Americas Got Talent is now in its ninth season, and there is more talent than ever. This year, A record total of eight magicians were shown passing through the audition stage, and we are likely to see more in the "Judgement Week" round (Which will now take place in New York instead of Las Vegas). The successful magicians were:
- David and Leeman
David and Leeman performed a very unique magic trick based on the concept of "Pressure Phrenology". Many of this year's magicians used a judge as their volunteer, and David and Leeman chose to use Howie. David showed the judges and audience a set of words related to Howie, then showed Howie those words whilst Leeman squeezed his head. Howie was unable to read the words properly whilst Leeman was applying pressure. It was a great trick, as it was clever and hard to figure out. If David and Leeman can retain their unique approach, they could do well in the competition.
- Magic of Stephen Knight (Shown in the montage before Smoothini)
Stephen Knight performed an illusion inspired by the "3 Shell Game" trick. He used three buckets, and had a female assistant, who was hiding under a covered table, appear and disappear from beneath them. When Stephen removed the cloth covering the table, the female assistant was replaced with a male one. The twist at the end was executed well, but Stephen does not appear unique or spectacular enough to compete with his rivals.
- Patrick Gable Marinell (Shown in the montage before Smoothini)
Patrick performed a trick in which one of his assistants got into a box and vanished. Two flaming spears were thrown into the box to prove that she had vanished, and when they were removed, Patrick made his assistant reappear in the box, along with another one. The trick has been seen dozens of times before, but the presentation was slick and energetic.
- Smoothini
Smoothini performed a close-up routine at the judges table. This consisted of a number of very simple tricks with cards, sponge balls, saltshakers, and a pen. It was beginner's magic, but it was performed with flair. I love Smoothini's "Ghetto Houdini" image, and he could be a potential winner if he blends his colorful persona with more unique tricks.
- Mat Franco
Smoothini ~ America's Got Talent, 2014 Auditions by HumanSlinky
Like Smoothini, Mat Franco performed a close-up routine on the judges table. He did a "storytelling" trick similar to the classic "673 King Street" routine, in which he made cards appear from a shuffled deck in an order that reflected a story he was telling. This meant that whenever he mentioned that he was performing on Season 9 of AGT, he pulled a nine from the deck, and in a line mentioning Heidi's "Sex appeal", pulled out two sixes. This was simple but creative,and probably the best magic trick seen at the auditions this year. I am looking forward to seeing what Mat does next.
- Mike Super
Mike Super, the winner of 2007's short-lived mentalism competition "Phenomenon", performed a trick using Heidi as a volunteer. He gave her a glass pitcher, and told her to hold it in midair inside a plexiglass container. He then summoned a "Spirit Friend" called Desmond, who made his presence felt by shattering the pitcher. The presentation of the trick was excellent, and Mike's paranormal theme is interesting. However, if the "Spirit Friends" are overused, viewers might lose interest.
- Rogue
Rogue performed a variant of the "Russian Roulette" trick with four staple guns. He had Mel B put a pile of staples into one of them, and mix them up in a bag. She was then told to take three of them out and fire them point-blank at Rogue's temple. The three she picked were empty, and Rogue went unharmed. The trick wasn't too hard to figure out (Similar routines have been done by Season 6's Frank Miles and Landon Swank and Season 8 finalist Colins Key), but Rogue succeeded in engaging the audience. He needs to keep the element of danger, but has to provide more unique tricks if he wants to win over the viewers.
- Psycho Jack
Psycho Jack's audition was not shown during any of the six regular audition episodes, but was instead shown in a "Best of the Auditions" episode during a montage of "surprise packages" - Acts who the judges and audience were prepared to see as jokes, but actually turned out to be quite good. Psycho Jack performed a trick in which he got into a crate and made it levitate in midair with him inside. Whilst this trick has been done before on AGT by Landon Swank, Psycho Jack's presentation of it was unique and memorable. There will definitely be an audience for Psycho Jack's blend of horror and comedy, but this approach could also put off a number of viewers.
Judgement Week airs next week, and I can't wait to see how all these magicians fare in New York. If you want to find out who made the Live Shows, then stay tuned.
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