'Lebanon, this one's for you': Mayyas wow US with America's Got Talent win

Lebanese dance group Mayyas have won this year's season of 'America's Got Talent', with another performance that "stunned" the judges.

The all-women dance crew were announced winners of probably the world's biggest talent show on Wednesday evening with celebrations in native Lebanon.

The grand prize is $1 million and the chance to headline a show in Las Vegas.

Mayyas' performance - in which dancers fanned out into the shape of a cedar tree, the national symbol of Lebanon - was met with a standing ovation from the judges with some in the crowd showing their pride in the group by waving Lebanese flags.

"We did it… Lebanon, this one's for you," the group wrote in an Instagram post after winning.

You voted, now we've crowned our #AGT Season 17 Winner! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/m8VBXzJpZA

— America’s Got Talent (@AGT) September 15, 2022

Lebanese celebrities and influencers - including pop sensation Nancy Ajram - also celebrated the win, as Lebanese and Arabs took to social media.

"You did it! You brought tears to our eyes and joy to our hearts! Lebanon deserves the win," Ajram wrote on Twitter.

YOU DID IT!!!! 🏆
You brought tears to our eyes and joy to our hearts!!!!
Lebanon deserves the win❤️
Mabrouuuukkkkkk🎉🎉🎉🎉🤩🤩🤩 #Mayyas #مياس

— Nancy Ajram (@NancyAjram) September 15, 2022

"This is everything! What a moment what a fight what a beautiful delivery of talent! Lebanon and the whole Arab world is so proud of you!" businesswoman and popular influencer Karen Wazen wrote on her Instagram stories.

After travelling all the way to the US for the talent show, the group wowed judges and the American public alike.

Judge Sofia Vergara awarded them a golden buzzer following their first performance on the show, which gave them a fast-track ticket to the semi-finals.

During the audition, the dancers emphasised their love for Lebanon, but also highlighted the difficulties they had faced in the music industry as Arab women.

"Unfortunately being a dancer as a female Arab is not fully supported yet… us being here… is our only chance to prove what Arab women can do," they said.

They also highlighted that life is a "daily struggle" in Lebanon, which has witnessed intense economic, political, and humanitarian challenges over the past few years, culminating in the Beirut port blast in August 2020 that killed over 220 people.

The group gifted Vergara with a cedar tree necklace. She told LBCI Lebanon that Lebanon is a country "close to my heart" as she grew up in Columbia, where there is a large Lebanese community.