‘AGT: The Champions’ – Host & Judges 2019

America's Got Talent Judges 2018, AGT Season 14 Cast

Photo by: NBCUniversal

The latest episode of America’s Got Talent: The Champions airs tonight at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Tonight’s episode will feature 12 performers who have competed in seasons prior as they attempt to prove who is the best of the best. Read on to learn about the host and judges of the competition.


Terry Crews – Host

Terry Crews is currently the host of America’s Got Talent: The Champions. According to Variety, Crews will also be replacing Tyra Banks as the host of the main America’s Got Talent series starting next season.

“I am so proud and honored to join Simon, Mel, Heidi and Howie in hosting the #1 alternative series on television,” Crews said upon landing the gig. “NBC’s America’s Got Talent is a show I love to watch with my family and now to actually be a part of this special edition, The Champions, is more than I could have asked or dreamed. Now America’s Got Terry Crews!”


Simon Cowell – Judge

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Simon Cowell has been involved with AGT since its inception in 2006. He spoke to TV Tango about the difficulty of sifting through the bad performers and finding the special ones. “It’s the hardest job in the world,” he revealed. “A lot of the time, some of the people, most of the people who are put in front of us who are horrible, there’s normally one producer sitting in the back row with his hands over his head going, ‘Well, he was good when he came to my room,’ or she was good. So they do make mistakes. But it’s tough.”

“It’s been a lot of fun,” he added. “There was one day I actually said I think I’ve lost the will to live…some weirdo doing some kind art thing. But when you discover a star or you think that could become a star, you’ll never forget that moment — never forget that audition. This is a lot of fun, by the way.”


Heidi Klum

Heidi Klum has been an AGT judge since 2013. In an interview with TV Insider, Klum spoke on the pressure of dealing with viewer expectations in addition to finding the right contestants.

“It’s harder on my nerves,” she said. “Because in the back of my head, I’m thinking that 12 million people are watching, and that’s really frightening. I have these blackout moments where I borderline can’t even remember my own name.”


Howie Mandel

Howie Mandel has been an AGT judge since 2010. In a recent interview with Westchester Magazine, Mandel spoke on the importance of the series and its status as the last of dying breed of television. “It’s the last bastion of variety television,” he said.

“Television was a takeoff on vaudeville and, at one time, almost everyone did a variety hour,” he added. “The big one from when I was a kid was The Ed Sullivan Show. Now, the last bastion of anything like that, where people can see a variety of acts and where it is like a circus right in their living room every day, is AGT.”


Mel B

Mel B has been an AGT judge since 2013. “I like the live shows—the energy, the nervousness, the vibe of high-intensity drama it creates,” she told TV Insider. “Literally anything can happen. I’ve programmed myself not to say anything too out there, like the F-bomb, for example. Although it has happened.”

Mel B also talked about her friendship with Klum. “One minute we’ll be talking about our kids, the next we’ll be talking about the act, then it’s our hair and makeup,” she added. “Heidi is always correcting lashes or something on me. At the end of the day, we’re girly girls.Working girly girls!”