The first season was won by singer Bianca Ryan,[2] with clogging dance group All That, and singer/musician duo The Millers finishing as runner-ups within the Top 3 finalists.
However, following a pilot broadcast of the format, a dispute arose between ITV and Paul O'Grady, the originally intended host of Britain's Got Talent.
His proposal for his program in America was bought by NBC, who commissioned a small season of episodes, along with Fremantle and Cowell's own company Syco Entertainment.
Auditions were launched across the United States, while Regis Philbin was picked as the host[4] with David Hasselhoff, Brandy Norwood and Piers Morgan chosen as judges.
Forty of the participants who auditioned for this season secured a place in the semi-finals, with ten performing in each show and eight of the acts making it into the live final.