''America's Most Talented Kid'' is an American television series that premiered on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

on March 28, 2003. In each round, three age groups (3–7, 8–12, 13–16) of talented children would perform

songs A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usuall ...

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

numbers,

magic Magic or magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces ** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic * Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...

, and other forms of entertainment in front of head judge

Lance Bass James Lance Bass (; born May 4, 1979) is an American singer, actor, and producer. He grew up in Mississippi and rose to fame as the Bass (voice type), bass singer for the boy band NSYNC. The band has sold over 70 million records, becoming one of ...

and other guest celebrity judges, such as Sisqo,

Maureen McCormick Maureen Denise McCormick (born August 5, 1956) is an American actress, best known for her role as Characters of The Brady Bunch#Marcia Brady, Marcia Brady on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television sitcom ''The Brady Bunch'' (1969–1 ...

Jermaine Jackson Jermaine LaJuane Jacksun (né Jackson; born December 11, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter and bassist. He is known for being a member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of the ...

and

Daisy Fuentes Daisy Fuentes (born November 17, 1966) is a Cuban-American model, television host, actress and former weather presenter. Fuentes became MTV's first Latina VJ (signed to MTV and MTV Latin America simultaneously) and Revlon's first Latina spoke ...

. Host

Mario Lopez Mario Lopez (born October 10, 1973) is an American actor and television host. He has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway theatre, Broadway. He is known for his portrayal of A.C. Slater on ''Saved by the Bell'', ''S ...

led the highest scorer from each round until only three children were left to compete in the grand finale. In the end,

Cheyenne Kimball Cheyenne Nichole Kimball (born July 27, 1990) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and mandolinist. Her debut album, '' The Day Has Come'', was released in July 2006, coinciding with an MTV reality series following her entry into the m ...

was crowned the grand champion. The final NBC episode featured senior citizens competing in the special ''America's Most Talented Senior''. A limited-run series on NBC to compete with the growing talent-show trend in reality television, it would later move to

PAX TV Ion Television (referred to on-air as simply Ion) is an American terrestrial television, broadcast television network and Free ad-supported streaming television, FAST television channel owned by the Scripps Networks subsidiary of the E. W. Scri ...

(which then had a business/content-sharing relationship with

Paxson Communications Ion Media, LLC (formerly known as Paxson Communications Corporation and Ion Media Networks) is a subsidiary of the E.W. Scripps Company that operates the linear broadcast networks Ion Television, Ion Mystery, and Ion Plus. Prior to its acquisitio ...

), the title pluralized to "Kids", with

Dave Coulier David Alan Coulier ( ; born September 21, 1959) is an American actor, voice actor, and comedian. He is best known for his roles as Joey Gladstone on the ABC sitcom ''Full House'', Peter Venkman on '' The Real Ghostbusters'', and Animal and B ...

as host and

Daryl Sabara Daryl Christopher Sabara (born June 14, 1992) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Juni Cortez in the ''Spy Kids'' film series, and for a variety of television and film appearances, first as a child actor and continuing into adult r ...

Scarlett Pomers Scarlett Noel Pomers (born November 28, 1988) is an American actress and former singer. Her most recognizable roles are Naomi Wildman on '' Star Trek: Voyager'' (1998–2001) and Kyra Hart on the television series '' Reba'' (2001–2007). Her ...

and Bobb'e J. Thompson as judges. Unlike the

version, however, each show would crown a $1,000 winner and give the winner a finale slot. The Grand Champion of this season was then 13-year-old rock violinist/singer/songwriter

Antonio Pontarelli Antonio Pontarelli (born April 1, 1991), is an American singer-songwriter and rock violinist. Pontarelli has played across the United States and abroad, performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and collaborated with artists su ...

. In 2004 ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

'' runner-up

Diana DeGarmo Diana Nicole DeGarmo (born June 16, 1987) is an American singer. She rose to fame in 2004 as the runner-up of the third season of ''American Idol'', releasing her debut studio album, '' Blue Skies'', later that year. The following year, DeGarmo ...

, 2007 ''American Idol'' winner

Jordin Sparks Jordin Sparks (born December 22, 1989) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2007 after winning the American Idol (season 6), sixth season of ''American Idol'' at age 17, becoming the youngest winner in the series' history. He ...

, plus ''American Idol'' season 9 contestant Aaron Kelly appeared on the show. Singer

Tori Kelly Victoria Loren Kelly (born December 14, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained recognition on YouTube before making it through to Hollywood week on the ninth season of ''American Idol'' in 2010 and eventually releasing her debu ...

performed on the show during the PAX TV run and won, beating out singer and accordionist,

Hunter Hayes Hunter Easton Hayes (born September 9, 1991) is an American multi-genre singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is proficient at more than 30 instruments. Hayes released his Hunter Hayes (album), self-titled debut alb ...

Notable contestants

– Grand Champion (2003); debut album '' The Day Has Come'' debuted at number 15 on the ''Billboard'' 200 in the United States * JoJo – singer *

– Grand Champion (2004) *

– Singer, songwriter, and actress. *

– Later appeared on the third season of ''

'' where she finished in second place. * Julie Dubela – She also appeared in ''

American Juniors ''American Juniors'' is an American reality television singing competition series that was broadcast for one season from June 3 to August 19, 2003, on Fox. The series was a spin-off of ''American Idol'', but with younger contestants. The show ...

'' and ''Endurance Tehachapi'' *

– Singer and accordionist *

– Vocalist and actress. She was in the Tournament of Champions. Winner of season 6 of ''American Idol''.

References

External links

Official Website of the NBC version

Official Website of the PAX version
* 2003 American television series debuts 2006 American television series endings 2000s American reality television series American television series about teenagers PAX TV original programming NBC reality television shows Television series about children {{US-nonfiction-tv-prog-stub