7 Fast Facts about the Mayyas Who Came from Lebanon to Win AGT

The popular talent show "America's Got Talent" recently announced its number one champion for Season 17, and it was none other than critically acclaimed Lebanese dance troupe, The Mayyas. Their first runner-up was pole dancer Kristy Sellars and the second was the country musician Drake Miller.

The third runner-up to the Mayyas was the AI group Metaphysic, and finally, the fourth runner-up performance was another country group called Chapel Hart. The Lebanese dancers have dazzled their audience and judges from the day they auditioned to the night they triumphed and left with their $1 million prize.

After the show, the judges couldn't help but gush about The Mayyas, describing their choreography and costumes as memorable and hypnotizing. Howie Mandel, who judged that night, even suggested that they embodied female empowerment and attributed the uniqueness of their performances to their culture.

Fact 1

Earlier this month, The Sun reported that The Mayyas featured as one of the six "Golden Buzzer" acts during auditions. According to the outlet, receiving a golden buzzer meant the performers of the relevant acts had the privilege of skipping a few steps contestants had to take before performing live.

Following saxophonist Avery Dixon, young singers Madison Baez and Sarah James, The Mayyas were the fourth contestants to go straight to live performances after receiving the golden buzzer qualification from actress and judge Sofia Vergara.

Fact 2

The founder and choreographer of The Mayyas dancers is the long-time dancer Nadim Cherfan, who entered the dance scene at 14. Once he reached 20, he became a dance teacher. After his dance troupe won the show, Cherfan expressed to People that every part of his and his dancers' experience on AGT was memorable.

According to People, the founder also added:

"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."

Fact 3

The Mayyas members originate from the country Lebanon. Cherfan reflected on their home country, stating that establishing a dancing career was incredibly difficult, especially for women. However, being part of such a talented group gave them a space to indulge in creative expression safely.

According to Hollywood Life, one of the members expressed:

"The Mayyas, it's given us a free, safe, and creative space to dance."

Fact 4

"America's Got Talent" is not the only show The Mayyas in which the group has competed. They tried their hand in Britain's Got Talent, where Simon Cowell was also among the jury in 2019. After their act, Cowell described their performance as "genius, brilliant, and inventive" and remarked that he'd never seen anything like it.

Fact 5

The Mayyas have also shared the source of their inspiration for joining America's Got Talent, and it was the late Season 16 contestant, Nightbirde. According to Hollywood Life, Nightbirde passed on in February this year after battling cancer.

However, her words rang true for the Mayyas when she stated that one couldn't wait for life to be absent of difficulty before choosing happiness. Through those words, the Lebanese troupe persevered and became the victors of their story in the end.

Fact 6

After watching their performance during the finale of "America's Got Talent" Season 17, judge Howie Mandel shared his amazement. The "Deal or No Deal" host explained how he constantly exposes himself to entertainment on social media apps like TikTok or YouTube and visiting clubs in Las Vegas.

Mandel expressed his love and fascination for watching performances, even the ones in languages he doesn't understand, and remarked that when he watched The Mayyas, he felt shaken to his core.

Sofia Vergara, who boosted The Mayyas's winning chance to win, was so overwhelmed by their victory that she couldn't find the words to describe how she felt. However, she affectionately stated that if she could give the dance group another golden buzzer, she wouldn't hesitate.

Fact 7

The Mayyas have a verified Instagram page on which they share clips of their dance compositions and photos from their performances and rehearsals. At the time of publication, it boasted a whopping 395k follower base, totaling 41 shared posts.