What happened
Listen is one of the hardest songs a twelve-year-old can choose. Written for the film adaptation of Dreamgirls, it is built around a sustained, escalating vocal line with nowhere to hide, and it is chosen on talent shows precisely because it exposes anything less than full control.
Johnson sang it on season nine of America's Got Talent and became, in Talent Recap's phrase, such a huge favourite. He reached the final and placed fifth, as the season's results table records. Fifth in a televised final means surviving auditions, judge cuts, quarter-finals and semi-finals against a field that starts in the thousands.
The Universal Studios prize
One detail from the finale has stuck to his name. He was awarded a consolation prize of a holiday to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, and Talent Recap notes that he was the first finalist since season one to receive that type of prize.
It is a small thing and an odd one, and it is precisely the kind of detail that gets lost from most contestants' records. That it survives in the coverage says something about how memorable his run was: the prize is remembered because the performance was.
What he has done since
Talent Recap, writing in January 2022, reported that he still sings and maintains an active social media presence. That is the whole of the documented update, eight years after the season, and it is more than most child contestants receive.
What it does not include is any record of releases, tours, a label, or further television. None of that appears in the sources used here, and the absence should not be read either way: an active singer with an audience online may simply not be covered by the outlets that cover the show.
What is documented, and what is not
Firm: his age, twelve; the song, Listen by Beyonce; season nine of America's Got Talent in 2014; his fifth place in the final; the Universal Studios consolation prize and its rarity; and Talent Recap's 2022 report that he still sings.
Not documented in these sources: his date of birth, which is why the birth year here is derived from his reported age in 2014; his home town and family; his musical training; and any specific work since the season. Talent Recap does not state his nationality either, although the show is American and he competed in it.
The children of America's Got Talent
The Talent Recap article that supplies most of this record exists because child contestants are a structural feature of the show rather than an occasional novelty. It groups Johnson with Victory Brinker at nine, Jackie Evancho at ten, Kaitlyn Maher at four and Peter Rosalita at ten, four singers spread across more than a decade of seasons.
The pattern is consistent enough to be a format decision. A child walks on, the audience sets an expectation, and the act works by breaking it inside the first line. What the format does not provide is anything after the season: no development deal, no management, no follow-up. Against that, a note eight years later confirming that a former fifth-place finalist is still singing counts as a substantial piece of information.
| Person | Country | Milestone | Age / Stat |
|---|
What is documented — and what is not
✓ Documented
- Appeared on America's Got Talent season 9 in 2014 at the age of twelve
- Sang Listen by Beyonce and became one of the season's favourites
- Finished fifth in the final, per the season's results table
- Received a Universal Studios holiday on the finale, the first finalist since season one to get that type of prize
? Unverified, disputed or wrong
- Date of birth, home town and family are not stated in these sources
- His musical training and any releases since 2014 are not documented
- Talent Recap does not state his nationality
- The 2022 note that he still sings is the most recent information in this material
Questions people ask about Quintavious Johnson
How old is Quintavious Johnson?
He was twelve during America's Got Talent season 9 in 2014. No source used here gives his date of birth, so the birth year on this page is approximate.
What song did Quintavious Johnson sing?
Listen, the Beyonce song from Dreamgirls.
Did he win America's Got Talent?
No. He finished fifth in the season 9 final.
What prize did he receive?
A holiday to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, awarded on the finale. Talent Recap notes he was the first finalist since season one to receive that type of prize.
Is Quintavious Johnson still singing?
Talent Recap reported in January 2022 that he still sings and maintains an active social media presence. No later source appears in this material.
Is Quintavious Johnson on Wikipedia?
He appears in the season 9 results table in the Wikipedia article on that season. No separate article on him was found among these sources.
Who else appeared on the show as a child?
Talent Recap groups him with Victory Brinker, nine, Jackie Evancho, ten, Kaitlyn Maher, four, and Peter Rosalita, ten.
Quick quiz: how well do you know Quintavious’s story?
Which song did Quintavious Johnson perform?
Where did he finish in the season 9 final?
What consolation prize did he receive on the finale?
Sources
- What's with All the Kids on 'America's Got Talent'? 5 Kid Stars Who Will Blow Your Mind — Talent Recap, 2022-01-26
- America's Got Talent season 9 — Wikipedia
Checked by the Geniuses.club editorial team. Ages are given as of September 2026.
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