(N.B: Before each magician on this countdown are videos of the performances they gave. If there isn't a video for a certain performance, it's because I couldn't find one)
Part 1 (31st Place-22nd Place)
31. Chipps Cooney (Series 5)
It seems appropriate to put Chipps Cooney at the bottom of the countdown, given that he was a comedian playing the part of a magician, rather than a real one. Instead of doing conventional magic, his act featured him doing deliberately fake and silly tricks in an old-fashioned and serious style. Chipps' act split the judges at the audition, with Howie Mandel (Then the newest judge on the panel) supporting him and resident mean judge Piers Morgan being highly critical. In this instance, I agreed with Howie, as I liked the idea behind the act and found some of the "tricks" funny. However, Chipps soon managed to vindicate Piers' opinion of him. Whilst he gave his Vegas Week performance an amusing narration, he repeated two of the three tricks he had done in his audition, and the fact that he was sorted into the magic category was very annoying, as real magicians such as William Scott Anderson and Michael Grasso (who later returned in the Wild Card round) were sent home at his expense. Chipps then changed his act radically for the Live Shows, and the less said about that performance, the better. Ultimately, Chipps is at the bottom of this countdown not due to his comedic approach, but his failure to make the most of it.
30. Bruce Block (Series 2 and 3)
Bruce Block appeared in the second series of AGT, reaching Vegas Week, before finally getting to the Live Shows the following year. He performed a wide variety of acts during both seasons, but primarily focused on magic, which is why he appears on the countdown. Unfortunately, his magic acts were a mess. When he finally performed on the Live Shows, he did a trick in which he turned two halves of a pantomime horse into a real pony. The idea was decent, if not particularly original, but the presentation was terrible, with several vertically-challenged actors serving as assistants, but being given little to do and instead providing little more than a distraction. Magicians on AGT have often disappointed at the Live Shows. so Bruce's failure would not have been as much of a problem if his earlier performances had been strong enough to balance it out (magicians who provided worse performances are higher on the list), but they weren't, which is why he has such a low placement in this countdown.
29. Brett Daniels (Series 6)
The renowned magician Brett Daniels, a former "Magician of the Year" who has participated in shows such as The World's Greatest Magic, competed in the YouTube heat, which featured 12 acts who had applied for Americas Got Talent via YouTube. Youtube heats (a feature of AGT for three series) were notable for their substandard quality, so he should have stood out. However, Brett's Live Show performance was a disappointment. The story behind his routine was interesting, as he made an actress representing Marilyn Monroe appear from a painting and then vanish at the end. However, between these two tricks, Brett and the actress wasted a lot of time walking around the stage without doing anything. If Brett had filled that time with a few smaller tricks that suited his story, then his routine would have been a success, and he would have gotten much further in the competition.
28. Rudy Coby (Series 7)
The similarities between Rudy Coby and Brett Daniels are striking. Both are illusionists who were popular in the past, and appeared on AGT in the hope of making a comeback. They competed in the YouTube heat, but their performances were heavily criticised by the judges for their overlong set-up. The reason why Rudy is higher in the countdown is because his routine was more creative and complex. He appeared to bring a wooden puppet to life, then turned it into giant, human-sized puppet. This appeared to come to life and decapitate Rudy, but he soon revealed that he was really inside the giant puppet. The main flaw with this routine was the fact that most of the time-wasting set-up was unnecessary. Did Rudy need to use both a sword and dynamite to prove that the small puppet was dancing inside the box without visible wires, and did he really need to spend so much time showing the giant puppet cutting off its restraints before it attacked? Rudy's routine featured some very solid ideas, and it was a shame that they weren't handled properly.
27. Hawley Magic (Series 7)
Compared to shows such as American Idol and The Voice, where the Live Shows feature a small number of acts competing over a long time, Americas Got Talent has a very brutal elimination format, with at least half of the acts in each Live Heat getting eliminated. This means that acts need to be as memorable as possible in order to get the viewers to vote for them. Unlike the acts below them, and even many of the acts above them, Hawley Magic did not deliver a performance that missed the mark during their time on the show. However, whilst all the acts above them provided at least one unique and memorable performance, Hawley Magic's routines were generally forgettable. That's not to say that they were bad magicians, and their tricks, which included a Double Levitation at Vegas Week and a version of the Impaled illusion at the Live Shows, were solid effects which they performed competently. However, AGT viewers are looking for new and interesting acts, and Hawley Magic were too safe and traditional to stand out.
26. Shimshi (Series 3)
Series 3 was easily the weakest series of AGT for magicians, as the only two to make the Live Shows have both placed very low on this countdown. Shimshi started well, with an audition in which he divided an assistant into thirds, and had little trouble making the Top 40. However, when Shimshi got to the Live Shows, he failed to impress the judges or viewers with a Sleight of Foot trick that he chose to do at the last minute. The trick, in which he found a chosen card with his foot, was actually clever and enjoyable. If Shimshi appeared on Americas Got Talent today and performed it with no changes in presentation, he would receive a far better reception. However, whilst recent series of AGT have emphasised creative small-scale tricks, the judges spent the first six series looking for grand illusions, and Shimshi's approach felt out-of-place
25. Alexanderia The Great (Series 8)
Due in part to the use of escapology by great magicians such as Houdini, I count escapolgists as magicians, which is why Alexanderia the Great is on this list. For her audition, Alexanderia escaped from thirty feet of chains and eight padlocks underwater in a performance that took place in a swimming pool, and her routine was memorable enough for the judges to put her through to the Live Shows without needing to see her perform at Vegas Week. However, her live performance was a lot less spectacular. She performed another water escape, albeit in a smaller container and with a straitjacket restraining her as well as chains. In spite of the fact that Alexanderia's husband provided commentary to emphasise how dangerous her performance was, it still seemed boring on TV. Fellow escapologist Spencer Horsman had failed to make it out of the Wild Card round the previous year in spite of giving a far better performance, so it was not surprising that Alexandria also failed to make it to the Semifinals.
24. Special Head (Series 8)
Special Head is probably the most unusual magic act to appear on AGT, He focused solely on levitations, and took a mystical approach, complete with chanting and throat singing. Special Head's audition was notable for its surprise value, as he appeared to be a terrible joke act until he raised his feet off the floor to perform an impressive Indian Fakir-style levitation, in which his only means of support was a cane he held in one hand, without any apparent set-up. With his act (and its limitations) clear by the time he reached Vegas Week, Special Head made it through to the Live Shows by doing a relatively unusual and creative trick in which he bent his upper body backwards above candles without falling over. Special Head attempted to up his game further for his Live Show routine, but it was a failure because it relied on a levitation that was too similar to his audition, a vanish which was not performed properly (his head was briefly visible afterwards) and an unconvincing final reveal. Therefore, it was not surprising when he was eliminated in favour of fellow magician Collins Key. Overall, Special Head was memorable, but not quite impressive enough to shake off his image as a goofy novelty act.
23. Dan Sperry (Series 5)
Since his appearance on Americas Got Talent, "anti-conjurer" Dan Sperry has enjoyed a considerable degree of success, making the final of the German version of the show, Das Supertalent, and headlining the touring show The Illusionists, which also features fellow AGT magician Kevin James. His performances on these projects are far superior to the routines he did on Americas Got Talent. In the YouTube heat, Dan did a trick in which he passed a string of dental floss through his neck. Though he performed it well, the routine was most notable for a moment at the end when Dan threw the used floss towards Howie, causing the judge, noted for his fear of germs, to run off in panic. Dan made it through by default as one of the few standouts from the heat, but his Semifinal routine was a disaster, as his trick, which involved sawing off and then restoring AGT host Nick Cannon's arm, was not convincing enough. Though Dan has certainly recovered from his disappointing performance, this countdown is only based on his time on AGT, which is why he's in the Bottom 10.
22. Elliot Zimet (Series 1)
Hip-hop magician Elliot Zimet got his audition off to a memorable start when he turned his microphone into a dove, then did a routine in which he made more doves and a parakeet appear whilst performing to uptempo rap music. Dove acts are traditionally slow and refined, so Elliot's decision to go for an energetic, urban approach was inspired. However, when Elliot performed again in the Live Shows, with a second routine which retained the emphasis on dove productions, a lot of the freshness and spontaneity of his audition was gone. It was not really a bad performance, but it was too similar to Elliot's debut, so he ended up overshadowed by Nathan Burton.
Come back tomorrow to find out which magicians are between 21st place and 11th place.
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