America’s Got Talent crowned its season 12 champion Wednesday during a two-hour star-studded finale.
Young ventriloquist singer Darci Lynne, 12, was named the winner of the $1 million prize and will go on to headline a Las Vegas show as the result of her win, which came after an impressive performance that saw her singing The Beatles’ hit With A Little Help From My Friends, with two different dummies.
The talented young tween’s sensational win will come as no surprise to dedicated viewers of the show, as Darci has been tipped as a front-runner since her first appearance on the talent contest.
Season finale: Judges Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum and Simon Cowell, shown earlier this month, crowned America’s Got Talent season 12 champion on Wednesday night
Gifted: Tween ventriloquist Darci Lynne Farmer was named the winner of the hotly-contested reality competition, after performing on Tuesday night with two different singing dummies
Competition: The young girl, of Oklahoma City, vied for the winner spot, as well as for the $1 million cash prize, during Tuesday’s episode, going up against nine other finalists
The season finale featured performances by Kelly Clarkson, Shania Twain and British singer James Arthur.
The final 10 acts performed Tuesday on the NBC talent competition show, but had to endure an agonizing 24-hour wait before the winner of the contest was finally revealed in front of a live studio audience.
The field was narrowed down to the top five as host Tyra Banks, 43, announced the first results of viewer voting.
Deaf singer Mandy Harvey, dog act Sara & Hero, light-up dance crew Light Balance, and 10-year-old singer Angelica Hale all finished in the top five alongside blonde tween Darci – who was overjoyed at winning the competition.
And Darci is certainly not the first young tween to be crowned as the winner of the show; season eleven was won by 13-year-old singer and songwriter Grace VanderWaal back in September 2016.
Unbelievable: While Darci has pulled out plenty of different characters during her appearances on the show, this was the first time she had appeared with two dummies
Bigger and better things: The tween will now go on to headline her own Las Vegas show
Throwback: Darci first made her mark on the stage back in June when she performed with Petunia for the first time (left), before returning a few weeks later with Oscar the mouse (right)
Popular: Edna Doorknocker – a sassy senior citizen with a crush on Simon Cowell – was the final dummy to make an appearance before the final
Where it all began: Darci received the Golden Buzzer from Mel B for her first appearance on the show, the very highest honor a competitor can receive
Darci made a huge impression on judges from day one with her unique act, when she took to the stage with one of her dummies in the very first round of the show.
The talented star stepped onstage holding a rabbit puppet, apparently slightly nervous as she chatted with the judges — but any hint of stage fright disappeared as she sang the first notes of her chosen song, Summertime.
Oklahoma City-based Darci immediately stunned the judges with her powerful voice, which seemed to rise miraculously from her apparently shut mouth.
Darci expertly moved the puppet around, as if the enchanting voice were coming from the rabbit named Petunia.
The amazing performance went so well Darci earned a standing ovation and on of the highest honors of the show – before Mel B went on to top it by hitting the Golden Buzzer, meaning Darci sailed through to the live shows.
Small but powerful: Angelica Hale, 10, was tipped as Darci’s biggest rival in the competition, having stunned judges week after week with her powerful voice
Belting it out: The youngster donned a glamorous gold sequined dress for the show, during which she performed her own version of Clean Bandit’s Symphony
From there, she continued to wow week on week, introducing the audience to a new puppet character each week, from a fluffy mouse called Oscar, to Edna Doorknocker – a sassy senior citizen with an enormous crush on Simon Cowell.
For the final round of the show, Darci brought back her first to favorites, Petunia and Oscar, who proceeded to sing a stunning ‘duet’ to the tune of The Beatles’ iconic hit.
The sensational performance earned yet another standing ovation from the judges and the audience, with viewers of the show quickly naming her as the likely winner of the competition – a prediction which turned out to be spot on.
Indeed, Darci’s only main competition, according to viewers, came in the form of another tween competitor, Angelia Hale, a 10-year-old singer with a powerful voice to rival talented singers decades older than her.
And while Angelica finished alongside her rival in the top five, her finals performance of Clean Bandit’s Symphony was not enough to earn her the top spot – despite it also earning a standing ovation from the judges and the audience.
Star turn: Deaf singer Mandy Harvey also earned herself a spot in the top five
Take a bow wow: Sarah Carson and her dog Hero were also among the top five competitors
Lights, camera, action! Dance act Light Balance rounded out the top five
Indeed, Angelica hit such phenomenally high notes during her song, that even the often-frosty Simon couldn’t help but admit he was ‘gobsmacked’ by her talent.
Meanwhile Heidi, who previously called Angelica her ‘personal favorite,’ started off the judge’s comments, before declaring: ‘Oh my gosh you are only four feet tall, but you are a giant! Unbelievable!’
She added: ‘And you know, Angelica, for me, I think you are the best singer we have in this entire competition.’
Howie chimed in, saying: ‘What a way to open this show! This is the finale and that felt like that was the finale! That was the way to close the show, let alone open it!’
Mel B was similarly blown away by Angelica’s performance, saying that she looked ‘comfortable and confident’ and without ‘one ounce of nervousness’ on the stage.
‘You took the stage and you controlled every note. That was just amazing! Absolutely amazing!’ Mel gushed.