There are many reasons why America’s Got Talent season 1 was the worst season. The show suffered from a lack of identity in its inaugural year, and the problems only grew from there.

The lineup that season included host Regis Philbin and a judging panel consisting of singer Brandy Norwood, David Hasselhoff and Piers Morgan. In the beginning, AGT struggled to find its footing among a sea of competition talent programs. American Idol – also a Simon Cowell creation – was a ratings juggernaut. Critics began comparisons of the two shows, which were compounded by the prevalence of vocal talent auditioning for a spot in AGT‘s finale. There were concerns that the show should be more mindful about embracing ALL talents and not just singers. Next, there was the addition of Piers Morgan to the lineup. The British journalist was completely out of place judging a show about talent alongside actual celebrities. Morgan wasn’t a huge name in the United States at the time. Sure, he may have had some appeal in the U.K., but producer-creator Simon Cowell had a real opportunity to put a talent with gravitas in that seat, but didn’t. With each performance, Hasselhoff and Norwood weighed in and it came from a place of “I’ve been there,” or “Trust me and my experience: This wasn’t your night.” However, Morgan’s critiques were exponentially more harsh.

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Very quickly into the season, Morgan solidified himself as the tough judge, taking a page from Simon Cowell’s book on American Idol. He often gave curt critiques of acts that he felt lacked the level of talent he expected. Morgan’s ire even extended to the audience from time to time. He once said to the crowd: “Audience, if you want to go through, cheer, wait, if you think maybe it’s the biggest waste of space you’ve ever seen then boo.”

The first season’s champion was 11-year-old Bianca Ryan. She auditioned with the song “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” from the Broadway musical Dreamgirls. Ryan became an instant favorite with the judges and viewers alike. Her voice had a soulful maturity unlike anyone else competing that season. In her finale performance, she sang “I Am Changing” – also from Dreamgirls. Ryan returned to the show in season 2 to cheer on the contestants before the finale. The runners up in season 1 were the clogging dance group All That, as well as the singing/magic duo The Millers, who came in third place.

America’s Got Talent has grown into a wonderful family-friendly showcase of talent from all over the country. However, its first season left a lot to be desired. Looking back, it was missing the spark that some of the later episodes would come to have. Not only that, but the show’s curse of having a revolving door of personnel among its judges and hosts started with Norwood leaving due to an ongoing legal issue. Hasselhoff would later vacate his station as a judge due to issues connected with his alcoholism. Even Philbin would be replaced by Jerry Springer. Thankfully, fans of the show now have a formula that works much better onscreen, despite its difficulties behind the scenes.

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About The Author


Ebony March
(414 Articles Published)

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Ebony March is a contributing writer at Screen Rant. Her career in entertainment journalism began in 2007 as a film and music reviewer. Before joining Screen Rant’s Reality TV beat in 2019, Ebony was a contributor at Guitar World and Intent (now Intent Blog). She freelanced as a digital news producer at KABC-TV in Los Angeles and was a freelance producer at the Los Angeles Times.

Ebony’s interest in social activism, music, and pop culture led to appearances on 60 Minutes, MTV’s Subterranean and 12 Angry Viewers, as well as Comedy Central’s Beat the Geeks.

In her spare time, you’ll find Ebony poring over interior design feeds on Pinterest, or obsessively binge-watching episodes of Saturday Night Live. She’s also an avid cook and player of classic 8-bit video games like Galaga and Ms. Pacman. Follow Ebony on Twitter.

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