America's Got Talent has crowned Brandon Leake its Season 15 champion during Wednesday night's live finale broadcast on NBC.

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The 27-year-old spoken word poet, artistic educator and motivational speaker from Stockton, CA, was named America's Got Talent's fifteenth-season winner based on home viewer votes cast following Tuesday night's live episode which featured performances from the competition's Top 10 acts.

Brandon won the $1 million grand prize as well as the opportunity to headline a show in Las Vegas.

When America's Got Talent host Terry Crews announced Brandon's victory, Brandon yelled, "Thank you, America!"

Brandon had moved America's Got Talent judges Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara to tears with a poem about his infant daughter on Tuesday night's performance show. (Judge Simon Cowell missed both the performance show and the finale after breaking his back in an electric bike accident).

Brandon was Howie's Golden Buzzer recipient during AGT's initial round of auditions.

Howie admitted Brandon had left him "speechless," and Sofia called his performance "hopeful" and "meaningful." Heidi also told Brandon that he's "a gift" to the world.

Broken Roots, a country singing duo comprised of Austin Edwards and Joey Kar from Chicago, IL, finished the show in second place.

Broken Roots was originally eliminated in The Judge Cuts round, but they received a second chance at stardom when another act dropped out.

Broken Roots met less than a year before they performed for the first time ever together on America's Got Talent's stage.

The pair of country singers belted out Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" on Tuesday night's show and certainly impressed, but Howie wasn't sure the guys could win.

But considering 6 of the Top 10 acts were singers, Howie noted, "The singers tonight, you have the hardest job because you are going to cancel each other out."

America's Got Talent's winner and runner-up act also received brand new KIA cars.

Cristina Rae, a singer, body sculptor and single mother, finished the show in third place.

Heidi, who pressed her Golden Buzzer for Cristina earlier in the season, cried when the results were read, and the judge said Cristina had won her heart even though she didn't win the $1 million.

"You'll be on the radio and we will buy your music. I am your biggest fan!" Heidi gushed.

The fourth-place finisher of America's Got Talent was Roberta Battaglia, a 10-year-old vocalist from Toronto, Canada.

Roberta was Sofia's Golden Buzzer recipient, and Howie had called her "an audience favorite" and "the one to beat" during Tuesday night's performance show.

The act who finished in fifth place was Alan Silva, an aerial silk artist from Brazil, who said being on America's Got Talent meant "the world" to him.

The other finalists in the Top 10 included BAD (Bivash Academy of Dance) Salsa, a duo comprised of dancers Sonali Majumder and Sumanth Maroju, who won Season 4 of India's Got Talent, and Kenadi Dodds, a 15-year-old country music singer and songwriter from Utah.

The remaining Top 10 acts were Bello Sisters, an acrobatic trio of sisters Loren Bello, Celine Bello and Joline Bello; Archie Williams, a 59-year-old singer from Baton Rouge, LA; and Daneliya Tuleshova, a 14-year-old singer from Kazakhstan.

Terry did not reveal which act placed sixth, seventh, and so on for Season 15 of America's Got Talent.

America's Got Talent's finale also featured performances by Usher, Blake Shelton, Ava Max, One Republic, Bishop Briggs, Ryan Tedder from One Republic, Julia Michaels and more.

The Top 10 acts of America's Got Talent were able to perform right along with these superstars in the music industry.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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