'America's Got Talent': Brandon Leake wins Season 15

Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Brandon Leake is the winner of America's Got Talent Season 15.

The 27-year-old spoken-word poet was crowned the new champion Wednesday during the NBC reality talent competition's two-hour live finale.

Leake, who earned Howie Mandel's Golden Buzzer in a previous episode, impressed the audience and judges with his emotional spoken-word performances throughout the competition.

The Stockton, Calif., native beat out nine other finalists to win the $1 million prize and a headlining show in Las Vegas. Music duo Broken Roots was the runner-up, followed by singer Cristina Rae.

Leake is the first spoken-word poet to appear in the competition.

"This is a huge win for the spoken-word community," he said Wednesday. "For an art form that has not been on the main stream ever to have a chance to win America's Got Talent is bigger than anything."

"I am going to show the world what a spoken-word poet can do," he added.

The finale featured appearances by Blake Shelton, Julia Michaels, OneRepublic, Usher, Ava Max and other stars, and a special message from Meghan Markle for contestant Archie Williams.