Entertainment TV Reality TV 'America's Got Talent' Crowns a New Champion! Lebanese Dance Troupe The Mayyas Win Season 17 The Mayyas, who earned Sofía Vergara's Golden Buzzer, beat out the other 10 finalists, including singer Drake Milligan, pole dancer Kristy Sellars, AI group Metaphysic, and country trio Chapel Hart By Joelle Goldstein Joelle Goldstein Joelle Goldstein is a Senior News Editor on the TV team for PEOPLE Digital. She has been with the brand since 2017, working as an intern, digital news writer and Human Interest writer-reporter before joining the TV team to help oversee and edit digital coverage. Her work has previously appeared in The Hollywood Reporter. People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 14, 2022 11:16PM EDT America's Got Talent has crowned its newest winner! After weeks of competition, The Mayyas were named the competition series' champion of season 17. With the grand prize, the Lebanese female dance troupe takes home the $1 million prize and a headlining show at Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The Mayyas first caught America's attention during their show-stopping audition, which prompted judge Sofía Vergara to press her Golden Buzzer. "I would be so honored to empower you even more in this journey because you deserve it and I want to be part of this," Vergara, 50, said on the episode before hitting her buzzer. She also told PEOPLE how she got "goosebumps" while watching their performance. During the live shows, the group delivered another hypnotizing dance routine that fellow judge and executive producer Simon Cowell predicted would "change the world." "They're Vegas ready — I would go and watch them," fellow judge Heidi Klum told PEOPLE shortly after the live show performance. "I think they're incredible. It's the costumes. It's like, wow moments. It's like memorizing, it's haunting. They hypnotize you in a way." The Mayyas. Trae Patton/NBC "I think that by far, for me personally, it is probably the most impressive, wonderful act I have seen in my years on this show," judge Howie Mandel added. "It's not like anything you can describe. It was amazing. It was just beautiful and mesmerizing and hypnotizing and powerful. Then take into account where they're from and what the culture is, and what they're up against and what women are up against anyhow, all over the world. They need to be the poster people for female empowerment." Of the positive reception, the group's founder, Nadim Cherfan, told PEOPLE: "[It's] absolutely unbelievable. We need to swallow. We couldn't swallow these feelings, yet hearing these comments from these judges gave us a really huge boost of confidence." The Mayyas on the AGT finale. Casey Durkin/NBC Sofía Vergara's Golden Buzzer AGT Act Leaves Her with 'Goosebumps' as Group Talks 'Dream' Moment On Wednesday, the group delivered another top-notch performance for the finale. Cherfan later told PEOPLE they couldn't feel more "proud of ourselves" for all they had accomplished. "Every moment of this experience was really memorable, from the Golden Buzzer to the semifinals to now the finals," he said. "It's not about the title anymore. It's about a huge bigger message for our people to make them believe in themselves and to give hope to our country who is going into a dark time." Sofia Vergara with The Mayyas. Trae Patton/NBC AGT Judges Praise The Mayyas After 'Memorizing' Dance Routine: 'Not Like Anything You Can Describe' Prior to announcing the results at Wednesday's finale, excitement was at an all-time high. The Black Eyed Peas and AGT alums Light Balance opened the show with an electric number, before the judges and host Terry Crews raved about the final performances of the season 17 finalists. The Mayyas. Casey Durkin/NBC/Getty America's Got Talent Finalists Share Their Most Memorable Moments of Season 17 Ahead of the Finale The top 11 acts — The Mayyas, magician Nicolas Ribs, singer Sara James, artificial intelligence (AI) group Metaphysic, saxophonist Avery Dixon, country group Chapel Hart, pole dancer Kristy Sellars, magician Yu Hojin, comedian Mike E. Winfield, country singer Drake Milligan, and singing ventriloquist Celia Muñoz — then got a chance to take the stage again. The Mayyas on America's Got Talent. Trae Patton/NBC From Magicians and Singers to a Pole Dancer! Meet the Season 17 Finalists of America's Got Talent Ribs and Hojin performed magic with former AGT winner, magician Shin Lim, while Milligan sang with fellow country singer Jon Pardi and Chapel Hart sang with Darius Rucker. Winfield got a chance to participate in a comedy roast of Cowell, with the help of Jeff Ross and fellow season 17 comedians Tom McMillian, Mr. Pants, and Lace Larrabee. Muñoz also performed with fellow ventriloquists and AGT alums Darci Lynne and Terry Fator, while Sellars and The Mayyas performed a mesmerizing routine together. Finally, Dixon performed with Trombone Shorty and James sang with the Black Eyed Peas. Legendary actor Henry Winkler also made an appearance during the finale. The judges and host of America's Got Talent. Trae Patton/NBC/Getty Later in the evening, the Top 5 acts were announced, with Milligan, Sellars, Metaphysic, The Mayyas, and Chapel Hart taking the spots. From there, Chapel Hart finished in fifth place, Metaphysic finished in fourth, Milligan finished in third, and Sellars finished in second. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories Season 17 of America's Got Talent can be streamed in full on NBC.com or Hulu.