Simon Declares Magician ‘The Best' Yet on ‘AGT’ After Sight Defying Performance
Do you remember Shin Lim, aka the amazing sleight-of-hand master who won “America’s Got Talent” during the 2018 season?
Lim wowed audiences from his very first audition. Simon Cowell was skeptical about the card trick artist at first, but it only took one performance to make even the toughest judge sing a different tune — one that belted Lim’s praises time and time again.
Lim is considered one of the world’s best card magicians. So when Eric Chien walked onto the “AGT” season 14 stage with seemingly the same act as Shin Lim only a year later, no one was sure what to think.
As an avid “AGT” fan myself, I’ll admit even I was a bit guarded when watching. How could this guy possibly top the great Shin Lim?
“I know last year’s winner of ‘America’s Got Talent‘ is Shin Lim,” Chien said before his audition. “And that really puts the pressure on me. I’m following in the footsteps of one of the best in the world.”
Chien admitted that he’s only been performing within the last six months and isn’t quite used to a large crowd. During his time in the Taiwan military, he lost sight of who he was.
The magician is glad to be back in America now. He performed on “Asia’s Got Talent” and even made it to the Grand Final of the show, according to a Facebook post.
“My Asia’s Got Talent journey was one heck of a ride and I am so grateful for everything that happened,” Chien wrote. “I’ve learned so much and I can feel myself grow along the way. Though I still need a lot of practice for my presentation and stage presence, i know I will learn them as I perform more and more in the future.”
And it appears that future is now. Chien’s “AGT” audition was his first time performing in America.
“They were so supportive and encouraging,” he wrote of the audience and judges. “I remember halfway through my performance, I looked up and people were on their feet already.”
Watch as he blows everyone in the theater away! His humility when Simon asked, “Who’s better?” only makes me root for Chien more.
His nerves are no secret, but Chien’s stunning performance more than made up for what he lacked in first impressions.
“This was in a different level,” Simon Cowell said. “It was actually unbelievably good. What I really love about you as well is that you’re so humble, you don’t even know how good you are. The future is in your hands from now on because I think you’re one of the best we’ve ever had.”
“I got so nervous my hands started to tremble but I composed myself and finished my performance,” Chien added on Facebook. “The judges’ comments really meant a lot to me and I’m really glad they loved my act. I can’t wait to show America what else I got!”
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