Host(s) Nick Cannon Origin Mayfield, Kentucky | Broadcaster NBC | |
 | ||
Broadcast from June 23 – September 16, 2009 Judges David Hasselhoff
Piers Morgan
Sharon Osbourne Website www.nbc.com/Americas_Got_Talent/ | ||
The fourth season of America's Got Talent, an American television reality show talent competition, premiered on the NBC network on June 23, 2009. Country singer Kevin Skinner was named the winner on September 16, 2009. This season is the first season to be broadcast in high definition.
Contents
- Selection process
- Preliminary auditions
- Las Vegas Week
- First cut
- Part One cuts
- Part Two cuts
- Unknown cut
- Quarterfinals
- Week 1
- Elimination table week 1
- Week 2
- Elimination table week 2
- Week 3
- Elimination table week 3
- Week 4
- Elimination table week 4
- Top 20
- Round 1
- Round 1 elimination table
- Round 2
- Round 2 elimination table
- Finals
- Finals elimination chart
- Round chart
- Contestants who appeared on other talent shows
- Contestants who appeared on other seasons
- References
This season's host is Nick Cannon, who replaced Jerry Springer. Springer had said that he could not host due to other commitments. David Hasselhoff, Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne returned judges, despite rumors that Osbourne would be leaving the show.
Season four was Hasselhoff's final season as a judge.
This season started broadcasting live on August 4, 2009.
Selection process
Season four carried over season three's audition process. Out of the over 160 acts that passed through the preliminary auditions, 48 went on to perform in the live shows. This season, the callbacks were renamed "The Vegas Verdicts". Unlike previous seasons, the acts were not given a chance to perform a second time, unless prompted by the judges to as a challenge. The judges re-watched audition tapes and created a Top 40 based on the acts' preliminary performances, similar to the format used on sister show Britain's Got Talent. However, it was revealed during the first performance show that the judges, when prompted by executive producer Simon Cowell, called back eight acts that they previously had cut. This brought the total number of acts up to 48. Last season, the acts who passed through were divided into four groups, who performed over the course of two weeks with the acts who passed through from the previous night being announced before the next group of acts' performances. This year, each group in the Top 48 was divided into four groups of 12, but only one group performed per week, as a separate results show for the group aired the next day. This season was the first to feature results episodes lasting one hour on a weekly basis since season one.
During the performances episodes, if all three judges buzzed an act, the act was forced to end, unlike the previous season, where it could continue on for a short time. In the results episodes, five best acts from each group of twelve proceeded to the semi-finals - four acts were determined solely by viewers' votes, the judges decided between acts with the fifth and sixth highest viewers' vote totals. The twelve acts were presented to the audience in groups of two or three (usually similar acts - e.g. dancers, children - are put together) and then the host announced which of them moved forward and which of them had been eliminated. When three acts are presented as a group, the host would first announce an act from the three as the first act eliminated, then would announce which act from the remaining two remained in the competition. The final group were acts in the fifth and sixth places and the judges pick one of them by majority voting. At no time was the audience made aware of how many viewers' votes each act received.
In the semifinals, the twenty acts who passed through the quarterfinals were divided into groups of 10. One of these groups performed each week, with a performance episode followed by the results the following day. Only four acts were supposed to pass through to the finals each week. Three are determined solely by viewers' votes, but the fourth and fifth place acts must face the judges' decision. However, in one case, the judges passed through both performers, as they could not make a decision. In the other case, the top five acts were passed through. Instead of previous seasons, where the finals contain four or five acts, this season the finale contained ten acts.
Preliminary auditions
This year, auditions were held in New York City, Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and Seattle/Tacoma. Auditions were also held in Boston, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. but not televised. A total of 160 acts advanced to the Las Vegas Round.
Las Vegas Week
Las Vegas Week aired on July 28, 2009 and July 29, 2009. Over the course of the two episodes, the over 160 acts that made it through the preliminary rounds were narrowed down to a Top 40 that made it through to the live performance rounds.
In the first episode of the "Las Vegas Verdicts", as Cannon referred to it, the episode started off with 25 of the 160 acts being eliminated right at the Las Vegas Airport. The remaining acts were then briefly shown enjoying the sights of Vegas, before the eliminations resumed. Acts were brought before the judges and informed of their fate. The judges selected three dance groups: Destined 2 Be, BreakSk8, and U4ria Dance Crew for a challenge. They were asked to prepare a dance routine for 12 hours plus they'll have the same piece of music. After they perform, the judges will decide which dance groups will advance to the Top 40 Quarterfinals.
In the second episode, the remainder of the Top 40 was revealed, and many more acts were eliminated. The three dance crews challenged in the previous episode were shown in a montage performing their challenge performance.
At the end of the second episode, Simon Cowell, executive producer of the show, called the judges on their flight back to Los Angeles, stating that he was unhappy with some of the eliminations the judges made. Cowell revealed that there was just "too much talent" eliminated, and that he felt that a number of these acts should be given another chance. As a result, two acts were brought back as wildcards during each quarterfinal round.
First cut
Acts that were eliminated at the Las Vegas Airport include:
Part One cuts
Acts that were cut in the first episode of the Las Vegas Verdict included:
Part Two cuts
Acts that were cut in the second episode of the Las Vegas Verdict included:
Unknown cut
Acts that were eliminated at an unknown stage of Las Vegas week.
Quarterfinals
The quarterfinals began on August 4, 2009. Twelve acts (ten of the original Top 40, plus two wildcards) performed each week. A two-hour performance episode each Tuesday was followed by a one-hour results show the following day, where five of the twelve acts from the previous night remained in the competition. When an act got buzzed by all three judges, they must stop, unlike in the previous seasons, where at this stage acts were allowed to continue despite being buzzed by all judges. A large X appeared on the screen on stage, indicating the act had been struck out by the judges. Viewers were still able to vote for the buzzed act. The judges' choice, however, remained, as the judges got to decide whether the contestant who placed either in fifth or sixth place got to advance to the next round.
Week 1
The performance episode aired on August 4, 2009, 2 hours.
The results episode aired on August 5, 2009, 1 hour. It included performances by Terry Fator and Mariah Carey.
Elimination table, week 1
Italics indicate the act was a wild card. Order indicates when the act performed during the performance episode.
Week 2
The performance episode aired on August 11, 2009, 2 hours.
The results episode aired on August 12, 2009, 1 hour. It included performances from LMFAO and Penn and Teller.
Elimination table, week 2
Italics indicate the act was a wild card. Order indicates when the act performed during the performance episode.
Week 3
The performance episode aired on August 18, 2009, 2 hours.
The results episode aired August 19, 2009, 1 hour. It included performances from Ashley Tisdale and Daughtry.
Elimination table, week 3
Italics indicate the act was a wild card. Order indicates when the act performed during the performance episode.
Week 4
The performance episode aired on August 25, 2009, lasting 2 hours.
The results episode aired on August 26, 2009, lasting 1 hour. It included a performance from Reba McEntire.
Elimination table, week 4
Italics indicate the act was a wild card. Order indicates when the act performed during the performance episode.
Top 20
The Semifinals began on September 1, 2009. The process on stage is identical to that of the Quarterfinals, except there are no longer any new wild card acts.
Round 1
The performance episode aired September 1, 2009, 2 hours.
The results episode aired September 2, 2009, 1 hour. It included a performance from Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog (played by Artie Esposito filling in for an unavailable Steve Whitmire) singing "Don't Go Breaking My Heart," and one from David Hasselhoff singing "Feeling Good."
Round 1 elimination table
Round 2
The performance episode aired September 8, 2009, 2 hours.
The results episode aired September 9, 2009, 1 hour, with a guest appearance from the musical Jersey Boys.
Round 2 elimination table
Finals
The finale performances aired on Monday, September 14, 2009, 2 hours.
The finale results aired on Wednesday, September 16, 2009, 2 hours, and included guest performances from Thelma Houston, Shakira, Rascal Flatts, cast members of Cirque Du Soleil, Leona Lewis, and runner-up of the third series of Britain's Got Talent, Susan Boyle.
The performances episode averaged 13.84 million viewers, and the finale averaged 15.5 million viewers.
Finals, elimination chart
Here is the chart for the finals of the fourth season of America's Got Talent.
Round chart
This is the list of the acts who passed through to the live rounds.
Italics indicate the act was a wild card.
Contestants who appeared on other talent shows
Thia Megia was the youngest of the top 13 finalists on American Idol: season ten. She is the first former America's Got Talent contestant to compete on American Idol. She was eliminated in tenth place, along with eleventh place finalist Naima Adedapo.