Magician Shin Lim crowned winner of 'America's Got Talent' season 13

The voting is over and America has chosen Boston magician Shin Lim as the winner of “America’s Got Talent” season 13. Lim won the show’s $1 million grand prize and will headline “America’s Got Talent Live” at the Paris Theater at Paris Las Vegas on November 2-4. He is now the second magician to win this talent show after Mat Franco who took the top honors in season 9. Lim was able to achieve this win after he bested acrobatic dance group Zurcaroh pushing them to second and leaving electric violinist Brian King Joseph in third place.
From the get-go, Lim has managed to keep audiences enthralled with his close-up magic performances, which defied logic. His performances each week had become anticipated because of his skillful presentation and nuanced tricks. His journey on the show also has quite an interesting tale because here you have a man who once trained to be a concert pianist switch fields to master the art of sleight-of-hand magic. After being diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, Lim was faced with a choice between piano and magic but through painstaking hard work and perseverance, he is now the reigning world champion for close-up magic.
A self-proclaimed “sleight of hand artist,” Lim performs carefully choreographed routines rather than pretending to defy the laws of physics. Combining dexterity, precision and grace, his finger moves are so masterful that the audience is often left awestruck at his performances.
Needless to say, his growing repertoire of tricks led him to a berth in the two-night season finale which concluded on Wednesday at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. The finale had the show’s top 10 finalists performing along with superstar guests, including Rock and Roll Hall of Famers KISS, which opened the show; opera legend Placido Domingo; acclaimed and award-winning electronic violinist Lindsey Stirling; chart-topping singer/songwriter Bebe Rexha; British glam rockers The Struts; actor-comedian and New York Times best-selling author David Spade; stand-up comedian and “American Ninja Warrior” host Matt Iseman; and Akbar Gbajabiamila, host of “American Ninja Warrior” and host of NFL Network’s highest-rated show, “Fantasy Live.” The show also featured a special song contribution written by the No. 1-selling solo artist in US history and six-time CMA Entertainer of the year, Garth Brooks.
With so many talented acts in the mix, “America’s Got Talent” has been the No.1 show of the summer for 13 straight seasons. The series once again dominated the summer television landscape with the Tuesday telecast beating the summer’s next most-watched entertainment program (excluding the Wednesday “AGT”) by +5.5 million persons. The ratings tell the whole story as heading into last night’s season finale, Tuesday’s final performance episode delivered the show’s most-watched telecast of the season to date, attracting 13 million same-day viewers.
“America’s Got Talent” was created by Simon Cowell and is co-produced by Fremantle and Syco Entertainment. Simon Cowell, Sam Donnelly, Jason Raff, Trish Kinane and Richard Wallace are the executive producers.
Tickets for “America’s Got Talent Live” at the Paris Theater at Paris Las Vegas November 2-4 will go on sale to the public on Friday, September 21 at 10 a.m. PT. A special pre-sale will be held from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. PT on Thursday, September 20. Tickets range in price from $55-$185, plus additional taxes and fees, and can be purchased online at www.agtvegas.com or by phone at (702) 777-2782 or (855) 234-7469.
Auditions for the next season of “America’s Got Talent” are currently underway. Interested acts can submit an audition online or register for one of the upcoming audition cities at www.AGTAuditions.com.
For additional information please visit the official show site at: http://www.nbc.com/agt.