Ovation Ovation Ovation Top 10

Trivia[]

  • This is the first season:
    • since Season 8 to premiere in June.
    • since Season 7 to air more than seven audition episodes.
    • to hold the middle round at Judges house.
    • to be sponsored by Sonic, breaking the 6-year streak of Dunkin' Donuts sponsoring the show.
    • to have six golden buzzers in the auditions.
      • In this case, the final Golden Buzzer was given by the host and judges all at once.
    • since Season 1 to not have a dedicated bootcamp round as well as have a quick change act in the finals.
    • to have a Golden Buzzer act withdraw from the competition before the live shows.
    • to have a wildcard show since Season 7.
    • to have Simon vote for a variety act over a singer in the Judges' Choice in the main series.
    • to have more than one Golden Buzzer act contest for the Instant Save.
    • to have four comedians advance to the Semifinals.
    • to have all Golden Buzzer acts advance to the Semifinals without Competing in the Save Round.
    • to have all Golden Buzzer acts advance to the Finals (of course barring the withdrawn Nightbirde).
    • to have the Final Top 4 Acts all be Non-Golden Buzzer Acts.
    • since Season 13 to not have a Golden Buzzer act be crowned the season winner after the buzzer's upgraded format in Season 10.
    • since Season 10 to have an All Male Top Three.
    • since Season 2 to not have any of the top 3 perform last at any point in the live shows.
  • Unlike previous seasons, the Instant Save was not named after the shows corresponding sponsor (Season 9 named it the "Snapple Save" while Seasons 10-15 named it the "Dunkin Save"). This season, it is referred to as the "Instant Save" rather than the "Sonic Save".
  • This season had the most amount of acts buzzed in the live shows since Season 7 and the most amount of buzzes in the live shows since Season 10.
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