Last season on America's Got Talent, four acts battled it out in the finale. It featured the singer-car washer Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr., the teen pop band PopLyfe, the shadow dance group Silhouettes and the LA-based glow-suit dancers of Team iLuminate.

In the end, it was not surprising that the Frank Sinatra-esque singer Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr. emerged as the season 6 winner. After all, it looked like the show's fan base had a penchant for singers with all its winners being vocalists except for ventriloquist Terry Fator from season 2. Murphy won the headlining act in Las Vegas plus of course that big, fat check that made him a millionaire.
America's Got Talent, the only talent show open to any age and talent, is back with its seventh season, once again embarking on its search for budding talents that could just be America's favorite act. Interestingly, with this new season come a few changes on the judging panel. So will America's Got Talent season 7 potentially become the best season to date?

AGT makes the top craziest moments of 2011>>

America's Got Talent Season 7 Welcomes New Judge

Late last year, the only remaining original AGT judge Piers Morgan publicized that he would not be coming back on the show's 7th season, citing his new show on CNN as the primary reason. Piers Morgan Tonight took over the time slot vacated by Larry King, following his retirement after doing Larry King Live for 25 years.

Subsequently after Morgan's departure, the "King of All Media" Howard Stern announced that he will be replacing Morgan's seat for season 7 of America's Got Talent. Shock jock Stern will be joining fellow judges Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel behind the red Xs and host Nick Cannon as they look for the biggest undiscovered talent in America.

In addition, the show's executive producer Simon Cowell said that the show will be getting an overhaul, confirming several changes on the show's lighting and graphics, theme music, intro, and logo. Cowell also expects a larger live audience when the production for season 7 moves to New York, where Stern continues to be engaged with his headline-grabbing radio show Howard 100 on SiriusXM.



Download the free BuddyTV Guide app to set your AGT reminder now>>

A 4th Judge?

The addition of Stern in the judging panel is not the only change for America's Got Talent season 7. Recently, Cowell also revealed his plans to add a 4th judge. "I always like four-person panels because it leaves less room for error," he told the New York Post. He also hinted that he wants a younger, female judge to mix things up. He hopes to find "someone who will not be afraid of Sharon [Osbourne] and Howard [Stern] and fight for a different kind of act than they would."

Will Howard Stern's larger-than-life personality and raw comedy create enough splash to uphold America's Got Talent's reputation of being one of the highest-rated shows every summer? Who will the 4th judge be?



Catch America's Got Talent season 7 when it premieres on May 14 2012 at 8pm on NBC. Set a reminder to watch with the free BuddyTV Guide App.



Xylem Thomson
Contributing Writer

(Image courtesy of NBC)