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Red Panda, whose real name is Rong Niu, was a unicyclist from Season 8 of America's Got Talent. She withdrew from the competition for personal reasons, but she was brought back by Howie Mandel as Wild Card in the Semifinals. She was eliminated again in the Semifinals.

Background[]

Red Panda was born in Shanxi Province in China and began her training at the age of seven. She studied at the Taiyuan Art School for a total of seven years, where four years into her studies, the Taiyuan Acrobatic Troupe invited her to join. Later, she was recruited by Disney World and worked in Epcot Center for almost two years. Red Panda has been performing for 33 years and has done her act in over 30 countries around the world. She has won two Guinness World Records. She currently works for the NBA halftime show. 1

Audition[]

Red Panda's audition in Episode 803 consisted of pedaling a tall unicycle with one foot while balancing ceramic bowls with her other foot, and then flipping those bowls with her foot to form a pile onto the top of her head. Howard SternHeidi KlumMel B, and Howie Mandel all voted "Yes," sending Rong to the Vegas Round.

Vegas Round[]

Red Panda was sorted into the "Danger Acts" category in the Vegas Round. Unfortunately, two days before her performance, she hurt her back. Her performance in Episode 808 consisted of again pedaling a tall unicycle with one foot while balancing ceramic bowls with her other foot, and then flipping those bowls with her foot to form a pile onto the top of her head. At one point in her performance, she dropped a bowl. Nevertheless, her performance was strong enough for the judges to send her to the Quarterfinals along with David Ferman in Episode 809, but a week before her performance (supposedly in Episode 818), she withdrew from the competition because of a family emergency. Replacing her was Melody Caballero.


Wild Card[]

In Episode 820Howie Mandel announced that he selected Red Panda as his Wild Card pick for the Semifinals, so Red Panda returned to the competition. Unlike other Wild Cards, who were called a week before, Red Panda was called at last minute to replace the injured KriStef Brothers, and had little time to practice her routine.

Semifinals[]

Red Panda's Week 1 Semifinals performance in Episode 820 consisted of performing her bowl-flipping act again, this time while riding a unicycle above a small elevated platform. Unfortunately, she dropped one bowl during the five-bowl flip at the end of the performance. Red Panda did not receive enough votes to be sent to the Finals in Episode 821, eliminating her from the competition along with Tone the Chiefrocca, instead of Innovative Force.

Trivia[]

  • Red Panda is the first Wild Card that made it to the Quarterfinals, didn't perform in the Quarterfinals, but made it to the Semifinals. She was succeeded by Thomas Day in Season 15.

After The Show[]

In 2023, Red Panda competed on the eighteenth season of France’s Got Talent.

External Links[]

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