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Learn more- After four months of auditions and eliminations, it was time Wednesday night to finally name a $1 million grand prize winner on "America's Got Talent" -- after two hours of filler and hype.
Would it be the chicken-catching country crooner, the dancing moms of Utah, the sharp-tongued elderly comedian, the opera-singing sensation known as Barbara Padilla, or one of the other six final acts?
Before that, though, host Nick Cannon ran through the list of guest performers for the evening, which included Leona Lewis, Rascal Flatts, Shakira and "Britain's Got Talent" phenom Susan Boyle, making her first televised singing appearance in the United States.
Judge Piers Morgan said he normally works it down to one or two acts that could win, but this time he said it was tough to call and that any one of "eight or nine acts" could win it.
In a bizarre bit of packaging, the entire top 10 participated in a performance of "Don't Leave Me This Way," which included a surprise appearance by Thelma Houston. Kevin Skinner couldn't seem to keep up with the lyrics or the dance moves, but Drew Stevyns Lawrence Beamen, the Fab Five and Recycled Percussion helped keep it all moving as it turned out to be kind of an interesting bit of entertainment.
Leona Lewis, a product of Simon Cowell's other British singing show, "The X Factor," performed her new single, "Happy."
Just when it didn't seem like the night could get much worse, an "Auditions All Stars" performance included some of the mildly amusing rejects from the audition process, and ended with Piers Morgan and Grandma Lee in a tux and wedding dress (I'll let you guess who was wearing which) appearing inside a magic box.
Another performance, this time by Cirque du Soleil, filled a few more minutes before we even got to the top of the first hour.
It was 54 minutes into the two-hour saga before we got to some results. Nick asked two acts at a time to come to center stage. One would be in the top five, the other would discover their dream was over.
First up were opera singer Barbara Padilla and breakdancer Hairo Torres. Barbara was in, Hairo was out, but he left with a smile on his face.
Lawrence Beamen and The Voices of Glory came up next. The next spot in the top five went to The Voices of Glory.
The Texas Tenors and the Fab Five were the next called to the stage. The next act continuing into the top five was The Texas Tenors.
Next came Kevin Skinner and Drew Stevyns, who oddly mimed putting a gun to his head when his name was called along with Kevin's. The fourth spot in the top five went to Kevin Skinner.
That meant the final spot in the top five came down to Grandma Lee and Recycled Percussion. The trash can beaters took it, knocking Grandma Lee out of the competition.
After looking at the five castoffs, Piers said that four of them could have probably won any past season of the show, which led him to the annual hyperbolic conclusion that "this is the greatest season we've ever had."
After another year-in-review style montage, Shakira dropped by to perform her new song, "She Wolf."
With 40 minutes left in the two-hour ordeal, the top five became the top two.
Nick announced that the act finishing in fifth place after America's vote was The Voices of Glory. Sharon told the trio this was "just the beginning" for them and that we'd be seeing a whole lot more of them.
Finishing fourth were The Texas Tenors. The Hoff told the trio they were well on their way and asked them to let him buy a ticket to their show.
The act finishing in third place was Recycled Percussion, leaving Barbara Padilla and Kevin Skinner to vie for the $1 million prize.
Piers said "you could not have two more different acts,' with a classical singer versus a country singer and said he couldn't call it.
Before we found out the winner, Rascal Flatts came out to perform their song, "Summer Nights."
Kevin and Barbara were each moved to tears during montages that recalled their journeys on the show. After a performance from Susan Boyle, we'd finally get to see who won.
An extended intro reminded Americans about Susan Boyle's wild ride from a surprising audition on "Britain's Got Talent" a few months ago, to finishing in second place on that show, breaking down and checking into a clinic to deal with the pressure, and rising back to fame with a new album and a new single. She performed her cover of the Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses."
"Now, the long wait is over," Nick said, introducing the final two acts, Kevin Skinner and Barbara Padilla.
And the winner of "America's Got Talent" was Kevin Skinner. The unemployed chicken catcher who captured the hearts and votes of America was the winner of the $1 million grand prize and headlining show in Las Vegas.
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