Culture Pop!

AGT 2025’s Finale: Spoilers From the Night (LIVE UPDATES)

AGT 2025’s Finale: Spoilers From the Night (LIVE UPDATES)

It all comes down to this! The night of nights, the results of all the results. Tonight, we find out who takes home the $1 million prize and the title of winner of America’s Got Talent Season 20. And you can keep up with Live Updates right here on NBC Insider.

After four months of evaluations by Judges Sofía Vergara, Simon Cowell, Mel B. and Howie Mandel, it was America who made the ultimate call, and Host Terry Crews who delivered the verdict. On Wednesday, September 24, we find out which of our Top 10 Finalists gets the ultimate prize. Of course, just making it that far is a prize in itself. As a reminder, the Top 10 are:

  • Mama Duke
  • Micah Palace
  • Steve Ray Ladson
  • Team Recycled
  • Jessica Sanchez
  • Chris Turner
  • LightWire
  • Sirca Marea
  • Jourdan Blue
  • Leo High School Choir

“It feels like at any moment someone’s gonna pinch me and I’ll just be rapping in my own bedroom. It really feels very, very special. I feel incredibly grateful to be performing in the Final. Sorry, Finale. Gotta make it sound as fancy as it is. Finale. Finals don’t have a million dollars at stake. Finales do,” observed finalist Chris Turner as he prepared for his last improvised rap.

RELATED: When Is America’s Got Talent On? How to Watch the 2025 Finale

Terry Crews stands near the judges on America's Got Talent Episode 2022.

Fellow finalist and rapper Mama Duke perfectly summarized her journey this season, saying, “This is crazy. It’s been a circus. It’s like, from the Auditions, four Yeses from Simon, Sofía, Mel B, Howie, to be charting, to go to Quarterfinals, to get a Golden Buzzer from Scary Spice! Mel B! To be here, rap music is here, we did it, we did it already, you know?”

Another of the most heartwarming stories from the season is that of singer Jessica Sanchez, who actually competed in the very first season of AGT when she was just a kid. Now married with her first baby on the way, she returned and made it all the way to the Finals. Though with her due date fast approaching, it’s been wild to see her balance impending motherhood with the demands of the show — and pull it off spectacularly!

AGT Season 20 Live Finale Updates

read more
AGT Makes History With Its Season 20 Winner! See Who Just Won (DETAILS)

AGT Makes History With Its Season 20 Winner! See Who Just Won (DETAILS)

It’s been four months of inspiring, intense, and wild competition, but we have our winner. The champion of Season 20, the 2025 winner of America’s Got Talent has been crowned. Judges Sofía Vergara, Howie Mandel, Simon Cowell and Mel B. asked and America answered. Here’s who is taking home the $1 million prize.

Who won America’s Got Talent Season 20?

The winner of the 20th anniversary season of AGT is Jessica Sanchez!

The 30-year-old first competed on AGT during its debut season 20 years ago when she was just 10 years old and auditioned with Celine Dion’s “I Surrender.” A young Sanchez advanced to the Semifinals via a wildcard, but was eliminated. Two decades later she returned to the show, and in an America’s Got Talent first, she performed while pregnant throughout the season. She’s currently 9 months along and expecting a daughter later this fall. She and her husband plan to name the little one, Eliana. 

RELATED: AGT 2025’s Finale: Spoilers From the Night (LIVE UPDATES)

Jessica Sanchez performs onstage on America's Got Talent Episode 2020.

“My heart is overflowing with gratitude for all the love and kind words that have been pouring in,” she wrote in the caption of a September 14 Instagram post. “I never imagined I’d be spending these final weeks of pregnancy away from home, in the middle of such an exciting competition. I truly believe God’s plan is greater than my own. This journey has been so unexpected, yet so beautiful, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Jessica Sanchez’s journey on AGT 20

The performance that ultimately clenched Sanchez the win was her rendition of Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ 2024 hit, “Die With a Smile.” The duet spent five weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Sanchez put her own thunderous spin on the ballad, with a powerful belt that has now become her signature.

‘”It’s perfection. You look like a little pregnant angel,” Vergara said. “I mean, you look beautiful, your voice, I’ve never heard anything like that.”

Mel B. added, “I feel like every time that you sing, you kind of bring us into your world more and more. You give us more emotion, more passion. The one thing I can say about you is no matter what song you sing, your vocals are just flawless and pitch perfect every single time. And I wanna thank you, and your baby’s gonna thank you, you’ve kept the baby in all this time.”

Mandel remarked that she was “the best act of the night,” and Cowell remarked that there was “an extra 10% from you,” while also noting, “Actually, there are two of you. So it’s like a duo.”

Sanchez auditioned for Season 20 with Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” and earned Vergara’s Golden Buzzer, automatically advancing her to the Quarterfinal. 

Jessica Sanchez performing on stage with fireworks and a band on America's Got Talent Season 20 Episode 20.

RELATED: Who’s Won America’s Got Talent — and Where Are They Now?

“Throughout the years I kind of fell out of love of music because I was really young and I was so swayed but what everyone wanted me to be, who they wanted me to be,” she said at the time. “Maybe it took me 20 years, but I know exactly who I am, I know exactly what I want. I’m excited to be back.”

At the Quarterfinals and 8 months pregnant, she sang Alex Warren’s hit “Ordinary” despite being hesitant to perform in the first place. 

“I take pride in what I do on stage, and I didn’t want to let my belly affect that, so I was super happy I was able to deliver,” she said. 

She advanced via America’s Vote to the Semifinal where she took on “Golden Hour” by JVKE. She gained enough America’s Votes to advance in the Top 6 for the week, taking her to the Final, ultimately winning the $1 million grand prize. 

All 10 of the Finalists deserve amazing careers

In addition to Sanchez, the live finale featured performances from nine other mega-talented Acts who deserve your attention. There was Mama Duke, the rapper whose feel-good tunes became instant earworms, dance group Team Recycled, and the Leo High School Choir, an all-boys singing group from Chicago.

RELATED: Every Golden Buzzer on AGT 2025

Singer Jourdan Blue’s soaring, emotional vocals were unforgettable, while Sirca Marea’s aerial Act was as dangerous as it was sexy. LightWire combined technology and dance, Chris Turner combined rap, improv and comedy, and Steve Ray Ladson combined Country, Bluegrass and Funk. And did you forget about the backflipping Spanglish rapper Micah Palace? We sure didn’t.

Terry Crews stands near the judges on America's Got Talent Episode 2022.

AGT 21 is already accepting auditions

Picturing yourself up on that stage? Check out agtauditions.com for all the important information: you can upload a video to the site, submit a YouTube link, or sign up for a virtual audition.

read more

Jimmy Kimmel’s Return Draws 6.2 Million Viewers, Ratings Show – The New York Times

read more
Is a New Episode of Love Island Games Coming on Tonight? (September 24)

Is a New Episode of Love Island Games Coming on Tonight? (September 24)

It’s been one week since Love Island Games came back into our lives, and Season 2 is already shaping up to be the most exciting season yet.

Part of the series’ draw is its whirlwind episode schedule, which sees new content premiering nearly every single day on Peacock. But is there an episode tonight?

Read on to find out.

Is there a new episode of Love Island Games Season 2 tonight? (September 24)

No, there won’t be a new episode airing tonight. It’s officially the day when Love Island Games viewers across the globe can finally catch their breath.

Thankfully, we won’t have to wait too long for a new episode to drop — that happens tomorrow, Wednesday, September 25, at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET exclusively on Peacock.

RELATED: Who Got Dumped on Love Island Games 2 Last Night? (UPDATES)

Sydney Paight and Kendall Washington dance as the cast claps and watches on on Love Island Games Episode 207.

Love Island Games follows a specific schedule that is appropriately cheeky for the show: “Every day but hump day,” meaning that every day except for Wednesday you can stream brand-new eps every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Oh, and Love Island Aftersun, a weekly recap talk show hosted by Maura Higgins, breaks down the drama and behind-the-scenes action every Saturday on Peacock, too.

(Yes, Love Island Games really does come out with new episodes six out of the seven days of the week!)

What’s the difference between the OG Love Island and Love Island Games?

Although they share so many similarities, there are a few main differences between the two shows that fans should be aware of.

First and foremost, Love Island Games puts a priority on the competition rather than making love connections, a stark contrast to the OG Love Island USA series.

Season 1 host Maya Jama explained the difference perfectly in the series’ first episode:

The competitors standing together in Love Island Games Season 2, Episode 3.

“You’ll be glad to know you’re still gonna be coupling up and getting to know each other on a romantic level. But this time, in your couples, you’ll also be competing against each other in challenges,” Maya revealed. “And those challenges will determine everything, from who you couple up with to who stays in the villa and who gets dumped.”

RELATED: The Love Island Games Season 2 Cast: Every Islander in the Villa So Far

Love Island Games is also shorter than the OG, running approximately three weeks compared to the original’s six-week filming schedule.

And while the winning couple of Love Island USA takes home $100,000 — even if they wind up splitting up shortly afterward — the grand prize on Love Island Games is $250,000, the biggest amount in franchise history.

Not a bad way to spend a few weeks in Fiji.

read more
Netflix Users Hooked on Korean Series with Over 80 Million Viewing Hours & 97% Rotten Tomatoes Score

Netflix Users Hooked on Korean Series with Over 80 Million Viewing Hours & 97% Rotten Tomatoes Score

Netflix’s latest K-drama hit, Bon Appétit, Your Majesty (Korean: 폭군의 셰프), has quickly become a favorite among viewers, racking up over 80 million hours of streaming, according to Netflix. The fantasy-romantic series, directed by Jang Tae-yoo and written by fGRD, stars Im Yoon-ah, Lee Chae-min, Kang Han-na, and Choi Gwi-hwa. It premiered on tvN on…
read more
20 Anime Based on Video Games

20 Anime Based on Video Games

Video games and anime have crossed paths for decades, and the results cover everything from sweeping fantasy to courtroom drama. Studios adapt mechanics, characters, and story routes in ways that fit episodic TV or feature films while keeping the spirit of the source material. This list brings together twenty anime that started as games, including…
read more