America's Got Talent (season 1)

The first season of America's Got Talent premiered on June 21, 2006 and concluded on August 17, 2006. The audition tour took place in April 2006, stopping at Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. Regis Philbin was the host for this season. David Hasselhoff, Brandy Norwood, and Piers Morgan were the judges. This season's winner was Bianca Ryan.

Selection process

For the audition round, each of the three judges has a red button in front of them that they can press when they do not want the act to continue; the button rings an electronic bell and a large red X with the judge's name lights up over the stage. A louder buzzer indicates the third judge's button was pressed, and the contestant's performance is terminated. Then, the judges deliberate over the act and decide if it gets through to the live semi-finals. In the semi-finals, the judges have X's (red buttons) and check marks (white buttons). Acts are divided into four groups of either 14 or 15, and only 10 of those acts in the group perform. They do not have the power to terminate an act in the middle of his/her performance. At the end of the performance, the judges give the act a check for approval, and an X if they did not like the act. At the end of the episode, the judges would pick an act and automatically move them through to the live finale. Then, the viewers at home would vote another act through to the finale. The act with the most votes from the viewers would move on to the finals and that act would be announced in a live results show the next day. There was also a fifth wild card episode, where the judges picked ten acts who were previously eliminated and give them one more chance to perform. In the finale, there is no judges' choice, and the voting is entirely handed over to the viewers.

Auditions

Los Angeles auditions

Aired June 21, 2006, 2 hours

Acts that advanced to the second round include:

• Bobby Badfingers, a "professional finger snappist" from San Francisco, California. He danced to classic 1950s rock, as well.^[1]
• Dave the Horn Guy, a man with a plethora of horns attached to his body. He moved different parts of his body to honk the horns, making humorous music.
• At Last, a hip-hop a cappella quartet.
• Kenny Shelton, a juggler from Alpine, California, who was given three Xs for dropping his props, and pleaded for another chance. He survived the first round by successfully juggling three swords on top of a Rola Bola for one minute.^[2]
• Bernie Barker, a 65-year-old male stripper from San Diego. Morgan did not like the act, but Brandy and Hasslehoff voted him through, with Brandy saying she could use him as a backup dancer for her next music video.
• Alexis Jordan, a 14-year-old R&B singer. All three judges had agreed that she had a 'perfect voice'. She performed the Whitney Houston song "I Have Nothing".
• Kevin Johnson, a ventriloquist who threw his voice and the voices of his two puppets out of synchronization with lip movements, à la the English-language dub of Godzilla. Morgan buzzed the performance because he thought it was not funny. His buzz was later withdrawn.
• Vladimir Malachikhin, a hand balancing acrobat.
• Team AcroDunk, a group of acrobats from Houston, Texas, who shot basketballs while doing somersaults, backflips, and other tricks on a trampoline. Morgan did not feel they were right for the competition, though he did agree that they could be the next Harlem Globetrotters. Brandy and Hasselhoff gave their total praise for them though.
• Ivan Pecel, a juggler. He did some technical juggling, which did not impress Hasselhoff or Morgan, though Brandy supported him. Morgan reluctantly voted yes on the condition that Ivan step up his performance in the semifinals.
• Nathan Burton, a magician who performed the Bowl-A-Rama magic trick, making a bowling ball appear from a drawing in a large sketchpad. Then, he did a disappearing act involving the "Microwave of Death". Morgan voted "no," but was passed through to the next round.
• Vladik Miagkostoupov, a juggler. All three critics agreed that he was the only good juggler that performed on that day.
• Michael Speaks, a gospel music singer. The judges unanimously sent him through for his great energy and his pop-gospel vibe.
• J. R. Johns and His Best Friends, a dog trainer who did some acrobatic and fast paced dog tricks.
• Rappin' Granny, a 73-year-old rapping grandmother from Castaic, California.
• Sydney "Syd the Kid" Park, a young stand-up comedian,^[3]

Michael Speaks advanced to the second round from the L.A. auditions, but did not compete in any of the semifinal episodes, for reasons not disclosed.

Eighteen additional acts from Los Angeles that also made it to the second round were briefly shown at the end of the show, since there were too many performers to fit into a two-hour episode. They include: Celtic Spring, Sugar n' Spice, Jessica Sanchez, N'Versity, Rabbi Baptiste, George Kelly, Andy Chitanga, Conrad Wright, Shawn Ryan, Sean and John, Natasha Le, Realis, Caitlyn Taylor Love, Marla and Michelle, Hell If I Know, Jesschelle, Trey Knight's Stilt World, Hoopalicious, and Desperation Squad.

Acts that were eliminated include:

• Blue Velvet, a singing trio, was voted out as soon as they sang their name. They mentioned that they were missing out on their music.
• Shadow Dancers, a troupe of performers who used costumed actors and a donkey to tell some sort of allegorical tale. Neither the judges nor the audience could understand it. The judges refused to vote; the audience was allowed to vote in their place.
• Eddie Haskell, who played a saw as a musical instrument. He was voted off very quickly, and was visibly angry with the judges as a result.
• Kathy Kavanaugh, a singing harpist. Morgan commented that he would like her to sing at his funeral, as the music was deep and touching, but said it was not the right kind of talent for the show.
• Eric "Harry Carrey" Mol, who tried to impersonate the voices of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Yoda and Shaggy Rogers from Scooby-Doo, but appeared to have failed on all accounts.
• Jay Myl, a man in a pirate costume playing "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" on a nose flute. After being eliminated, he started insulting the judges.
• Betty Victor, a 76-year-old woman singing "God Bless America". Morgan single-handedly stopped the act by pushing all three X buttons.
• The Boofont Sisters, a singing duo featuring a woman and a cross-dressing man in matching outfits, singing "Total Eclipse of the Heart". Both Morgan and Brandy buzzed them right before they started singing. Hasselhoff said if they got together with Bernie the Stripper, they would have a great act.
• Holy Cow, a man breakdancing in a cow suit that shot milk at the judges. Morgan said he would be popular with children, but not with adults.
• Wildlife Wendy, a zookeeper with an African grey parrot named Wazoo, that was trained to make various sound effects. The judges were not impressed with the performance.
• S. Frank Stringham, a performer who blew up balloons to make parts of a face, then put the parts on while singing Frank Sinatra's "All of Me". He presented Philbin with a mini replica of him made out of balloons.

New York auditions

Aired June 28, 2006, 1 hour

Acts that advanced to the second round include:

• All That! A clog dancing group; the five men from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (who had auditioned in New York) danced with incredible rhythm and had the audience on their feet in no time. Brandy described the men as worthy of their title and Hasselhoff thought they were "up front", Morgan joked that he did not like them, adding after the audience expressed, "because all the women in America will love you".
• Leonid the Magnificent from Russia; a tall, flamboyant Adonis with angel's wings, who balanced a sword tip to tip on a sword held in his mouth. He was noticeably nervous, dropped the sword during his first try, and was rejected. Later in the show, Brandy asked him to be brought back.
• Elliot Zimet, a magician that made doves and a parrot appear in a more exciting and cool fashion. Piers said that he usually finds dove acts excruciatingly boring, but that Zimet had managed to make it interesting, and all the judges agreed to put him through.
• Corina Brouder, a young Irish woman who played a harp while singing; the judges said that she and her voice were beautiful, and agreed to put her through.
• Dave Smith, a contortionist and musician who sang and played the song "Bend Me, Shape Me" on his guitar while his legs were wrapped behind his head. Hasslehoff was not fond of the act and voted "no". He amused Morgan and he wanted to see what other crazy stuff Dave could do.
• PBM, A rock band from Detroit, came on stage with hopes of dazzling the judges and the audience. Their music was a combination of rock and reggae, also known as ska or ska-punk. Morgan liked the band’s energy but was not a big fan of the lead singer. Both Hasselhoff and Brandy wanted the band to come back. Brandy challenged PBM to prove Morgan wrong the next time they hit the stage.
• Michelle L'amour, dressed as Snow White, performed a burlesque striptease for the judges. This infuriated Brandy, who vigorously pushed Hasselhoff and Morgan's buzzers. The two male judges enthusiastically gave their approvals for her to go on to the next round.
• Bianca Ryan, an 11-year-old from Philadelphia, belted out the song "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from the musical Dreamgirls. Brandy gave Bianca a standing ovation and called her "my favorite contestant in this competition." Morgan told Ryan to change her hair, dress and shoes, "and you will win this tournament. ... You came on this stage, and you blew us away!" Hasselhoff called her "a star" and called for the audience to "get on your feet for this girl!"^[4]
• Side Swipe, a karate team who performed karate moves to music, also advanced to the second round from the New York auditions, but did not compete in any of the semifinal episodes. In their audition for the season two in 2007, it was disclosed that the group had to withdraw from the competition in this season because one of the members had injured his foot shortly after their first round performance.

Seven additional acts from New York that also made it to the second round were briefly shown at the end of the show, since there were too many performers to fit into a one-hour episode. They include: The Hemphill Kids, Clarence Donaldson, Ten13 Concept, Billy Januario, The King Charles Unicycle Troupe, Aaron Burr, and Daniel Colin.

Acts that were eliminated include:

• William J. McGowan, an opera singer that sang "Cara Mia". Morgan called him the worst singer he had ever heard, but William claimed in his defense that a lot of people thought he was magnificent.
• Frank Simon, a man who balanced a motorbike and then a stove on his lower jaw. Though extremely popular with the crowd, the judges felt that was not a level of talent.
• Matthew Fuhrman, a navy reserve soldier from Miami Beach, Florida who attempted to beatbox. Though taking off his shirt won him some female audience support, the judges did not like his audition.
• Marlon Reynolds, a man that sang "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" off-key; did not get a chance to sing the chorus. He was buzzed by all three judges immediately when he started.

Chicago auditions

Jon and Owen – The Passing Zone, juggling for the audience and judges

Aired July 5, 2006, 1 hour

Acts that advanced to the second round include:

• The Passing Zone, two comedians/jugglers who juggled lit torches while on the 'Rola Bola of Death' as they make one-liners. Brandy and Morgan both said yes, however Hasselhoff did not like them, because he thought they should have shown their act immediately.
• The Millers, Cole on guitar and vocals, and L.D. on harmonica and backing vocals. They played Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama". Morgan said that L.D. was a terrible singer, but in contrast, was the best harmonica player he had ever seen.
• Lilia Stepanova, a 19-year-old contortionist who shot a bow and arrow with her feet while executing a handstand to Ecstasy by ATB. The judges were really impressed with her act and all voted yes.
• Mark Faje (aka Mark "The Knife"), the "world's most dangerous comic", kicked a burning bowling ball with two steak knives protruding from it to the side of his head after placing a live black emperor scorpion in his pants. The judges were amazed with the danger he showed and they all voted yes.
• Taylor Ware, a singer and yodeler who learned all her yodeling from a tape and instruction booklet. The judges were blown away by her performance ("You learned that from a tape," asked Hasselhoff, "and an instruction booklet?! You are a good student!").
• The Players Club, a group of people who were "Step dancers", which involves using only your body as musical instruments. Morgan did not see that they had an audience for their talent, while Hasselhoff and Brandy liked the act, though Brandy wanted them to be tighter.
• Quick Change Artists, a magic duo who rapidly changed outfits, with no visible way of determining how they did it.

Three additional acts from Chicago that also made it to the second round were briefly shown at the end of the show, since there were too many performers to fit into a one-hour episode. They include: K Turbo, Sonia Lee, and Chadwick.

Acts that were eliminated include:

• The Chicago Matadors, a group of overweight Chicago Bulls fans who danced to "U Can't Touch This".
• Shawn Crump, a singer who had only been singing for nine months. When asked by Brandy how good he was, he said he was awesome, to which she and everyone else disagreed. Soon after starting "Suspicious Minds", he was quickly voted off.
• Sharon Kissane, a bird caller. She called birds that were not there and made bird noises. Brandy wondered where the birds were that she was calling, Hasselhoff said she should be on medication, and Morgan asked if she got off the wrong bus and came to the studio by mistake.
• Buster Balloon, a man who put himself inside a giant balloon. The balloon popped the first time, so he got another and did his act again. All of the judges thought he was not entertaining and eliminated him.
• Flippy the Magnificent, a man wearing only a loincloth who imitated a hand-to-hand balancing act with an inflatable doll that looked like himself. When asked what was the "magnificent" part of the act, Flippy said that the judges did not give him a chance to bring out the magnificent part. Morgan said it was a ridiculous act and it wasted their time.
• The Laughing Yogi (Yogi Ramesh), a man who did yoga that tried to make people laugh. However, nobody laughed at his performance and he was eliminated by the judges.

Semifinals

At this point, 58 of the 61 acts (29 with televised auditions and 29 without) that made it to the semifinals were divided into four groups. The 14 or 15 acts in each group had to perform a second audition in front of only the judges. Brandy, David, and Piers then pick ten of these performers to continue onto the telecast. The contestants chosen to perform on stage were announced one at a time by the host. Those acts that were not chosen did not find out until the last act was called, ending their chances to move on to the semifinals, unless a judge selected a non-performer for the Wild Card show later in the season.

Three semifinalists: Sydney Park, Sideswipe, and Michael Speaks (all of which had televised auditions), did not perform in the semifinals at all. No reason was given for their absence, but in 2007, it was revealed that Sideswipe had to withdraw because of a member's foot injury. Sydney Park was believed to be absent because of her career in acting.

All semifinal performance shows were two hours long. The results shows, airing the next day, were one hour long, except for the first results show which was 30 minutes long.

Semifinals summary

	Buzz
	Check

Semifinals, Part 1

Semifinals, July 12, 2006		Buzzes and checks			Results
Contestant	Act description	Piers	Brandy	David	Result (July 13, 2006)
1. Taylor Ware	Yodeller				Won the public vote
2. All That	Cloggers crew				Public Wildcard
3.Kevin Johnson	Ventriloquist				Eliminated
4. Alexis Jordan	Singer				Brandy's Wildcard
5. Vladik (Vladik Miagkostoupov)	Acrobatic juggler			1	Eliminated
6. Shawn Ryan	Cabaret singer				Eliminated
7. J. R. Johns and His Best Friends	Dancing dog act				Eliminated
8. Hoopalicious	Hula hoop dancer	2			Eliminated
9. Corina Brouder	Singer, harp player				David's Wildcard
10. The Millers	Singer, guitar and harmonica player				Judges' choice

Jessica Sanchez(not televised) would appear in the Wild Card as the choice of Brandy.

• ^1 Hasselhoff meant to hit his X, but accidentally hit his check.
• ^2 Morgan meant to hit his X, but accidentally hit his check.

Semifinals, Part 2

Semifinals, July 19, 2006		Buzzes and checks			Results
Contestant	Act description	Piers	Brandy	David	Result (July 20, 2006)
1. Dave the Horn Guy	Horn performer				Eliminated
2. Realis	Acrobatic dancing duo				Judges' choice
3. At Last	Vocal group				Won the public vote
4. Natasha Le	Pianist				Public Wildcard
5. Vladimir (Vladimir Malachkin)	Hand balancer				Eliminated
6. Bobby Badfingers	Finger snapper				Piers's Wildcard
7. Sugar n' Spice	Vocal dancing group				Eliminated
8. N'Versity	A Cappella singing group				Piers's Wildcard
9. Mark Faje (Mark "The Knife" Faje)	Danger Comedian				Eliminated
10. Leonid the Magnificent	Contortionist/Dancer/Spinning act				David's Wildcard

Semifinals, Part 3

Semifinals, July 26, 2006		Buzzes and checks			Results
Contestant	Act description	Piers	Brandy	David	Result (July 27, 2006)
1. Team Acrodunk	Acrobatic basketball dunkers				Eliminated
2. Caitlyn Taylor Love	Singer				Eliminated
3. Sonia Lee	Electric violinist				Eliminated
4. Elliot Zimet	Hip-hop magician				Eliminated
5. Ten13 Concept	Punk band				Eliminated
6. Rappin' Granny	Rapper				Judges' choice
7. Nathan Burton	Magician/Comedian				Public Wildcard
8. Bianca Ryan	Singer				Won the public vote
9. Kenny Shelton	Juggler/Comedian				Eliminated
10. Trey Knight's Stilt World	Stilt performers				Eliminated

Semifinals, Part 4

Semifinals, August 2, 2006		Buzzes and checks			Results
Contestant	Act description	Piers	Brandy	David	Result (August 3, 2006)
1. Jon & Owen – The Passing Zone	Comedian/Juggling duo				Judges' choice
2. Celtic Spring	Irish fiddle/dance act				Won the public vote
3. Sean and John	Tap dancers				Eliminated
4. Lilia Stepanova	Contortionist archery act				Eliminated
5. Dave Smith One Man Sideshow	Singer/Side-show performer				Eliminated
6. David & Dania – Quick Change	Magicians/Changes clothes quickly				Public Wildcard
7. George Komsky	Singer				Eliminated
8. Michelle L'amour	Burlesque dancer/stripper				Eliminated
9. King Charles Unicycle Troupe	Unicyclists/stunt basketball performers				Eliminated
10. Desperation Squad1	Punk rock band				Eliminated

^1 During their performance, one of the members had pressed the judges buzzers. They pressed "X" on Morgan's buzzer, "✔" on Norwood's buzzer, and "X" on Hasselhoff's buzzer. The buzzers were removed before the judges gave their comments.

Wildcard summary

	Buzz
	Check

Wild Card

Wild Card, August 9, 2006			Buzzes and checks			Results
Contestant	Chosen by	Act description	Piers	Brandy	David	Result (August 10, 2006)
1. Nathan Burton	Viewers (Semifinals, part 3)	Magician				Eliminated
2. Bobby Badfingers	Piers	Show snapper				Eliminated
3. Jessica Sanchez	Brandy	Singer				Eliminated
4. All That	Viewers (Semifinals, part 1)	Male Clogging Group				Judges' choice
5. Corina Brouder	David	Singing harpist				Eliminated
6. David & Dania – Quick Change	Viewers (Semifinals, part 4)	Quick-change illusionists				Won public vote
7. N'Versity	Piers	Vocal group				Eliminated
8. Natasha Le	Viewers (Semifinals, part 2)	8-Year-Old pianist				Eliminated
9. Alexis Jordan	Brandy	Teen singer				Eliminated
10. Leonid the Magnificent	David	Random variety act				Eliminated

Finals

In the final round, the judges were still allowed to judge, but only the audience can decide the winners. In addition, each finalist had a celebrity coach to guide them.

Finals summary

	Buzz
	Check

Finals, August 16, 2006			Buzzes and checks			Results
Contestant	Act	Celebrity coach	Piers	Brandy	David	Result (August 17, 2006)
1. At Last	A Cappella singing group	Chaka Khan				Bottom 5
2. David & Dania – Quick Change	Quick change illusionists	Steve Valentine				Bottom 5
3. Rappin' Granny	Rapper	Master P				Bottom 5
4. Bianca Ryan	Singer	Yolanda Adams				Winner
5. All That	Male clogging group	Dave Scott (R&B choreographer)				Runner-up (2nd–3rd place)
6. Taylor Ware	Yodeler	Tom McBryde (country music arranger)				Top 5
7. Jon & Owen – The Passing Zone	Comedic/Juggling duo	Penn & Teller				Bottom 5
8. Celtic Spring	Irish fiddle/dance act	Tara Barry (Riverdance lead dancer)				Top 5
9. Realis	Acrobatic dancing duo	Gene Lubas (Cirque du Soleil choreographer)				Bottom 5
10. The Millers	Singer/guitar player and harmonica player	John Popper				Runner-up (2nd–3rd place)

The winner of the one-million-dollar grand prize was 11-year-old singer Bianca Ryan. The ten finalists were first split into two groups. Group A consisted of Realis, At Last, Rappin' Granny, The Passing Zone and Quick Change. Out of the ten finalists, they received the lowest number of votes. The five finalists that received the most votes were The Millers, Taylor Ware, Bianca Ryan, Celtic Spring and All That. Regis asked All That and The Millers to step forward, and announced that they did not win the grand prize but were both runners-up, and were ranked in either 2nd or 3rd place. These acts each won a 2007 Dodge Caliber RT.^[5] The remaining three acts were Taylor Ware, Bianca Ryan and Celtic Spring. Philbin announced that Bianca won the grand prize.

Crazy Caliber Talent

1. Rudi Macaggi, Mike Lloyd, Kelvin Gordon, James Thompson Winner:Rudi Macaggi
2. The Douglas Lee, Nicolas Abramowitz, Larry Clark, Gery Deer and Scout, Camille Trout Winner:The Douglas Lee
3. Duane Flatmo, Mayling Garcia, Bandaloni, Zach Freeman, Arthur the One Man Band Winner:Duane Flatmo
4. Skylar Aud, Sammi Pryor, Alexis and Alysha, The Great Stamen Show Winner:The Great Stamen Show
5. Dave Nakfoor, The Rubberband Kid, Jim McDonald, Nikolo Ashford, Sizzle Twins Winner:Dave Nakfoor

On the Finals Results Show (August 17), acrobat Rudi Macaggi won the Weird and Wacky Talent Finale (aka Crazy Caliber Talent) when the 5 finalists competed for a 2007 Dodge Caliber RT (Note: Rudi Macaggi became a contestant on the fifth season but never made it past the quarterfinals as he was eliminated in the quart finals and returned later as Sharon's wildcard). He tap danced and dribbled a basketball while in a handstand, and did a standing backflip and caught a trapeze with his feet. The other finalists were Duane Flatmo (who played the guitar with an egg beater and a weed whacker), The Great Stamen Show (who played music by tapping his teeth), The Douglas Lee (who played water-filled drinking glasses), and Dave Nakfoor (who caught hard-boiled eggs in his mouth).

Performers on results shows

• July 13 – Teddy Geiger
• July 20 – Jurassic 5
• July 27 – Cirque du Soleil
• August 3 – Tom Green
• August 10 – Penn & Teller
• August 17 – Aly & AJ, Blue Man Group

Contestants who appeared on other shows

Jessica Sanchez finished as the runner-up to Phillip Phillips on the season eleven of American Idol.

Contestants who appeared on other seasons

• Leonid the Magnificent competed in seasons two and six
• Sideswipe withdrew from the competition as one of their members had an ankle injury, but came back and competed in season two, finishing in the final eight
• Nicholas Marks and Ari Marks competed in season two, as solo acts, but both got cut
• Nathan Burton competed in season four, but was eliminated during the first round of Las Vegas Week
• Team Acrodunk (Acrodunk) competed in season four, finishing as a semifinalist
• Rudi Macaggi competed in season five, finishing as a quarterfinalist
• All That! competed in season seven, finishing as a semifinalist
• Arthur Davis, one of the members of Realis, made it to the finals in season nine, as a member/choreographer with AcroArmy
• The Passing Zone competed in season 11 finishing in the quarterfinals, but brought back by the judges as a wild card for the semifinals.

References

External links

• Official website
• America's Got Talent (Season 1) at the Internet Movie Database
• America's Got Talent (Season 1) at TV.com