A wildcard, and then a semi-final
Doran's route through the season is recorded in two dates. On 18 August 2010 he appeared in the sixth quarter-final, the wildcard round, and advanced. On 1 September he performed in the second semi-final group, lost the judges' vote and was eliminated.
A wildcard place is the format's second chance: acts that did not advance on their first attempt are brought back by the producers or the judges, and they carry no accumulated advantage into the next round. Reaching the semi-finals from there puts an act inside the last few dozen of a season that began with 65 acts in the live quarter-finals alone.
The discipline itself
Indoor kite flying is listed in the season record under variety, and the description is the whole point: a kite flown in a hall, with no wind. The lift has to be generated by the flyer walking, turning and pulling, which makes the act closer to dance with a tethered object than to anything done on a beach.
It is a rare enough discipline that a national television audience is unlikely to have seen one before, and that novelty is what a variety competition rewards. The source used here records the category and the result; it does not describe the routine, the music or the equipment, and this page does not invent them.
The season around him
Season five ran on NBC from 1 June to 15 September 2010, hosted by Nick Cannon and judged by Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel. Sixty-five acts reached the live quarter-finals.
The season was won by the singer Michael Grimm, with Jackie Evancho — a ten-year-old soprano whose run that year became the season's defining storyline — as runner-up. Doran's elimination on 1 September came two weeks before that final.
What is documented — and what is not
Firm: his age at the time, his home town of Bend, Oregon, his act, the wildcard advance on 18 August 2010, and his elimination on the judges' vote on 1 September 2010.
Not documented in the sources gathered here: his family, his schooling, how he came to indoor kite flying, what he performed, anything he said, and anything he has done since 2010. Reports and profiles may exist elsewhere; none of them is in this record, and this page confines itself to what can be cited.
Why variety acts leave the thinnest trail
Singers who lose a talent show can still release music. Comedians can tour. An act built around an unusual physical skill has fewer channels to carry it afterwards, and the coverage tends to end when the season does.
What remains is the season's own ledger: a name, an age, a home town, a category, two dates and an outcome. For a discipline as uncommon as indoor kite flying, that ledger is also close to the only mainstream documentation the field has, which gives a semi-final appearance in 2010 a durability the performer himself may never have sought.
| Person | Country | Milestone | Age / Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sawsan Ahmed | United States | Broward College's youngest graduate, at 12, in December 2021 | Age 12 |
| Arvind Mahankali | United States | Won the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee at 13 | Age 13 |
| Kerry Close | United States | Won the 2006 Scripps National Spelling Bee at 13 | Age 13 |
| Shania Muhammad | United States | Langston University's youngest graduate, at 15 | Age 15 |
| Connor Doran | United States | An indoor kite has no wind to work with. A 17-year-old flew one into the s | Age 17 |
What is documented — and what is not
✓ Documented
- Competed on America's Got Talent season five as a 17-year-old indoor kite flyer from Bend, Oregon
- Advanced from the wildcard quarter-final on 18 August 2010
- Eliminated in the second semi-final group on 1 September 2010 on the judges' vote
? Unverified, disputed or wrong
- No sourced account of how he took up indoor kite flying
- No description of his routines or equipment in this record
- Nothing documented about his life or performances after 2010
Questions people ask about Connor Doran
Who is Connor Doran?
An indoor kite flyer from Bend, Oregon, who reached the semi-finals of America's Got Talent in 2010 at the age of 17.
What is indoor kite flying?
Flying a kite inside, without wind: the lift comes from the flyer's own movement. The season record lists it as a variety act.
How far did he get on America's Got Talent?
He advanced through the wildcard quarter-final on 18 August 2010 and was eliminated in the semi-finals on 1 September.
How old is Connor Doran?
The season record gives his age as 17 in 2010. No source used here states his date of birth.
Where is Connor Doran now?
No source in this record states what he is doing now. The documented trail ends with the 2010 season.
Who won that season?
Michael Grimm, a singer, with Jackie Evancho as runner-up.
Is Connor Doran on Wikipedia?
He has no article of his own; he appears in the results tables for America's Got Talent season five.
Where is he from?
Bend, Oregon, according to the season record.
Quick quiz: how well do you know Doran’s story?
What was Connor Doran's act on America's Got Talent?
How did he reach the semi-finals?
Who won season five?
Sources
- America's Got Talent season 5 — Wikipedia, 2010
Checked by the Geniuses.club editorial team. Ages are given as of September 2026.
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