Season 2
From Simon Cowell and the producers of American Idol comes the search for the hottest variety and novelty acts from across the USA.
With acts ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous, the quest is on to find the best talent on offer. At stake - a life changing opportunity.
Magicians to jugglers, strippers to fire eaters, singers to dancers - anything goes. All entertainers are given the chance to win the hearts of America and the cash prize of $1,000,000.
With the audience crammed with performers, everyone is hoping to be called for their shot at stardom.
As they take centre stage for the open auditions of a lifetime, they have only a precious few seconds to impress the hardened panel of judges - David Hasselhoff (Baywatch), reality TV star Sharon Osbourne and U.K. television/media personality Piers Morgan - whose decision is final.
The first season was hosted by talk show host Regis Philbin. He was replaced for Season 2 by Jerry Springer.
In Season 2, Brandy was replaced by Sharon Osbourne as one of the judges while the other two judges David Hasselhoff and Piers Morgan returned.
The grand prize winner will once again win $1,000,000. Unlike Season 1, the acts who pass the auditions attend a Las Vegas boot camp where they have a chance to perfect their craft.
At this point the acts are divided into two groups: music and variety. Elimination rounds then follow and the last one is left up to the US public who vote as they did last season.
America's Got Talent is produced by FremantleMedia North America and Simon Cowell's SYCO Television. Simon Cowell, Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Jason Raff, Ken Warwick and Georgie Hurford-Jones are executive producers.
Broadcast Notes
Season 2 premiered on SABC2 on Thursday 20 January 2011, at 19h30. New episodes broadcast weekly until Episode 5, after which two episodes aired per week: at 19h30 on Thursdays and at 20h00 on Saturdays.