Who’s going to be the next America’s Got Talent champion? Season 21’s audition rounds are currently airing on Tuesday nights on NBC as the reality competition looks for its next star.
And judge Howie Mandel already told us that a frontrunner would emerge this season. “The beauty and the hell of what this show is, is that there’s only one winner and it’s all subjective,” he said. “You’re comparing a magician to a tap dancer. And only one is going to win. It doesn’t mean it’s better, it just means that at that point, the people that are engaging in it and voting for it seem to relate more and are connected more with that particular act at that particular time on that particular night.”
As you’ll see below, the show’s victors so far include singers, ventriloquists, dog trainers, and even a full dance troupe. And many have found other claims to fame after leaving the AGT stage. Get updates on the past winners below.
Bianca Ryan (Season 1)
The singer told TV Insider in November 2025 she’s been recovering from vocal surgery for the past few years. “Right now, I have been really working from the ground up with my voice again, to completely hone in on like my technique,” she said. “And I feel like that’s a really important part of this next chapter for me, is getting the right vocal health team and vocal coaching team to really make sure that I get back to being my absolute best…”
Terry Fator (Season 2)
The ventriloquist and impressionist headlined a show at Las Vegas’ Mirage for 11 years before moving on to gigs at the nearby casinos New York–New York and The STRAT. He’s currently touring North America on his Pure Imagination: Once Upon a Voice tour.
Neal E. Boyd (Season 3)
Boyd died in 2018 at age 42. After America’s Got Talent, the singer released an album titled My American Dream and ran for the Missouri House of Representatives twice, according to CNN. At the time of his death, he was raising money to record a new album.
Kevin Skinner (Season 4)
Skinner released two albums after winning AGT: 2010’s Long Ride and 2011’s Kevin Skinner: Live And Unplugged. Since then, the country performer has retired from the spotlight and gone back home to Kentucky, according to NBC Insider.
Michael Grimm (Season 5)
This singer-songwriter is still putting out music: His latest album, The Red Album, came out in 2022. He overcame a mystery illness in 2023, and he has a series of Las Vegas shows slated for this summer, his website shows.
Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. (Season 6)
This jazz singer released I’m Not Messing Around, his fifth full-length album and his first with all-original material, in 2024, according to his website. He, too, has a busy summer ahead, with shows booked in West Virginia and Florida.
Olate Dogs (Season 7)
The father-son dog-training team of Richard and Nicholas Olate toured their Circus Olate show in the late 2010s. Unfortunately, they’ve since fallen out of the public eye and haven’t posted on Facebook or Instagram since 2019.
Kenichi Ebina (Season 8)
This “dance-ish” performing artist is now the CEO of the production company LinQuest. “I hope that I can help [make] your events and shows better with my broad network, [connections], and my experience in producing, directing, and managing many talented performing artists,” he says on the company’s website.
Mat Franco (Season 9)
After AGT, this magician headed for the bright lights of Las Vegas, where he’s been headlining a show at the LINQ Hotel’s Mat Franco Theater since 2015. In fact, he hit his 3,000th performance this very month, according to a press release.
Paul Zerdin (Season 10)
This summer and fall, Zerdin will take his ventriloquism on the road in the United Kingdom with his Shut Your Mouth tour. “Get ready for a night of chaos, comedy, and plenty of laughs,” he says in a statement. “I’ll do the talking so you don’t have to!”
Grace VanderWaal (Season 11)
This singer-songwriter appeared in the 2024 film Megalopolis and released her second studio album, Childstar, the following year. In March 2026, she announced she was canceling tour appearances to protect her mental health, per People, and she said on TikTok later that month she’d attended rehab.
Darci Lynne (Season 12)
Lynne returned to the AGT fray in 2024, reaching the semi-finals of America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League. That same year, she played “Drowning Girl” in the big-screen biopic Reagan. The singer and ventriloquist is currently traveling the country, with dozens of tour dates listed on her website.
Shin Lim (Season 13)
Following the end of Fator’s aforementioned Mirage show, this magician took over the hotel’s Terry Fator Theatre. Then, in 2024, Lim moved his act to the nearby Palazzo Theatre at the Venetian Resort, where he continues to entertain audiences to this day.
Kodi Lee (Season 14)
Lee headlined the America’s Got Talent Presents Superstars Live residency at Las Vegas’ Luxor Hotel and Casino for two and a half years until the show’s 2024 closing. And in April, he released his first album, Exactly As I Am.
Brandon Leake (Season 15)
In February 2025, this poet held a residency at Penn State Harrisburg in Middleton, Pennsylvania. And a year later, this February, he collaborated with the Stockton Symphony to premiere his spoken word suite “In Real Life” in Stockton, California, this February, per Recordnet.com.
Dustin Tavella (Season 16)
Though Tavella is still doing magic — his website shows he’s available for booking — he’s also been combatting sexual abuse and trafficking in Bronson, Missouri, spurred by local cases. “We just kind of felt like if this is where we live, if this is our home … then we want to be a part of bringing change,” Tavella told KY3.
The Mayyas (Season 17)
The Mayyas have earned the blessing of Queen Bey herself. The dance troupe joined Beyoncé on stage at the grand opening of the Atlantis The Royal resort in Dubai, per NBC Insider, and then joined the pop star on her Cowboy Carter Tour last year, as they announced on Instagram.
Adrian Stoica and Hurricane (Season 18)
This human-and-dog duo is still performing, even entertaining Prince William and Princess Catherine at the 2025 Royal Variety Performance in December. “Hurricane shine[d] bright as only she can, and I’m so [grateful] to have had the opportunity to perform with her in London,” Stoica wrote on Instagram.
Richard Goodall (Season 19)
Just last month, this singing janitor from Indiana said he was retiring from his career as a Vigo County School Corporation custodian. “Retirement coming soon and moving to the next season of life,” he wrote on social media, per the Tribune-Star. “Thank you and stay tuned and see the next phase of my ‘journey.’”
Jessica Sanchez (Season 20)
Sanchez has kept busy since her Season 20 win. She welcomed daughter Eliana Mae with husband Rickie Gallardo in October 2025, and just last month, she released her album Szn and headlined a concert in Quezon City, Philippines.
America’s Got Talent, Tuesdays, 8/7c, NBC