*Caution: Spoilers ahead!
After nearly four months of competition, America’s Got Talent has crowned a season 18 champion!
It all came down to the Top 11 on Wednesday — which included singers, a stand-up comedian, a young magician, three dance crews, two choirs, and a record-setting total of five Golden Buzzer winners — all of whom beat the odds to make it this far.
However, only one could win the grand prize of $1 million and a special stage show at the Luxor in Las Vegas.
After a fun night of big celebrity cameos and memorable performances — which took up the majority of the first hour of the big two-hour finale — host Terry Crews had the unenviable task of revealing the first results of the night, and slashing the Top 11 down to the Top 5.
The acts to make the Top 5 included the acrobatic duo the Ramadhani Brothers, the singer and pianist Putri Ariani, the trained dog act known as Adrian Stoica and Hurricane, magician Anna DeGuzman and the flawless dance group Murmuration.
Which meant we had to bid farewell to the talented songstress Lavender Carcangelo, the dance group Chibi Unity, comedian Ahren Belisle, the 82nd Airborne Chorus, the Mzansi Youth Choir and the experimental dance crew Avantgardey.
After the Ramadhani Brothers came in 5th place, and Putri Ariani ended up coming in 4th, the whole season came down to Murmuration, Stoica and DeGuzman!
In one of the biggest upsets imaginable, the odds-on favorites to win, Murmuration, wound up in third place, leaving the judges absolutely shocked.
Mandel — who gave Murmuration his Golden Buzzer during the audition rounds, was nearly at a loss for words, telling the group, “You know how much I love you. Your act, in my heart, is the best thing I have seen this season. I love what you do and I think you guys are just amazing. I don’t know what to say.”
This meant the whole season came down to the 24-year-old magician and an impressive dog act. Finally, after all the votes were counted, Crews announced the season’s grand champion…
… and the winner is Adrian Stoica and Hurricane! Meaning the magical DeGuzman was the season’s runner-up.
This marks only the second time an animal act has earned the grand prize after Olate Dogs were crowned the champs all the way back in Season 7.
Congrats to the season 18 champions!
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