America's Got Talent Winner Revealed — Did the Right Act Win Season 16?

Andy Swift
·2 min read
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America welcomed a new winner on Wednesday, and they’re very talented. After nearly four full months of fierce competition — plus whatever the heck Sethward was — Season 16 of America’s Got Talent revealed its latest champion in a star-studded extravaganza of… you know, American talent.

The two-hour event also featured performances by and appearances from Adele Dazeem Idina Menzel, Pentatonix, Bishop Briggs, George Lopez, Rico Rodriguez, Olympians Jordan Chiles and MyKayla Skinner, and AGT Season 9 winner Mat Franco.

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Heading into Wednesday’s finale, aerialist Aidan Bryant was the clear frontrunner, with nearly 25 percent of TVLine readers expecting him to walk — er, fly — away with the grand prize. Following somewhat closely behind Bryant in our poll was comedian Josh Blue (13.75 percent), vocal machine Northwell Nurse Choir (13.4 percent) and quick-change magician Lea Kyle (10.8 percent).

Let’s see how did our readers’ predictions stack up against the actual results…

After 90 minutes of song and dance, America’s votes were revealed, instantly eliminating the following five acts: stand-up comedian Gina Brillon, singer Jimmie Herrod, martial arts group World Taekwondo Demonstration Team, singer Victory Brinker and the Northwell Health Nurse Choir.

That left stand-up comedian Josh Blue, quick-change artist Lea Kyle, aerialist Aidan Bryant, singer Brooke Simpson and magician Dustin Tavella as the season’s Top 5. Then came the final moments of truth, as those five were eliminated one by one. All told, here’s how things shook out, including “the closest Top 2 vote in the show’s history”:

FIFTH | Lea Kyle
FOURTH | Brooke Simpson
THIRD | Josh Blue
SECOND | Aidan Bryant

That means Dustin Tavella has officially won the $1 million prize, along with a spot in America’s Got Talent Las Vegas Live at Luxor Hotel and Casino this fall.

Your thoughts on this season’s winner? Did the Top 5 shake out as you expected? However you’re feeling right now, drop a comment below.

Launch Gallery: <i>AGT</i> Sets Season 16 Finalists: Did the Right Acts Make It? See the Full List

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