America's Got Talent (season 3)
The third season of America's Got Talent, an American talent show competition, began broadcasting in the United States during 2008, from June 17 to October 1 on NBC; due to the network's live coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics, the program was forced to take a hiatus in August to avoid clashing with this. While there were no changes to the judging panel or the host of the program, the third season brought in a number of changes to the program, including additional episodes of auditions for its broadcast schedule, the involvement of quarter-finals alongside semi-finals and the final, doubling the number of participants that advanced from the bootcamp stage, and cosmetic revamps to set pieces used on the program.
The third season was won by opera singer Neal E. Boyd, with singer and pianist Eli Mattson finishing in second place, and violinists Nuttin' But Stringz placing third. During its broadcast, the season averaged over 10 million viewers.
Season Overview
Following the previous season, auditions took place within five major cities - New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Atlanta - with an additional round of auditions made online via Myspace and Facebook. Production staff had make changes to the schedule of their live episodes, after having to take into account the 2008 Summer Olympics - because the event would receive live coverage on NBC, the production staff had to place the program on a hiatus between August 7–26, in order to avoid it clashing with the network's schedule of the sporting event.The third season saw a number of additional changes put into place with the program's format following the second season, two of which brought it along a similar arrangement used for Britain's Got Talent. Editing of filmed auditions for their respective episodes were conducted in a similar manner to the British edition, in that footage in each episode consisted of a montage chosen from each major city whose venue featured audition sessions - for example, a collection of auditions, both minor and notable from Dallas, would precede those from another major city following a commercial break. Participants in live rounds now would be determined by two separate votes - the public would decide the first four to advance, while the judges would chose the fifth participant to join them from those who placed 5th and 6th respectively in the public vote. The remaining changes included an expanded number of participants for the "Las Vegas Callback" stage of auditions, along with cosmetic updates to the program - alongside a new title card, the judges' table and the red Xs were re-styled to match the design of those used in Britain's Got Talent. Results episodes for this season were arranged on a sporadic schedule alongside live episodes, rather than a pre-ordained arrangement - quarter-finals had their results announced on the same day; semi-finals and the knockout final amongst the top 10 were done the day after the performance episode had been broadcast; while the grand-final's results were aired a week after the performance episode.
Of the participants who auditioned for this season, 40 secured a place in the live quarter-finals, with ten quarterfinalists in each. Around 20 from these rounds advanced and were split between the two semi-finals, with around 10 semi-finalists securing a place in the final, and 5 finalists securing a place in the season's grand-final. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this season:
| Participant | Genre | Act | Quarter-final | Result |
| Beyond Belief Dance Company | Dance | Dance Troupe | 2 | |
| Bruce Block | Magic | Magician | 3 | |
| Bryan Cheatham | Singing | R&B Singer | 4 | |
| Dallas Desperados Dancers | Dance / Variety | Cheerleading Dance Team | 4 | |
| Daniel Jens | Singing / Music | Singer & Musician | 2 | |
| DC Cowboys | Dance | Dance Troupe | 1 | |
| Derrick Barry | Singing / Variety | Britney Spears Impersonator | 1 | |
| Donald Braswell II | Singing | Singer | 4 | ' |
| Dorae Saunders | Singing / Variety | Tina Turner Impersonator | 4 | |
| Eli Mattson | Singing / Music | Singer & Pianist | 4 | ' |
| Elite | Acrobatics / Variety | Martial Artist | 1 | |
| Extreme Dance FX | Dance / Variety | Contemporary Modern Clog Dance Troupe | 1 | |
| Flambeaux | Danger | Fire Breather | 4 | |
| George the Giant | Variety | Carnival Side Show Performer | 2 | |
| Indiggo | Singing | Duet Twin Singers | 4 | |
| Jessica Price | Singing / Music | Singer & Musician | 1 | ' |
| Jonathan Arons | Dance / Music | Dancing Trombonist | 2 | |
| Jonathan Burkin | Variety | Baton Twirler | 3 | |
| Joseph Hall | Singing / Variety | "Young Elvis" Impersonator | 3 | ' |
| Kaitlyn Maher | Singing | Singer | 4 | ' |
| Kazual | Singing | Vocal Group | 2 | |
| Matthew Piazzi | Comedy | Impressionist | 3 | |
| Michael Strelo-Smith | Singing | Classical Crossover Singer | 3 | |
| Neal E. Boyd | Singing | Opera Singer | 1 | ' |
| Nuttin' But Stringz | Music | Violinist Duo | 4 | ' |
| Paul Salos | Singing / Variety | Frank Sinatra Impersonator | 2 | ' |
| Queen Emily | Singing | Singer | 2 | ' |
| Ronny B | Singing / Dance | Singer & Dancer | 1 | |
| Sarah Lenore | Singing / Music | Singer & Musician | 3 | |
| Shequida Hall | Singing / Variety | Drag Opera Singer | 3 | |
| Shimshi | Magic | Magician | 1 | |
| Sick Step | Dance | Hip-hop Dance Crew | 3 | |
| Slippery Kittens | Dance / Variety | Burlesque Dance Group | 2 | |
| Taubl Family | Music | Family Musical Group | 3 | |
| The Cadence | Music | Percussion Group | 1 | |
| The James Gang | Singing | Hip-hop Rap Quartet | 1 | |
| The Tapping Dads | Dance | Tap Dancing Group | 4 | |
| The Texas State Strutters | Dance | Precision Dance Team | 3 | |
| The Wright Kids | Music | Bluegrass Trio | 2 | ' |
| ZOOperstars! | Dance / Variety | Mascot Dance Troupe | 2 |
- This act was originally eliminated during the bootcamp stage, but was advanced into the contest, via a public vote, after another act was forced to step down for medical reasons.
Quarter-final summary
Quarter-final 1 (August 26)
- Because of the majority vote for The James Gang, Hasselhoff's voting intention was not disclosed as a result.
Quarter-final 2 (August 27)
Quarter-final 3 (September 2)
Quarter-final 4 (September 3)
Semi-final Summary
Semi-final 1 (September 9)
Semi-final 2 (September 10)
- Guest performer: Terry Fator
Finals Summary
Final - Top 10 (September 17)
- Guest Performer, Results Show: Natasha Bedingfield
Grand-final (September 24)