Pasadena, California, USA, August 17, 2026 — America’s Got Talent Season 21 enters its Live Quarterfinals tomorrow, August 18, with five magic and mentalism acts among the 44 performers competing for America’s votes at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
Advancing to the Live Shows
Ten-member South Korean troupe Hundred Fingers earned Howie Mandel’s Golden Buzzer during auditions, when Mandel body-slammed the button ahead of host Terry Crews to send Yu Hojin’s collective straight to the Quarterfinals, avenging a Season 17 critique from Simon Cowell along the way.
British duo Young & Strange, Edinburgh Fringe veterans and three-time Penn & Teller: Fool Us contestants, advanced unanimously after a blade-through-box illusion at the judges’ table, overcoming a mid-act buzzer from Cowell.
Arizona magician Geno Ploeger, a 21-year-old protégé of Season 9 champion Mat Franco, advanced unanimously with a card-based routine that traced his own path into magic.
Close-up magician Kameron Marshall, inspired by an eighth-grade teacher who screened AGT auditions in class, needed a Judges’ Callback to seal his spot, ultimately winning a head-to-head with fellow magician Darrell Moten for the season’s final magic slot.
Mentalist duo James & Marina, known in the magic world as FISM Gold Medalists James Harrington and Marina Liani of Mind2Mind, advanced through a Callback built around a Spice Girls reunion, turning guest judge Emma Bunton into the centerpiece of a mind-reading routine performed for Mel B.
Strong Auditions, No Callback Advancement
Not every standout magician made the cut. Darrell Moten, a Philadelphia magician making his live performing debut, turned a card mix-up involving Cowell into one of the audition round’s most talked-about moments, earning three yes votes. He returned for Sophia Vegara’s Callbacks alongside Marshall, where Vergara had made clear only one of her two magician picks would advance. Moten’s Callback routine, which opened with him appearing remotely by video call before he revealed himself arriving in person in a yellow Lamborghini exactly as predicted, ultimately did not carry him through, and he was eliminated.
Aidan Corcoran, a 19-year-old Magic Castle headliner, drew a scream from Vergara with a burned-and-restored dollar bill trick that matched an audience member’s friend’s birthdate, earning all four judges’ votes. Despite the unanimous audition, Corcoran was not selected to advance during the judges’ Deliberations, closing out his run before he ever reached a Callback stage.
Joel Mawhinney, the former Blue Peter presenter known as Joel M, advanced past his hammer-and-reveal audition involving the judges’ own belongings, then returned for Mel B’s Callbacks the same night as James & Marina. His Callback routine built to a nested reveal involving a borrowed ring, an egg from Mel B’s own chickens, and a walnut, but was not enough to advance him. He was eliminated alongside country duo Madelyn Tallent & Malachi Martin and comedian Lachlan Patterson.
What’s Ahead
The 44 Live Show acts are divided into four Quarterfinal groups of 11, with new episodes airing Tuesdays and results Wednesdays through early September, followed by Semifinals on September 15 and 16 and the Finale on September 22 and 23.
Responses