Nene Royal won America’s Got Talent Season 21 after America’s Vote was revealed during the September 23 Finale. The 16-year-old singer and guitarist from Phuket, Thailand completed a run that began with her viral audition of “Zombie,” continued through Howie Mandel’s Judges’ Callbacks, and included Mel B’s Live Golden Buzzer in the Quarterfinals.
Geno Ploeger finished second, Hundred Fingers took third, Royal Lasers finished fourth, and Veronika Goroshkova completed the Top 5. Come Here, Olivia Befus, Lai Noelle, Unitree, and Acro Canine Crew finished outside the Top 5.
The results followed a September 22 Finals performance show that ranged from aerial danger and dog acts to large-scale magic, dance, singing, and technology-driven entertainment. Nene’s final performance of “Seven Nation Army” drew one of the strongest reactions of the night, with Howie Mandel declaring that she should win the competition. One night later, America’s Vote made that prediction real.
Follow every Live Show, Golden Buzzer, contestant page, and weekly recap on our America’s Got Talent Season 21 Hub.
Related Golden Buzzer Performers: Lai Noelle, Acro Canine Crew, Hundred Fingers, Nene Royal, Royal Lasers, Veronika Goroshkova, and Unitree.
Golden Buzzer Tracker
Golden Buzzer Tracker:
- No new Golden Buzzers were awarded during the Season 21 Finals.
Golden Buzzer Winners
No Golden Buzzer was available during the Season 21 Finals. The finalists had reached the final stage through earlier Golden Buzzers or America’s Vote, and Nene Royal ultimately won Season 21 after receiving Mel B’s Live Golden Buzzer during the Quarterfinals.
Best Performances
Royal Lasers
Royal Lasers had the pressure of opening the Finals and answered by making their light-up dance production bigger for the last performance. The choreography again depended on the dancers hitting precise positions while the visual effects transformed the stage around them.
Howie was on his feet and focused on how much work had to happen behind the finished visual. Mel B told the group that regardless of the final result, she considered them winners and praised their choreography. Sofía called Royal Lasers one of the most fun acts of the season and said their performances had become something the judges waited to see.
KSI finished the reaction with his own version of a familiar AGT line: he did not like it — he loved it. Royal Lasers ultimately finished fourth in America’s Vote.
Veronika Goroshkova
Veronika Goroshkova had already spent the season increasing the difficulty of her aerial act. For the Finals, she pushed the danger again, combining strength and control high above the stage while moving through positions that left little margin for error.
Sofía, who gave Veronika her Audition Golden Buzzer, said she continued getting better and making the act more dangerous while somehow keeping it flawless and beautiful. Howie singled out her athletic ability and strength, while Mel B said the performance exceeded what she thought Veronika could possibly add after her earlier appearances.
KSI’s reaction captured the visual impact in a few words: dangerous, fierce, scary, and unmistakably Veronika. Veronika finished fifth in the Season 21 results.
Hundred Fingers
Hundred Fingers arrived in the Finals after receiving Golden Buzzers from Howie during both the Auditions and Quarterfinals. Their final routine expanded the presentation with multiple levels and a clearer story running through the magic.
Mel B, who had been less enthusiastic about the group earlier in the season, said this was the best they could have done on the night. She specifically liked being able to follow the story, although she also noticed moments when the performers appeared slightly out of sync.
KSI called the performance spectacular, while Sofía said Hundred Fingers did not look like any other magic group and thought the act fit the Finals perfectly. Howie went even further. He called it the best magic show he had seen and said he would put up his own money to produce a Hundred Fingers show in Las Vegas.
America’s Vote put Hundred Fingers in third place.
Nene Royal
Nene Royal walked into the Finals with Mel B’s Quarterfinal Live Golden Buzzer behind her and chose “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes for her final competitive performance.
The song gave Nene room to lean into the darker, unconventional presence that had separated her from the other singers throughout the season. By the end, the judges were standing, and Howie left the desk and went into the audience to embrace Nene’s father.
KSI was seeing her perform for the first time and said the performance was out of this world. Mel B said she was glad she had used her Golden Buzzer on Nene and again pointed to the mysterious quality of her stage presence. Sofía said there was no one else like her.
Howie delivered the strongest reaction of all: he said Nene should win the show. One night later, America’s Vote made that prediction real. Nene Royal was crowned the winner of America’s Got Talent Season 21 and received the $1 million grand prize.
During the Finale results show, Nene also performed with Linkin Park before the final results were revealed.
Geno Ploeger
Geno Ploeger entered the Finals as the only solo magician in the Top 10 and again built his performance around choices that appeared random before connecting at the end.
Photos of Sofía, Howie, and Mel B appeared in a deck and eventually combined into one image. KSI then became part of another prediction, drawing cards that corresponded with a puzzle already assembled onstage.
KSI’s immediate question was the one a magician wants to hear: how did he do it? Mel B told Geno that she believed in magic and that he was magic. Sofía focused on how far his work had carried him through a competition filled with strong acts, while Howie said Geno’s desire to be there came through more strongly than anyone else’s.
Geno finished second in America’s Vote, completing his Season 21 run as the runner-up.
Unitree
Unitree closed the Finals with the act that had already made Season 21 history: humanoid robots performing as a choreographed entertainment act on the AGT stage.
The robot production had grown substantially since its earlier appearances, giving the Finals an ending built around technology, synchronized movement, and the unusual sight of machines occupying the same performance space normally filled by dancers.
Sofía, whose Quarterfinal Live Golden Buzzer sent Unitree directly to the Finals, said the act was so good that it scared her and that she sometimes forgot she was watching robots. She called the performance spectacular because it was unlike anything she had seen before.
Mel B was more critical, questioning whether the larger production had moved away from the simple fascination of watching the robots themselves. Howie jumped into the exchange before summing up Unitree’s season with a joke: AGT had gone from America’s Got Talent to “America’s Got Technology.”
Unitree finished outside the Top 5 in the final vote.
Biggest Surprises
Nene Royal Completes the Journey From Viral Audition to Season 21 Winner
Nene Royal’s path to the title covered nearly every major stage of the season. Her audition of “Zombie” became the most-viewed audition of Season 21, Howie Mandel brought her back for Judges’ Callbacks, and she advanced to the Live Quarterfinals.
Her Quarterfinal performance of “Black Hole Sun” earned Mel B’s Live Golden Buzzer and sent her directly to the Finals. After skipping the Semifinals, she returned with “Seven Nation Army” for her final competitive performance and ultimately won America’s Vote.
Geno Ploeger Finishes Second
Geno Ploeger was one of the finalists who reached the last stage without receiving a Golden Buzzer. He advanced through America’s Vote and kept building magic around audience and judge participation, predictions, cards, and increasingly layered reveals.
That public-vote path carried him all the way to second place, making him the highest-finishing magician of Season 21.
Come Here Gets a Split Reaction
Come Here followed Royal Lasers, putting two large dance groups back-to-back near the beginning of the Finals. Their synchronized choreography again depended on a large number of performers moving as one while formations and movement styles changed across the stage.
Sofía said she could not understand how so many dancers stayed so synchronized and suggested the group could perform at the Super Bowl. Mel B called the Finals routine perfection, and KSI said he loved what he saw.
Howie was the dissenting voice. Rather than saying the group had improved at the final hurdle, he preferred their audition. Come Here ultimately finished outside the Top 5.
Acro Canine Crew Changes the Routine After an Injury
Acro Canine Crew reached Finals night after dealing with an injury during rehearsals that forced changes to the performance. That added another variable to an act already dependent on human performers, dogs, timing, and acrobatics working together.
KSI noted the risk of performing with dogs, while Howie made an important distinction: he did not consider Acro Canine Crew simply a dog act. He called it a dog show and “best in show.” Sofía told the group they clearly deserved their place in the Finals.
Acro Canine Crew finished outside the Top 5.
Lai Noelle Sounds Far Beyond 14
Lai Noelle performed Bruno Mars’ “Risk It All” in the Finals after a season that included both an Audition Golden Buzzer and Kenan Thompson’s Quarterfinal Live Golden Buzzer.
The reaction again centered on the disconnect between the voice and the singer’s age. Mel B said Lai commanded attention whenever she appeared and thought there were moments when she sounded like Whitney Houston. KSI said he was perplexed that the voice he heard was coming from a 14-year-old.
Howie did identify one area he still wanted to see change: more freedom and fun in the performance. Mel B agreed, while Sofía described Lai’s voice as mesmerizing and out of this world. Lai finished outside the Top 5.
Olivia Befus Works Through Finals-Night Nerves
Olivia Befus and her dogs did not have a completely clean final performance. The routine finished ahead of the music, and Sofía thought Olivia’s nerves were affecting both her and the dogs.
The reaction was still supportive. Sofía said she loved the act despite the mistakes, while Howie reminded Olivia that viewers would be considering what she had done throughout the season rather than judging her entire run on one performance. Mel B encouraged her to enjoy the moment.
KSI also put the accomplishment in perspective. Olivia is self-taught, and he emphasized how difficult it is to build a Finals-level routine while working with animals. Olivia finished outside the Top 5.
AGT Season 21 Final Results
Nene Royal won America’s Got Talent Season 21 after America’s Vote was revealed during the September 23 Finale. Geno Ploeger finished second, Hundred Fingers finished third, Royal Lasers took fourth, and Veronika Goroshkova completed the Top 5.
- 1st Place: Nene Royal
- 2nd Place: Geno Ploeger
- 3rd Place: Hundred Fingers
- 4th Place: Royal Lasers
- 5th Place: Veronika Goroshkova
Come Here, Olivia Befus, Lai Noelle, Unitree, and Acro Canine Crew finished outside the Top 5.
What This Means for Season 21
Season 21 is complete, and Nene Royal’s win gives the season a clear final storyline: a teenage rocker whose audition went viral, survived Judges’ Callbacks, earned a Live Golden Buzzer, skipped the Semifinals, and then won America’s Vote after her Finals performance.
The final standings also showed how strongly variety entertainment survived the Season 21 live rounds. Geno Ploeger and Hundred Fingers put two magic acts in the Top 3, while Royal Lasers and Veronika Goroshkova gave visually driven variety acts two more spots in the Top 5.
The ten-act Finals field included two dance productions, two dog acts, two magic acts, an aerialist, two singers, and a robot act. Six finalists survived both a Quarterfinal public vote and the Semifinals, while four reached the Finals directly through Quarterfinal Live Golden Buzzers.
Variety Spotlight
The Season 21 Finals put an unusually broad mix of visual and interactive entertainment on the same stage. Royal Lasers and Come Here approached dance from different directions, while Veronika Goroshkova used aerial danger and physical control to create scale with a single performer.
Acro Canine Crew and Olivia Befus showed two very different approaches to working with dogs. Hundred Fingers built magic around a large ensemble and theatrical production, while Geno Ploeger relied more heavily on choices, cards, predictions, and judge participation. Unitree pushed the variety category even further by making humanoid robots the performers themselves.
Even within the vocal category, Lai Noelle and Nene Royal arrived at the Finals with distinct identities. Lai’s performance centered on the size and maturity of her voice, while Nene leaned into the darker stage presence and unconventional style that ultimately carried her to the Season 21 title.
Booking Takeaways
The Season 21 Finals featured large dance productions, singers, aerial entertainment, dog acts, ensemble magic, close-up-style prediction magic, and technology-driven robotic entertainment.
The audience and judge reactions showed how differently those categories create impact in a live room: Royal Lasers and Come Here used synchronization and scale, Veronika Goroshkova created tension through danger, Hundred Fingers and Geno Ploeger built surprise through reveals, and the dog acts relied on the unpredictability and personality that come from performing with animals.
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Browse all of our America’s Got Talent articles for contestant features, Golden Buzzer updates, weekly recaps, and Season 21 coverage.
Related Season 21 Recaps: Auditions 1, Auditions 2, Auditions 3, Auditions 4, Auditions 5, Auditions 6, Auditions 7, Deliberations, Judges’ Callbacks Week 1, Judges’ Callbacks Week 2, Quarterfinals 1, Quarterfinals 2, Quarterfinals 3, Quarterfinals 4, Semifinals, and the Season 21 Hub.
America’s Got Talent Season 21 Finals FAQ
Who won America’s Got Talent Season 21?
Nene Royal won America’s Got Talent Season 21 after America’s Vote was revealed during the September 23, 2026 Finale.
What were the Top 5 results for America’s Got Talent Season 21?
Nene Royal finished first, Geno Ploeger finished second, Hundred Fingers finished third, Royal Lasers finished fourth, and Veronika Goroshkova finished fifth on America’s Got Talent Season 21.
Who performed in the America’s Got Talent Season 21 Finals?
Royal Lasers, Come Here, Lai Noelle, Veronika Goroshkova, Acro Canine Crew, Hundred Fingers, Nene Royal, Olivia Befus, Geno Ploeger, and Unitree performed in the America’s Got Talent Season 21 Finals.
Was there a Golden Buzzer during the AGT Season 21 Finals?
No. No Golden Buzzer was awarded during the Season 21 Finals. Nene Royal ultimately won the season after previously receiving Mel B’s Live Golden Buzzer during the Quarterfinals.
Who was the guest judge for the AGT Season 21 Finals?
KSI joined Mel B, Howie Mandel, and Sofía Vergara as a guest judge for the Season 21 Finals while Simon Cowell remained away from the show.
