Positive Celebrity Exclusive: AGT’s Shin Lim talks magic, charity and more!

Shin Lim came on to America’s Got Talent with one goal: to win. And he’s been amazing judges from the moment he stepped foot on the AGT stage.

America’s Got Talent judge Howie Mandel was incredibly impressed after being awed by Shin Lim’s card trick.

“By leaps and bounds [that] is the best sleight of hand close-up magic I have ever seen.”

Both Simon and Howie agree that he’s “the best up-close magician [they] have ever seen.”

Lim’s assistant was AGT’s host, Tyra Banks and was to pick out a random card from the deck. Banks picked the Queen of Spades. Blowing everyone away, he made the impossible happen. It was imprinted on his chest, encased by glass and also made it appear from within the sealed envelope.

Judges Mel B and Heidi Klum were both just as impressed as Mandel.

Interestingly, Shin Lim suffers from carpal tunnel syndrome.

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Suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome and a career-ending injury to his thumb tendons, Shin Lim had a tough start in his journey through sleight of hand magic.

Despite all of this, through painstakingly hard work and perseverance, Shin Lim is now the reigning world FISM champion for close-up magic. A self-proclaimed “sleight of hand artist,” Shin Lim admits he is not actually a magician or a wizard and has no intention of lying to the audience.

He performs carefully choreographed routines rather than pretending to defy the laws of physics.

Combining dexterity, precision, and grace, he has distilled a lifetime of training into a devious display of dancing digits. His mind-blowing finger moves are so skillful that the audience is left to wonder if what their eyes have seen is truly possible.

PCG magazine was able to catch up with Shin Lim. He opened up about his journey on America’s Got Talent, magic, charity and why he decided to audition for America’s Got Talent in the first place.

“I mean, I’ve always wanted to… Ever since I saw Dance Berry, the first magician that was on AGT. And he got really popular from that, cause that’s how I found out about him. So I kinda always had this in the back of my mind, like ‘Oh, it’d be cool to do AGT!’ But I always felt like I was never good enough like I wasn’t ready or anything like that… So, I always held it off and didn’t wanna do it. But this year I felt like I was getting the hang of it. Like, I had enough material to actually do it, so, that was why.”

When it comes to performing on stage, a lot of people get stage fright, and a performer’s worst fear is messing up. But it’s all about making things look great and that’s exactly what Shin Lim delivered during his act, we told him so and he shared how it was to see himself on television for the first time.

“It felt really good. It looked better than I thought it did and it went better than I thought it did. I made some mistakes during the performance. And while I was on stage, in my head I was like ‘Noooo! It’s going to look so bad.’ But I looked at it on TV and was like ‘Okay, that’s not terrible.’”

That’s awesome! Who would have guessed he made any mistakes?! That just goes to show how brilliant Lim is when performing. Ironically, it became more than just a hobby for Shin Lim.

“I was never performing until about 3 years ago. It was always a hobby, and I never did perform [until then]. But it was a hobby 10 years ago, and 3-years-ago I started taking it really seriously.”

How about that?! It just goes to show that when you work hard, you truly can achieve anything you set your mind to. You just need to take action.

Standing in front of judges Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum, and Simon Cowell must cause your heart to pump a lot harder. But Shin Lim received such a “shock” from all of the judges and audience.

Don’t you guys think that would feel amazing?!

“Yeah! I was surprised, Howie told me that was the best close up magic he had ever seen. That, you know, really was really surprising because I wasn’t expecting that. There’s been so much great close-up magic on AGT and I just was surprised he said that. I mean, I’m happy he said that. I’m really happy!”

We continued talking about the experience, and how fun it was for him to experience. As a result, it caused him to work harder for his next act.

Everyone knows that charity is important. Shin Lim feels the same. He is a huge supporter of helping with charity. Lim shared a couple of his favorite charities with us.

“There’s Charity Water.” I actually did a video for them, in tribute to Charity Water. Do you know about them?

“Charity Water. They primarily focus on Africa. They focus on giving healthy water to Africans and people in Haiti and stuff like that. That way they have fresh water to drink. They also have a deck of cards that they created, so, that’s how I found out about them. I bought a bunch of their decks, which helps fund their charity, and I also made a video. You can find it online. Type in ‘charity water’ and you’ll see the tribute to them, to help advertise their cards to make more money for their charity. There’s another one called Product Red. It’s a charity that helps fight against AIDS. They have a deck of cards as well, so, I also support that.”

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Amazing! Especially because they have decks of cards that Lim can collect, all while supporting some of his favorite causes and needs of those who are presently in unfortunate circumstances.

Having advice come from a magician like Shin Lim would be helpful, right?! That’s exactly what we were thinking. Lim opened up about what it takes to achieve and succeed on America’s Got Talent.

“Talking to all the contestants that have been on the show, just be prepared. Make sure you have enough material. I feel like [many] people who come to AGT, [especially in] the last couple of seasons, you notice that they don’t seem prepared as the rounds move forward. It’s really important to be prepared. And I think this season is incredible. Every single act is so good. And from talking to them, they were all prepared coming to the show. They had it all planned out. They had the audition round planned out, they had judge cuts planned out, they had future ones planned out. It’s so important for those who want to come on! First of all, it’s okay if you’re not ready, just be patient and wait. And then when you’re ready, you just do it.”

Perfect advice! If you’re thinking about auditioning for America’s Got Talent and you feel ready, just do it. Like they say, never save the things you can do today, for tomorrow. But it’s also important to be prepared. Before you audition, make sure you’re ready with a great amount of content to present as the contest gets heated and competitive.

Getting that much-needed vacation is always such a great feeling. Not only is Shin Lim getting a vacation, by competing on America’s Got Talent, but he’s learning a lot about his future and where he might live one day. He shared his thoughts on what he learned about Los Angeles.

“That L.A is really awesome. I never got to spend time in L.A. I think I could actually live here. Boston’s nice and all, but the weather’s kind of bad. It’s always cloudy… like it’s cloudy right now.”

He also opened up about his favorite audience reaction and Tyra Banks.

“Pasadena was crazy. And the amount of reactions I got for that first act. And also Tyra helped. She was freaking out. It just really made the trick so much better.”

America’s Got Talent has its fair share of talented acts. Shin Lim opened up about the variety and some of his favorite performers.

<center>Positive Celebrity Exclusive: AGT’s Shin Lim talks magic, charity and more! — Positive Celebrity Exclusive: AGT’s Shin Lim talks magic, charity and more!

“My favorite overall act was Aaron Crow, with the apple over the head. I loved that so much. I love ‘We Three.’ There’s something about their music that I find catchy. I think they have the total package to be the perfect band. They have the look and they’re so easy to listen to. I could listen to them for two hours and not get sick of it. They deserve a show for sure. There were a couple here and there spread out.”

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That was well said and very humble. We can’t wait to see where the journey will take the rest of the contestants, but time will tell. As for Shin Lim, he’s ready for the future.

“I’m really excited to see how it all goes.”

What did you guys think about Shin Lims performance? Wasn’t it magical?! Let us know what you thought in the comments below. And if you’re enjoying the positive vibes, be sure to subscribe to our positive celebrity newsletter. That way you can stay up-to-date on the latest celebrity gossip, film and entertainment news!

Check out Shin Lims performances below, and don’t forget to show him some love on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

And if you’re enjoying the positive vibes, be sure to subscribe to our positive celebrity newsletter. That way you can stay up-to-date on the latest positive celebrity gossip, film and entertainment news!

Blessed be!