They took home the silver!

The Detroit Youth Choir, which united its hometown with an impressive run on NBC's "America's Got Talent," made it all the way to second place on Wednesday night.

It was a tremendous ending for a season that already had allowed the group's 52 members, ages 8 to 18, to win everyone's hearts.

"You've been amazing, Detroit!" shouted host Terry Crews in a final salute to the young performers.

The "AGT" winner was blind and autistic singer Kodi Lee, who will get a $1 million prize and a headlining stint at the Paris Las Vegas theater Nov. 7-10.

The live two-hour results show mixed fun performances and nerve-racking suspense, as the 10 acts competing in the finals waited to see who would triumph.

Roughly 90 minutes into the show, Crews began announcing the top five finalists. As the Motor City held its collective breath, DYC got the last spot in the final five.

More:Cass Tech alum performs with Cher on 'America's Got Talent' finals

More:Why Detroit Youth Choir sang the same song on 'America's Got Talent' finals

By the time there were only two acts left with a chance of winning, DYC and Lee, the tension felt like waiting to find out whether the Tigers, Lions, Red Wings or Pistons would win a championship title.

The lengthy results show filled much of its time by teaming up finalists with celebrities like Billy Ray Cyrus, Leona Lewis and pianist Lang Lang for one farewell performance.

A real superstar, pop icon Cher, appeared to perform "Waterloo" from her Abba tribute album, "Dancing Queen" — and she was backed by a group of dancers that included a Cass Tech alum, DuJuan Smart Jr.

The Detroit choir had a nice moment at the opening of the live two-hour show when rapper-songwriter Macklemore joined members onstage for yet another repeat of his hit — and, now, the choir's signature tune — "Can't Hold Us."

DYC made a big splash back in June when it sang "Can't Hold Us" for its "AGT" on-air audition. So far, its interpretation has drawn more than 10 million views on YouTube.

On Tuesday, the group again sang "Can't Hold Us" for the finals, adding fresh choreography to put a new spin on the anthem that embodies members' positive attitude with lyrics like "the ceiling can't hold us."

DYC became a favorite of viewers and the judges early on, earning a golden buzzer from Crews in June that put it straight into the quarterfinals.

During the season, the group moved judge Gabrielle Union to tears and inspired judge Simon Cowell to call it "bloody fantastic."

On Monday, Detroit's Mayor Mike Duggan announced that the Spirit of Detroit statue would be dressed in a purple vest and bow tie — the choir's trademark uniform — for this week's final "AGT" episodes.

After Wednesday's show, Duggan praised DYC on Twitter: "Congratulations to the Detroit Youth Choir. You inspired a country -- and left our city with memories that will last forever! True winners!

The choir members approached Wednesday's show ready for either outcome, according to artistic director Anthony White.

"At this point, just by us being in the finals, we've won," he told the Detroit Free Press Tuesday night after the show's last night of competition. "Win or lose, I think, when we get back to the city, we might have a building, we might have some transportation for our young people. We might have all of that waiting for us when we get back home. I can't wait to see what's going on in Detroit."

At 4 p.m. Friday at Campus Martius Park, the city will welcome home the group's members at a celebration hosted by WDIV-TV (Local 4) anchor Kimberly Gill, who traveled to Los Angeles to cover the group's championship attempt.

Next up for the group will be appearances in America's Thanksgiving Day Parade in downtown Detroit and at the Hob Nobble Gobble on Nov. 22 the annual black tie bash for 2,000 guests that benefits the Parade Company.

There's also a very good chance DYC will perform at a Detroit Lions halftime show. The choir was scheduled to be there for Sunday's Lions victory against the L.A. Chargers at Ford Field, but it had to cancel after making it through to the "AGT" finals.

Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture writer Julie Hinds: 313-222-6427 or jhinds@freepress.com.