On Thursday, Howard Stern announced on his SiriusXM radio show that he would be replacing Piers Morgan as a judge on the upcoming seventh season of “America’s Got Talent.” The surprising announcement already has stirred backlash from the Parents Television Council (PTC), a television advocacy group. A statement from PTC president Tim Winter was posted on the organization’s Web site:

In an act of desperation for a flailing network, NBC has hired Howard Stern – a performer who is synonymous with shock, profanity and obscenity – as a judge on a prime-time talent competition. Not coincidentally, in just over three weeks the network will be standing before the United States Supreme Court arguing for the right to use the F-word at any time of the day, even in front of children. ??

The once-proud broadcast network has lost its way and has made it clear it holds no concern whatsoever for children and families. It also risks losing millions in advertising dollars. Whatever principles NBC had in the past, when the network was successful, have clearly gone out the window.

Fittingly, Piers Morgan interviewed Stern via telephone on his CNN show later in the day, and Stern defended his selection as a judge, and also condemned the any groups speaking out against him.

“They start to complain that I’m some sort of weird pervert who’s going to convert Americans into zombie sex fiends,” Stern told Morgan. “But I can assure you and the rest of America what I’m looking at here is to be a very good judge.”

Formerly based in Los Angeles, “America’s Got Talent” will relocate to New York to accommodate Stern on the show. No definite word has yet come if Stern will be joined by season six’s other judges, Howie Mandel and Sharon Osbourne. Osbourne has been a judge since season two of the show, and Mandel replaced former judge David Hasselhoff in season five.

David Hasselhoff is the third and newest judge in “Britain’s Got Talent” after Piers Morgan had left the judging tribunal for the same post across the pond, as judge of – get this – “America’s Got Talent”, in what appears to be an amusing switcheroo of judges.

Reports have swirled for weeks about Hasselhoff’s rumored move to the UK to take over the post left behind by Morgan.  Details of the news have become more concrete when The Hoff’s new reality show was axed only after its pilot episode.  Perhaps it is safe to say that he might have gotten the hint that American audiences are no longer drawn by his “Baywatch” fame and finally decided to work out the deal with the execs of BGT to secure his future.  He will be joining fellow newbie judge Michael McIntyre and Amanda Holden, the only remaining original judge of the British talent show.

Meanwhile, Morgan addressed the news via his Twitter page with a confusion of sorts: “Should I feel amused, furious, thrilled or suicidal that The Hoff is replacing me on Britain’s Got Talent?”  He wrapped it up though with a follow-up tweet: “Still chuckling over The Hoff and Michael McIntyre doing BGT…Superbly mischievous casting by Mr Cowell. Will be very very funny to watch.”

In case you have forgotten who Jackie Evancho is, she is the 10-year old soprano who made a name for herself during the fifth season of NBC’s summer talent show “America’s Got Talent”.  And although she didn’t emerge as that season’s champion, she now is making a name for herself in a much bigger arena, the Billboard 200 charts.

“O Holy Night”, Evancho’s four-track holiday EP peaked at the no.2 spot in the Billboard 200 after it moved 239,000 copies in its opening week.  She surpassed the likes of Rihanna, Kid Rock and Keith Urban who debuted at the charts at the third, fifth and seventh positions respectively.  Evancho would have made it at the top of the charts if hadn’t been for another product of the same talent show, Susan Boyle, whose “The Gift” holiday release continues to peak atop the Billboard 200 for two straight weeks now.

Evancho’s holiday EP also made to the top of the Billboard classical charts.  The set includes four tracks plus a DVD featuring the singer’s performances in “America’s Got Talent”.

Jackie Evancho is number two.  The runner up on “America’s Got Talent” this September, who captured Americans’ hearts with her singing prodigy performances, has ended the reign of Michael Jackson as the youngest star to make Billboards chart.  He was eleven years old when he set his record.

Evancho’s performance of “O Holy Night” came in at No. 2 on Billboard’s chart.  Other young performers who have topped Billboard’s charts include 11 year old Zac Hanson from “Hanson” as well as Miley Cyrus, Leann Rimes and Stevie Wonder at the age of thirteen.

In the mode of 17 year old Hayley Westenra and 13 year old Charlotte Church, the style of Evancho’s is classical crossover.  Evancho’s four song EP “O Holy Night” consists of two classical pieces and two Christmas songs, including the song “Pie Jesu” which was performed by Evancho on “Oprah” and “America’s got Talent.”

The native from Pittsburgh first hit the charts last summer.  Her “Prelude To a Dream” peaked in the No. 121 spot.  The independently recorded effort was pulled.  The young singer is now hosted by Columbia Records.  Willow Smith, another ten year old and Will Smith’s daughter, landed on the charts as well with “Whip My Hair.”  The single reached the No. 11 spot.

He’s got talent.  Now he has a new bride.

Second season winner of America’s Got Talent, 45 year old Terry Fator, who currently is the star of his show in Las Vegas, has married Taylor Makakoa, his 21 year old girlfriend.

The wedding took place on Wednesday afternoon at Lily Of the Valley Chapel in Las Vegas with their families in attendance.  Makakoa is an actress and model and also stars as the stagehand of Fator’s in his show in Las Vegas at The Mirage.

In their statement the couple said, we are very happy and really looking forward to spending our whole lives together.

Favor wowed judges in 2007 with his ventriloquism.  Simon Cowell after the show, during an “Oprah Winfrey Show” appearance, described Fator as one of this planet’s most talented people.

Ten year old Jackie Evancho, opera prodigy and “America’s Got Talent” runner-up this season, has signed a deal with Columbia/Syco Records.  Given her obvious talent and viral popularity it isn’t suprising that she would be signing with a label.  What’s even less suprising is her signing with the label of Simon Cowell’s given her experience with reality television.  The world sometimes does make sense!

Evancho was an “America’s Got Talent” fan favorite every week, with the judges heaping more praise on Jackie than any of the other contentants.  It’s kind of creepy hearing a fully matured opera singing voice coming out of the body of a tiny, adorable blond child.  However it’s also quite stunning.

You know how the saying goes: built it and they will come.  Naturally with today’s obsessions with reality shows, if you are the winner of a talent competition on television you most likely will receive a record deal.  Epic Records announced through a press release that they have signed Michael Grimm, the recent winner on “America’s Got Talent.”  The soul singer with blue eyes was able to impress voters at home along with the judges with his smooth voice and skillful guitar playing weeks after week while covering soul classics such as “When a  Man Loves a Woman,” “Let’s Stay Together” and “You Don’t Know Me.”  The signing of Grimm follows the path that Kevin Skinner, country singer and winner of last season’s “America’s Got Talent” did.  Last September Skinner released “Long Ride,” his debut album.

Grimm said recently that he hoped that being the “America’s Got Talent” winner would enable him to record the album that he’s wanted to cut as well as give him the promotion and exposure necessary for performing  beyond his home in Las Vegas.  Grimm said, I know this music genre and the route I would like to take with the album, what it sounds like, smells like and looks like.  The release date for Grimm’s solo album, according to Epic, is March 2011.

Currently Grimm is rehearsing for the forthcoming “America’s Got Live.”  It will kick off in Oakland, CA this Friday.  The tour is visiting 25 cities and featuring performances from the Top 10 contestants from season 5, including finalists Jackie Evancho and Prince Poppycock.

It was the unlikely battle of a fedora-wearing crooner and a little tyke with a giant glass-breaking voice on the season finale of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent”.  And in the end, it was another one of those stunning and unexpected upsets that leave people asking “what?” that even the winner himself could not fathom what had just happened.

So yes, Michael Grimm won, and it was unexpected because everyone thought 10-year old soprano protégé  Jackie Evancho, a native of Pittsburgh, was the runaway winner.  Perhaps it is also safe to say that even Piers Morgan, Howie Mandel and Sharon Osbourne were also stunned by the outcome, as every week, they try to search for new words to say to applaud the young soprano’s supreme singing prowess.

But in the end, America chose Grimm, the southern bred, husky voiced charmer who is shocked week by week by the fact that he made it through the grueling weeks of competition, and that he eventually, emerged as the new AGT champ.  Before he savored his triumph, he knelt down and gave Evancho a sincere and endearing embrace.  The 10-year old was a good sport.

The winner was determined by viewers’  votes unlike in the previous weeks leading up to the finale where the judges had a hand in the fate of each contestant.

“America’s Got Talent” rounds up its final four talents with less than a week to go before one of the four acts is hailed as this season’s champion and the show goes to hiatus.

If you didn’t get the chance to see the episode, here’s how things went down…

The first shocker of the night was when Prince Poppycock was called by host Nick Cannon as the first act to secure a spot in the finals.  It was shocking not because no one was expecting PP to make it in fact, PP’s entry to the finals was not shocking at all.  But it was Michael Grasso’s elimination so close to the finals, that caused quite a stir among the audience and the judges as many were expecting both acts to battle it out in the season finale along with another favorite, the young and talented Jackie Evancho, who also made it to the final four after beating Anna & Patryk.

In another 50/50 upset, Michael Grimm also made it to the final four while Taylor Matthews was booted out, a decision that was revealed after Cannon’s grueling and suspense announcement, which almost didn’t come as a surprise anyway.

The biggest shocker of the night was when Cannon announced that both Christina & Ali and Jeremy VanSchoonhoven didn’t make the cut.  Wrapping up the final four is Fighting Gravity, an early favorite in the competition which reminds many audiences so much of The Blue Man Group.

So from ten talented acts, the competition is narrowed down to four performers – Prince Poppycock, Jackie Evancho, Michael Grimm and Fighting Gravity – all vying for the million dollar cash prize and a headlining gig in Las Vegas.  While it seems as if Jackie Evancho will be going into the finals with almost the entire nation backing her up, the outcome is still unpredictable and an upset is still a possibility, especially when the results are solely dependent on viewers’ votes.

After the cast of the highly acclaimed Broadway rock musical “Rock of Ages” dropped by NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” early on in the show’s current season, another Broadway hit will grace the AGT stage as the talent show prepares to unveil its final four contestants in tonight’s show.

The cast of the rock musical “American Idiot” will take the AGT center stage as they perform songs from the production.  The musical borrows songs from Green Day’s 2004 release of the same name and also some songs from the band’s subsequent 2009 release, “21st Century Breakdown”, from which the hit song “21 Guns” comes from and has also been reprised by the Broadway cast.

“American Idiot” chronicles the life of three young friends as they deal with the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  The musical currently plays at the St. James Theatre in Broadway.

Aside from the “American Idiot”  cast, award winning musician Sarah McLachlan will also be appearing as a guest as she performs “Forgiveness”, the lead single from her new album “Laws of Illusion”.

Catch all these performances and find out who makes it to the final four of “America’s Got Talent” tonight, September 8 at 9 PM ET via NBC.