America's Got Talent crowns season 15 winner
Chris Haston/NBC
Warning: This article contains spoilers about Wednesday's America's Got Talent season 15 finale.
After an unprecedented season filled with unexpected hurdles, America's Got Talent has crowned its season 15 winner. Spoken word artist Brandon Leake will be taking home $1 million and the opportunity to perform live at Luxor Las Vegas.
Placing second was country rock duo Broken Roots, third was singer Cristina Rae, fourth was singer Roberta Battaglia, and fifth was aerial act Alan Silva.
The finale was part of AGT's two-night season finale that began Tuesday when the Top 10 performed for the judges. The roster was led by the three Golden Buzzer acts: Howie Mandel’s pick Leake, Sofia Vergara’s pick Battaglia, and Heidi Klum’s pick Rae. Broken Roots, Alan Silva, Archie Williams (singer), Kenadi Dodds (singer/musician), Bello Sisters (hand balancing), BAD Salsa (dance act), and Daneliya Tuleshova (singer) also performed.
Chris Haston/NBC
On Wednesday, Usher kicked off the final finale night with a medley of his biggest hits, while Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, Bishop Briggs, Ava Max, Blake Shelton, and more performed alongside some of the finalists. AGT season 14 finalist Detroit Youth Choir also took the stage. Meghan Markle even made a special (virtual) appearance tonight to cheer on Archie Williams.
Ahead of tonight's finale, host Terry Crews hosted a one-hour live special highlighting the show’s Top 10 finalists and featuring an exclusive sneak peek at the preparations, along with never-before-seen backstage footage from the season.
Season 15 brought back Klum and introduced Vergara to replace Gabrielle Union and Julianne Hough as judges. Filming began earlier this year, but production was suspended after Klum fell ill, and resumed mid-June.
Another complication arose when judge Simon Cowell had to bow out of the latter half of the season after he broke his back in an electric bike accident in August. Kelly Clarkson and Kenan Thompson both subbed for Cowell. Although he couldn't make the finale in person, Cowell wished the contestants well on Tuesday night.
It’s the #AGT finals tonight. Good luck to all the contestants and thank you all for tuning in. I wish I was there.
— Simon Cowell (@SimonCowell) September 22, 2020
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