Top 20 Most Successful America's Got Talent Contestants
#20: Shin Lim
A ton of magicians make their way onto “America’s Got Talent,” but few have impressed like Shin Lim. Lim first competed on season thirteen and won over runners-up Zurcaroh and Brian King Joseph. He returned for “The Champions” and once again emerged victorious, this time beating ventriloquist Darci Lynne. His stellar run on the show has allowed his magic to reach a mainstream audience, and he has appeared on a wide variety of talk shows. He also got a gig working in Las Vegas, which is pretty much the dream for every professional magician. As of 2023, Lim is headlining “Limitless” at The Mirage.
#19: Drew Lynch
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Working as a stand-up comedian, Drew Lynch came to the public’s attention in the tenth season of “America’s Got Talent.” After getting the Golden Buzzer from Howie Mandel, Lynch finished in second behind winner Paul Zerdin. He is now quite a popular figure online and runs a successful YouTube account with over 2.4 million subscribers. His most popular videos have millions of views, including “Man Tries to Roast My Stutter and Fails,” which has over 380 0000 likes. Lynch has also released various comedy specials since his time on “AGT,” including 2021’s “Concussed” and 2023’s “And These Are Jokes.”
#18: Sofie Dossi
Another Golden Buzzer recipient, Sofie Dossi wowed the judges with her mindblowing acts of contortion. She became a finalist on the show’s eleventh season and later competed alongside Shin Lim in “The Champions.” Dossi now runs an eponymous YouTube channel and has enjoyed incredible success through the platform. As of 2023, her channel has over 8.7 million subscribers, and her videos have combined more than 1.5 billion views. She has also collaborated with other high-profile celebrities, including Ellen DeGeneres, Miranda Sings, and Shawn Johnson. In August of 2022, Dossi tried her hand at music and released her first single, “Bunny.”
#17: Kevin Skinner
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Hailing from Kentucky, Kevin Skinner is a country music artist who found mainstream success while appearing on the fourth season of “America’s Got Talent.” He emerged victorious over Bárbara Padilla and Recycled Percussion, winning with a rendition of Aerosmith’s “I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing.” Skinner ventured into music full time after his win, earning a show in Vegas and releasing his debut album, Long Ride. A live album followed in 2011, titled Kevin Skinner: Live And Unplugged. Unfortunately, the country star has since seemingly disappeared from the limelight, putting an end to his once promising career.
#16: Sal Valentinetti
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Jazz singer Sal Valentinetti competed in the show’s eleventh season and became a grand finalist. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to secure a podium finish, losing to the likes of Jon Dorenbos, The Clairvoyants, and winner Grace VanderWaal. But no matter. The show brought him recognition and allowed his career to flourish. Valentinetti has released a number of albums since appearing on the show, including an EP called The Voice, a Christmas record, and the 2021 album Little Valentine. He also continues to tour on a regular basis, so be sure to be on the lookout!
#15: Sam Wills
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Also competing on season eleven was Sam Wills, better known as The Boy With Tape On His Face. A very famous prop comic, Wills became a finalist and appeared in that year’s YouTube Rewind. It signified the incredible popularity that he enjoyed within internet culture - a popularity that has endured to this day. Wills is still doing his thing, and in 2020 he appeared on the French talent show, “La France a un incroyable talent: La Bataille Du Jury.” He is also highly decorated with numerous prestigious awards, including the International Achievement Award from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand. Today, Wills can be found performing at Harrah's Las Vegas Hotel and Casino under the name Tape Face.
#14: Piff the Magic Dragon
It’s hard to forget a man like Piff the Magic Dragon, considering he’s dressed like, well, a dragon. Of course, that particular gimmick isn’t the main draw - it’s the incredible magic that he performs and the seamless way that he integrates it with comedy and performative art. Piff’s real name is John van der Put, and he lectured at The Magic Circle before starring in the tenth season of “America’s Got Talent.” Van der Put is a very hard worker and followed up his TV appearance by touring his act around the world. He also landed a residency at Flamingo Las Vegas, where he performs nightly. In 2022, Piff released a new special titled “Reptile Dysfunction.”
#13: Olate Dogs
Composed of father-son duo Richard and Nicholas Olate, Olate Dogs had great success with their trick act before winning “America’s Got Talent,” even performing with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. But it was AGT that brought them world renown, and it opened up new possibilities in their performances and careers. They headlined a show at The Palazzo, performed at NBA halftime shows, did a TV special about dogs with Jane Lynch and Hilary Swank, and even released a Christmas album. They’ve toured around the world, proving that watching dogs do funny tricks will always be in demand.
#12: Paul Zerdin
Hailing from London, England, Paul Zerdin had a love for puppets since he was a young boy. After performing poorly in school, Zerdin decided to embark on a career in the magic and ventriloquist business. It may have been a huge risk, but it paid off handsomely. Zerdin won the tenth season of “America’s Got Talent” and earned a show in Las Vegas, which ran for four months at Planet Hollywood. Zerdin traded Vegas for his home country and has since found regular work at the London Palladium on the West End. He has starred in a number of productions, including “Snow White,” “Goldilocks & the Three Bears,” and 2022’s “Jack and the Beanstalk.”
#11: Jon Dorenbos
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Magic and football don’t really go hand in hand, but don’t tell Jon Dorenbos. Dorenbos was a professional football player known for his long stint with the Philadelphia Eagles. He’s a two-time Pro Bowl attendee and won an honorary Super Bowl ring in 2018 when the Eagles defeated the Patriots. Dorenbos did not play in the game, as he was forced into retirement shortly before owing to an aortic aneurysm. Dorenbos also works as a magician and competed on the eleventh season of AGT, finishing third. Finding great success in both football and magic, not to mention working as a motivational speaker and starting a business in Buffalo, Dorenbos is undoubtedly one of the most successful contestants in the show’s history.
#10: The Texas Tenors
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The Texas Tenors are a classical crossover group who placed fourth in the fourth season of “America’s Got Talent.” They've subsequently released five studio and three live albums, including “A Collection of Broadway & American Classics”, which reached
#1 on the Billboard Classical chart. But perhaps their biggest success came in 2013, when they self-produced a PBS special with The Phoenix Symphony called “You Should Dream”. The special saw the group performing with the orchestra, and receiving critical praise including three Emmys. From Houston to AGT to the Emmys, The Texas Tenors are a true success story.
#9: Michael Grimm
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Some say that musicians shouldn’t be allowed on “America’s Got Talent” due to the abundance of music-themed reality shows. But with people like Michael Grimm, we can’t complain too much. Despite performing in Vegas for years prior to auditioning for “AGT,” Grimm never received any attention or acclaim. That all changed when he won the fifth season with a soaring rendition of “When a Man Loves a Woman”. Since winning the show, Grimm married, performed at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and released three studio albums, including a self-titled disc that reached
#13 on the Billboard 200.
#8: Jabbawockeez
The Jabbawockeez are a hip hop/freestyle dance crew who appeared very briefly in season 2. While their audition impressed the judges, they were cut after the Vegas Round, ensuring that they would disappear from the spotlight forever. Except, they didn't, and instead went on to win “America’s Best Dance Crew” the following year. After appearing on various reality and talk shows, the Jabbawockeez headlined their own Vegas production titled MÜS.I.C, making them the first dance team to headline a Vegas show. They have since headlined two more performances, PRiSM and JREAMZ, at the Luxor and MGM Grand, respectively.
#7: Grace VanderWaal
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Grace VanderWaal became a national sensation due to her ukulele skills and her distinctive voice and while her golden buzzer audition quickly went viral, but that was just the beginning. She went on to win the competition and released her debut studio album called “Just the Beginning” in 2017. After touring the album, she served as the opening act for Imagine Dragons during the summer leg of their Evolve World Tour. In the 2020s, Grace pursued acting, appearing as Stargirl Caraway in Disney’s “Stargirl” and its sequel.
#6: Mat Franco
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Franco was an unstoppable tour-de-force throughout season nine, and he eventually became the first magician to win the competition. And his life essentially changed overnight. Just one year later he was headlining his own show in Vegas titled Magic Reinvented Nightly, which was heralded as the best magic show in the city. The LINQ Hotel and Casino has since renamed their theater after Franco, and his shows are still selling exceptionally well. It’s insanely difficult to make magic your full-time job, and it’s even harder to stand out in the magic sphere of Vegas. Somehow Mat has accomplished it.
#5: Melissa Villaseñor
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Melissa Villaseñor is an impressionist and comedian who got started in LA before appearing at Montreal’s Just for Laughs Festival in 2010. Just one year later she appeared in “AGT’s” sixth season and became a semi-finalist, ultimately losing to jazz singer Landau Murphy Jr. Luckily, her act was good enough to attract significant attention, and she landed a gig on “Saturday Night Live” doing an impression of Sarah Silverman. Her comedy and personality went over so well that she was promoted to a repertory player for season 44. Though she left SNL in 2022, Villaseñor continues to perform in both voice-over and acting work today. Now that’s pretty darned impressive considering most comedians crash and burn within a couple of performances!
#4: Darci Lynne Farmer
It seems like three is Darci Lynne Farmer’s lucky number. She was the third female to win the competition, behind Bianca Ryan and Grace VanderWaal - the third youth behind the same. And wouldn’t you know it, she is also the third ventriloquist to win, after Terry Fator and Paul Zerdin. Since winning the show, Farmer has embarked on a year-long tour titled “Darci Lynne and Friends Live” and then hosted “Darci Lynne: My Hometown Christmas” on NBC and announced that she was embarking on a second tour throughout 2019. She’s certainly staying busy, and we love to see her so happy and successful.
#3: Lindsey Stirling
Lindsey Stirling, everyone’s favorite violinist, appeared in season five to a mixed response. While the judges adored her unique sound, they weren’t too thrilled with her dancing and marketability. Piers Morgan even told Lindsey that she wasn’t good enough to mix playing and dancing. Of course, Lindsey ignored the critique, and stayed true to herself and her distinctive form of art. Her blending of music and dance is now highly praised, and she is one of YouTube’s most popular musicians, with over 13.6 million subscribers and more than two billion views. After co-headlined the Synthesis Tour with Evanescence, she headlined a number of her own tours, proving that her reach stretches far beyond the confines of YouTube.
#2: Jackie Evancho
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Jackie Evancho proves that you don’t need to finish first to be successful. Despite strong reviews, Jackie lost season five to Michael Grimm, but she went on to a more prosperous musical career. Her debut EP, “O Holy Night”, was a record-breaking album - it debuted at
#2 and made Jackie both the youngest solo artist to debut in the top 10 and the youngest solo artist to go platinum. She sustained the hot streak with “Dream with Me”, an album that made her the youngest artist to debut in the UK top five. And to top it off, her album “Two Hearts” became her seventh consecutive number one on the Billboard Classical chart. While the late 2010s brought about some personal struggles, Evancho was able to return to performing in the 2020s with an appearance on “The Masked Singer”.
#1: Terry Fator
Terry Fator is a fascinating success story. He was the lead singer of an unsigned band in the late '80s. And after realizing he could combine singing with ventriloquism, he pursued that... with little success. In fact, there was a time when he only sold one ticket in a 1,000-seat venue. It was this defeat that truly discouraged him, but after receiving motivation from his family, Fator auditioned for AGT. It truly changed his life. In 2008 he signed a five-year, $100 million contract with The Mirage, who quickly renamed a theater after Terry. And in 2013, he celebrated his 1,000th show in Vegas. While his Mirage residency ended in 2020, the highly paid Fator continues to perform in New York and support various charities. He's come a long way, and we've all enjoyed watching the ride.
