America's Got Talent 9 Winner Revealed - Results for 09/17/2014 (Recap + Video)

By Nick Roman ·

Welcome to the live blog and recap of America's Got Talent 2014, "Finale" on Wednesday, September 17, 2014! Last night's show was AMAZING, as every act delivered at least one solid, vote-worthy performance, in my opinion. This could end up being the tightest finale race in AGT history! Case in point, as of press time, Rickey.org readers predict Mat Franco to win with 372 votes Emily West's 354! Will the actual result be anywhere near as close? Could Mat Franco potentially become the first magician to win America's Got Talent?

As a reminder, here are the six acts vying for the $1 million prize (click on their name to see a list of their performances, including their performance from last night):

Sons of Serendip
Emily West
Miguel Dakota
AcroArmy
Quintavious Johnson
Mat Franco

Even though I have absolutely zero expectation of being right, I'm standing by my predictions from last night:

6th Place: Sons of Serendip
5th Place: Miguel Santos
4th Place: Mat Franco
3rd Place: Quintavious Johnson
2nd Place: AcroArmy
1st Place: Emily West

But those are just my guesses. How do you think the results will play out? Hit up the comments section, and keep it locked right here, as I'll be updating with my live, running commentary and the results! Let's get this show on the road!

Credit: Michael Parmlelee/NBC

RECAP

-We open with the usual "Who will it be?!" finale video package, before getting introductions for Nick Cannon and the judges. Heidi talks about how close the finale has been, before Howard points out that Mel B's fly is down, or something similar. Sorry, I'm just waiting for the coffee to kick in before I start noticing details.

PITBULL opens the show!

-Pitbull performs his new song, "Fireball", and I'll say this: the man knows his way around a beat. I swear, the choruses to his songs are so eerily infectious that it's hard not to at least tap a toe or two. It certainly helps that The Rockettes are onstage with him, getting their dance on and generally making me want to get up and burn off a few calories shaking it. Hell, even Howard and Heidi feel compelled to get up and dance!

-Of course, I can never tell if Pitbull is lip-syncing or not, but that doesn't really matter much to me, since this is a total spectacle performance, with pyro and dancing and flashing lights that are so bright, it's like the sun is onstage. Nick announces that Pitbull is touring America with Enrique Iglesias, which...eh, I guess I can't get excited about everyone. (Sorry, Enrique)

-After the performance, we get a video package recapping last night's show with backstage tidbits. The lead singer from Sons of Serendip cries tears of happiness backstage from the judges' comments, Heidi tries to figure out how the hell Mat did his Human Deck of Cards trick, AcroArmy's members congratulate one another, Emily embraces her family and sobs backstage after learning the judges liked her performance, Mat Franco's grandmother expresses her pride in her grandson, Miguel Dakota watches the other acts nervously backstage, and Quintavious Johnson is hugged by his younger brothers in a moment that's downright adorable.

-We return from break with clips from the Reddi-Whip After Party, where Mat Franco 'vomits' cards, Miguel Dakota and Emily West do adorable 1930s voices, and Quintavious and one of the acrobats from AcroArmy balance spoons on their nose. Aaaand that'll be it for Reddi-Whip this season.

SONS OF SERENDIP duet with TRAIN!

-They duet 'Drops of Jupiter', a song I still catch hell from my friends for liking as much as I do (that and 'Superman (It's Not Easy)' by Five For Fighting -- what can I say? I have a corny streak). This is an absolutely lovely performance, as I'm pretty sure they can perform absolutely anything and make it sound positively heavenly. This was over way too soon, in my opinion.

-After the duet, Sons of Serendip bail from the stage as Train begins performing their new single, 'Angel In Blue Jeans'. It's probably the most I've liked a Train single in a decade ('Ordinary' from the original Spider-Man 2 soundtrack was my JAM in 2004), but I still would rather have heard Sons of Serendip sing again. Love those guys, even if just about everyone I know who watches this is Team Mat Franco or BUST. Not that I blame'em. Mat Franco is fantastic, but Sons of Serendip have always been a favorite of mine.

ACROARMY and TRAVIS BARKER perform!

-I was wondering how an acrobatic act would duet with anybody, and I guess this is the answer, as Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker plays over Lorde's cover of 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' while AcroArmy does their thing.

-This is every bit as sensational as every other AcroArmy performance in exist. Not a single moment of this I didn't love, except for the guys in the control room deciding it would make more sense to focus on Travis Barker drumming than focusing on the acrobats onstage. Ah well, Barker IS an insanely talented drummer, to be fair. Anyway, now I'm wondering how Mat Franco will "duet" with someone.

-Mel B is wearing a robe because, as we learned from Howard in the opening, her pants ripped. So they're getting mended right now. This gives us the perfect opportunity to segue into a retrospective video on the judges' silliest moments this season, set to 'Timber' by Pitbull and Ke$ha. This is a cute video that illustrates these four really are friends, as they talk about their favorite moments from Season 9 and share group hugs. This is easily my favorite panel of all the seasons, and I'll be pretty disappointed if they don't all come back for Season 10. On the subject of new seasons, we get a preview of the new season of The Voice, and I'm stunned it's here already. Time doesn't just fly, it zooms.

MIGUEL DAKOTA duets with LENNY KRAVITZ

-Lenny hits the stage first to perform his new single, 'The Chamber'. This really isn't my kind of song at all, and Lenny sounds a bit like a lamb during the chorus. But to each his own. If nothing else, I appreciate that it's the superstar kicking things off and building to the entrance of the contestants, as opposed to the other way around. Makes Miguel seem like a big deal.

-Together, Miguel and Lenny perform 'American Woman', and I can see what Howie means about Miguel, as he just looks like a total star up there. He sounds great too, at least better than Lenny. I'm just such a sucker for that Jim Morrison-esque tone in Miguel's voice. A solid performance where the contestant actually overshadowed the star, in my opinion.

-Howard thought the performance was great, and gives props to Lenny's all-female band (that band WAS awesome). He then goes into a speech, saying that Nick has been sad all season, and that he thinks everyone in America knows why. Nick seems worried Howard is going to bring up Mariah Carey, but Howard swerves him and says Nick has been sad because he's never won an Emmy for hosting. We then get a pretty outstanding video package that illustrates why Nick deserves recognition from awards bodies, and you know what? He does. AT LEAST a nomination. Seriously, the guy is the glue that holds this whole thing together. Nick is a great host, one of the best of any reality competition series, for my money.

MAT FRANCO performs with HOWARD STERN and ROSIE O'DONNELL!

-Howard and Rosie pick cards, and Mat tells them to hide their cards somewhere on their person. Rosie hides her cards in her bra, while Howard hides his cards in his crotch ("Only Heidi can get them here!"). He then shuffles the cards and has Mel B pick, and she chooses a card with the number 3, meaning he has to make three cards vanish, essentially teleporting them from Rosie's bra to Howard's crotch. Mat does his trick, making teleportation motions with his hands. We then have Rosie remove the cards from her bra: the trick worked! Howard has them now!

So...yeah, Mat for the win? Or is this still Emily West's competition to lose?

-Back from break, we get a Snapple cocktail party, because apparently a Reddi-Whip After Party isn't enough. Still, we get some cute segments, such as Howie failing to give Miguel female advice, or Howard declaring that he knew all along that Quintavious was 28 years old after seeing him holding a Snapple glass that looks like champagne.

QUINTAVIOUS JOHNSON duets with JENNIFER HUDSON!

-Jennifer Hudson kicks things off with her new single, 'It's Your World', and it's a very dancey track. Reminded me of Donna Summer, actually, as this was straight-up disco, from the beat to the dancers in sequins and frizzy hair behind her. Even the dance movements seem straight out of Studio 54. It's a catchy song, although it feels like a bit too much of a throwback to be a hit. But you never know.

Quintavious comes out onstage for (what else?) 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going', and I find myself wondering if J-Hud ever gets tired of singing this on reality talent show finales with contestants. Either way, I'm nowhere near sick of hearing it, as Quintavious absolutely SLAYS this. It was easily his best vocal, in my opinion. This kid is incredible, going note-for-note with Jennifer Hudson, which is crazy for a 12-year-old to accomplish.

In the post-performance interview, Jennifer talks about how talented Quintavious is, even forgoing promoting her new album just to gush about how great the kid is, and I don't blame her one bit.

-We're back from break with another performance, and if we're just going to keep having performances back-to-back like this, Nick needs to stop saying we're going to get the first result "in just a few minutes". Seriously, he's said it at least three times over the past 45 minutes.

EMILY WEST duets with CYNDI LAUPER!

-Oh, Emily. Just because you're singing with Cyndi Lauper doesn't mean you have to have the same iffy fashion sense. I have no idea what Emily was wearing here. It was like a pantsuit made of a 50s housewife dress.

Oh yeah, the performance. They sing 'True Colors', and it starts off with Emily coming across as if she's trying to sound like Lauper. That said, it's still a killer vocal, particularly once they harmonize towards the end. After the performance, Cyndi recalls knowing Emily from her time on The Apprentice, which is news to me (Cyndi wasn't even sure she could mention it, since she wasn't sure if the show was even on this network or not). I'll be stunned if Emily doesn't win this simply from how the producers are laying out this show. She closed the show last night, and she closed the duet performances tonight. At the very least, it shows to me that they're expecting her to win. Then again, American Idol usually spoils the winner during the finale by having the runner-up take the stage as the final performer before they reveal the results. Of course, what's more likely is that I'm looking too far into this stuff.

-We then get a video package recapping the ENTIRE SEASON. And you know what? This HAS been an awesome season, filled with a lot of really unique, interesting talent. This show alone has made this a fun summer for TV, if you ask me.

RESULTS, PT. 1

-Nick brings all the talent onstage and cuts right to the chase. One artist will leave the competition right now, coming in sixth place. The result...

MIGUEL DAKOTA finishes in SIXTH PLACE!

Miguel remains upbeat, and thanks everyone for his time in the competition. Howie says it's not over yet for Miguel, and I actually believe him, assuming Miguel keeps working at this.

RESULTS, PT. 2

-We continue with the results, as there are five acts remaining onstage. The result...

QUINTAVIOUS JOHNSON finishes in FIFTH PLACE!

The crowd is SHOCKED, and boos the hell out of this result. The judges all have their jaws practically on the ground.

However, Quintavious is cool with the result. He's all smiles as he talks about how not everyone gets to say they were in the Top 6 of America's Got Talent. Heidi says she's shocked Quintavious didn't win, but wishes him the best. As does Nick, who says that when he couldn't compare to Quintavious when he was 12, as all he wanted to do at that age was go to amusement parks. It's then that Nick reveals that the show will be sending Quintavious and his family on a vacation to Universal Orlando for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter's Diagon Alley wing. Awwww, I wanna go! Seriously though, congrats to Quintavious on making it this far. Fifth place is nothing to be ashamed of.

ED SHEERAN performs!

-We finally get the performance we didn't get last week, as Ed Sheeran performs 'Don't'. There isn't much more to it than that, actually. He does sing/rap the hell out of it though. I love the hell out of this song, and this performance was great.

RESULTS, PT. 3

-The four remaining acts gather onstage, and...

SONS OF SERENDIP finish in FOURTH PLACE!

As with the other acts eliminated so far, Sons of Serendip seem okay with where they finished, and seemed to even be expecting it. They thank everyone, while the judges give them a standing ovation. Mel B tells the guys that this is only the beginning for them, as I wonder how many platitudes we can squeeze into the next fifteen minutes. That said, I was definitely rooting for these guys and are sad to see them go. I absolutely believe Mel in her assessment that this isn't the end for these four, and I hope I get to have an album from them on my iTunes sooner rather than later.

RESULTS, PT. 4

-And we learn which act has come in third place...

ACROARMY finishes in THIRD PLACE!

The group talks about what working together can accomplish, as they've hoped to inspire people and accomplish their dreams. Howard says they've succeeded in inspiring people, adding that they'll never be forgotten. He also jokes for them to finally find some shirts, and tells Nick to give them one of his shoes. AcroArmy would have been a worthy winner, but this is a solid top two regardless.

-Nick interviews Emily and Mat. Emily is overwhelmed, while Mat says it's an honor to be here, adding that it's all out of their hands now. Mel B is nervous for both of them, saying she doesn't know who to root for since she loves both acts. And with that, we go to our final commercial break...

-And we're back with one final video package detailing the respective journeys of the Top 2 contestants. Both have come a really long way, although I continue to be impressed with the depth and variety of Mat's tricks, as they're as complex and varied as Emily's vocals are rich and multi-layered. I love both these acts and expect Emily to win, but I'm rooting for Mat right now. The dude has completely won me over.

FINAL WINNER RESULTS

-So it's down to Emily West and Mat Franco. The singer vs. the magician. A very worthy Top 2, in my opinion. But now we get the winner results: after what feels like an eternity, Nick finally reveals the winner...

EMILY WEST finishes in SECOND PLACE!

MAT FRANCO WINS AMERICA'S GOT TALENT 2014!

A MAGICIAN FINALLY DID IT!

Mat can't believe it, and it's such a great winning moment, as he seemed genuinely resigned to finishing in second just moments before the result was read. Emily gives him a huge hug and thanks Nick and everyone else for having her on the show, as it really changed her life. Mat, meanwhile, says this feels awesome. I would think so!

Either person would have been a great choice for a winner, but I admit that even while I was an Emily West diehard early on, I'm absolutely thrilled that Mat Franco won, if only to offer more variety among winners. It's often a foregone conclusion that a singer is going to win this show, so to see a magic act not only thrive on this show, but go all the way, is truly inspiring. And it might prompt other first-rate magic acts to start auditioning for the show, as they now see that magicians CAN win this show. And that's an exciting prospect for Season 10.

What do you think of the final winner results? Did everyone finish in the place they should have? And what did you think of Season 9 overall? Sound off in the comments! Until next season, thank you for hanging out with me over the past few months! It's been an absolute blast.

GOODNIGHT!

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