Eric Chien

**Eric Chien** was a close-up magician act on Season A of *FuzGT*. He finished in the Bottom 6 of the Top 12.

## About

Eric Chien is a Taiwanese magician, living in Houston, Texas. He won *FISM* Grand Prix in July, 2018. After that, Eric went on to win the third season of *Asia's Got Talent*, which concluded on April 11, 2019. [1] He is the first Taiwanese winner of the show, making him the first winner from outside Southeast Asia as well as the first winner from a country with no separate Got Talent franchise.

Eric was born in Taipei, Taiwan in 1993, and moved to America when he was 4. He was the only Asian in school. He was beaten up in school, so it was tough for him and had to transfer school four to five times. He started doing magic when he was 16 in high school, and he decided to be a magician since then. Magic helps him get through tough times. He loves to create his own trick rather than imitating what others did. [2]

After he posted a video of his magic routine on the Internet, a magician asked him if he would like to be a magic consultant, whose job is to create props and materials for magicians. As time went by, his urge of performing on stage instead of being backstage got stronger. At about 2016, he started making his own props. He started performing in front of big audience from about October of 2018, so he still feels nervous when having to perform in front of a huge crowd.
He was called back to Taiwan for military service in 2015. He had to serve in the army for a year. During that time, he could't do any thing out of military duties, including magic. Therefore, he kind of lost his identity and had to find himself again after he came out. [3]

Eric competed on the fourteenth season of *America's Got Talent* in 2019, where he was eliminated in the Semifinals. He also competed on *Britain's Got Talent: The Ultimate Magician*, which he won; *Penn & Teller: Fool Us*, where he fooled the pair; and *Got Talent: All Stars*, where he made it to the Finals via use of the Golden Buzzer.

## Audition

Eric Chien’s audition in Episode A02 consisted of performing a magic trick where he transported coins from the judges’ hands into a small, enclosed glass. Fuz, Ace, and Spinach voted “Yes”, sending Eric to the Mop Round.

## Mop Round

Eric Chien’s Mop Round performance in Episode A10 consisted of a magic routine where he made coins and playing cards appear, change color, and disappear on a black mat. Fuz and guest judge Sellin gave him standing ovations. Eric's performance was strong enough for the judges to send him to the Quarterfinals instead of Barry & Stuart.

## Quarterfinals

Eric Chien's Quarterfinals performance in Episode A11 consisted of a coin magic routine using playing cards and a black marker. Fuz and Tom gave him standing ovations. Eric received enough votes to advance to the Semifinals alongside Ilana Yahav.

## Semifinals

Eric Chien's Semifinals performance in Episode A14 consisted of him performing his "Ribbon" act, a close-up magic routine telling a story about greed using a white ribbon, a small treasure chest, two frames, two decks of multicolored cards, and coins. Fuz, Tom, and Fresh all gave him standing ovations. Eric received enough votes to advance to the Semifinals alongside Ilana Yahav.

## Finals

Eric Chien's Finals performance in Episode A16 consisted of a magic trick with Tom involving candies and Rubik's cubes, by producing Rubik's cubes from chocolate candies, solving the cubes which he produced and mixed by Julianne, and turning them back into chocolate candies. Fuz, Tom, and Fresh all gave him standing ovations once more. During the Finale, Eric was revealed to have placed in the Bottom 6 of the night, eliminating him from the competition instead of Jervy Hou.

## Trivia

* Eric is the first magician to ever reach the Semifinals \*and\* the Finals in *FuzGT*.