Pasadena, California USA, August 18, 2026 —Hundred Fingers, the 10-man magic collective from Seoul, South Korea, became the first act in “America’s Got Talent” history to receive two Golden Buzzers from the same judge in a single season, after Howie Mandel sent the group straight to the Season 21 finals during Tuesday’s live quarterfinal show.
The August 18 episode kicked off the season’s live shows, with 11 acts competing to advance to the semifinals. Mandel had already used his Golden Buzzer once this season to send Hundred Fingers to the quarterfinals, and Tuesday’s routine — masks transforming into fans, ribbon floating around each performer, fire illusions — built toward a close so strong that Mandel threw himself over the buzzer before any judge could offer a critique, sending gold streamers across the stage.
Asked why he picked the group a second time, Mandel kept it simple: “That’s the best thing I’ve seen. One word: magic.”
The group is led by Yu Hojin, a FISM Grand Prix winner and champion of SBS’s “The Magic Star.” Yu previously competed as a solo act on AGT Season 17, finishing in the Bottom 6 of the Top 11, and rebuilt his approach around a 10-person ensemble after Simon Cowell’s critique of his original audition. The name Hundred Fingers is a nod to the math: ten men, ten fingers apiece.
Hundred Fingers first earned Mandel’s Golden Buzzer during the Season 21 auditions in June. Tuesday’s second buzzer locks the group into the Season 21 finals outright, bypassing the semifinal round entirely.
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