America's Got Talent (season 4)
The fourth season of America's Got Talent, an American talent show competition, was broadcast in the United States during 2009, from June 23 to September 16 on NBC. Following the previous season, Jerry Springer was forced to leave the program due to other commitments,[1] and was replaced as host by Nick Cannon.[2][3] A number of changes were also made to the program before filming commenced, which included replacing the "bootcamp" stage with a round similar in format to that used by Britain's Got Talent, changing the Buzzer format to match that being used by the Got Talent franchise, and the live rounds having their results aired in a separate episode the following day, broadcast over a one-hour period, and featuring performances by guest stars.
America's Got Talent | |
---|---|
Season 4 | |
Hosted by | Nick Cannon |
Judges | |
Winner | Kevin Skinner |
Runner-ups | |
No. of episodes | 26 |
Release | |
Original network | NBC |
Original release | June 23 – September 16, 2009 |
Additional information | |
Website | Official website |
Season chronology |
The fourth season was won by Country singer Kevin Skinner, with opera singer Bárbara Padilla finishing in second, and percussion group Recycled Percussion placing third. During its broadcast, the season averaged around 11.91 million viewers, and was the first in the program's history to be aired in high definition.
Season overview

Auditions for the fourth season's competition took place across Winter - mid-Spring 2009, with production staff expanding the audition sites to a greater number of cities. Filming for the audition episodes focused on those held within the cities of New York, Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Tacoma, and Seattle; auditions were also held in Boston, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C., but production staff opted to not include these in the final edits of these episodes. Prior to auditions taking place, NBC received word from Jerry Springer that his work schedule for 2009 would make him unable to commit to hosting the program that year - alongside working on his talk show, he had also signed up to take part in summer theatre productions to help further his acting skills.[1] As a direct result, a search was made for a successor, with the network eventually recruiting Nick Cannon as his successor.[2]
Production staff decided to alter the program's format with regards to the second stage of auditions. The change was aimed at ditching the "bootcamp" format that had been used in the previous two seasons, in favor of using the selection process from Britain's Got Talent, under the title of "Vegas Verdicts" - judges would now review the tapes of participants who had made successful auditions, to determine who would advance into the live rounds. This stage would continue to divide participants into groups, allowing the judges to debate amongst themselves about which group of participants should earn a place in the live rounds, before bringing back each group to inform them of their decision about their progress in the competition; in some cases, some participants were required to do a second performance to help the judges make their final decisions. The format for the buzzers in the live rounds was also altered to match that of the format across the Got Talent franchise, in that participants receiving buzzes from all the judges had to stop immediately, rather than being given a little more time to perform.
The fourth season saw two issues arise that had to be dealt with during the running of the competition. The first saw the intervention of executive producer Simon Cowell, who felt "too much talent" had been eliminated during the new "Vegas Verdicts" stage, forcing the judges to bring back several of the eliminated acts as Wildcards for the quarter-finals at his instruction. The second saw the judges faced with the inability to determine which two acts they favored would advance past the first semi-final, eventually opting to put both through and hold no vote in the second semi-final. Of the participants who auditioned for this season, 48 secured a place in the live quarter-finals - including those originally eliminated in the Vegas Verdicts stage before Cowell's intervention - with twelve quarterfinalists in each one. Around 20 of these advanced to and were split between the two semi-finals, with 10 semi-finalists securing a place in the live final, which was a single stage rather than multiple rounds in previous seasons. The following below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this season:
- Winner | Runner-up | Third place | Finalist | Semi-finalist
- Quarter-finalist |
Judges' Wildcard Quarter-Finalist
Participant | Age(s) 1 | Genre | Act | From | Quarter-Final | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
African High Flyers | 24–35 | Acrobatics | Acrobats | Orlando, Florida | 4 | Eliminated |
Alizma | 23, 23, 23 | Singing / Music | Singing Violinist Triplets | Las Vegas | 2 | Eliminated |
Anthony & Matt (AM Project) | 24, 22 | Dance / Music | Tap dancer & Guitarist | New York City | 4 | Eliminated |
Arcadian Broad | 13 | Dance / Music | Dancer & Pianist | Orlando, Florida | 1 | Semi-finalist |
Bárbara Padilla | 36 | Singing | Opera singer | Houston | 4 | Runner-up |
Beale Street Flippers ![]() |
20–26 | Acrobatics | Flippers | Memphis, Tennessee | 2 | Eliminated |
Breaksk8 | 21–30 | Dance | Rollerskating Dance Troupe | Kokomo, Indiana | 1 | Eliminated |
BRI | 17 | Singing / Music | Singer & Pianist | Las Vegas | 3 | Eliminated |
Carol Loo | 63 | Dance | Dancer | Jersey City, New Jersey | 2 | Eliminated |
Charles DeWayne | 21 | Singing / Music | Singer & Pianist | La Verne, California | 2 | Eliminated |
Coney Island Chris | 42 | Danger / Comedy | Comic Stuntman | Naugatuck, Connecticut | 4 | Eliminated |
David Johnson | 30 | Singing / Comedy | Comic singer | Renton, Washington | 3 | Eliminated |
Diva League ![]() |
20–44 | Dance / Variety | Drag Dancers & Lip-synchers | Washington, D.C. | 1 | Eliminated |
Drew Stevyns ![]() |
26 | Singing / Music | Singer & Musician | Sykesville, Maryland | 4 | Finalist |
Drew Thomas Magic & Illusion | 40 2 | Magic | Magician & Illusionist | Orlando, Florida | 1 | Semi-finalist |
Eleisha Miller | 8 | Singing / Music | Singer & Pianist | Amarillo, Texas | 2 | Eliminated |
EriAm Sisters | 11, 14, 16 | Singing | Singing Trio | Seattle | 4 | Semi-finalist |
Erik & Rickie | 8, 8 | Dance | Ballroom Dancers | Seattle | 4 | Semi-finalist |
Fab Five | 24-35 | Dance / Variety | Clogging Dance Troupe | Morgan, Utah | 2 | Finalist |
FootworKINGz | 16-24 | Dance | Dance Troupe | Chicago | 3 | Semi-finalist |
G Force | 11, 9, 8 | Singing / Music | Girl Rock Band | Amherst, Ohio | 3 | Eliminated |
Grandma Lee | 75 | Comedy | Stand-up Comedian | Jacksonville, Florida | 1 | Finalist |
Hairo Torres | 23 | Variety / Dance | Contortionist & Breakdancer | Grants Pass, Oregon | 3 | Finalist |
Ishaara | 18–23 | Dance | Bollywood Dance Troupe | Berkeley, California | 4 | Eliminated |
Jay Mattioli ![]() |
27 | Magic | Magician & Illusionist | Manassas, Virginia | 3 | Eliminated |
Jeffrey Ou | 18 | Music | Classical Pianist | Carrollton, Texas | 3 | Semi-finalist |
Kevin Skinner | 35 | Singing / Music | Singer & Musician | Mayfield, Kentucky | 1 | Winner |
Lake Houston Dance ![]() |
9–14 | Dance | Dance troupe | Houston | 1 | Eliminated |
Lawrence Beamen | 34 | Singing | Bass Singer | Walnut Creek, California | 3 | Finalist |
Manuela Horn | 36 | Singing / Variety | Yodeller & Singer | Seattle | 1 | Eliminated |
Marcus Terrell & The Serenades | 22 2 | Vocal Group | Singer | Kansas City, Missouri | 3 | Eliminated |
Mario & Jenny | 34, 33 | Variety | Jugglers | Las Vegas | 3 | Semi-finalist |
Mia Boostrom | 16 | Singing | Singer | North Dighton, Massachusetts | 4 | Eliminated |
Mosaic | 30–34 | Singing | Cappella Vocal Group | Las Vegas | 1 | Eliminated |
Pam Martin's Top Dog | 54 | Animal | Dancing Dogs | Garland, Texas | 4 | Eliminated |
Paradizo Dance | 37,29 | Acrobatics | Acrobatic Performers | New York City | 2 | Semi-finalist |
Pete Peterkin | 54 | Comedy | Impressionist | New York City | 2 | Eliminated |
Pixie Mystère | 9–11 | Variety / Dancing | Contortionist Dance Troupe | Cape May, New Jersey | 3 | Eliminated |
Platt Brothers | 22–27 | Acrobatics / Comedy | Comic Acrobats | San Diego, California | 1 | Eliminated |
Recycled Percussion | 22–39 | Music | Junkyard Percussion Group | Goffstown, New Hampshire | 4 | Third place |
SQ Entertainment ![]() |
19–32 | Dance | Dance Group | Boston | 2 | Eliminated |
Team Acrodunk | 23-45 | Acrobatics | Acrobatic Basketball Dunkers | Houston | 1 | Semi-finalist |
The Lollipop Girls ![]() |
21–40 | Dance / Variety | Burlesque Dance Troupe | San Diego, California | 4 | Eliminated |
The Texas Tenors | 34, 35, 44 | Singing | Country & Classical Vocal Group | Houston | 2 | Finalist |
The Voices of Glory | 16, 13, 9 | Singing | Sibling Trio | Highland, New York | 2 | Finalist |
Thia Megia | 14 | Singing | Singer | Redwood City, California | 1 | Eliminated |
Tony Hoard & Rory | 54 | Animal | Dog Frisbee-catching Act | New Castle, Indiana | 2 | Semi-finalist |
U4ria Dance Crew ![]() |
16–23 | Dance | Dance Troupe | Coral Springs, Florida | 3 | Eliminated |
- ^1 Ages denoted for a participant(s), pertain to their final performance for this season.
- ^2 The ages of Drew Thomas' assistants and Marcus Terrell's backing group were not disclosed during the season's broadcast.
Quarter-finals summary
Buzzed Out |
Judges' choice | Advanced to Semi-finals
- Won Judges' Vote | Lost Judges' Vote
Quarter-final 1 (August 4)
Guest Performers, Results Show: Terry Fator and Mariah Carey
Quarter-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' Vote | Result (August 5) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hasselhoff | Osbourne | Morgan | |||
Breaksk8 | 1 | Eliminated | |||
Thia Megia | 2 | ![]() |
Lost Judges' Vote | ||
Platt Brothers | 3 | Eliminated | |||
Diva League | 4 | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
Manuela Horn | 5 | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Eliminated |
Grandma Lee | 6 | Advanced | |||
Mosaic | 7 | Eliminated | |||
Team Acrodunk | 8 | Advanced | |||
Arcadian Broad | 9 | ![]() |
![]() |
Won Judges' Vote | |
Drew Thomas Magic & Illusions | 10 | Advanced | |||
Kevin Skinner | 11 | Advanced | |||
Lake Houston Dance | 12 | Eliminated |
Quarter-final 2 (August 11)
Guest Performers, Results Show: LMFAO and Penn and Teller.
Quarter-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' Vote | Result (August 12) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hasselhoff | Osbourne | Morgan | |||
Fab Five | 1 | Advanced | |||
Charles DeWayne | 2 | ![]() |
Lost Judges' Vote | ||
Carol Loo | 3 | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
Tony Hoard & Rory | 4 | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Won Judges' Vote |
Eleisha Miller | 5 | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
Paradizo Dance | 6 | Advanced | |||
The Texas Tenors | 7 | Advanced | |||
SQ Entertainment | 8 | Eliminated | |||
Pete Peterkin | 9 | Eliminated | |||
Alizma | 10 | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Eliminated |
Beale Street Flippers | 11 | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
The Voices of Glory | 12 | Advanced |
Quarter-final 3 (August 18)
Guest Performers, Results Show: Ashley Tisdale and Daughtry
Quarter-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' Vote | Result (August 19) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hasselhoff | Osbourne | Morgan | |||
FootworKINGz | 1 | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Won Judges' Vote |
Marcus Terrell and the Serenades | 2 | Eliminated | |||
Pixie Mystère | 3 | Lost Judges' Vote | |||
Jay Mattioli | 4 | ![]() |
![]() |
Eliminated | |
BRI | 5 | Eliminated | |||
U4RIA Dance Crew | 6 | Eliminated | |||
David Johnson | 7 | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Eliminated |
Hairo Torres | 8 | Advanced | |||
G-Force | 9 | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
Jeffery Ou | 10 | Advanced | |||
Mario & Jenny | 11 | Advanced | |||
Lawrence Beamen | 12 | Advanced |
Quarter-final 4 (August 25)
Guest Performer, Results Show: Reba McEntire
Quarter-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' Vote | Result (August 26) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hasselhoff | Osbourne | Morgan | |||
Ishaara | 1 | Eliminated | |||
Bárbara Padilla | 2 | Advanced | |||
Pam Martin's Top Dogs | 3 | Eliminated | |||
African High Flyers | 4 | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
Mia Boostrom | 5 | ![]() |
Lost Judges' Vote | ||
Erik & Rickie | 6 | ![]() |
![]() |
Won Judges' Vote | |
Coney Island Chris | 7 | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Eliminated |
Matt & Anthony | 8 | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
The Lollipop Girls | 9 | Eliminated | |||
Drew Stevyns | 10 | Advanced | |||
Recycled Percussion | 11 | Advanced | |||
EriAm Sisters | 12 | Advanced |
Semi-finals summary
Buzzed | Advanced
Semi-final 1 (September 1)
Guest Performers, Result Show: Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog, and David Hasselhoff
Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes | Result (September 2) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hasselhoff | Osbourne | Morgan | |||
Team Acrodunk | 1 | Eliminated | |||
The Texas Tenors | 2 | Advanced | |||
Paradizo Dance | 3 | Eliminated | |||
Drew Thomas Magic & Illusions | 4 | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
Tony Hoard and Rory | 5 | Eliminated | |||
The Voices of Glory 4 | 6 | Advanced | |||
The Fab Five 4 | 7 | Advanced | |||
Grandma Lee | 8 | Advanced | |||
Arcadian Broad | 9 | Eliminated | |||
Kevin Skinner | 10 | Advanced |
- 4 Both acts were advanced into the next stage, after the judges could not decide on who to vote for advancing further in the competition. This decision meant no Judges' Vote was held in the next semi-final.
Semi-final 2 (September 8)
Guest Performer, Results Show: Cast of musical Jersey Boys.
Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes | Result (September 9) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hasselhoff | Osbourne | Morgan | |||
Recycled Percussion | 1 | Advanced | |||
Lawrence Beamen | 2 | Advanced | |||
Erik and Rickie | 3 | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
Jeffrey Ou | 4 | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
Hairo Torres | 5 | Advanced | |||
EriAm Sisters | 6 | Eliminated | |||
Mario and Jenny | 7 | ![]() |
Eliminated | ||
Drew Stevyns | 8 | Advanced | |||
FootworKINGz | 9 | ![]() |
![]() |
Eliminated | |
Bárbara Padilla | 10 | Advanced |
Final (September 14)
Guest Performers, Results Show: Thelma Houston, Shakira, Rascal Flatts, cast members of Cirque Du Soleil, Leona Lewis, and Susan Boyle.
- Winner | Runner-up | 3rd place
Finalist | Order | Result (September 16) |
---|---|---|
The Voices of Glory | 1 | 5th |
Hairo Torres | 2 | 8th |
Lawrence Beamen | 3 | 9th |
Bárbara Padilla | 4 | 2nd |
Fab Five | 5 | 6th |
The Texas Tenors | 6 | 4th |
Drew Stevyns | 7 | 10th |
Grandma Lee | 8 | 7th |
Kevin Skinner | 9 | 1st |
Recycled Percussion | 10 | 3rd |
Ratings
Order | Episode | Rating | Share | Rating/Share (18–49) |
Viewers (millions) |
Rank (night) (viewers) |
Rank (week) (viewers) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Auditions Episode 1" | 6.8 | 12 | 3.3/10 [4] | 11.30 | #1 | #1 |
2 | "Auditions Episode 2" | 6.2 | 11 | 3.1/9 [5] | 10.39 | #1 | #3 |
3 | "Auditions Episode 3" | 7.5 | 13 | 3.7/11 [6] | 12.91 | #1 | #1 |
4 | "Auditions Episode 4" | 6.8 | 12 | 2.9/9 | 11.30 | #2 | #3 |
5 | "Auditions Episode 5" | 6.2 | 10 | 3/9 [7] | 10.43 | #1 | #2 |
6 | "Auditions Episode 6" | 6.9 | 12 | 3.3/10 [8] | 11.69 | #1 | #1 |
7 | "Auditions Episode 7" | 8 | 13 | 3.6/10 [9] | 13.17 | #2 | #2 |
8 | "Auditions Episode 8" | 6.9 | 12 | 2.9/9 [10] | 11.38 | #1 | #4 |
9 | "Auditions Episode 9" | 8.2 | 14 | 3.4/10 [11] | 13.75 | #1 | #1 [12] |
10 | "Auditions Episode 10 Susan Boyle Interview" |
6.6 | 11 | 2.5/7 [13] | 11.26 | #1 | #2 [12] |
11 | "Vegas Verdicts (Part 1)" | 7.7 | 13 | 3.4/10 [14] | 12.76 | #1 | #1 |
12 | "Vegas Verdicts (Part 2)" | 6.4 | 11 | 2.8/8 [15] | 10.90 | #1 | #2 |
13 | "Quarterfinals, Group 1" | 7.7 | 14 | 3.6/11 [16] | 12.97 | #1 | #1 |
14 | "Quarterfinals, Group 1 Results" | 6 | 10 | 2.9/9 [17] | 10.68 | #1 | #2 |
15 | "Quarterfinals, Group 2" | 7.6 | 13 | 3.4/10 | 12.48 | #1 | #1 |
16 | "Quarterfinals, Group 2 Results" | 6.9 | 12 | 2.9/9 | 11.42 | #1 | #4 |
17 | "Quarterfinals, Group 3" | 7 | 12 | 2.9/9 [18] | 11.59 | #1 | #2 |
18 | "Quarterfinals, Group 3 Results" | 6.4 | 11 | 2.4/7 [19] | 10.29 | #1 | #4 |
19 | "Quarterfinals, Group 4" | 6.9 | 12 | 3/8 | 11.42 | #1 | #1 |
20 | "Quarterfinals, Group 4 Results" | 6.7 | 11 | 2.9/8 | 10.87 | #1 | #2 |
21 | "Semifinals, Group 1" | 7.5 | 13 | 3.2/9 [20] | 12.81 | #1 | #1 |
22 | "Semifinals, Group 1 Results" | 7.4 | 12 | 2.6/8 [21] | 12.39 | #1 | #2 |
23 | "Semifinals, Group 2 " | 7.1 | 12 | 2.9/8 [22] | 12.03 | #1 | #5 |
24 | "Semifinals, Group 2 Results" | 6 | 9 | 2.1/5 [23] | 10.06 | #1 | #10 |
25 | "Finals, Performances" | 8.5 | 13 | 3.3/9 [24] | 13.84 | #2 | #3 |
26 | "Finale" | 9.5 | 16 | 3.5/10 [25] | 15.53 | #1 | #2 |
References
- Hibberd, James (February 7, 2009). "Jerry Springer Out as Talent Host". The Hollywood Reporter. Associated Press. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
- "Nick Cannon's Got Talent". E! Online. February 9, 2009. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
- "Nick Cannon replaces Jerry Springer as host of America's Got Talent". Blogs.tampabay.com. February 9, 2009. Archived from the original on February 14, 2009. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
- "Tuesday Ratings: NBC's America's Got Talent Returns To Win, ABC's Superstars Hardly Super". June 24, 2009. Archived from the original on June 26, 2009. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
- "Wednesday Ratings: Think You Can Dance? Keys Fox Win, Philanthropist Premiere Fair". June 25, 2009. Archived from the original on June 28, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
- "Tuesday Ratings: NBC's Got Talent, ABC's Got Nothing". July 1, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
- "Tuesday Ratings: NBC's Tops With Talent, But Roadtrip Goes Nowhere". July 8, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- "Wednesday Ratings: 'Talent' Tops 'Dance', But Fox Wins Night". July 9, 2009. Retrieved July 9, 2009.
- "Tuesday Ratings: Fox, AL, MLB All-Star Game Win; America's Got Talent Does Well At 9pm". July 15, 2009. Archived from the original on July 18, 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
- "Wednesday Ratings: So You Think You Can Dance Wins Again For Fox On A Down Night". July 16, 2009. Retrieved July 16, 2009.
- "Tuesday Ratings: Hell's Kitchen Returns Down; Still Shouts Fox To Victory". July 22, 2009. Archived from the original on September 13, 2011. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- "'America's Got Talent' is tops, but CBS had most viewers last week". July 28, 2009. Archived from the original on August 14, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
- "Wednesday Ratings: The President Speaks; So You Think You Can Dance Wins". July 23, 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- "Tuesday Ratings: More To Love Premieres Light, But Hell's Kitchen Screams Fox To Victory". July 29, 2009. Archived from the original on August 1, 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- "Wednesday Ratings: Think You Can Dance Beats Talent Head To Head As Fox Wins Night". July 30, 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- "NBC Ranks #2 for the week in viewers and ties for #1 in adults 25-54". August 11, 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- "NBC Ranks #2 for the week in viewers and ties for #1 in adults 25-54". August 11, 2009. Retrieved August 11, 2009.
- Weisman, Jon (August 19, 2009). "NBC top ratings with 'Talent'". Variety. Retrieved August 19, 2009.
- "Weds TV Ratings: America's Got Talent tops Octomom, NBC wins night". August 20, 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- "TV Ratings Tuesday: America's Got Talent Helps NBC Edge Fox & Hell's Kitchen". September 2, 2009. Archived from the original on September 5, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
- Kissell, Rick (September 3, 2009). "'Wipeout,' 'Talent' top primetime ratings". Variety. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
- "TV Ratings Tuesday: 90210, Melrose Place Premiere Weak; Fox & Hell's Kitchen Rule". September 9, 2009. Archived from the original on September 13, 2009. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
- "Updated TV Ratings: SYTYCD vs. POTUS and Glee premieres nicely". September 9, 2009. Archived from the original on September 12, 2009. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
- "Updated TV Ratings: The Jay Leno Show premieres big, rises to 18.4 million in the final #s". September 26, 2009. Retrieved September 15, 2009.
- "Updated TV Ratings: AGT finale, Leno, Glee and The Beautiful Life". September 17, 2009. Archived from the original on September 22, 2009. Retrieved September 26, 2009.