Auditions for the sixth season's competition took place during Winter until mid-Spring 2011, in eight cities in the United States including Los Angeles, Atlanta, Houston, Seattle, Minneapolis, and New York.
Due to weather conditions, Piers Morgan was unable to attend some of the auditions held in Minneapolis, though this did not disrupt production.
The sixth season had a number of participants who auditioned, but dropped out despite securing a place in the live rounds, after determining that it would conflict with other obligations each had.
In an interview held during May 2011 on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Howie Mandel said the program was the most dangerous, indicating that ambulances had to be called six times during auditions after a number of participants injured themselves during their act.
One of the most significant events of this season involved Darren Taylor, who operated under his stage name of Professor Splash and established a new world record, during one of his live round performances for the highest shallow dive.