For Part 1 of this countdown, click here
Part 2 (21st Place - 11th Place)
21. Jay Mattioli (Series 4)
Out of all the magicians in Series 4, Jay Mattioli provided what was probably the best audition. The highlight of his routine was his opening effect, in which he made his microphone stand float around the stage, then performed a gravity-defying lean in the style of Michael Jackson whilst trying to control it. Based on this performance, Jay seemed like a favourite to do well in the series. Unfortunately, the judges eliminated him at Vegas Week. This led to a considerable outcry from AGT viewers, so when eight Wild Cards were added to the Top 40, it was great to find out that Jay was among them. Unfortunately, his Live Show routine was incredibly disappointing. Though Jay started well by making two assistants appear from a box, his remaining tricks were unimpressive and generic, and he ended up with two X's from the judges. In addition to the quality of his audition and his status as a Wild Card, what made Jay's failure so frustrating was the fact that he was capable of so much more. Anyone who has seen videos of his routines, such as Hair Salon, on YouTube knows that Jay is a excellent illusionist who can provide creative and funny performances. Therefore, Jay is low on the list because he chose to play it safe instead of showing Americas what he could really do.
20. Leon Etienne & Romy Low (Series 8)
During Series 7 and 8 of AGT, the magic acts became increasingly unconventional, and the stage illusionists who had previously dominated the art began to decline. The only traditional illusionists on AGT's Live Shows in Series 8 were Leon Etienne & Romy Low. Blending illusions and card tricks in their audition, and providing a spin on the Broomstick Levitation at Vegas Week, Leon & Romy demonstrated that they had plenty of showmanship, but were a bit too conventional.However, they did something different for their Live Show performance, and though it was heavily criticised by the judges, I quite liked it. In their Live Show performance, Leon & Romy did a version of Lance Burton's clever and creative Backstage illusion, in which the magician appears to let the audience in on his secrets. He shows the audience the view from behind as he performs a seemingly generic box trick, during which he leaves the box and hides under a nearby table. However, the magician soon vanishes from beneath the table and reappears in the box in time for the climax of the trick. It's very entertaining to watch, but the lengthy set-up for what is actually a pretty simple teleportation effect can annoy viewers, and Leon & Romy found this out the hard way. The judges found the performance confusing, and only enjoyed a final reveal, in which Nick Cannon appeared under the table that Leon had vanished from. Although Leon & Romy were initially eliminated following this routine, judge Howard Stern brought them back for the Semifinals as Wild Cards, in spite of the fact he gave them an X in the Live Shows. Their Semifinal performance was energetic, but all the tricks they performed during it have been seen on AGT before. Therefore, I personally thought it was their weakest performance. Overall, Leon & Romy were slick and energetic, but I would have liked to see them take a few more risks, even if those risks didn't pay off.
19. Jarret & Raja (Series 7)
Jarrett & Raja aimed to blend grand illusion with both comedy and classical music, with Jarret performing the tricks and Raja in the role of his piano-playing assistant. Their audition provided an amusing spin on Sawing A Person in Half, with Raja being bisected in clear view of the audience without a box covering his body. This was followed by an impressive Vegas Week trick in which Jarrett made an entire orchestra appear to accompany Raja. Unfortunately, Jarrett & Raja's performance in the Live Shows was such a failure that a large section of the audience booed them. The idea for their routine, a bathtime-themed spin on the Spirit Pyramid illusion, in which the magician produces spirits from beneath giant cloths, was goofy, but also unique and intriguing, but they performed it in a basic and incredibly amateurish manner. It's a relatively minor problem when the feet of the assistants are visible as the cloths are brought to life, because they are obviously playing the forms under the sheets, but the Spirit Pyramid stands out due to its climax, in which the magician vanishes from the cabinet and appears beneath the final cloth. Jarrett could be clearly seen beneath the final cloth when it came to life, thus ruining this pivotal part of the routine. Jarrett & Raja redeemed themselves somewhat in the Wild Card round, when they made a grand piano vanish in midair. Their performance was not strong enough for them to make it further, but they did go out with a trick that summed up their approach perfectly by being energetic, spectacular, and full of piano music.
18. Magic of Puck (Series 7)
Magic of Puck competed in the same YouTube heat as Rudy Coby, but managed to make it to the Semifinals. Whilst that heat was third-rate even by the reduced standards of AGT's YouTube heats, Puck's performance was one of the few highlights. Whilst Rudy had impressive illusions but an over-long routine, Puck livened up a mundane Dancing Handkerchief trick with a number of interesting touches (such as making the handkerchief fly out of a sealed bottle) and a slick presentation. Given the inauspicious circumstances under which he had qualified, Puck was expected to flop in the Semifinals as Dan Sperry had done previously, but he managed not to embarrass himself. He performed a trick in which he made an assistant levitate, vanish and reappear inside a box, and though he never really had a chance of making the final, Puck proved that he deserved to be in the AGT Semifinals. In spite of this, he was not unique or spectacular enough compared to AGT's best magicians.
17. Scott Alexander (Series 6)
In my opinion, Scott Alexander is one of AGT's most underrated illusionists. The tricks he did were very big and very impressive. After performing an enjoyable levitation trick in his audition, Scott provided his best performance in Vegas Week. He did a spin on the Eclipse illusion, in which an assistant appeared to vanish from one half of a circular box and appear in the other. The Eclipse is one of my favourite illusions because it is beautiful to watch and hard to figure out, and Scott did it justice. Scott then provided one of the most spectacular AGT tricks ever in the Live Shows, as he made an entire choir vanish from a box and reappear on the theatre balcony. Sadly, it was overlooked by the viewers, and Scott finished behind an act who had gained 2 X's. Maybe Scott failed due to his lack of stage presence, but I think he deserved to go further than he did.
16. Seth Grabel (Series 6)
Whilst some magicians emphasise technical skills, there are others who focus on showmanship and presentation. Seth Grabel was a great example of the latter type. Although his routines were relatively easy to figure out. he used an attention-grabbing approach that was both ostentatious and amusing. After a comedic teleportation routine at the auditions, and a more serious, "acrobatic" performance at Vegas Week, Seth blended the two styles for a memorable Live Show routine which began with him trying to escape from a straitjacket whilst dangling over a cauldron of boiling tar and apparently falling in, and ended with him getting shot out of a cannon and appearing inside a water tank. After losing the judge's vote, Seth was brought back as a Wild Card by Howie Mandel, going up against fellow magician Landon Swank. His central trick, in which he made a Deorlean car appear with children representing AGT's judges inside, was entertaining enough, but, as was the case with many disappointing magic routines on AGT, he spent too much time setting up the illusion, and not enough demonstrating his skills as a magician. Furthermore, Seth spent most of the introduction doing acrobatics inside a large hoop, which was little more than a distraction. Sometimes excessive showmanship can make an act great, but it can also ruin it, and Seth should have paid a bit more attention to the problems with his approach. Although I personally preferred Scott Alexander's tricks, Seth's superior presentation and greater levels of success put him higher on the countdown.
15. Spencer Horsman (Series 7)
Presenting himself as the "World's Youngest Escapologist", Spencer Horsman established his dangerous approach from his audition, where he escaped from a straitjacket upside down before a spike trap could close on him. In Vegas Week, he escaped from a tank of water in (roughly) 90 seconds. Although neither stunt is particularly original (Australia Got Talent runner-up Cosentino performed both of them during his time on that show the previous year), Spencer managed to play up the suspense and make his escapes seem genuinely difficult and impressive. However, when he reached the Live Shows, Spencer chose to switch from real escapology to conventional magic, merely doing a magic trick with an escapology theme. Furthermore, a prop malfunction ensured that the routine ended 13 seconds early. This led to Spencer's early elimination, but was brought back for the Wild Card round, and provided a unique, dangerous and memorable performance in which he escaped from a glass box as it was filled with cement. Unfortunately, viewers did not vote for Spencer, probably because they did not want to see him risk his life yet again, so the performance that showed off his full potential as an escapologist, and secured his placement in the top half of this countdown, was also his last on AGT.
14. Drew Thomas Magic (Series 4)
In his audition, Drew Thomas Magic performed the Spirit Pyramid trick later botched by Jarret and Raja, but his version was practically flawless. As a result, he was singled out as a "million dollar act" by the judges almost immediately, and his Live Show performance, which centred around female assistants switching places with male assistants from within a giant packing crate, reinforced their opinion and ensured that the audience voted him through to the next round. However, Drew's Semifinal performance, dedicated to his daughter, was a disappointment as immense as the failures of Jay Mattioli and Kevin James. It relied too heavily on generic box tricks, including one, in which he made an assistant pop out of a toolbox, that didn't feel like a proper trick at all because the box was never shown to be empty. The idea of doing a "sentimental" routine with a childhood theme is interesting enough, but Drew forgot one of the most important rule of magic - you should never assume that a good story can make up for substandard tricks. However, one weak performance does not detract from the fact that Drew was generally an effective illusionist.
13. Antonio Restivio (Series 5)
Magician and fire artist Antonio Restivio stood out at the audition stage, providing illusions with plenty of firepower, both literally and figuratively. In Vegas Week, he competed alongside the danger acts rather than the magicians. This turned out to be an advantage, as he performed a version of the Suspended Animation illusion, already performed by Michael Grasso at the audition stage in the same Series, which was affected by prop malfunctions. However, Antonio's Live Show performance was more successful, and he made it to the Semifinals as a Judge's Choice. In the Semifinals, Antonio performed his most dangerous routine, as he did an illusion in which he was trapped in a box as a row of burning spikes was dropped on it, but vanished from it and reappeared at the side of the stage, completely unharmed. This spectacular performance made up for Dan Sperry's failure in the same Semifinal heat, but did note win over enough viewers for Antonio to make Top 10. Although he never provided a truly great performance, Antonio's showmanship and love of danger ensured that he was memorable for the right reasons.
12. David & Dania: Quick Change (Series 1)
David and Dania's audition is one of the most iconic AGT auditions of all time. Their routine, which involved several "Quick Changes" (magical changes of costume) in a very short space of time, became an internet sensation. They were also the first magic act to make the Top 10 of Americas Got Talent, a feat that would not be repeated by a magician until Series 5. So why are they not higher on the countdown? The answer is simple; their act became repetitive. Whilst Quick-Change acts are generally limited to a single type of illusion, they can remain interesting if they provide different routines with a wide range of unique and exciting costume changes, as Australia's Got Talent's two-time finalists Soul Mystique did. However, David & Dania performed the same routine again and again throughout the competition, with only a couple of new costumes each time. In the Wild Card round, they memorably got into a heated argument with Piers Morgan when he called them out on their lack of range. Although Piers is famous for being obnoxious and unpleasant, he was generally a competent judge, and his critique of David & Dania was entirely correct. This did not prevent the AGT viewers from putting them through to the final at the expense of fellow magician Nathan Burton and, to no-one's surprise, David & Dania performed what was essentially the same routine again and received the same reaction from Piers. Based on their first audition alone, David & Dania would be in the top 5 of this countdown, but you can't perform the same routine four times in a row and expect viewers to be as impressed after the fourth performance as they were after the first.
11. Kevin James (Series 2)
In his audition, and especially his Vegas Week performance, Kevin James demonstrated why he is one of the most popular and influential magicians in the world today. His audition routine featured him putting together a dummy of Charlie Chaplin, then bringing it to life. The old-fashioned approach could have been boring, but Kevin's lively presentation made it enjoyable, and the trick itself was great. Kevin then followed this up with his iconic performance at Vegas Week. His creative and impressive spin on Sawing a Person in Half, where both halves developed a life of their own, was so good that he performed it again when he made a guest appearance as the head of The Illusionists last year. Unfortunately, Kevin followed one of the best ever magic performances on AGT with one of the worst. His Live Show routine featured him playing around with a disembodied hand, and even the lively presentation could not hide the fact that the routine was too small-scale and amateurish for AGT. Therefore, Kevin's time on AGT ended earlier than it should have, but he still managed to prove himself as a unique and innovative magician.
Come back tomorrow for the final part of this countdown to see the Top 10 and find out which Americas Got Talent magician I regard as the best.
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