# Sri Lanka's Got Talent

Sri Lanka's Got Talent (often abbreviated as SLGT) is a televised Sri Lankan talent show competition and is part of the global Got Talent franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Stein Studios and Syco Entertainment, and broadcasts on Sirasa TV.
The first season premiered on 18 March 2018, with the live finale being held on 30 September 2018. After a 7-year hiatus the show was renewed for a second season in 2024.

## Format

Contestants of any age, who possess some sort of talent, can audition for the show, with their performance judged by a panel of judges in the preliminary rounds. During the auditions three acts will receive the Golden buzzer, one from each judge. 50 acts from the auditions, along with 3 golden buzzer acts and 3 wild card acts chosen by the judges will advance to the quarterfinals. Some acts might require performing again in order to be confidently chosen for the quarterfinals, similar to the Judge Cuts.
56 acts will compete in 8 quarterfinals, 7 acts per quarterfinal. 3 acts from each quarterfinal will advance to the semifinals. The advanced 24 acts will compete in 4 semifinals, 6 acts per semifinal. Each semifinal will feature a guest judge as well. In each semifinal, one act will be selected by the judge board to advance to the Pre Finale directly and 2 more acts will be selected based on public votes.
12 acts will compete in a double-episode Pre Finale, 6 acts per each episode. At the end of the second episode, Top 6 acts from the Pre Finale will be chosen by the judge board to compete in the live Grand Finale.
In the live telecasted Grand Finale, a winner and runners-up will be chosen based on public votes. The winner will be awarded with the "SLGT Champions" title along with a Rs. 10 million cah prize.

## Judges and Hosts

| Season | Hosts | Judges | Judges | Judges | Judges |
| 1 | Dasun Madushan Piyath Rajapaksha | Jackson Anthony Soundarie David Tillakaratne Dilshan |
| 2 | Ranga Jayakodi Chamal Ratnayake | Sangeetha Weeraratne Danu Innasithamby Akhila Dhanuddhara Natasha Rathnayake |

### Guest judges

A guest judge will appear in each semifinal to help the judge board to decide on 4 acts which will advance to the Pre Finale directly without going through the public votes.
| Season | Guest judges in the semifinals | Guest judges in the semifinals | Guest judges in the semifinals | Guest judges in the semifinals |
| 1 | Lahiru Perera | Dilhani Ekanayake | Bathiya Jayakody | Pubudu Chathuranga |
| 2 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA |

## Series overview

| Season | Originally aired | Originally aired | Winner | Runner-up | 3rd place |
| Season | First aired | Last aired | Winner | Runner-up | 3rd place |
| 1 | 18 March 2018 | 30 September 2018 | Angampora Pool | Nimna Hiranya | Nipuni Sithara |
| 2 | 06 July 2024 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA |

### Season 1 (2018)

The preliminary rounds took place at 3 locations in 2017, 30 October - 1 November at E. L. Senanayake premises, Kandy, 11 - 12 November at Mahinda College, Galle and 24 - 26 November at Stein Studios, Colombo. The rest of the season was also held at Stein Studios. The season premiered on 18 March 2018 at 9 p.m in Sirasa TV. Jackson Anthony's golden buzzer act was the Gini Sisila (fire dance) act by Nipuni Sithara, Tillakaratne Dilshan's was the traditional Angampora dance act by the Sri Lanka Air Force and Soundarie David Rodrigo's was the musician N.S. Wageshan.
Quarterfinals were held from 17 June 2018. Lahiru Perera, Dilhani Ekanayake, Bathiya Jayakody from the music duo Bathiya and Santhush and Pubudu Chathuranga were the 4 guest judges in the semifinals respectively. Jackson Anthony's golden buzzer Nipuni Sithara, Tillakaratne Dilshan's golden buzzer Angampora pool, circus acrobat M.G. Suminda and rubic cube solver Osindu Nayanajith were the 4 acts directly advanced to the Pre Finale from the semifinals round.
The Pre Finale was held on 9 and 16 September 2018. The Grand Finale was held on 30 September 2018. The season was won by the Angampora Pool of the Sri Lanka Air Force, with the fast mental arithmetic act Nimna Hiranya coming in second and the fire dance act Nipuni Sithara placing third.

### Season 2 (2024)

After a 7-year hiatus since 2018 due to domestic situations along with the COVID-19 pandemic, the show has been renewed for a second season in May 2024. The preliminary rounds are expected to begin in late 2024, with the season premiering in early 2025.