Fil-Am magician Anna DeGuzman snags second place in ‘America’s Got Talent’
Photo from annadeguzman/Instagram
Despite being just a few votes shy of the grand prize, Filipino-American Anna DeGuzman still won the hearts of her fans and fellow Filipinos.
For more than four months, DeGuzman had us glued into her charming stage presence and mind-boggling card tricks. While she may have only finished second in last Wednesday’s “America’s Got Talent” finale, her talent is proof that she’s a winner in her own right.
“I don’t think there is losing,” DeGuzman said in an interview. “I think I’ve already won.” She even got the chance to open for Jason Derulo and perform with him.
Adrian Stoica and his dog Hurricane ended up as the grand winner and the opportunity to perform at Las Vegas’ Luxor Hotel.
But being a second placer at “America’s Got Talent” is no mean feat; just being on the show itself presents opportunities, considering its powerhouse reach of more than 26 million YouTube subscribers.
So grand prize or not, this isn’t the end of the journey for DeGuzman. She might just follow in the footsteps of another AGT magician, Piff the Magic Dragon, who didn’t clinch the top spot but has now found fame in Las Vegas.
Anna DeGuzman, the Queen of Hearts
In her titillating finale performance, she conjured the queen of hearts in the sealed envelopes of host Terry Crews, the four judges—Heidi Klum, Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, and Sofia Vergara—and the entire studio audience.
But she took it a step further and aligned random cards to form the exact date and time of the AGT finals broadcast: 26/9/2023 at 10:10 p.m.
“Check the clock because it’s exactly 10:10, America!” she exclaimed to the audience.
What makes her magic stand out against other magic tricks is her “close-up” magic. While she can’t just magically make the Statue of Liberty disappear, she excels in making a personal connection with her audience.
“I specialize in close-up,” she explained. “That’s how I started. Doing street magic for people. Stuff with coins, money. Literally any small object you can think of. I love that kind of magic because it’s intimate.”
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In addition, DeGuzman won a bigger grand prize on a personal level: creating a closer bond with her mom. Teeming with pride, her mom flew in all the way from the Philippines to watch her perform live and was shown during the broadcast.
“This has been very bonding,” DeGuzman said. “My mom doesn’t really know this world. She’s always been a very normal conservative woman.”
Meanwhile, for her fellow magicians, her achievement is a big win. Females lack representation in this field of expertise, and DeGuzman helped put the spotlight by being the first female close-up magician in AGT.
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