When South Korean magician Yu Hojin returned to America’s Got Talent, he was carrying a comment that had followed him since his first appearance. Simon Cowell had told him that his magic needed to become bigger. Yu could have returned with a few new tricks, but he chose a far more ambitious answer.
This time, Yu did not walk onto the stage alone. He arrived as the leader of Hundred Fingers, a team of 10 magicians who combined sleight of hand with music, dance and perfectly synchronized movement. Cards appeared, vanished and floated through the air so quickly that the performance felt less like an audition and more like a finished Las Vegas production.
Hundred Fingers Earns Howie Mandel’s Golden Buzzer on AGT 2026
The judges barely had time to process one illusion before another appeared. Every turn, hand movement and prop change had to happen at exactly the right moment. One mistake could have exposed the entire routine, but Hundred Fingers delivered it with such control that Simon called it one of the best acts he had ever seen.
Backstage, Terry Crews was already preparing to race toward the Golden Buzzer. Howie Mandel was closer and refused to lose the moment. He threw himself across the judges’ desk and hit the button first, sending golden confetti over Yu and his team. For a magician who had previously reached the final without receiving that honor, the moment carried years of disappointment, growth and determination.
Simon Cowell Calls Yu Hojin’s Magic World-Class on AGT: Fantasy League
Yu’s transformation did not happen overnight. When he returned for AGT: Fantasy League in 2024, he used ordinary paper planes to create a quiet and graceful illusion that Simon described as world-class. The performance proved that Yu had already developed into one of the most polished magicians associated with the show, but it also revealed the style he would eventually expand.
Fans are already calling Hundred Fingers a future Las Vegas headliner and one of the acts to beat this season. Yu Hojin once left America’s Got Talent as a finalist who had been told to think bigger. He returned as the creator of a 10-magician spectacle, earned the Golden Buzzer that had previously escaped him and turned Simon Cowell’s criticism into the foundation of his greatest act.
Watch both performances and see how one world-class solo magician built the team that could now take him all the way to the AGT title.