A 25 year old magician turned a familiar puzzle into one of the night’s biggest surprises on America’s Got Talent, using Rubik’s Cube tricks to win over the judges and studio audience. The close up audition quickly became a showcase for speed, misdirection, and pure showmanship there.
During the Season 11 appearance, the performer introduced himself as Steven Brundage and explained that he would present Rubik’s Cube magic, a specialty he described as unlike anything else being done anywhere. The confident claim drew cheers, and the judges leaned forward with immediate curiosity there instantly.
After asking if he could step closer to the panel, Brundage began with a simple demonstration designed to challenge assumptions before the larger reveal. Holding a cube inside a bag, he spoke about the puzzle’s 43 quintillion possible arrangements and invited everyone to watch carefully that night.
He appeared to scramble the cube fully with one hand while it remained hidden in the bag, then moments later produced it solved. One judge immediately voiced the obvious suspicion, suggesting there might be a second cube concealed inside, setting up the magician’s first convincing rebuttal there.
To answer the doubt, Brundage opened the bag and showed it empty, even inviting a judge to look inside for confirmation. The inspection only increased the room’s excitement, as applause and cheers followed a reveal that eliminated the most straightforward explanation for the trick on display there.
The performance then moved to its central test when Simon Cowell was handed a Rubik’s Cube and told to mix it up himself. Brundage stressed that every turn created another of the puzzle’s countless permutations, underscoring that the judge’s pattern should be entirely unpredictable to everyone watching.
Once Cowell finished scrambling the cube to his satisfaction, Brundage placed that mixed puzzle back into the bag in full view. The magician acknowledged that repeating the first solve would still leave room for skeptics to suspect another hidden cube, then pivoted toward a different challenge instead.
He asked Cowell to think about what people usually picture when they imagine a solved Rubik’s Cube, prompting the answer of solid colors. That setup allowed Brundage to introduce what he called a different solution, shifting attention from solving the puzzle conventionally to matching the judge’s scramble.
With the audience watching from only a few feet away, the magician made a swift move and presented another cube. Instead of displaying six solid faces, he showed a pattern that appeared to duplicate the arrangement Cowell had created earlier, a reveal that triggered disbelief across the panel.
Brundage first highlighted one face as a perfect match, giving the judges a brief moment to process what they were seeing. He then turned the cube repeatedly to show side two, side three, side four, side five, and finally side six, all matching completely before their eyes.
The reaction was immediate, with audible gasps, cheers, and applause washing over the theater as the impossibility of the stunt sank in. Cowell declared that he was blown away and pressed for an explanation, only for Brundage to answer with a simple refrain: magic is magic there.
Another judge went even further, joking that wizardry seemed like the only possible explanation for what had just happened. The line captured the mood at the table, where amazement quickly gave way to broad smiles and praise for a trick that resisted immediate analysis from everyone present.
Mel B said the act deepened her affection for magic, praising a performance that felt fresh despite the show’s long history with illusionists. Howie Mandel agreed with his fellow judges, calling the audition fantastic and joining the chorus of approval that had formed within moments that night.
When the voting began, the outcome was never really in doubt after such a commanding close up display. Mandel delivered the first yes, Mel B followed with another yes, and Cowell added his own while promising a fourth affirmative from the panel for the magician that day.
The unanimous result sent Brundage through and capped an audition that blended classic sleight of hand with an everyday object recognized around the world. By using a Rubik’s Cube rather than cards or coins, he made the mystery feel both accessible and unexpectedly original to viewers everywhere.
Cowell was still talking about the opening phase of the routine after the votes were cast, emphasizing that the first bag trick alone had been startling. His lingering surprise suggested the act succeeded on multiple levels, combining a fast opener with an even stronger finale for viewers.
Close up magic often invites harsher scrutiny because judges can study the performer from only inches away, searching for hidden moves. In this case, one judge specifically noted being like a hawk during such acts, yet said she could not detect anything suspicious at all there either.
That sense of transparency helped the routine resonate, since every key moment appeared to happen openly in front of both panel and audience. The bag was examined, the cube was scrambled by a judge, and the final match was demonstrated side by side across all six faces.
The audition also highlighted why familiar objects remain powerful tools for magicians trying to reach mass audiences on television. A Rubik’s Cube carries built in difficulty and visual clarity, allowing viewers to grasp instantly why copying a random scramble should be nearly impossible for any normal person.
NBC’s long running competition has featured countless singers, dancers, comics, and novelty performers, but standout magic still commands special attention. Brundage’s appearance fit that tradition while also carving out a niche, presenting Rubik’s Cube illusion as a distinct discipline rather than a standard stage routine for television.
For viewers, the lasting image was not just a solved puzzle but an impossible pattern match achieved in seconds before skeptical eyes. In a season built on memorable auditions, the Rubik’s Cube specialist delivered a concise, crowd pleasing reminder that surprise and wonder still drive the show’s appeal.