America’s Got Talent is back!
In PEOPLE’s exclusive first look at the milestone season, the beloved talent competition show returns with a familiar face: Mel B is stepping back into her place at the judging panel.
“I’m beyond thrilled to be back at AGT – not only is it the 20th anniversary of the show, but it’s also a real homecoming for me, and I couldn’t be happier or more excited to be back,” she tells PEOPLE in an exclusive statement.
“So fasten your seatbelts, everyone, because I’m here, and I’m going to stir things up and be my usual loud, proud, Scary Spice self,” she teases. “This season is going to be unmissable!”
The former Spice Girl, 49, replaces Heidi Klum, who exited the series after 11 nonconsecutive seasons as a judge. Mel B will join judges Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Sofía Vergara and host Terry Crews as they help America decide which hopeful contestant will walk away with a life-changing $1 million grand prize.
Mel B’s comeback marks two decades of AGT, as the cast and crew gear up for its 20th season. Filming kicked off in Pasadena over the weekend, and already, the new season is bringing new surprises, familiar faces who are competing again, and the best talent from around the globe.
PEOPLE can also confirm that some Golden Buzzers have already been given out and the performances are sure to blow fans away.
“It’s brilliant that we can celebrate 20 years,” Cowell, who also serves as executive producer of the series, tells PEOPLE. “It’s always been about the contestants and without them we wouldn’t have a show. This gives me a chance to thank everyone who’s ever auditioned.”
Last season, after weeks of intense competition, Richard Goodall, the singing janitor from Terre Haute, Indiana, walked away with the title and the grand prize of $1 million in the season 19 finale.
“My brain is just absolutely mush at this point. Surreal doesn’t even cover what has happened,” Goodall, who was one of Klum’s Golden Buzzer that season, told PEOPLE after his win. “This has been an absolute rollercoaster and now it has ended with absolute golden dust flying everywhere.”
The singer captured hearts when he performed Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” for his audition and later got the chance to perform the hit tune alongside members of the legendary rock band.
“The audition, I was flying out by the seat of my pants. Never been on a plane, never been west of Missouri, and I was just going to fly out, sing a song, fly back home, and maybe tell somebody I was on the show and have a little YouTube video like everyone else,” Goodall explained to PEOPLE. “Never dreamed [of this].”
“There’s bucket lists and then there’s top-shelf bucket lists,” he added. “You didn’t even know it was up there on top of the shelf. This is absolute, a bucket list [item] that I couldn’t even [think] of or dreamed.”
Other winners over the years include ventriloquist Terry Fator, singer Grace VanderWaal, magician Mat Franco, ventriloquist Darci Lynne Farmer, magician Shin Lim, singer Kodi Lee, spoken word poet Brandon Leake, female dance troupe The Mayyas, and variety act Adrian Stoica and his dog Hurricane.
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America’s Got Talent returns for season 20 on Tuesday, May 27 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
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