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Anna Deguzman Reveals She Created Her "Unbelievable" Final Act in Just 2 Weeks

"How the hell did you do that?" Simon Cowell asked Deguzman, who earned second place during the Finale.

By Jackie Manno

Magician Anna Deguzman shook things up for her final America's Got Talent Season 18 Act by putting the magic in the hands of the audience. 

How to Watch

Watch the Season 19 premiere of America’s Got Talent Tuesday, May 28 at 8/7c on NBC and next day on Peacock

For her performance, Deguzman invited Host Terry Crews onstage and asked him to shuffle a deck of cards. She then had the Judges shuffle their cards, take one out at random, and place it in their envelopes. The crowd then sealed their envelopes shut, before Deguzman instructed Crews to take a chunk of cards out of her deck. 

When Deguzman grabbed her selection of cards, it was magically revealed that she and Crews had the exact same deck, except Crews had one card remaining: the queen of hearts. Then, the Judges revealed that they all picked the same card from their shuffle: You guessed it, the queen of hearts. 

Better yet the cards lineup was 26, 9, 10, 10 on September 26 at exactly 10:10 p.m. The exact date and time of the Finale in that moment. How is that even possible?

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Anna Deguzman performs during the Season 18 Finale of America’s Got Talent

Deguzman revealed to NBC Insider that she created the concept for her Final Act in a mere two weeks, just after leaning that she was advancing to the Finale. "That was the quickest I've ever come up with something. I think it is one of the best Acts I've ever come up with in my life. Because it needed to be a million dollar act. I wanted everyone, even people watching at home to be involved. Which is really hard," she told us. 

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What the Judges had to say about Anna Deguzman's Finale Act

"I believe in her magic, that was amazing. I'm so proud that you're here, the first woman [magician] that has made it to the Finals. You deserve to be here. I love you, you're the best," Sofia Vergara gushed. 

"Look, we're not in on this. You said queen of hearts, right? I got queen of hearts. So how the hell did you do that? That is magic. I mean, that was unbelievable," Simon Cowell said in awe. 

Anna Deguzman performs during the Season 18 Finale of America’s Got Talent

"I'm very impressed. You are magical, young lady. You are magical and adorable. Your mother should be proud," Howie Mandel chimed in. 

"You brought the 'Wow' to the Finale, and it packed a punch. It really did. It was fantastic. I can see you in Vegas. Good luck to you," Heidi Klum commented. 

Ultimately, Deguzman ended up finishing in second place for Season 18, with dog coach Adrian Stoica and his border collie Hurricane taking home the grand prize

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