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Jon Dorenbos was a magician from Season 11 of America's Got Talent. He finished the competition in 3rd place. Jon returned for America's Got Talent: The Champions. There, he was eliminated in the Preliminaries, finishing his night in third place. Jon then returned as a wildcard for the Finals. He then finished in the Bottom 7 of the Top 12. He returned again for America's Got Talent: Fantasy League, competing on Mel B’s team where he was eliminated in the Preliminaries.

Background[]

Jon Dorenbos is a professional football player who has been playing in the NFL since 2003. He has played for the New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, and Tennessee Titans.

Dorenbos took solace in magic after his father was convicted of killing his mother when Dorenbos was only 12, and has been practicing it ever since. He has performed for fellow teammates, and in the likes of Las Vegas and Hollywood. He collects the autographs of every famous person he performs for on playing cards, which he hangs up in his house in Huntington Beach. [1] [2]

Audition[]

Jon Dorenbos' audition in Episode 1104 consisted of performing a card trick in which he used different ways in revealing cards numbered in order from Ace to King, and then sorting all of the cards into their four different suits, before revealing a card Simon Cowell chose under a paperclip he placed at the beginning of the act. Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum, and Simon all voted "Yes", sending Jon to the Judge Cuts.

Judge Cuts[]

Jon Dorenbos' Judge Cuts performance in Episode 1107 consisted of inviting guest judge Ne-Yo to pick a random card from a deck and hide it from Jon. Jon then drew an incorrect card on a notepad, which he then "corrected" by making it look like a full deck. After Ne-Yo revealed his card, Jon created the illusion of the correct card emerging from the deck on the paper. Howie Mandel gave him a standing ovation. Impressed by the performance, Ne-Yo pressed his Golden Buzzer, sending Jon straight to the Quarterfinals.

Quarterfinals[]

Jon Dorenbos' Week 1 Quarterfinals performance in Episode 1111 consisted of having a prediction inside of a bottle and setting it aside. Then, all four judges drew a picture on a piece of paper. Jon proceeded to guess correctly which judge drew each drawing. Finally, he put the glass bottle inside of a bag and had Simon Cowell smash the bottle with a hammer. Jon pulled an envelope out and inside of the envelope was a very accurate prediction of Simon's drawing. A secret second pocket was revealed to have very accurate predictions of the three other judges' drawings. Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum, and Simon Cowell all gave Jon standing ovations. Jon received enough votes to be sent to the Semifinals in Episode 1112 along with Tape Face, instead of Sila Sveta.

Semifinals[]

Jon Dorenbos' Week 1 Semifinals performance in Episode 1117 consisted of inviting the four judges to throw or snap magnetic footballs toward a magnetic map of the United States. The four balls landed on four different states. Next, Jon revealed, inside a treasure chest, a set of quarters. When the judges read the backs of the four quarters, they found engraved precisely the four states the judges threw balls on. Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum, and Simon Cowell all gave him standing ovations. Jon received enough votes to be sent to the Finals in Episode 1118, instead of Blake Vogt and Deadly Games.

Finals[]

Jon Dorenbos' Finals performance in Episode 1121 consisted of narrating a story about how magic saved his life as he shuffled a deck repeatedly until autographed cards by the judges appeared seemingly from nowhere. He also appeared to correctly predict Simon would choose his own son, Eric, as an important person. Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum, and Simon Cowell all gave Jon standing ovations.

Finale[]

For the finale in Episode 1122, Jon Dorenbos invited guest Paula Abdul to pick a random playing card from a deck of cards, hold it in front of her, and then rip it into four pieces. Next, he handed one of the corners to Paula and dropped the three other pieces into a paper bag. Next, he unraveled the bag and revealed it to be now empty. Finally, he opened a small envelope that had been on a table and took out a playing card with a corner ripped out of it; the corner in Paula's hand fit perfectly into the rip as if the three ripped pieces had fused together. Jon received enough votes to advance to the Top 5 instead of Linkin' Bridge. Jon finished in third place in the competition overall, in front of Brian Justin Crum and Sal Valentinetti, but behind Grace VanderWaal and The Clairvoyants.

The Champions Preliminary[]

Jon Dorenbos returned for The Champions.  His Preliminary performance in Episode TC03 consisted of asking Simon Cowell , Heidi Klum and Mel B to write a word chosen from audience suggestions about what it takes to be a champion in different colored markers.  He then played tic tac toe with Howie onstage, resulting in a tie.  He then had Simon, Heidi and Mel B reveal their words to the crowd.  He then flips over the tic tac toe game that he and Howie had just played, which each add up to graphics of each judge and the colored words they had randomly drawn. Howie, Mel B, Heidi and Simon all gave him standing ovations.  It was revealed that the superfans voted him into the Top 3 along with Paul Potts and Billy & Emily England.  However, he recieved less votes than either of them, eliminating him from the competition. However, he was chosen as one of two wildcard acts, sending him to the final.

The Champions Final[]

Jon Dorenbos returned to the Finals as a wild card. His Finals performance in Episode TC06 consisted of having each of the judges select a number corresponding with a board on the stage. Jon then requested Howie Mandel to select a city from a stack of cards with cities in which he toured, Mel B to select a random card from a deck, Heidi Klum to select a picture of her wearing a costume and Simon Cowell to also select a random card from a deck. Jon then revealed the back of each board and correctly guessed each judge's selection and later revealed each of their selections to be the same as previously done tricks. HowieMelHeidi, and Simon all gave him standing ovations.

The Champions Finale[]

In Episode TC07, the superfans did not give Jon enough votes to enter the Top 5, eliminating him from the competition along with Susan Boyle instead of Darci Lynne.

After the Show[]

Jon appeared on the February 1, 2019 episode of The Price is Right for their Super Bowl special as a guest. He helped present two one-bids, as well as a Showcase.  During a commercial break stop, he performed a magic trick with Drew Carey and two audience members. He was later featured in Episode 1418, where he performed a trick with the Los Angeles Rams at their training facility in honor of the start of the 2019-2020 NFL season.  Jon returned again as a guest performer in Episode 1514, and in Episode 1713.

Fantasy League Nominations[]

Jon Dorenbos was nominated as one of the top 40 acts, sending him through to the Draft Pool.

Fantasy League Draft Pool[]

Jon was drafted onto Mel B's team.

Fantasy League Preliminary[]

Jon Dorenbos' Preliminary performance in Episode FL01 consisted of doing a magic trick with cards and wine glasses and matched cards in wine glasses. Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Mel B and Simon Cowell all gave him standing ovations. He did not receive enough votes to advance to the Semifinals, eliminating him from the competition.

External Links[]


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