“America’s Got Talent” will return to Radio City Music Hall for its live shows this season — with a new twist added to the veteran show’s format.
“AGT,” which returns May 27 for its ninth season on NBC, will kick off the live portion of its season July 29 (9-11 p.m.) at Radio City with returning judges Howie Mandel, Howard Stern, Mel B and Heidi Klum and series host Nick Cannon.
The live shows will air twice a week (Tuesday and Wednesday). And, for the first time in “AGT” history, “Bootcamp” — the final round of auditions that determine the Top 48 acts to advance to the live performance shows — will be held in New York City (also in front of a live audience).
The Bootcamp auditions will be held May 14-17 at a venue yet to be determined.
As before, local auditions for the upcoming season began at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark before moving to the Theater at Madison Square Garden.
The audition rounds will continue at LA’s Dolby Theatre (April 21-26).
News of the return to Radio City even elicited a statement from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who noted that the show drew over 86,000 visitors to New York City and created jobs and revenue.
This will be the second season on “AGT” for both Klum and Mel B and marks Stern’s third go-round as a judge.
“AGT” averaged 12 million viewers last season — up 6 percent from the previous season — as TV’s top-rated summer reality show.
Dancer Kenichi Ebina won the show’s $1 million grand prize.
‘America’s Got Talent’ past champions
★ Bianca Ryan (2006): The show’s very first winner, Ryan was 11 when she won with her big singing voice. Now 19, she was in the 2012 indie flick “We Are Kings” and recently posted a cover of John Legend’s “All of Me” on her YouTube channel.
★ Terry Fator (2007): The impressionist/ventriloquist has had the most success of any “AGT” winner. Now 48, he’s a regular Vegas headliner at The Mirage.
★ Neal Boyd (2008): The pop opera singer, a Republican, sang the national anthem at the 2008 GOP Convention in Tampa and ran (unsuccessfully) in 2012 for the Missouri House of Representatives.
★ Kevin Skinner (2009): The 40-year-old country singer’s 2010 debut album, “Long Ride,” failed to chart and was subsequently released online that same year.
★ Michael Grimm (2010): The singer/songwriter has performed on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” twice and released his single, “Fallin,” which charted at #13 in 2011. Also opened for Stevie Nicks.
★ Landau Murphy Jr. (2011): The Sinatra-type crooner’s first album, “That’s Life,” debuted at #1 on the Billboard jazz charts and on Amazon.com.
★ Olate Dogs (2012): The dog act, headed by Richard Olate, has performed in Vegas and appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”