On Wednesday night, “America’s Got Talent” revealed the six acts that received enough votes from viewers to advance to the season finale next week.
Here’s a look at the acts that made it through, getting one step closer to a headlining slot in Vegas and the $1 million prize.
Which 6 acts advanced to the ‘AGT’ 2025 finale?
Chris Turner
Chris Turner, a 35-year-old improv rapper from Manchester, England, has wowed the “AGT” judges and audience with his ability to take random suggestions on the spot and piece them together into a coherent storyline and rap.
For his audition, he showed off his creativity by transforming the following suggestions from the judges into a rap: meat empanada, sparkly pants, belly button, ripe and juicy papayas, and quantum physics.
“I’m fascinated by what you just did,” “AGT” judge Howie Mandel said.
“To be able to rhyme and make it make sense, and for you to be so articulate and creative. That is such a talent,” judge Mel B added. “We could have thrown anything at you.”
Turner took it up a notch during the quarterfinals by having the audience submit ideas for the judges to pick. The winning suggestions that made it into his rap: “Terry Crews in ‘White Chicks’”; “mushy peas”; “vegetable cream cheese”; and “If you’re buying plums make sure they’re ripe.”
“That was improvisation to the max,” Mel B said. “You are incredible.”
After the routine, Turner shared why this rap was particularly impressive.
“They rose to the challenge,” he said of the audience’s suggestions. “I’ve never even seen ‘White Chicks.’”
The semifinals had Turner directly interacting with the audience as he walked around and rapped on the spot about the items people had in their pockets.
The routine had judge Simon Cowell laughing so hard he couldn’t offer up any feedback.
“I have never seen you like this, Simon,” host Terry Crews said.
Mandel called it the “best act of the night,” and judge Sofia Vergara declared that the rapper should win the competition.
Jessica Sanchez
Singer Jessica Sanchez is one of the front-runners to win this season of “AGT” — her audition alone has 10 million views.
During her audition, which featured a performance of Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things,” the 29-year-old singer revealed that she had actually competed on the first season of “AGT” 20 years ago when she was just a kid and made it to the semifinals.
A few years later, she competed on “American Idol” and was the runner-up to winner Phillip Phillips.
But Sanchez told the judges that she took a break from music for a while because she was so young when she started and wanted to make sure she was doing it for herself and not for others.
Marking another step in her return to music, Sanchez performed “Beautiful Things” to such an enthusiastic audience on “AGT” that the cheers nearly drowned out the feedback from the judges.
“I think they like you,” Cowell said.
Mandel praised Sanchez for making the song her own while Mel B said she was “speechless” following the performance.
Ultimately, Vergara opted to hit her golden buzzer for Sanchez, advancing her straight to the quarterfinals.
By the time her performance in the live quarterfinals came around, Sanchez was eight months pregnant.
She almost didn’t perform because belting Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” — and executing the proper breath control for the song — at this stage of pregnancy seemed daunting, but she walked out on stage and delivered a performance that had the judges in awe.
“I am absolutely blown away,” Cowell said.
“You have never sounded better,” Mel B added.
During the semifinals — which marks her ninth month of pregnancy — Sanchez delivered a performance of JVKE’s “Golden Hour” that had the judges in awe of her vocals, although Mandel wasn’t sold on the song choice.
Ultimately, though, Sanchez’s fate was in the hands of viewers, who pushed her through to the finale.
Leo High School Choir
When 22 singers of the Leo High School Choir took the stage to audition for “AGT,” their music director, LaDonna Hill, was visibly emotional.
“These young men are amazing — they’ve never had music experience,” Hill said of the students from the South Side of Chicago. “I take whoever desires to sing. I am extremely proud of them.”
The choir quickly won over the judges with their passionate performance of The Score’s “Born For This.”
“It felt like that was your song, and you were singing it from the heart,” Mel B said.
“You guys deserve to be on this stage,” Vergara added.
Ahead of their quarterfinal performance, the choir said they’d been practicing all summer for the moment. The work that they put in paid off as they wowed the judges and audience with a rendition of Imagine Dragons’ “Believer.”
“You guys just lit up this whole entire place,” Mel B said.
After the choir’s energetic performance of Fall Out Boy’s “Centuries” for the semifinals, Cowell said he believed their act was the one that had progressed the most out of all the acts in the competition.
“You guys literally tear at my heartstrings because I can see how much this means to you,” Mel B said.
LightWire
LightWire, a Brazilian LED dance troupe, earned a golden buzzer from Simon Cowell during their audition, which has more than 2 million views on YouTube.
In their first international appearance, per Parade, the group combined dance, art and technology to bring the Amazon rainforest to the “AGT” stage. Following the performance, the dancers were visibly touched by the enthusiastic response from the crowd.
“You never, ever, ever know, when you’re doing a new year, whether you’re going to see something better than you’ve seen before,” Cowell said. “And honestly — I’m not just saying this — this was one of the most beautiful, stunning acts I’ve seen across all of the ‘Got Talents.’”
Cowell’s high praise continued during the quarterfinals as he noted that the dancers had somehow managed to take it up a level. The cheers from the crowd nearly drowned out his feedback as he called it one of the best live performances he’s seen on the show — a production on par with the opening ceremony at the Olympics.
Mel B, meanwhile, lamented not having the golden buzzer that night so she could send them straight through to the finale.
Mandel said LightWire was tailor-made for the show, and praised the act’s “spectacular visuals.”
“This is the epitome of what somebody would buy tickets for and see in Vegas,” he said.
LightWire once again brought Brazil to life for the semifinals, putting together a glow-in-the-dark dance with projections, animation and choreography that had (most of) the judges in awe.
Although Mandel said the thrill of the act had worn off for him by this point, the other judges were quick to praise LightWire.
“I could not imagine the final without this act,” Cowell said.
Jourdan Blue
Jourdan Blue had one of the most popular “AGT” auditions this season, with over 6 million views on YouTube.
The 23-year-old singer from New Orleans felt inspired to audition for the show following a truck attack on the street where he frequently performs earlier this year.
“It made me realize that there’s so much more to live for,” he told the judges. “That’s what made me choose ‘AGT.’ I feel like this is the best way to level up.”
Blue was visibly emotional after his performance of The Script’s “Breakeven,” which got a literal two thumbs up from Cowell.
The judges praised his distinctive voice: “It was like I was hearing that song for the first time, which is really hard to do with such a popular song,” Mel B said.
Ultimately, Blue earned a golden buzzer from Mandel.
The singer smiled and pocketed some of the gold confetti as it fell around him.
Blue fell ill before his highly anticipated return to the “AGT” stage for the quarterfinals.
But he powered through for a performance of Calum Scott’s “Biblical.” When the song was over, the judges asked Blue if it was true he almost didn’t come out to perform due to being sick. Blue said he had been throwing up backstage, but was determined to keep going.
“This means everything to me and there wasn’t going to be anything that held me back from that,” he said.
“I really truly believe that you can win this,” Mandel told the singer.
“I think you’re going to do amazing in this competition,” Vergara added.
The judges weren’t as impressed during the semifinals — though they still had high praise for Blue’s powerhouse vocals.
Following the singer’s rendition of Myles Smith’s “Stargazing,” Mel B said she wanted more “grit” from Blue and felt like he was holding back a little bit.
“I think you’re playing it safe,” Cowell added, encouraging Blue to “do something unexpected” if he made the finals.
Sirca Marea
There’s been a number of high-flying trapeze acts on “AGT” over the years, but for the judges, the duo Sirca Marea is standing out for the risks they take in their routines.
The married couple from Barcelona has had the judges on edge as they fly through the air, rotating between swinging by their hands and their feet.
After Sirca Marea’s audition, judge Mel B said she had been holding her breath throughout the performance.
Cowell called it “the most complicated, difficult aerial act” he’s seen on “AGT.”
“I think you are one of the best in the world,” he said.
The aerialists took it up a notch for the quarterfinals — to such a degree that they were actually out of breath as the judges gave feedback.
“This is a combination of danger, dedication and dance all in one,” Mandel said, praising the risk factor of their act that shows how badly they want to win. “It’s epic.”
“You gave me the fright of my life,” Mel B added, noting that her eyes had been closed for at least half of the routine.
After Sirca Marea’s semifinal act — where both of the aerialists performed blindfolded — Cowell praised them for always doing something new each time they take the stage.
Cowell said the routine — which got a standing ovation from all of the judges — “felt like a final performance.”
“If you don’t vote them through, if you send them home, you were blindfolded,” Mandel said.
“You have definitely come here to win, that is for sure,” Mel B added.
Who else is in the ‘AGT’ finale?
During the “AGT” quarterfinals, the following four acts received a golden buzzer to automatically earn a spot in the Season 20 finale:
Steve Ray Ladson, singer
Mama Duke, singer/rapper
Micah Palace, singer/rapper
Team Recycled, dance group
These four golden buzzer acts will join the six acts selected from viewers in the finale.
When is the ‘AGT’ 2025 finale?
The top 10 acts this season will perform in the “AGT” finals on Tuesday, Sept. 23, at 8 p.m. MDT on NBC.
“AGT” will reveal the Season 20 winner — based on voting from viewers — at the end of the two-hour finale airing on Wednesday, Sept. 24, at 8 p.m. MDT.