# America's Got Talent season 13

The thirteenth season of American talent show competition series America's Got Talent was broadcast on NBC from May 29 to September 19, 2018. There were no major changes to the program during the season; the guest judges for this season's Judge Cuts episodes were Ken Jeong, Olivia Munn, Martina McBride, and Chris Hardwick.
The thirteenth season was won by close-up magician Shin Lim, with acrobatic group Zurcaroh finishing second, and electric violinist Brian King Joseph placing third. During its broadcast, the season averaged around 11.15 million viewers.

## Season overview

Open auditions were held in late 2017 within Orlando, Cincinnati, Savannah, Milwaukee, Houston, Las Vegas, New York City, Nashville, and Los Angeles (while online auditions were accepted). As in previous years, the judges' auditions were held and filmed in March 2018 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles. The Judge Cuts episodes included actor Ken Jeong, actress Olivia Munn, singer Martina McBride, and comedian Chris Hardwick appearing as guest judges.
Thirty-six of the participants auditioning secured a place in the live quarter-finals, with twelve quarter-finalists appearing in each of the shows. Among the contestants: acrobatic group Zurcaroh, singer Michael Ketterer, singer Courtney Hadwin, singer Amanda Mena, and singer Makayla Phillips who had each received a golden buzzer from the main judges and host; choir Voices of Hope, choir Angel City Chorale, ballroom dancers Quin and Misha, and rapper Flau’jae who had each received a Golden Buzzer from the guest judges; opera singer Daniel Emmet, novelty water-spitting act Human Fountains, and multimedia performance group Front Pictures who were chosen as Wildcard quarter-finalists. Twenty-two quarter-finalists advanced and appeared in two semi-finals (eleven in each show), including Front Pictures which was chosen again by the judges (as the Wildcard semi-finalist); ten semi-finalists securing a place in the finals. The chart below lists the results of each participant's overall performance in this season:
    Winner | Runner-up | Third place | Finalist | Semi-finalist
    Quarter-finalist | Wildcard Quarter-finalist | Wildcard Semi-finalist
    Golden Buzzer - Auditions | Golden Buzzer - Judge Cuts
| Participant | Age(s) | Genre | Act | From | Quarter-Final | Result |
| Aaron Crow | 49 | Danger | Danger Act | Bruges, Belgium | 3 | Semi-finalist |
| Amanda Mena | 16 | Singing | Singer | Boston | 1 | Semi-finalist |
| Angel City Chorale | 19-88 | Singing | Choir | Los Angeles | 1 | Semi-finalist |
| Brian King Joseph | 27 | Music | Electric Violinist | Los Angeles | 3 | Third place |
| Christina Wells | 42 | Singing | Singer | Houston | 3 | Semi-finalist |
| Courtney Hadwin | 14 | Singing | Singer | Peterlee, England | 1 | Finalist |
| Da RepubliK | 15-32 | Dance | Dance Group | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | 3 | Semi-finalist |
| Daniel Emmet | 25 | Singing | Opera Singer | Las Vegas | 3 | Finalist |
| Duo Transcend | 29 & 32 | Acrobatics | Trapeze Duo | Salt Lake City, Utah | 2 | Finalist |
| Flau'jae | 14 | Singing | Rapper | Savannah, Georgia | 1 | Eliminated |
| Front Pictures | 41 & 43 | Variety | Multimedia Act | Kyiv, Ukraine | 2 | Semi-finalist |
| Glennis Grace | 40 | Singing | Singer | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 2 | Finalist |
| Hans | 19 | Singing / Music | Singer & Accordionist | Adelaide, Australia | 1 | Eliminated |
| Human Fountains | 24-29 | Variety | Water Spitting Act | Los Angeles | 1 | Eliminated |
| Joseph O'Brien | 20 | Singing / Music | Singer & Pianist | Columbia, Tennessee | 3 | Eliminated |
| Junior New System | 18-25 | Dance | Dance Group | Manila, Philippines | 1 | Semi-finalist |
| Lord Nil | 38 | Danger | Escape Artist | Italy | 1 | Eliminated |
| Makayla Phillips | 16 | Singing | Singer | Canyon Lake, California | 2 | Semi-finalist |
| Michael Ketterer | 40 | Singing | Singer | Anaheim, California | 3 | Grand-finalist |
| Mochi | 29 | Variety | Multimedia Diabolo Juggler | Shizuoka, Japan | 1 | Eliminated |
| Noah Guthrie | 24 | Singing / Music | Singer & Guitarist | Greer, South Carolina | 2 | Semi-finalist |
| Quin & Misha | 70 & 35 | Dance | Ballroom Duo | Orlando | 2 | Eliminated |
| Rob Lake | 35 | Magic | Illusionist | Norman, Oklahoma | 3 | Eliminated |
| Samuel J. Comroe | 30 | Comedy | Comedian | Los Angeles | 2 | Grand-finalist |
| Shin Lim | 26 | Magic | Magician | Boston | 1 | Winner |
| The Future Kingz | 7-23 | Dance | Dance Group | Chicago | 3 | Eliminated |
| The PAC Dance Team | 15-18 | Dance | Dance Group | Sahuarita near Tucson, Arizona | 1 | Eliminated |
| The Sacred Riana | 25 | Magic | Illusionist | Jakarta, Indonesia | 2 | Eliminated |
| The Savitsky Cats | 24 & 45 | Animals | Cat Act | Ukraine | 2 | Eliminated |
| UDI | 20-37 | Dance | Electronic Dance Group | Tomsk, Russia | 3 | Eliminated |
| Us the Duo | 27 & 28 | Singing / Music | Vocal Duo | Los Angeles | 3 | Semi-finalist |
| Vicki Barbolak | 60 | Comedy | Comedian | Oceanside, California | 1 | Finalist |
| Voices of Hope | 5-17 | Singing | Choir | Orange County, California | 2 | Semi-finalist |
| We Three | 21-27 | Singing / Music | Band | McMinnville, Oregon | 1 | Semi-finalist |
| Yumbo Dump | 31 & 34 | Variety | Novelty Duo | Okayama, Japan | 2 | Eliminated |
| Zurcaroh | 8-39 | Acrobatics | Acrobatic Group | Götzis, Austria | 3 | Runner-up |
* ^1 Ages denoted for a participant(s), pertain to their final performance for this season.

### Quarter-finals summary

    Buzzed Out | Judges' choice | Advanced to Semi-finals
    Won Online Public Vote | Won Judges' Vote | Lost Judges' Vote

#### Quarter-final 1 (August 14)

Guest Performer, Results Show: Darci Lynne
| Quarter-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Result (August 15) |
| Quarter-Finalist | Order | Cowell | Klum | Mel B | Mandel | Result (August 15) |
| Mochi | 1 | | | | | Eliminated (Judges' Vote Tied - Lost by Public Vote) |
| Human Fountains | 2 | | | | | Eliminated |
| Angel City Chorale | 3 | | | | | Advanced (Online Public Vote) |
| The PAC Dance Team | 4 | | | | | Eliminated |
| Amanda Mena | 5 | | | | | Advanced |
| Junior New System | 6 | | | | | Advanced (Judges' Vote Tied - Won by Public Vote) |
| We Three | 7 | | | | | Advanced |
| Lord Nil | 8 | | | | | Eliminated |
| Flau'jae | 9 | | | | | Eliminated |
| Shin Lim | 10 | | | | | Advanced |
| Vicki Barbolak | 11 | | | | | Advanced |
| Courtney Hadwin | 12 | | | | | Advanced |

#### Quarter-final 2 (August 21)

Guest Performers, Results Show: The Illusionists, and Light Balance
| Quarter-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Result (August 22) |
| Quarter-Finalist | Order | Cowell | Klum | Mel B | Mandel | Result (August 22) |
| Makayla Phillips | 1 | | | | | Advanced (Online Public Vote) |
| Da RepubliK | 2 | | | | | Advanced (Won Judges' Vote) |
| Noah Guthrie | 3 | | | | | Advanced |
| Yumbo Dump | 4 | | | | | Eliminated |
| Samuel J. Comroe | 5 | | | | | Advanced |
| Voices of Hope | 6 | | | | | Advanced |
| The Savitsky Cats | 7 | | | | | Eliminated |
| Glennis Grace | 8 | | | | | Advanced |
| The Sacred Riana | 9 | | | | | Eliminated |
| Quin & Misha | 10 | | | | | Eliminated |
| Front Pictures | 11 | | | | | Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote) |
| Duo Transcend | 12 | | | | | Advanced |
* ^2 Cowell and Mel B both originally buzzed Yumbo Dump, but later retracted their buzzers.
* ^3 Front Pictures were later appointed as the judges' WildCard semi-finalist.

#### Quarter-final 3 (August 28)

Guest Performers, Results Show: Cast of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
| Quarter-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Result (August 29) |
| Quarter-Finalist | Order | Cowell | Klum | Mel B | Mandel | Result (August 29) |
| The Future Kingz | 1 | | | | | Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote) |
| Us the Duo | 2 | | | | | Advanced |
| Daniel Emmet | 3 | | | | | Advanced (Online Public Vote) |
| Brian King Joseph | 4 | | | | | Advanced |
| Aaron Crow | 5 | | | | | Advanced (Won Judges' Vote) |
| Joseph O'Brien | 6 | | | | | Eliminated |
| Hans | 7 | | | | | Eliminated |
| UDI | 8 | | | | | Eliminated |
| Christina Wells | 9 | | | | | Advanced |
| Zurcaroh | 10 | | | | | Advanced |
| Rob Lake | 11 | | | | | Eliminated |
| Michael Ketterer | 12 | | | | | Advanced |

### Semi-finals summary

    Buzzed Out | Judges' choice | Advanced to Finals
    Won Online Public Vote | Won Judges' Vote | Lost Judges' Vote

#### Semi-final 1 (September 4)

| Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Result (September 5) |
| Semi-Finalist | Order | Cowell | Klum | Mel B | Mandel | Result (September 5) |
| Amanda Mena | 1 | | | | | Eliminated |
| Junior New System | 2 | | | | | Eliminated |
| Us the Duo | 3 | | | | | Eliminated |
| Voices of Hope | 4 | | | | | Eliminated (Judges' Vote Tied - Lost by Public Vote) |
| Shin Lim | 5 | | | | | Advanced |
| Makayla Phillips | 6 | | | | | Eliminated |
| Front Pictures | 7 | | | | | Eliminated |
| Duo Transcend | 8 | | | | | Advanced (Judges' Vote Tied - Won by Public Vote) |
| Samuel J. Comroe | 9 | | | | | Advanced (Online Public Vote) |
| Michael Ketterer | 10 | | | | | Advanced |
| Zurcaroh | 11 | | | | | Advanced |

#### Semi-final 2 (September 11)

Guest Performers, Results Show: BTS and cast of A Magical Cirque Christmas
| Semi-Finalist | Order | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Buzzes and Judges' votes | Result (September 12) |
| Semi-Finalist | Order | Cowell | Klum | Mel B | Mandel | Result (September 12) |
| Christina Wells | 1 | | | | | Eliminated |
| Da RepubliK | 2 | | | | | Eliminated |
| Noah Guthrie | 3 | | | | | Eliminated |
| Daniel Emmet | 4 | | | | | Advanced (Won Judges' Vote) |
| Angel City Chorale | 5 | | | | | Eliminated |
| Aaron Crow | 6 | | | | | Eliminated |
| Vicki Barbolak | 7 | | | | | Advanced |
| We Three | 8 | | | | | Eliminated (Lost Judges' Vote) |
| Glennis Grace | 9 | | | | | Advanced (Online Public Vote) |
| Brian King Joseph | 10 | | | | | Advanced |
| Courtney Hadwin | 11 | | | | | Advanced |

### Finals (September 18–19)

Guest Performers, Finale: Kiss
    Winner | Runner-up | 3rd place | Top 5
| Finalist | Performed with (2nd Performance) | Result (September 19) |
| Brian King Joseph | Lindsey Stirling | 3rd |
| Courtney Hadwin | The Struts | Finalist |
| Daniel Emmet | Plácido Domingo | Finalist |
| Duo Transcend | Lindsey Stirling | Finalist |
| Glennis Grace | Bebe Rexha | Finalist |
| Michael Ketterer | N/A | Grand-finalist |
| Samuel J. Comroe | N/A | Grand-finalist |
| Shin Lim | Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila | 1st |
| Vicki Barbolak | David Spade | Finalist |
| Zurcaroh | Lindsey Stirling | 2nd |
* ^4 Brian King Joseph & Duo Transcend conducted a joint routine for their second performance, and thus shared the same guest performer.

## Ratings

The following ratings are based upon those published by Nielsen Media Research after this season's broadcast:
| Episode | Title | First air date | Timeslot (EDT) | Rating (18–49) | Share (18–49) | Viewers (millions) | Nightly Rank | Weekly Rank |
| 1 | Auditions Week 1 | May 29, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.5 | 11 | 12.16 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Auditions Week 2 | June 5, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.2 | 10 | 11.27 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Auditions Week 3 | June 12, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.3 | 10 | 11.46 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Auditions Week 4 | June 19, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.2 | 10 | 11.86 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | Auditions Week 5 | June 26, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.0 | 9 | 11.32 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | Auditions Week 6 | July 10, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.1 | 9 | 11.55 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | Judge Cuts 1 | July 17, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.1 | 9 | 11.33 | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | Judge Cuts 2 | July 24, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.0 | 8 | 11.68 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Judge Cuts 3 | July 31, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.1 | 9 | 11.83 | 1 | 1 |
| 10 | Judge Cuts 4 | August 7, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 1.9 | 9 | 11.04 | 1 | 1 |
| 11 | Quarterfinals, Week 1 (Performances) | August 14, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.1 | 10 | 11.10 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | Quarterfinals, Week 1 (Results) | August 15, 2018 | Wednesday 8:00 p.m. | 1.5 | 8 | 9.85 | 2 | 2 |
| 13 | Quarterfinals, Week 2 (Performances) | August 21, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.1 | 9 | 11.21 | 1 | 1 |
| 14 | Quarterfinals, Week 2 (Results) | August 22, 2018 | Wednesday 8:00 p.m. | 1.6 | 8 | 9.69 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 | Quarterfinals, Week 3 (Performances) | August 28, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 1.9 | 8 | 10.78 | 1 | 1 |
| 16 | Quarterfinals, Week 3 (Results) | August 29, 2018 | Wednesday 8:00 p.m. | 1.5 | 7 | 9.90 | 2 | 2 |
| 17 | Semifinals, Week 1 (Performances) | September 4, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 1.8 | 8 | 10.69 | 1 | 5 |
| 18 | Semifinals, Week 1 (Results) | September 5, 2018 | Wednesday 8:00 p.m. | 1.5 | 7 | 9.89 | 2 | 7 |
| 19 | Semifinals, Week 2 (Performances) | September 11, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 1.9 | 8 | 10.75 | 1 | 4 |
| 20 | Semifinals, Week 2 (Results) | September 12, 2018 | Wednesday 8:00 p.m. | 1.6 | 8 | 10.15 | 1 | 5 |
| 21 | The Finals | September 18, 2018 | Tuesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.3 | 10 | 12.99 | 1 | 2 |
| 22 | Season Finale | September 19, 2018 | Wednesday 8:00 p.m. | 2.1 | 10 | 12.88 | 1 | 3 |
Specials
| Specials | Title | First air date | Timeslot (EDT) | Rating (18–49) | Share (18–49) | Viewers (millions) | Nightly Rank | Weekly Rank |
| S1 | Best of Auditions | July 11, 2018 | Wednesday 8:00 p.m. | 0.9 | 5 | 5.98 | 2 | 4 |
| S2 | Road to Lives | August 9, 2018 | Thursday 8:00 p.m. | 0.7 | 3 | 3.82 | 2 | 21 |