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See the Judges’ Adorable Baby Pictures From Kevin Li's "Spectacular" Audition
Judge Howie Mandel described the Audition as a "life-changing performance."
There have been many amazing magic acts on America's Got Talent Season 18, but only one of them gave us a personal blast from the past. We're talking about magician Kevin Li.
Hailing from Los Angeles, Li grew up watching AGT with his family. Now, at the age of 25, he explained during the show's ninth round of auditions that he hopes to use his talents to spread joy to more viewers.
Kevin Li uses the Judges' baby pictures for his magical Act
Li started his performance by having headshots of Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, Terry Crews, and himself posted on a cork board onstage. He held up a camera, which then somehow quickly transformed into a deck of cards containing pictures of "core memories."
Li asked Klum to pick a photo from the pile and share it with the Judges and audience, and then try to remember as many details about the image as possible. The picture was of two people eating popcorn at a movie theater, which Li was able to accurately guess without hesitation.
Then, Li stepped things up a notch. Not only did he somehow manage to pull a popcorn kernel out of his eye, he then placed the kernel in an empty container, and got popcorn to fully pop after lighting a match underneath the container for a few seconds.
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"We tend to focus a lot on the future, but sometimes, we forget about all the memories that made us who we are today. Let's rewind the hands of time even more. Judges, let's all go back," Li said while putting his jacket over the photos of the Judges.
He then pulled the jacket back to reveal some adorable baby photos of the bunch. "Look how cute you all are! Even Simon" Li said as Cowell let out a chuckle.
AGT Judges react to Kevin Li
See below for a closer look at each of the throwbacks compared to how the Judges — and Host Terry Crews — look today:
Terry Crews
Li received a standing ovation from all four Judges after his act. "I loved it, I got goosebumps!" Terry Crews exclaimed.
Heidi Klum
"I love your magic, I love you," Klum said before saying her favorite part was the popcorn kernel coming out of Li's eye. "It was kinda disgusting, but it was so cool."
Simon Cowell
"You're just good. And you're cool. And you're different. We've seen a lot of magic over the years, but you did something different. I can tell how much this means to you, which I think is amazing, and you're slick. And you're Vegas. And you're very us. And I really like you," Cowell added.
Sofia Vergara
"It's amazing to see you now, so emotional, because when you were doing your show, you were so in control, you looked so present. It was spectacular" Vergara said.
RELATED: All 55 Acts Advanced to the AGT 18 Live Shows
Howie Mandel
"The story that you tell, the image of a little boy sitting in his home with his family and his parents, watching America's Got Talent, and years later, not only being on that spot that you watched, but rising to the occasion, and rising above that occasion, I just think that you had a career and life-changing performance," Mandel chimed in before Li got four "Yes" votes.
In the end, Li did not advance to the Top 55 headed to the Live Shows, beginning Tuesday, August 22 at 8/7c. But the bright side? Li is actively performing if you want to see him for yourself — he even does private events.
