America's Got Talent (season 8)
The eighth season of America's Got Talent, an American talent show competition, began broadcasting in the United States during 2013, from June 4 to September 18 on NBC. Following the previous season, Sharon Osbourne left the program following a dispute with the network, leading to production staff replacing her with Heidi Klum, while the judging panel was expanded to include four judges, with Mel B brought on as the new fourth judge. Alongside the changes with the judging panel, the live rounds for this season were filmed from Radio City Music Hall in New York, instead of at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.
The eighth season was won by mime dancer Kenichi Ebina, the first foreign act to win the competition, with stand-up comedian Taylor Williamson finishing in second, and singer and guitarist Jimmy Rose placing third. During its broadcast, the season averaged around 10.13 million viewers.
Season Overview
Auditions for the eighth season's competition took place between January and May 2013, in a far wider number of venues - open auditions were held between January and February in Seattle, Portland, Birmingham, Memphis, Nashville, Savannah, Raleigh, Norfolk, and Columbus; New Orleans, San Antonio, New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago also held open auditions, along with judges' auditions from March to May. Prior to production beginning, Sharon Osbourne became involved in a dispute with NBC, following the conclusion of the seventh season, over the treatment of her son in another of the network's programs. The dispute fundamentally culminated in her departing from America's Got Talent, leaving production staff to seek out a replacement for her role.Initially, executive producer Simon Cowell had wanted Carmen Electra to replace Osbourne on the program, but the decision was later made to not only find someone else, but also to expand the judging panel to incorporate four judges, a format change that had been first introduced on the sixth season of Britain's Got Talent. As a direct result, the producers recruited singer Mel B as the fourth judge, announcing the decision on February 20, 2013, while on March 3, supermodel Heidi Klum was unveiled as Osbourne replacement on the program. Other than the changes to the judging panel, the program underwent a number of notable changes for the eighth season in regards to its live rounds.
The venue used for these was changed from the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, to the Radio City Music Hall in New York for this year - the choice being made with care not to breach a condition within Howard Stern's contract over his involvement in the program. Both the YouTube and WildCard quarter-finals were dropped and replaced with a standard fifth quarter-final round, though online auditions could still be conducted. WildCards remained a part of the program, though the rules surrounding the format were changed - judges could only select one eliminated quarter-finalist each as their WildCard act, but their choice would be granted an automatic place in the semi-finals as a result. Finally, any participant who reached the grand-final stage of the competition would be required to conduct two different performances, though the second routine would be done with a guest performer to accompany the style of their act - a singer might be paired up with another singer for a duet, or a band to provide a backing track.
During production, Howie Mandel was forced to be absent on the first day of auditions in Los Angeles for personal reasons, while production staff had to make a replacement for the quarter-final, after a participant who secured a spot had to withdraw - they later returned as a WildCard act following an incident before the semi-finals. Of the participants who auditioned for this season, 60 secured a place in the live quarter-finals, with twelve quarter-finalists in each one. Around 20 of these advanced to and were split between the two semi-finals - these also included three quarter-finalists chosen as WildCard acts, alongside the last-minute addition that had previously withdrew before the live rounds - with 12 semi-finalists securing a place in the finals, and 6 finalists securing a place in the grand-final. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this season:
| Participant | Genre | Act | Quarter-Final | Result |
| 2Unique | Singing / Music | DJ & Rapper Duo | 5 | |
| 3Penny Chorus & Orchestra | Singing / Music | Choir & Orchestra Group | 4 | |
| Aaralyn & Izzy | Music | Heavy Metal Duo | 1 | |
| Aerial Ice | Acrobatics | Acrobatic Figure Skaters | 4 | |
| AeroSphere Aerial Balloon Show | Acrobatics / Danger | Aerial Duo | 3 | |
| Alexandr Magala | Danger | Sword Swallower | 2 | |
| Alexandria the Great | Danger | Escape Artist | 1 | |
| American Hitmen | Music | Rock band | 1 | |
| American Military Spouses Choir | Singing | Show Choir | 3 | |
| Angela Hoover | Comedy | Impressionist | 2 | |
| Anna Christine | Singing | Singer | 1 | |
| Aquanuts | Variety / Acrobatics | Synchronized Swimmers | 2 | |
| Brad Byers | Variety / Danger | Sideshow Performer | 2 | |
| Branden James | Singing | Classical Singer | 1 | ' |
| Brandon & Savannah | Music | Brother & Sister Musicians | 3 | |
| Cami Bradley | Singing | Singer | 4 | ' |
| Catapult Entertainment | Dance | Shadow Dance Troupe | 5 | ' |
| Champions Forever | Variety | Unicycling Basketball Stunt Team | 4 | |
| Chicago Boyz | Acrobatics / Dance | Acrobatic Dance Group | 3 | ' |
| Chloe Channell | Singing | Singer | 4 | |
| Ciana Pelekai | Singing | Singer | 2 | |
| Collins Key | Magic | Magician | 1 | ' |
| D'Angelo & Amanda | Dance | Ballroom Dancers | 5 | ' |
| Dave Fenley | Singing | Singer | 5 | |
| Dave Shirley | Comedy | Visual Comedian | 2 | |
| David "The Cobra Kid" Weathers | Animals / Variety | Reptile Handler | 3 | |
| David Ferman | Danger / Variety | Extreme Juggler | 4 | |
| Deanna DellaCioppa | Singing | Singer | 3 | |
| Duo Resonance | Acrobatics | Gymnastic Acrobats | 5 | |
| Forte | Singing | Operatic Trio | 2 | ' |
| Fresh Faces | Dance | Dance Troupe | 1 | |
| Hype | Dance | Dance Trio | 1 | |
| Innovative Force | Acrobatics / Dance | Acrobatic Dance Troupe | 2 | ' |
| Jim Meskimen | Comedy | Impressionist | 3 | |
| Jimmy Rose | Singing / Music | Singer & Guitarist | 4 | ' |
| John Wing | Comedy | Stand-up Comedian | 5 | |
| Jonathan Allen | Singing | Opera Singer | 3 | |
| Kelsey and Bailey | Animals | Dancing Dog Act | 3 | |
| Kenichi Ebina | Dance | Dancer | 3 | ' |
| Kevin Downey Jr. | Comedy | Stand-up Comedian | 1 | |
| Kid the Wiz | Variety / Dance | Hat Juggling Dancer | 2 | |
| KriStef Brothers | Comedy / Acrobatics | Comic Hand Balancing Duo | 1 | ' |
| Leon Etienne & Romy Low | Magic | Illusionists | 3 | |
| Marty Brown | Singing | Country Singer | 2 | |
| Melody Caballero | Acrobatics / Variety | Acrobatic Contortionist | 5 | |
| Mitsi Dancing School | Dance | Dance Troupe | 3 | |
| Red Panda | Danger / Variety | Extreme Juggler | ||
| Ruby & Jonas | Dance | Ballroom Dancers | 5 | |
| Sam Johnson | Danger | Extreme Balancer | 5 | |
| Selena Mykenzie Gordon | Singing | Singer | 5 | |
| SensEtion | Dance / Variety | Video-mapping Dance Troupe | 4 | |
| Special Head | Magic | Illusionist | 1 | |
| Sprice | Variety | Chain Reaction Artist | 5 | |
| Struck Boyz | Dance | Dance Troupe | 2 | |
| Taylor Williamson | Comedy | Comedian | 4 | ' |
| tellAvision | Dance | Dance Troupe | 1 | |
| The Robotix | Music | Rock Band | 4 | |
| Timber Brown | Acrobatics | Acrobat | 4 | |
| Tone the Chiefrocca | Singing | Rapper | 2 | |
| Tummy Talk | Music / Comedy | Comic Percussionists | 4 | |
| Virginia State University Gospel Chorale | Singing | Gospel Choir | 5 |
- Red Panda originally had a place in the quarter-finals, but were forced to withdraw for personal reasons. While they later returned as a WildCard semi-finalist, their quarter-final place was given to Melody Caballero as a direct result.
Quarter-finals Summary
Quarter-final 1 (July 23)
Guest Performers, Results Show: The Rockettes, Labrinth, and Emeli SandéQuarter-final 2 (July 30)
Guest Performers, Results Show: Robin Thicke, Brad Paisley- Due to the nature of the Aquanuts' performance, their quarter-final routine had to be pre-recorded at another location.
- Tone the Chiefrocca was later appointed as Mel B's WildCard semi-finalist.
Quarter-final 3 (August 6)
- Due to the majority vote for Chicago Boyz, Klum's voting intention was not revealed.
- Leon Etienne & Romy Low were later appointed as Howard Stern's WildCard semi-finalist.
Quarter-final 4 (August 13)
Quarter-final 5 (August 20)
Guest Performers, Results Show: Tom Cotter, Train, and Ashley Monroe- For health and safety reasons, Sam Johnson's quarter-final performance had to be pre-recorded at another location.
- Duo Resonance were later appointed as Heidi Klum's WildCard semi-finalist.
Semi-finals Summary
Semifinals, week 1 (August 27)
Guest Performers, Results Show: One Direction, and Cassadee PopeSemi-final 2 (September 3)
Guest Performers, Results Show: Fall Out Boy, and Team iLuminate- Kristef Brothers had to perform in the second semi-final, due to an accident in rehearsals. Red Panda were given their place in the first semi-final, both as a last-minute replacement and as Howie Mandel's WildCard act.
Finals Summary
Top 12 (September 10)
Guest Performers, Results Show: Terry Fator, and Olate Dogs| Top 12 Finalist | Order | Act | Result | - | - | - | - |
| Top 12 Finalist | Order | Act | Result | Chicago Boyz | 1 | Acrobatic Dance Group | |
| Branden James | 2 | Opera Singer | - | - | - | - | |
| Innovative Force | 3 | Acrobatic Dance Troupe | - | - | - | - | |
| KriStef Brothers | 4 | Comic Hand Balancing Duo | - | - | - | - | |
| D'Angelo & Amanda | 5 | Ballroom Dancers | - | - | - | - | |
| Catapult Entertainment | 6 | Shadow Dance Troupe | - | - | - | - | |
| Forte | 7 | Operatic Trio | ' | - | - | - | - |
| Taylor Williamson | 8 | Comedian | ' | - | - | - | - |
| Collins Key | 9 | Magician | ' | - | - | - | - |
| Kenichi Ebina | 10 | Dancer | ' | - | - | - | - |
| Jimmy Rose | 11 | Singer & Guitarist | ' | - | - | - | - |
| Cami Bradley | 12 | Singer | ' | - | - | - | - |
Grand-Final (September 17)
Guest Performers, Results Show: The Rockettes, Icona Pop, Earth, Wind & Fire, Luke Bryan| Grand-finalist | Act | Performed with | Result |
| Jimmy Rose | Singer & Guitarist | Dierks Bentley | 3rd |
| Kenichi Ebina | Dancer | Il Divo with Heather Headley | 1st |
| Cami Bradley | Singer | Gavin DeGraw | 6th |
| Collins Key | Magician | Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb | 5th |
| Forte | Operatic Trio | Josh Groban | 4th |
| Taylor Williamson | Comedian | James Lipton | 2nd |
Ratings
The following ratings are based upon those published by Nielsen Media Research after this season's broadcast:| Show | Episode | First air date | Rating | Share | Viewers | Time slot rank | Nightly rank | Weekly rank |
| 1 | Auditions Episode 1: San Antonio, New York, & Los Angeles | June 4, 2013 | 3.1 | 9 | 11.22 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 2 | Auditions Episode 2: San Antonio & New Orleans | June 11, 2013 | 3.0 | 8 | 11.52 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 3 | Auditions Episode 3: Chicago | June 18, 2013 | 3.0 | 9 | 11.75 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 4 | Auditions Episode 4: New York & Los Angeles | June 25, 2013 | 2.6 | 8 | 10.23 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | Auditions Episode 5: Chicago & San Antonio | July 2, 2013 | 2.4 | 7 | 9.56 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | Auditions Episode 6: Los Angeles, New Orleans, & New York | July 9, 2013 | 2.6 | 8 | 9.81 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | Auditions Episode 7: Last Chance Auditions | July 10, 2013 | 2.8 | 8 | 10.71 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | Vegas Week, day 1 | July 16, 2013 | 2.5 | 7 | 10.06 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 9 | Vegas Week, day 2 | July 17, 2013 | 2.9 | 9 | 11.18 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 10 | Quarterfinals Week 1, Performances | July 23, 2013 | 2.8 | 8 | 10.34 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 11 | Quarterfinals Week 1, Results | July 24, 2013 | 2.3 | 7 | 10.64 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 12 | Quarterfinals Week 2, Performances | July 30, 2013 | 2.7 | 8 | 9.81 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 13 | Quarterfinals Week 2, Results | July 31, 2013 | 2.4 | 7 | 10.28 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 14 | Quarterfinals Week 3, Performances | August 6, 2013 | 2.5 | 7 | 9.39 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 15 | Quarterfinals Week 3, Results | August 7, 2013 | 2.5 | 8 | 10.26 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 16 | Quarterfinals Week 4, Performances | August 13, 2013 | 2.4 | 7 | 8.79 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 17 | Quarterfinals Week 4, Results | August 14, 2013 | 2.1 | 6 | 9.51 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 18 | Quarterfinals Week 5, Performances | August 20, 2013 | 2.2 | 6 | 8.52 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 19 | Quarterfinals Week 5, Results | August 21, 2013 | 2.1 | 6 | 9.35 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| 20 | Semifinals Round 1, Performances | August 27, 2013 | 2.2 | 6 | 8.70 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 21 | Semifinals Round 1, Results | August 28, 2013 | 2.2 | 6 | 9.84 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 22 | Semifinals Round 2, Performances | September 3, 2013 | 2.3 | 7 | 9.16 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| 23 | Semifinals Round 2, Results | September 4, 2013 | 2.3 | 7 | 10.03 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| 24 | Top 12, Performances | September 10, 2013 | 2.3 | 6 | 9.24 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| 25 | Top 12, Results | September 11, 2013 | 2.2 | 6 | 10.80 | 2 | 3 | 13 |
| 26 | Finals, Performances | September 17, 2013 | 2.4 | 7 | 11.19 | 2 | 3 | 14 |
| 27 | Finale | September 18, 2013 | 2.5 | 7 | 11.49 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
Recap Episodes
| Show | Episode | First air date | Rating | Share | Viewers | Time slot rank | Nightly rank | Weekly rank |
| 1 | Auditions Recap | July 17, 2013 | 1.9 | 7 | 7.65 | 1 | 2 | 15 |
| 2 | Quarterfinals Week 1, Recap | July 24, 2013 | 1.6 | 5 | 6.65 | 1 | 2 | n/a |
| 3 | Quarterfinals Week 2, Recap | July 31, 2013 | 1.5 | 5 | 6.54 | 1 | 2 | n/a |
| 4 | Quarterfinals Week 3, Recap | August 7, 2013 | 1.5 | 5 | 6.35 | 2 | 3 | 16 |
| 5 | Quarterfinals Week 4, Recap | August 14, 2013 | 1.3 | 5 | 5.75 | 2 | 3 | n/a |
| 6 | Quarterfinals Week 5, Recap | August 21, 2013 | 1.3 | 4 | 5.87 | 2 | 3 | n/a |
| 7 | Semifinals Week 1, Recap | August 28, 2013 | 1.3 | 5 | 5.96 | 2 | 4 | n/a |
| 8 | Semifinals Week 2, Recap | September 4, 2013 | 1.4 | 5 | 6.16 | 2 | 3 | n/a |
- The weekly rank for these episodes is unknown, due to each not being amongst the 25 highest rated shows of their respective week.
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