'America's Got Talent' Contestant Wows Judges With Stunning Magic Trick
America's Got Talent contestant Yu Hojin amazes the judges with a mind-bending illusion in a clip from an upcoming episode of the NBC show. The South Korean magician speaks about being in the army for two years and thinking about what he wanted to do in the future.
"I want the world [to] know me and remember my name," he said.Hojin then takes out a golden frame without any glass, passes his hands through it, and performs various tricks with feathers, all to the tune of Emeli Sandé's "Read All About It."
Yu Hojin is quite famous in the magic world – known for his award-winning card manipulation as The Manipulator, and "the future of magic," he was the first Asian performer to win the Grand Prix Award at the FISM World Championships of Magic in 2012, and the youngest person to win the Magician of the Year Award from the Academy of Magical Arts at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. He also performed as part of the magic spectacular The Illusionists on Broadway and on a U.S. tour.
The first trick or illusion Hojin said he ever learned was a simple card disappearing trick at eight years old. He told BroadwayBox in 2015 that he was "instantly attracted to magic since then. I learned and practiced magic tricks myself after that and showed it to my friends, and just the fact that they loved it thrilled me."
In a 2016 interview with INSIDE magazine, Hojin revealed that his parents were initially opposed to him performing magic. However, they eventually "became my greatest supporters when they realized the passion I had for it," he explained.
"Soon I began to receive awards at various magic competitions. When I was 19, I won the Grand Prix award in the stage magic division at the International Federation of Magic Societies' 2012 World Championship of Magic in Blackpool, England. This gave me the opportunity to perform around the world."He also named David Copperfield as one of his inspirations for "the way he has made his own magical world" and his "friends, like the other performers who work with me in The Illusionist shows. They inspire me in every moment.
Hojin told INSIDE that his professional goals as a magician are to "create more mystery and wonder using my magical inspiration and share my magical creations with people around the world."America's Got Talent airs on Tuesday, 8 pm EST/7 pm CST on NBC.