FIRST:It's the moment you've all been waiting for. The winner of #AGT is... pic.twitter.com/ihU5BCBdUa
— America’s Got Talent (@AGT) September 28, 2023
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America's Got Talent has officially crowned a new champion!
After weeks of intense competition, trainer Adrian Stoica and his dog Hurricane were declared the season 18 winner on Wednesday night's much-anticipated NBC finale.
The dog trainer and his faithful canine companion walked away with a grand prize of $1 million and a headlining act as part of the America's Got Talent Presents Superstars Live show at the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Adrian and his border collie proved to be an instant crowd-pleaser from the beginning of their AGT journey.
For their audition, the dynamic duo — who have performed together all over the world — put on a display of various impressive tricks set to "Better When I'm Dancing" by Meghan Trainor.
They once again impressed the judges at the live show, during which they performed a routine set to Smash Mouth’s cover of “I’m a Believer” and Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” They received standing ovations and unanimous praise.
“I think in terms of stepping up from the audition to the live show, this is the best act we've seen tonight,” judge Simon Cowell declared. “This was live, and that was a tricky routine. She was amazing."
“I think Hurricane is ready for Vegas,” fellow judge Sofía Vergara added enthusiastically, unknowingly teasing what was to come.
Then, in Tuesday's finale, the duo pulled out all the tricks for a performance set to Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," and even called up Vergara to help with their act.
Adrian and Hurricane were up against a fierce roster of talent, which included 10 other promising candidates: synchronized dance group Murmuration, stand-up comedian Ahren Belisle, singer-musician Putri Ariani, head-balancing duo the Ramadhani Brothers, magician Anna DeGuzman, singer Lavender Darcangelo, dance group Chibi Unity, the Mzansi Youth Choir, the 82nd Airborne Division Chorus and the all-women Japanese dance group Avantgardey.
During Wednesday's finale, the top 5 acts were announced as the Ramadhani Brothers, Putri Ariani, Adrian Stoica and Hurricane, Anna DeGuzman and Murmuration.
Though Mzansi Youth Choir did not make it into the top 5, they learned shortly after their elimination that Coldplay had invited them to perform with them live at their upcoming show.
From there, Ramadhani Brothers finished in fifth place, Putri Ariani in fourth, Murmuration in third, and magician Anna DeGuzman in second.
Aside from the contestants, Wednesday's finale show boasted several notable guests, including pop and R&B singer Jason Derulo, musician John Batiste, singer Leona Lewis, Iron Chef's Cat Cora, legendary songwriter Diane Warren, the band Thirty Seconds to Mars and AGT season 17 winner The Mayyas.
Each of the contestants got a chance to perform with one of the guests for one final time on the AGT stage.
