Apart from the format changes, the ninth season's audition process featured the first and only involvement of a third-party television program to collaborate with America's Got Talent in offering a place in the competition.
The ninth season was won by magician Mat Franco, with singer Emily West finishing in second, and acrobatic group Acro Army placing third.
Auditions for the ninth season's competition took place during 2013 between October and December in Miami, Atlanta, Baltimore, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, New York City, and Providence, Rhode Island.
[3] The judges' auditions had a number of sessions held across three major venues the following year in 2014, the first within February at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, while the other two took place in April within Madison Square Garden in New York City and the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
[5] Another change was to incorporate an online public vote in the live rounds, named after the program's sponsor at the time, which allowed viewers to grant an automatic place in the finals to a semi-finalist in each semi-final.